Subject: The Shepherd
Modified Subject: The Good Shepherd
Thesis: The Good Shepherd providentially cares for His flock.
Objective: To trust in the provision and care of our Lord.
Psalm 23 – the funeral passage. I say that because so many people place this passage of scripture on the
memorial cards of their deceased loved ones. As I looked up memorial cards for funerals, this was the
number one Bible passage.
Let’s read Psalm 23
1 The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and loving‐kindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
So why is this scripture fit for a funeral? It’s a life passage – it states that fact not only in the 6th verse, but the writer, David, was alive when he wrote it – and he wrote it in the present. But it’s only a life passage of Scripture because of a funeral – a death.
It appropriately follows Psalm 22, because it only applies to you when and if you believe Psalm 22. The Lord is only my Shepherd when we understand Psalm 22 and the redemption that we have in Christ, because of His blood shed on our behalf when He bought and purchased a people for Himself. This Psalm has no meaning to the unbeliever.
Now I break this passage of scripture into three parts I call the ACE up my sleeve
A – Abundant Life
C – Confident Life
E – Eternal Life
If you’re not familiar with Psalm 22; it is the Psalm that foretells of the crucifixion of Christ – 1000 B.C.
First line: My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Other verses
• And all my bones are out of joint
• They pierced my hands and my feet.
• They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
• All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord
Now this first section refers to the Lord in third person.
A – The Abundant Life
1 The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
The Lord is my Shepherd.
The first verse establishes the shepherd and the theme of trust, but the Lord’s providential care is limited. David did not say the Lord is the Shepherd of all, nor did he say the Lord is the Shepherd of Israel – he said the Lord is my Shepherd because he believed in the Lord as his only hope for salvation.
Only when we get Psalm 22 and the redemption we have in Christ because of His blood shed on our behalf when He bought and purchased a people of His own.
This is not universal.
- Ephesians 2:1-3; 2 Corinthians 4:4 versus John 1:11-13 - "become"
o Ephesians 2:1-3
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
o 2 Corinthians 4:4
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
o John 1:11-13
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
o We don't need to "become" something we already are
o We are all His creation, but we are NOT all His children
Only those who have been redeemed by the death in Psalm 22 can make the claim in Psalm 23
- Through repentance and faith
I shall not want.
We often think we have needs, but unless the Lord gives it to us, we don’t need it.
- All we need is in the Sacrificial Lamb
- Philippians 4:10‐13
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
- Phillip Keller, once a shepherd himself, in his book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, relates that the strange thing about sheep is that because of their very makeup, it is almost impossible for them to be made to lie down unless four requirements are met.
o First, due to their timidity, they must be free from all fear.
o Next, because of their sociability, they must be free from friction with others of their kind.
o Third, they must be free from flies or parasites if they are to relax.
o Lastly, they will not lie down unless free from hunger. It is only the shepherd who can provide release from all these anxieties.
As our Good Shepherd, the Lord meets all these needs for us, so that we can “lie down in green pastures,” with our souls restored by his care.
He cares for our physical and spiritual needs
Physical
- He makes me lie down in green pastures;
- He leads me beside quiet waters.
Spiritual
- He restores my soul;
- He guides me in the paths of righteousness
Matthew 11:28-29, Jesus says,
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
The Shepherd not only physically and spiritually cares for us but we draw and find confidence in Him
And why?
For His name’s sake.
C – The Confident Life
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6a Surely goodness and loving‐kindness will follow me all the days of my life,
This life is not promised to be easy, we will walk through valleys of the shadows of death.
Isaiah 43:1‐2
But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.
- “When you pass through the waters”
- “When you walk through the fire”
- “Do not fear”
o they will not overflow you
o you will not be scorched
o Nor will the flame burn you
- I will be with you
o you are Mine!
It is the same here as well, I shall not fear - not because He made me strong, no - because HE is with me!
Notice we have moved from third‐person into second‐person
- We've identified the Shepherd and now we're speaking to the Shepherd
There are things in this world that can devour us
- Good thing, we are not relying on ourselves
There are things in this world that are stronger than us
- Good thing, we are not relying on our strength
It is His rod and staff that bring comfort and protect.
- Rod = discipline. He disciplines those He loves.
o Proverbs 12:1, 13:24; Hebrews 12;11
- Staff = military weapon. Protection.
o Isaiah 10:24
With that in mind, He prepares a table for us in the midst of our enemies
- Anoints us with oil
o Not medicinal oil
o A celebration oil
- Our cup overflows
o I shall not want
o Our needs will be met
- If we don’t not have those things we think we need then the Lord must know we don’t need it
Illustration "in the presence of my enemies"
Now picture this – the father says to his son one night, “Son, go fetch a lamb and slaughter it. Then take his blood and mark the door posts.” After the son does so, the father tells him, “Sit down and eat this unleavened bread and herbs. While we are in the presence of our enemies, tonight the Angel of Death will sweep through the land, but he will passover us.” That is what it looks like to be comforted by His rod and staff while sitting in the presence of our enemies. We are Christians in a world that hates Christians. Trust in the Sacrificial Lamb.
Trusting in the Sacrificial Lamb brings great hope. Hope in the eternal life.
E – The Eternal Life
6b And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Returning to the third‐person, in this verse we see a transition from the present world into the eternal.
- Not only will we be in His goodness and loving‐kindness during this lifetime,
o But we will dwell in the presence of our Shepherd forever
Please take notice of the three “I” statements in this Psalm
- I shall not want
- I fear no evil
- I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever
o I shall not want because HE is caring after me
o I fear no evil because HE is guarding over me
o I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever because HE laid down His life for me
- Again, John 10:11, Jesus says,
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
When life gets hard and you are overcome with fear and anxiety, just pull out that ACE in your sleeve and take hope in our Shepherd.
Do you believe Him? If you don't believe Him then He can't be your Shepherd.
Do you believe in the death in Psalm 22?
The death in Psalm 22 is the reason we can have the life in Psalm 23.
Psalm 23 is not a picture of a life filled with only good all the time. Quite the contrary. It's actually a picture of a life camped around by enemies, a life with peril and danger all over, culminating in death. It's a picture of a life that says, "in the midst of it all, I will not want, because my Shepherd provides, I will not fear because my Shepherds protects, and I will dwell with Him forever because my Shepherd promised.
