IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD - SERMON II: NO FEAR
The second jewel of truth is that, in the House of the Lord – in the eternal presence of the Lord God – there is NO FEAR. The second verse of the Psalm says this: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads be beside still waters.”
It was a good experience for a sheep to be led by a good shepherd. As you listened to the second verse, did you sense the contentment and peace that the sheep enjoyed in the presence of the good shepherd? (Reread v. 2)
Remember what Jesus said about himself? “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd cares for his sheep.”
In the presence of the good shepherd, we like sheep can say with assurance: “There is no fear in the house of the Lord.”
The phrase “to lie down” is very significant. According to an Old Testament professor, J. Wash Watts, the Hebrew language uses a different word to describe the lying down of an animal from that which it uses to describe the lying down of a human being. Because of its four legs, the animal cannot lie down quickly or get up quickly. So, an animal does not lie down when it is afraid! If the shepherd was present, the sheep lay down.
Lying down “in green pastures” is also significant. For a sheep to lie down in pastures that are green reflected a very high degree of satisfaction on the part of the sheep - mainly because it indicates that the sheep’s need for food and water has already been met; else the sheep would not lie down in a green pasture.
Once the sheep has been fed, it’s ready for some rest; it’s nap time; it’s time to stop grazing and go to sleep; the sheep needs some “time out” in a quiet place. And you know what? We do too. We need our quiet times.
Yet, for a sheep “to lie down” means more than having had its needs met. Even when the physical appetite is satisfied, the sheep would not lie down if there was the fear of an attack by either a lion or another wild beast.
Only the assurance which the presence of the shepherd gives can make a sheep lie down. In like manner, we as God’s children can lie down at night and go to sleep due to our awareness of the Father’s presence along with His promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us.
Remember that little bedtime prayer we prayed as children?
“Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray thee Lord my soul to keep;
If I should die before I wake,
I pray thee Lord my soul to take.”
I read a touching story about a father and son whose wife and mother died at an early age. The little boy was only six years old. The first night after his mother’s death, the six-year-old son wanted to sleep in the same bed with his dad; so, he and his dad said their prayers, turned out the light, and went to bed.
As they lay still in the darkness, the little boy asked, “Dad, are you there?” The dad replied, “Yes, son, I am here” - and he reached over and touched his son to reassure him.
A few minutes passed, and the son asked, “Dad, is your face turned toward me?” His dad replied, “Yes, son, my face is turned toward you.” Said the little boy, “Good, because if your face is turned toward me, I think I can go to sleep.”
There’s a lesson in that story for each one of us:
Our heavenly Father’s face is always turned toward you and me!
Therefore, there’s no reason to be afraid. “The still waters” in the 23rd Psalm reflect this same sense of peace, as was the case with the father and son; whether awake or asleep, we live in the presence of our shepherd.
Literally, “the still waters” means “the waters at rest.” Out in the wilderness, where David often led his sheep, the mountains are rough and rugged. It is also a very dry land.
During seven or eight months of the dry season there is no rain at all as a general rule. The total rainfall for the year may be no more than eight to ten inches. Springs of water, therefore, are few and far between. A shepherd may have to lead his sheep a long way to find water.
Even then, if the water is tumbling over the rocks, the sheep cannot get to it. The sheep does not have hands to make a cup like a shepherd boy. The sheep does not have a tongue that can lap water like that of a dog.
How pitiful, how helpless then is a sheep in the wilderness unless there is a shepherd to lead it where the still waters are. Unless the shepherd is a good shepherd, the sheep could perish.
Jesus Christ is the good shepherd whose love for His sheep – you and me - led Him to the Cross to die for our sins, so that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Today we live in His presence; and in the presence of the good shepherd there is NO FEAR. The Lord is my shepherd. His love is perfect. “Perfect love casts out fear.”
The prophet Isaiah no doubt reflected on this 23rd Psalm when he composed that great poetic dissertation on the shepherd’s comfort – a poem which we find in the 40th and 41st chapters of Isaiah. I want you to reflect on the contentment that can be ours as we meditate on just two of the verses of comfort from Isaiah:
“God our sovereign tends his flock like a shepherd;
He gathers the lambs in his arms,
And carries them close to his heart;
He gently leads those that have special needs.” (Isaiah 40:11)
“So, do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand!” (Isaiah 41:10)
With the Lord God, maker of heaven and earth, creator of mankind, our blessed redeemer, upholding you and me, what is there to fear?
With the Lord God on our side, how could we lose?
If God be for us, declared the apostle Paul, what does it matter if anyone or anything else is against us?
He that spared not His Own Son, but gave Him as a sacrifice for our salvation, shall He not also freely give us all that He has promised?
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ comes to you and me just as he did to his disciples after His resurrection; and He says to us, as He said to them: “Be not afraid; it is I.” The following poem by William C. Martin depicts how I, and hopefully you, feel about trusting in God:
“I trust in God wherever I may be,
Upon the land or on the stormy sea,
For, come what may, from day to day,
My heavenly Father watches over me.
The valley may be dark, the shadows deep,
but the Shepherd guards His lonely sheep;
and thru the gloom, He’ll lead me home;
my heavenly Father watches over me.
I trust in God, I know He cares for me,
on mountain bleak or on the stormy sea;
though billows roll, He keeps my soul,
My heavenly Father watches over me!”
Selah.
