Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is Psalm 23 Your favorite Psalm?
It’s a favorite among many.
It’s used often at funerals.
And it helps people find comfort and healing
in the midst of troubled times.
But I remember in my younger days
seeking comfort and healing wasn’t a common issue for me
at least, not in the way it is presented in Psalm 23.
Psalms of joy and thanks resonated better with my soul.
But the psalm has grown on me more recently
especially in the hymn The King of Love My Shepherd Is.
I have sung this song in a men’s ensemble at a university
but it felt more like an assignment
rather than a spiritually nourishing moment.
Usually, you can tell when someone has taken a song to their heart.
Their passion overflows into your own heart.
I’d imagine you’ve probably heard me play The King of Love My Shepherd Is
by Taylor Tripodi (Trip-oh- dee)
during the offering.
I don’t plan to do this today
but we will sing this hymn together
at the end of the service.
When I first heard her play this song
I’ve noticed she has made this hymn her own.
Not only has she taken this song to heart
she also modified some of the notes and words to her own style.
Though the hymn has 6 verses,
she has selected 4 of them.
And she added a short bridge before the final verse.
… In a higher key change, she says,
Oh, that He would look my way
Oh, that He would love me.
Taylor recognizes that her sin makes her unworthy--
unworthy to be under God’s care.
But God
in his love
chooses to love her
and care for her
and provide for her
and protect her.
God chooses to care for her
by his grace alone.
Taylor Tripodi (Trip-oh- dee) says on her website,
Music has a way of bringing to light the fears and darkness in our hearts.
It moves us to a place of openness to receive the truth we need to hear
ultimately leading us to the love we were created for.
She also says,
No matter where you’ve been
or what you’ve done
There is always hope
because of His love.
Who is this God
that takes care of broken people?
People who do not do much for adding value to him.
… I mean.
For a number of times
God compares us to sheep
--Sheep of all creatures.
Would you want a football team that says
we are the sheep
so watch out!
Sheep are often characterized as stupid--
animals who often just do their own thing
and many times only find themselves
getting into trouble.
When Christians do their own thing apart from God
what does that do with our relationship with him?
… What does that do with our relationship with others
who are watching what us Christians do?
Does it create faith?
Or does it create disbelief in their hearts?
Nevertheless,
God chooses to care for us
he chooses to love us.
… When you read Psalm 23
do you notice who is doing most of the work?
… It’s God.
… No one in this Psalm
is working their way to be like God.
You have a psalm
about someone who is found so helpless
someone so dependent on God
that they can’t see getting through this world without him.
I don’t know about you
but more and more
I’m learning that people are making decisions that affect me
decisions that I don’t have any control over.
… Some of these decisions help me
and some of them work against me.
Some of these decisions help my neighbor’s wellbeing
some of them work against my neighbor’s well-being.
… But what I do know
is that the Lord is in control,
and that no matter what other people decide
God will care for me along the way.
King David from the Bible
he had all kinds of things was dealing with
throughout his life.
He was known as a “man after God’s own heart.”
Many people know him for his great faith.
They know him from the time when he was just a little shepherd boy
who was determined to take on the giant Goliath
when the Philistines were planning to attack the Israelites.
David said to this Philistine giant,
“You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin,
but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand,
and I will strike you down and cut off your head.” – 1 Samuel 17:45-46 (ESV)
David, who was king
was determined.
And as you probably already know
David did as he said
and won his victory against the Philistines.
… The Lord was with David.
But David’s life wasn’t all good and well afterward.
Again,
when you work with people
you’ll have problems.
And for David
a time had come where he had trouble with one of his own sons
--his son, Absalom.
Absalom was not happy with the justice of his father was giving.
You could say David at the time was ignoring declaring justice.
I suppose you could say
it was because his heart was in the way.
For the person who he was supposed to punish
was one of his own sons.
When David didn’t do anything about the troubling strife his son Amnon had done to his half-sister Tamar, Absalom was upset.
So Absalom had organized his soldiers to solve the matter
to have Amnon executed at a party.
And he was successful.
But that wasn’t enough.
Over time,
Absalom had organized for the Israeli government
to rebel against David.
… And so David fled for his life.
But David still trusted in the Lord.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me. - Psalms 23:4
David and Absalom
along with their men
went to war with each other.
Absalom asked for 12,000 men to fight
and David gathered an army
to fight back.
In the end,
David won the fight
… but Absalom wasn’t captured alive
as David desired.
Now David had lost
two sons.
Though David is known as a “man after God’s own heart”
he had his moments where he wished he would have made better decisions.
But many decisions in life are difficult.
… I can’t imagine having to make a decision
as both father of a family
and king of the land.
When you have someone in David’s position,
when you have a king,
you want a person of integrity
you want someone who is of their word
and when troubles rises
justice is served.
Issues become resolved
and the people in the land can live in peace
and have enough resources to live well.
And with a Lord
you want someone who will go to battle with you.
You want someone who is willing to risk their life
just as much as you are willing to risk yours.
And the Apostle John tells us
that Jesus is that Lord.
Jesus said (in John 10),
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Though on one Good Friday,
Jesus was executed under the authority of governing leaders and religious leaders
… he rose from the grave three days later
by his own authority.
He followed through
not to just show off his power is greater
but to also show his integrity
that justice has been served
in a way that is greater
than what anyone could have ever imagined.
Jesus went beyond of trying to make things even with his enemies.
He took the blame and the punishment of others
and he put it upon himself
by dying on the cross
and then overcame this punishment
by rising from the dead.
And Jesus promises that we also
shall rise from the grave
because we believe in him.
It’s not because we deserve it.
It’s not because we have the strength to do so ourselves.
But it’s because of God’s grace and mercy and love towards us.
It’s his own power.
It’s his own gift.
“The King of Love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am His
And He is mine forever.”
Jesus may not give us what we want
but he will give us what we need.
And we can rest in him
with what he has given us.
He is the one who makes us well.
He is the one who leads us to what is good time and time again
even though time and time again we go in our own way
that is not pleasing to him
even though we go in ways that hinder our relationship with him.
… He is still with us.
And he is with us even when we feel like we are surrounded by evil.
God will have the final judgment over the lives of all people.
But all the people Jesus calls his own
will be with him forever.
He will prepare the great banquet
for all his people.
And all those who choose to reject Jesus
and they will have to suffer
by not being a part of this meal.
No matter what happens
we shall live
in God’s kingdom forever
where our sinfulness will be no more.
Our lacking will be no more.
And we get to live
under this good and gracious God
with abundant victorious power
forever.
In Jesus’ name,
amen.
May the peace of God
that surpasses all understanding
keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
