Great Prayers of the Old Testament
Part 15: If the Lord Is My Shepherd...
Psalm 23:1-6
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared January 4, 2025)
BACKGROUND:
*Anyone who has read a good portion of God's Word knows that there are a lot of prayers provided for us in the Bible. The Dake Annotated Reference Bible lists 222 prayers in total. 176 of these prayers are listed in the Old Testament, but 72 of them are found in one book, and that is the Book of Psalms. Today we will study one of the most famous prayers of all. It is found in the 23rd Psalm, so let's begin by reading the Scripture, thinking about what happens when the LORD is my shepherd. (1)
MESSAGE:
*Millions of people going through grief have found great comfort here in the 23rd. Psalm. And Christians, I am one of those people. It happened when my mother passed away 30 years ago. It was the summer of 1994, and God was merciful to us in a lot of ways. My Mom was only sick for a short while. After having some trouble swallowing, she went to the cancer doctor in mid-June. Mom was diagnosed with cancer on July 1st, and went to Emory in Atlanta for surgery on July 18th. What was supposed to be a 4 or 5-hour surgery turned into a 13-hour marathon, and my mom basically never woke up again.
*After 2 weeks in the ICU at Emory, she passed away in her sleep on Aug. 1st. One of the great blessings of that summer was the way we were treated by the people over at Emmanuel Baptist Church. They were so gracious to let me spend as much time as possible with my mom. I would drive over on Monday, and come back on Friday to be able to preach on Sunday. One couple even gave me plane tickets to save me from driving that long way. Altogether, I was in Georgia 5 weeks that summer.
*On the Friday before my mother died, I was about to drive back here. And somehow I knew that I would never see my mother again in this world. I went in to pray with her one last time, and basically I prayed the words of this Psalm: "LORD, we know that You are our Shepherd; We shall not want. . ."
*Up to that point there had been no response whatsoever from my mom since her surgery. But when I finished that prayer, God gave her the grace to smile at me and squeeze my hand. I am sure that was a miracle from God. And 3 days later, my mother passed away peacefully in her sleep.
*What a Scripture, what a Savior, what a Shepherd! "The Lord is my Shepherd." Can you honestly say that today? If not, please let God's Word and His Holy Spirit persuade you to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior today. This is the greatest thing that can ever happen to you. Millions of people going through hard times have found God's comfort here, because the Lord was their Shepherd.
*And Christian's, Jesus is our Shepherd too! -- But what kind of a Shepherd is He? In a way, it's hard for us to understand because there aren't a lot of shepherds living around here. But author Philip Keller can help us. Philip grew up in East Africa, around shepherds very much like those in King David's day. Then Phillip spent 8 years as a sheep rancher. And HE WROTE ABOUT IT IN HIS BOOK, A SHEPHERD LOOKS AT THE 23RD PSALM."
*Pastor Alan Smith gives this insight from Philip's book: "One of the best things about a good shepherd is this: He loves his sheep. For him there is no greater reward, no deeper satisfaction, than seeing his sheep contented, well fed, safe, and flourishing in his care. That's what a good shepherd's life is all about. And he gives everything he's got to the task. From early dawn till late at night the good shepherd is alert to the welfare of his flock. Throughout the day he looks over his sheep to make sure everything is all right. Even at night, he sleeps with 'one eye open,' ready to get up and protect his sheep at the first sign of trouble." That's the kind of shepherd you can have in Jesus Christ! And what a great Shepherd He is! (2)
1. FIRST: IF THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, HE PROVIDES FOR ME.
[1] JESUS PROVIDES FOR ALL OF OUR NEEDS, BUT OUR GREATEST NEED OF ALL IS AN EVERLASTING RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
*We see this relationship in vs. 1 where David said, "The Lord is MY Shepherd." This means I belong to Him, and He belongs to me. The Lord and David had a personal relationship. David didn't just know some things about the Lord. He knew the Lord in a personal way. And that's what Jesus Christ wants for all of us today. By turning to Jesus and trusting in Him, by receiving Him as our Lord and Savior, we are born again spiritually with an everlasting relationship in the Family of God. And there will be a family resemblance.
*There will always be some kinds of resemblance in families, and I'm not just talking about our physical appearance. I'm talking about the way we talk, our mannerisms, our quirks, our habits, and our attitudes. Well, what's true about our earthly families is also true about God's Heavenly family: There will be a family resemblance, because saved people are literally born again by the Holy Spirit into the family of God.
*The Lord explained this to Nicodemus in John 3:3-6, where:
3. Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.''
4. Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?''
5. Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
*"You must be born again," Jesus said. The reason why is because physical birth can only give physical life. Horses produce horses. Dogs produce dogs. And mortal people produce mortal people. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh."
*But "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." In other words, "That which is given birth by God's Holy Spirit is spirit. The Holy Spirit produces a new kind of person by a new kind of birth: Spiritual birth that gives us God's eternal life. When we are born again, we get a brand-new nature, so we can, and we should begin to resemble our Heavenly Father. Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
*And if we are born again with a new nature, our salvation will show up in the way we live. That's because faith in Jesus Christ changes our values. We begin to love the people we may have ridiculed before. And our habits begin to change. We begin to feel guilty over the fleshly things we used to enjoy. And we begin to enjoy holy, fruitful things that used to seem like superstitious foolishness.
*Ray Stedman explained, "When God's life becomes your life, you can expect many changes. It may take a while. There is growth involved. You are like a new baby at first, but watch: you cannot be the same person. You cannot go on the way you were. If you do, you have never been born again. When you get in touch with the life of God, things are going to be different." (3)
*If God is truly our Heavenly Father, then we will begin to think and feel and act the way He does. We should be less selfish and more caring about other people. There will be a family resemblance.
[2] BUT THE GOOD SHEPHERD ALSO PROVIDES REST.
*In vs. 2, David said, "He makes me to lie down in green pastures."
*We need more rest. Most people need more rest. We need physical and emotional rest. But most of all, we need spiritual rest, and the Lord will give us rest. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, "Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
[3] THE GOOD SHEPHERD ALSO PROVIDES REFRESHMENT.
*Again in vs. 2, David said, "He makes me to lie down in green pastures." Those green pastures were full of rich food for the flock. And that's crucial for the sheep, -- even for the rest they need to get. Philip Keller explained that "sheep will not lie down unless they are full. A hungry sheep is always on its feet, searching for another mouth of food, trying to satisfy its gnawing hunger. Shepherds had to search hard for green areas to feed their sheep." (2)
*Well, our Good Shepherd has ultimately provided every bite of food we will ever eat. Much more important, He has provided us with His life-giving spiritual food: The Word of God. This is why in Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses told the Children of Israel that the LORD God "humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD."
*Also in vs. 2, the Good Shepherd "leads me beside the still waters." Have you ever been thirsty? -- Maybe a little. But real thirst is dangerous. It makes us desperate. It can even be deadly. But the Good Shepherd leads me beside refreshing waters.
*In John 7:37-38, Jesus spoke about the life-giving, spiritual water of His Holy Spirit. And Jesus cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.''
[4] THE GOOD SHEPHERD PROVIDES REFRESHMENT. THEN IN VS. 3, HE ALSO PROVIDES RESTORATION.
*David said, "He restores my soul." And the word picture for "restore" means, "He brings me back from the point of death. He causes my life to return." The Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ will restore your soul.
[5] IN VS. 3 OUR SHEPHERD ALSO PROVIDES RIGHTEOUSNESS TO HIS SHEEP.
*"He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake." In other words, it's not because we earned or somehow deserve God's righteousness. None of us is good enough to justify our getting to Heaven on our own goodness. But though we are not good, The Good Shepherd still loves us. He even loved us enough to give His life for us. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead to give eternal life to everyone who will put their trust in Him. And all the glory goes to God!
*2 Corinthians 5:21 explains that God the Father made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. So, it's not our righteousness that takes us to Heaven. It's His righteousness. It's not our goodness, it's His amazing grace.
*When Jesus Christ is our Shepherd, He provides all of these things for us and much more.
2. IF THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, HE PROVIDES FOR ME. HE ALSO PUTS ME ON THE RIGHT PATHS.
*The Good Shepherd Jesus Christ will always lead us in the right direction. In vs. 2 "He leads us beside the still waters." And in vs. 3 "He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."
*The Good Shepherd always wants to lead us in the right way. But first we have to realize that we are sheep. Now, if you could be any animal, what would it be? Some might say, "I'd like to be a horse or a soaring eagle, or a lion, or a dog. Have you ever heard anybody say, "I'd like to be a sheep!"? -- I don't think so.
*But God calls us His sheep. And the truth is that we are like sheep in some not-so-good ways. Sheep are stubborn. They also get lost because they tend to go their own way. On top of that, they have a poor sense of direction and extremely poor eyesight. And we are like sheep, so Psalm 119:176 gives this confession: "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments."
*The first part of Isaiah 53:6 says all of us are like sheep who "have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way. . ." Thank God that Scripture also says that "the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." The Good shepherd paid the price for our crooked ways, and because He is risen from the dead, He can lead us in the right ways. Best of all, Jesus can lead us all the way to Heaven. By turning to our crucified and risen Savior, by trusting in Him, by receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we get a relationship with God that lasts forever.
*Many years ago in England, a Christian man was walking through the countryside, when he came across a boy taking care of his sheep. The sight made the man think of the 23rd Psalm, so he asked the boy if he knew it.
*When the boy said, "No," the man began to explain who the Good Shepherd is. He talked about the cross of Jesus Christ, and how Jesus the Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep. Then he used his fingers to help the boy remember the first line of the Psalm. He pointed as he spoke each word: "The Lord is my shepherd."
*Then the Christian said, "When you come to that word "my," grip your fourth finger tightly with your other hand. And never forget that the Lord is not only a Shepherd, but YOUR Shepherd."
*That night the little boy told his parents about the lesson he learned on the road. The following winter there was a terrible snowstorm. Sadly, the boy and his sheep got lost in the blizzard, and they were not found until it was too late. But when the search party uncovered the boy's body, he was holding on tight, just like the man said. (4)
*That little boy knew the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. He had trusted in Jesus. He had received Jesus as his Lord and Savior. And that is the kind of eternal relationship God wants all of us to have with Him. And can have it, if we put our trust in the cross of Jesus Christ. The Good Shepherd will lead us all the way home to Heaven.
3. IF JESUS IS MY SHEPHERD, HE PUTS ME ON THE RIGHT PATHS. HE ALSO HEARS MY PRAYERS.
*Up to this point, David has been giving His testimony about the Good Shepherd:
1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
3. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.
*David has been introducing us to His Shepherd, and that's a great thing to do. It's something that all of us as Christians should be doing, because when Jesus is our Shepherd, we've got something to share! But down in vs. 4-5 there is a change. David has stopped talking about the Shepherd. Now he is talking to the Good Shepherd:
4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will 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 anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
*Here is some wonderful news: The same God who listened to David is surely willing to listen to you. He hears our prayers.
*Steve Malone gives this great definition of prayer. Prayer is coming into the presence of God. Prayer is taking our concerns to the one who cares for me. Prayer is communicating with the creator of the world. Prayer is a child talking to His Father. Prayer is bringing our hurts to the Father of Compassion and the God of all comfort. Prayer is reaching out to our Redeemer. Prayer is calling out to the only one who can save us. Prayer is touching the one who loves us with an unfailing and unquenchable love. Prayer is bringing our questions to the one who has all the answers. Prayer is reaching out to the never; tired, confused, afraid or taken by surprise God. Prayer is connecting our lives with the all-knowing, all-present and all-powerful KING of kings. (5)
*Church, Here is some wonderful news: The same God who listened to King David is surely willing to listen to you. He hears our prayers.
4. IF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS MY SHEPHERD, HE HEARS MY PRAYERS. AND HE PROTECTS ME.
*When the Lord's sheep pray to the Good Shepherd, He hears our prayers, and He protects us. So in vs. 4 we hear the sheep say, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."
*It's important to know that sheep need protection. John Phillips reminds us that sheep have no natural defenses against predators. Sheep are not strong like a lion, swift like a deer or smart like a dog. Sheep need protection, and so do we. (6)
*No one can protect us like David's Shepherd. He protects us with His presence. David said, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me." Christian, the same thing is true for you right now. Right now you can say, "Lord God, You are with me."
*Jesus protects us with His presence, and that gives me courage! "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me." Thinking about that shadow of death Charles Spurgeon said: "Nobody should be afraid of a shadow, for a shadow cannot stop a man's pathway even for a moment. The shadow of a dog cannot bite; the shadow of a sword cannot kill; the shadow of death cannot destroy us. Let us, therefore, not be afraid. (7)
*The Good Shepherd protects us with His presence and with His power. David said, "Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." The rod was a weapon that could be swung or thrown at predators with deadly accuracy. The staff had a crook which could be used to guide the sheep and pull them away from dangerous places. Our Good Shepherd has unlimited power, and infinitely better tools to protect us. And His power gives us comfort: "Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" -- Because I know You are more than able to protect me! (7)
5. IF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS MY SHEPHERD, HE PROTECTS ME, AND HE PREPARES FOR ME.
*In vs. 5-6:
5. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
*Here is a wonderful truth: God prepares for my future by forgiving my past! Last time we looked at Psalm 22, the Psalm of the Cross. And I like what Spurgeon said about Psalm 23 coming after the Psalm of the Cross:
-"There are no green pastures, no still waters on the other side of the 22nd Psalm. It is only after we have read, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!" that we come to "The Lord is my Shepherd." We must by experience know the value of the blood-shedding, before we shall be able truly to know the sweetness of the good Shepherd's care." (7)
CONCLUSION:
*You can have full confidence in the Good Shepherd's care. David would tell you that today. And untold millions who have been blessed by the Shepherd Psalm would tell you the same thing. If the Lord is my Shepherd, He provides for me, He puts me on the right paths, He hears my prayers, He protects me, and He prepares for me. Therefore I can say with David, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever." Put your trust in Jesus, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) DAKE ANNOTATED REFERENCE BIBLE - Dake Publishing - https://www.hopefaithprayer.com/prayernew/222-prayers-of-the-bible/
(2) SermonCentral sermon "The Lord is My Shepherd" by Alan Smith - Psalm 23:1-6
(3) Online sermon: "Born of the Spirit" by Ray C. Stedman - Series: The Gospel of John - John 3:1-16 - Message No: 8 - Catalog No: 3838 - Date: May 15, 1983 - http://www.pbc.org/system/message_files/4182/3838.html
(4) Adapted from THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR by Joseph S. Exell - "Jesus as 'My' Shepherd" - Psalm 23 - https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/tbi/psalms-23.html
(5) Adapted from SermonCentral Weekly Newsletter - April 18, 2005
(6) Adapted from EXPLORING PSALMS Vol. 1 - Psalms 1-41 by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "Psalm 23: The Shepherd Psalm" - Psalm 23:1-6 - Downloaded to "Bible Study 7" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
(7) Charles H. Spurgeon, THE TREASURY OF DAVID Vol. 1, Psalms 1-57, (Zondervan 11th printing, 1979), pg. 355. - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
