Introduction
What does this describe? "The anatomical juxtaposition of two orbicularis oris muscles in a state of contraction." Definition of a kiss by Dr. Henry Gibbons (1808 - 1884).
– Language is inadequate to describe relationships - If I asked you to describe your experience of God how would you do it? What are the things you would say God does for you? What metaphors would you use to describe how you relate to God – friend, father? That is the issue I want to address this morning. In the most famous Psalm of all, the most famous poem in the history of the world perhaps, David uses the picture, familiar to him as he had been a shepherd, of a sheep and shepherd. As we look at a few Psalms, which talk about our relationship with God (last time how meditating on God’s Word creates a foundation for a rewarding life), I want us to look at this Psalm, which I don’t remember preaching on before, because it is so famous. Just as language is inadequate, there is a danger in a sermon of spoiling something so profound by dissecting it. So rather than dissect it I want us to allow it to speak to us by asking questions like: What is David saying about his experience of God? How can we have such a close walk?
1. The Lord is my Shepherd
This simple phrase is the Psalm in a nutshell & David sums up his relationship with God. That illustration may or may not be familiar to us but it obviously was to David. Growing up in Wales you see a lot of sheep. The hillsides are dotted with sheep. One thing you soon realise is that sheep are not very bright. Now David is not saying he was very stupid like a sheep. But sheep are very reliant upon shepherds. If they aren’t sheared they can look like this. The 9-year-old wooly wanderer had avoided shepherds and shearers. For six years, he roamed before he was spotted. They don’t attempt to clean themselves like most animals do (they stink). In a dry and stony land (not Wales) they rely on a shepherd to lead them to pasture and water. To protect them from wild animals like, wolves, bears and lions. They are prone to wander and get into all sort of trouble, which means they need leadership, guidance and protection that is probably uppermost. I have never once come across some escaped sheep running across the road here in around Oxford and Abingdon. Yet this happened quite often. It caused mayhem with the traffic. Sometimes accidents happen. One dark evening I knocked over and killed a sheep that had strayed onto the road. David, clearly a very resourceful and talented person, nevertheless felt God was like his shepherd in life.
You could be forgiven for thinking as you read this Psalm that David had an easy life. That it was idyllic. Yet the story of his life shows that he was overlooked as a boy, he was often left to his own devices looking after sheep, his brothers didn’t hold him in high regard, when Saul became jealous of him he spent years a hunted man, living in caves. On at least one occasion his own men talked about stringing him up. His children warred among themselves, some even raped and killed each other. Later in life his own son turned against him, humiliated him and led a rebellion against him, before ending up dead - this broke his heart. On those occasions David wrote Psalms that reflected his mood. But in between these times he could reflect and speak of how God basically took care of him. David was no stranger to stress, worry and anxiety - but with the Lord as Shepherd he had a resilience. So can we….
· Provision – I shall not want – when we know that God is supplying all our needs. What do you need right now, really need, not merely want? Whatever your greatest need is at this moment God is supplying it. You may think that this or that is your need, but the fact is God knows what it is and will & is supplying it. When you were in bed asleep, he is supplying it. We need to have faith in the Lord as our shepherd, that at any given moment we have all that we need. What we will need is being provided. David was conscious of this, are we. Are we lying awake worried about whether the financial need will be provided, the need for a job, the need for a partner, for a home…? Let us remind ourselves “I shall not want”. There have been times when I have worried. I have worried over finding a place to live we could afford – God provided. I worried about how we were going to pay off debt – God is providing. I shall not want, every need will be supplied, believe it!
· Rest, Restoration & Peace – he is the restorer of our souls, he can refresh us by his Spirit. Do you feel as if you could do with some spiritual restoration, spiritually refreshment? When the Lord is your Shepherd it’ll happen. The picture painted here is one of peace, of utter tranquillity, of serenity. When we go on holiday one of the things we love about the place we go is the peace. It is quiet, very quiet. There are the noises of nature, the wind, the beautiful scenery, it is refreshing and so peaceful. David says the Lord leads him to that sort of place inside. When Teen Challenge were with us, at least one person spoke of the peace he had found. Sometimes I like to go for a nice walk and pray at the same time, it is so peaceful and restoring. The point is that our relationship with God can be a source of great inner peace and serenity, a place of refuge from the stresses and strains. Are we availing ourselves of this? If not, why not this weekend, go for a walk, just tell God all about it, Sing a worship song, speak in tongues…
· Guidance – he keeps us on the straight and narrow. Sheep are prone to wander and so are we. That is when we get into trouble, that’s when we make a mess of things. But if the Lord is our Shepherd he will keep us on the straight and narrow. He is guiding us even when we don’t know it. So much of guidance is us being led by conscience, by the Word of God and its principles. Led is the Word too. Our idea of a shepherd & sheep is of a Western shepherd driving the sheep before him. But the Eastern Shepherd went ahead of the sheep and sheep followed him. God does not drive us along, yelling at us, with a dog snapping at our heels. He leads and because we trust him we follow for he only leads us in the path of righteousness.
· Protection – when we go through death valley we know we have God at our side. When I was talking to Marie the other day at the hospital following her stroke, her attitude was whatever happens the Lord is with me. It means that if we have those who are giving us a hard time, it’s as if we are eating a 6 course dinner in front of them. It’s not putting me off my food. God’s presence and promises comfort us because we know that in God we cannot lose as he will work things out according to his own purpose. The early American Indians had a unique practice of training young braves. On the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, after learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, he was put to one final test. He was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then, he had never been away from the security of the family and the tribe. But on this night, he was blindfolded and taken several miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of a thick woods and he was terrified! Every time a twig snapped, he visualized a wild animal ready to pounce. After what seemed like an eternity, dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. It was his father. He had been there all night long. Did you know God was there all along?
· Abiding Presence – David is clearly conscious of God’s abiding presence with him. Do we have that. Do we have those times when we sense God is near. It could be as we go for a walk. Some like to find it at the top of a mountain, mountains are places in the bible where people had encounters with God – Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Sermon on the Mount, Transfiguration etc. On a couple of occasion I have been in a Cathedral when the choir was practising and it did it for me. But whether we feel it or not he has promised to always be with us. In the Narnia book the Horse and his Boy, The story centres around a boy called Shasta, a lad who was brought up by a man who wasn’t his father and was mean to him. It turns out as a baby he was a survivor of a shipwreck. Eventually he finds his way to Narnia. But along the way he encounters lions that chase them. One night he has to travel a dangerous route in the pitch dark and becomes conscious of something walking alongside him in fear of the lion .Read p.129-130. When he looks back at the dangerous journey he sees he travelled unknowingly on a narrow mountain path protected by this lion. This is a picture of God’s abiding presence in our lives so that we can say…..
· Love, mercy, grace and goodness – the bottom line was David knew that he could enjoy God’s love, mercy & grace all the days of his life. Can we identify with any of that? Because if we can’t we can. God wants to shepherd us.
Conclusion
How can we know God as our Shepherd?
- Give our lives to Jesus
- If we have done this by inviting the Lord to be our Shepherd, practising the presence of God, making time to walk with God and to enjoy his presence, believe the promises of God.
