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Well, it is a joy to be with 
you. I think it was like seven years 
ago that my wife and I had the privilege of being here, and 
I had the privilege then of opening the scriptures. And so it's, 
again, my joy and privilege to do that. And I do very much appreciate 
the fellowship I've enjoyed with your pastor and his very succinct 
emails. It's always good to have that 
interaction. begin with by giving you greetings from your sister 
church there in the mountains of West Virginia, our mountains 
being a good bit shorter than yours, but nonetheless, mountains 
by East Coast standards. Your brethren there at Covenant 
Reform Baptist Church, we do pray for you, brethren, and it 
is a delight so to do. and to hear of God's blessing 
and how he has used you, especially now with the church plant and 
then the situation in Vernon as well, and just what God is 
doing here in your midst. We're truly grateful. Well, I 
would ask you to open your Bibles, please, to Psalm 23. Psalm 23. How familiar are you with this 
psalm? Perhaps you can quote it. I would 
think you at least know a good deal about the psalm, certain 
statements in it. It's very well known, and because 
it is so well known, there can be a reluctance to actually preach 
on it. Well, sure, everybody knows this. 
In fact, that's what gave rise to my preaching on this not too 
terribly long ago in Bluefield. We were in our regular scripture 
reading, and we were in Psalm 23, and I thought, you know, 
I've never preached it. After 20 plus years, never preached 
it. Well, it was a reluctance. But also, there can be a failure 
on the part of the Lord's people to spend time really looking 
at it. Sure, we know it. We've got the 
gist of it, and we're ready to leave it at that, giving it a 
little further thought. Well, even so, as you, I'm sure, 
agree, this psalm deserves our attention, perhaps especially 
because it is so well-known, and we can just take it for granted 
without really thinking the truths through and feeling the impress 
upon our own souls. So let's start with the reading 
of it then. Notice now Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall 
not want. He makes me to lie down in green 
pastures. He leads me beside the still 
waters. He restores my soul. He leads 
me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. 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. You prepare a table before me 
in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. 
My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall 
follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the 
house of the Lord. forever. May God be pleased to 
grant his blessing on his word. Now, as you know, this is recognized 
as a psalm of David, a man who himself was, had been, a shepherd. In fact, it begs the question, 
was this pinned even in those early days when he was a shepherd 
and reflecting on these things in that context? Well, You recall 
how our Lord Jesus in John 10 spoke of a hireling, how the 
hireling, he sees the wolf and he flees because they're not 
his sheep, he doesn't care about the sheep. Well, David himself, 
as a shepherd, was no hireling. He can say in 1 Samuel 17, how 
he had actually rescued sheep from both lion and bear. He knew what it was to care about 
the sheep. He himself had been a good shepherd 
in that sense. Well, when David here wrote then, 
the Lord, Jehovah, is my shepherd, it was with a view to what a 
true shepherd is, one who truly cares about the sheep and one 
who will do whatever is needed for the good of those sheep. And so in that sense, there's 
a comparison, but at the same time, there's a contrast. It's 
no mere man who is my shepherd, but rather it's the true and 
living God, it's the creator and ruler over all. It's that 
covenant-making, covenant-keeping, self-existent, altogether glorious 
God. He is the one who's my shepherd, 
I am his, I belong to him and he is entirely for me and has 
that shepherd's heart and that infinite wisdom and that limitless 
ability in all of his dealings with me. That's David's posture 
here as he's writing these words. Now, David does not tell us how 
it is that Jehovah became his shepherd. No mention of his own 
native state, that of all of us. Remember Isaiah 53, 6, all 
we like sheep have gone astray, each has turned to his own way. or how the Bible, Old Testament 
and New, speaks of people in their native state as sheep without 
a shepherd, and it speaks of them as being in a bad way and 
helpless, etc., by that kind of language. Well, that's the 
native state of all. Well, the idea of a shepherd and sheep, 
surely that bespeaks a relationship, a relationship which is not ours 
in our native condition. As we came into this world, we 
come in all sheep going astray." So for anyone who can truly say, 
the Lord is my shepherd, well, it's only because they have been 
made his. David does not go into that here, 
but it would include being rescued from sin, rescued from Satan, 
rescued from so many evils by God's amazing grace. Remember 
how the Lord Jesus spoke more than once about the shepherd 
going after lost sheep, and he himself says, I am the good shepherd, 
and he came seeking that which was lost. Well, again, it underscores 
that man in his native condition, he doesn't know this God as his 
shepherd. Even in the Old Testament, Ezekiel 
34, Psalm 119, it speaks of God himself coming, seeking his lost 
sheep. It all points to a special relationship 
with the true and living God that is entirely by grace. All 
we like sheep, gone astray, turned our own way, even so here is 
a man born a sinner who would nonetheless say the Lord. is 
my shepherd." And what great grace that bespeaks. And of course, 
we see this from our New Covenant perspective of God manifest in 
the flesh, coming to seek and to save that which is lost, the 
one who can say, I'm the good shepherd and I lay down my life 
for the sheep. Well, we have even greater light, 
if you please, than did David in that regard. Well, David does 
not go into how it is that he came to belong to the Lord, but 
rather his focus in this psalm is more on the blessings of belonging 
to the Lord. He speaks especially of blessings 
that were his, but obviously they're not only his. He's not 
speaking of, well, this is something peculiar, something exclusive 
to me. The rest of you lot, you don't get these things. No, no. 
He's speaking in terms of belonging to the Lord as his sheep. The 
Bible uses that language even in the Old Testament of God's 
flock, not only corporately, but individually. And in fact, 
there's something very precious about David speaking here in 
that very personal way. The Lord is my shepherd, not 
to the exclusion of being the shepherd of all of his people. 
He is that as well. But as one commentator has said, 
David here shows God to be a shepherd who is interested in each Sheep. It's not just, well, we're the 
flock of God generally. No, no, each, no, it's me, my 
shepherd. You remember again how the Lord 
Jesus spoke of that shepherd going out seeking, leaving the 
99 to seek that one that was lost, that individual attention. 
So when David's here writing in the first person, here's what 
God is to me, it's not just a subjective thing, but he's saying here is 
blessing that belongs to those who belong to the Lord. If you 
belong to the Lord, then the blessings that are listed here, 
they belong to you. The Lord is indeed your shepherd. 
Well, rather than going through this psalm verse by verse, what 
I propose to do is to sum it up, look at it under four heads, 
the four blessings that are here clearly stated. And as we do, 
I would have you to note that the emphasis in this psalm is 
especially on the here and now, your life, Christian, right now, 
okay? He closes with, and I will dwell 
in the house of the Lord forever. So that's our eternal blessedness. But the rest of this is really 
in something of a contrast, as if he's saying, I have this and 
this and this and this now, and then I have that forever, okay? So that is, again, how David 
opens up this psalm. Well, first that he mentions 
really in order here is that God provides for his own. Now, of course he does. I mean, 
after all, Psalm 136, he gives food to all flesh. Or you come 
to the New Testament, Acts 17, 25, he gives to all life and 
breath and all things. Well, of course he provides for 
his own. He provides for everybody. Yes, and surely, if he provides 
for his own, how much more so, sorry, if he provides for all, 
how much more so his own special people, right? But David is not 
simply thinking in terms of, well, generically, it's the Lord 
is my shepherd, and therefore the first thing he says is, I 
shall not want. I will lack nothing. And this 
opening statement goes beyond all the other matters, the material 
supply and so forth, that would perhaps normally come to mind. 
It includes all the other matters that are included in this psalm, 
but certainly would include the Lord providing our daily bread. Remember how David can write 
in Psalm 37, I once was young and now I'm old and all my days 
I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging 
bread. No good thing will God withhold 
from those who walk uprightly, or our Lord Jesus there in that 
well-known Sermon on the Mount, speaking of how our great God 
feeds the birds and clothes the grass of the field, but he underscores, 
and he's your Father in heaven, if he so cares for mere creatures, 
birds, and even grass in the field, how much more so for his 
own dear children. Well, David is underscoring, 
he's opening that up, throughout this psalm. When he talks about, 
in verse 2, being led to those green pastures and by still waters, 
well, from a sheep standpoint, what more could you want? That's 
going to include all necessary material supply. And then in 
the last two verses, the imagery changes from the shepherd with 
the sheep to that of a host spreading out a table in order to provide 
even a lavish feast. Remember how David can say, he 
prepares his table before me in the presence of my enemies. 
And while not limiting that to just material supply, surely 
that is a natural suggestion that arises from this. And indeed 
that God provides even abundantly. So he says, my cup runs over, 
this overflowing supply. Now without at all countenancing 
that so-called prosperity gospel, which is no gospel at all. we 
mustn't lose sight of a basic truth of Scripture, that God 
is very, very generous. As I say, he gives food to all 
flesh, but especially if he's feeding birds of the air and 
clothing grass of the field, and he is our Father in heaven, 
then it's very right that we should see his hand and his heart 
in our daily provision. Nobody here looks so emaciated 
by starvation that you're ready to just drop off the face of 
the planet here, so I'm assuming that you, like we in Bluefield, 
see God's provision even abundantly. day by day. He's proven himself 
to be very generous. You remember how the Lord Jesus 
was opening that up in Matthew chapter 6, saying, don't be like 
the Gentiles, just all you can eat, all you can drink, and that's 
all life is about. God provides, so you can get 
on seeking first God's kingdom and God's righteousness. Now, 
it's true that we may not always have an abundant supply of material 
goods, various reasons, trials, persecution, maybe even the fruit 
of our wrong decisions, God teaching us like he did Paul to be content 
in whatever state we are in. But even so, materially, isn't 
it true, brethren, God provides, he's very generous, and it is 
right for us to trace back our daily bread, not only to God's 
hand in providence, but to God's heart towards us, not simply 
as his creatures, but as his children. I say all of that to 
say this. If God so provides materially, 
abundantly, so generously, how much more so does he provide 
for his children spiritually? And I believe that is something 
of the emphasis here in Psalm 23. David's concern isn't simply 
a literal table spread out in the wilderness for him, but rather 
God doing great spiritual good. This is the argument even from 
Romans 8.32, if God spared not his own son. but delivered him 
up for us all. How will he not also with him 
freely give us all things? Paul in that context, I doubt 
seriously, is thinking about bread and water here, okay? He's 
thinking in terms of every spiritual blessing that is ours in Christ 
Jesus, as he writes there in Ephesians chapter one. God's 
abundant blessing, as Peter puts it, He's given us all things 
pertaining to life and godliness, even these great and exceeding 
promises that we should be conformed to the divine image by way of 
God's moral character. All we need, grace, cleansing, 
every spiritual blessing. and how then that is reflected 
in the words there, a spiritual equivalent in verse 2 of God 
making us to lie down in green pastures and leading us beside 
still waters. You think of the many days of 
peace, of spiritual refreshment, of God prospering us, or even 
as he says here in verse 3, he restores my soul, a quickening 
that comes especially after being weary or overwhelmed. Well, surely you know something 
of that. You've experienced times perhaps 
of being greatly troubled, downcast, or maybe it's just spiritually 
dull, even to the point of a spiritual declension. And yet at times 
it seems almost quite unexpectedly, God comes to your soul and revives 
and quickens you and refreshes you with his own spirit and gives 
you an increased measure of his felt presence and love for Christ, 
et cetera. You've known times of reviving, 
restoring in your soul, right? Well, that's something of what 
David is here glorying in. Here's what he does. Whatever 
the case, whatever the cause, reviving is needed. came and 
he provided that spiritual refreshment to my soul and quickened me in 
the inner man. When he goes on to say in verse 
5, my cup runs over, surely God gives the experiential spiritual 
blessedness beyond what we can contain. Remember Peter writes 
about a joy unspeakable and full of glory. That's not talking 
about our eternal bliss. That's talking about in the here 
and now. You've known something of that, dear brother, dear sister, 
right? Well, that's what David is here saying. This is the blessedness 
God does exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think. 
You see his generosity. If he provides so for us materially, 
oh, think of what he gives us yet more spiritually in and through 
Jesus Christ. Remember how our Savior said, 
it's the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. And 
in using that kind of language there in Luke 12, it's to underscore 
God's generosity, not just by way of bread on the table, but 
by way of that spiritual refreshment in God's working by the Holy 
Spirit. Remember Paul's statements there 
in Ephesians, that lofty prayer that we should be filled with 
all the fullness of God, whatever that means. It certainly speaks 
of God, again, doing great and marvelous things in the soul. 
God provides. That's one of the things that 
David is saying. See his generosity. And for you, dear brother, dear 
sister, see God's abundant generosity. You too can say no less than 
David, I shall not want, I will lack absolutely nothing, not 
by way of temporal need, but even more, every spiritual blessing, 
all we need for life and godliness. But David doesn't stop at, well, 
that's all you get, right? Rather, he also underscores repeatedly 
here that God protects. His own. He speaks of God's watchful 
care, even as a major emphasis. Now the very idea of a shepherd 
surely conveys that, right? The idea of protecting. Remember 
in Luke chapter two, those shepherds out on the field, the angel came 
and said, the Savior is born in Bethlehem. Well, what were 
those shepherds doing in the middle of the night out in the 
field? Just kind of hanging out, you know, maybe, well, they couldn't 
play hockey in those days, but soccer perhaps or something, 
right? No, what were they doing? Well, they were watching their 
sheep because that's what shepherds do. They guard, they protect, 
they're there. Or David himself was a shepherd 
and a lion came, took a sheep, a bear came, took a sheep, went 
after them both. That's what shepherds protect. So the very 
opening words, the Lord is my shepherd, it would communicate 
that. And even the picture of peace 
there, being made to lie down in those green pastures. And 
here you've got these lovely still waters there flowing by. You got helpless sheep, maybe 
easily spooked. And yet they're unmolested, they're 
enjoying, they're at peace. Why? Well, not just because they 
happen to have found that, but no, it's the idea of they're 
protected by our infinite and loving shepherd. Or even when 
David comes down to verse four and says, I will fear no evil. I will not be afraid of possible 
calamity. Why? Well, because protected 
by our great and glorious God. and even speaks of those instruments 
of the shepherd, your rod, your staff, they comfort me. I'm protected 
by these things, the shepherd, the staff, et cetera, defending 
from beasts or that shepherd's crook to rescue a straying sheep, 
guiding them along the way. It's because of you, you're with 
me, you're protecting me. All pointing to that as in every 
potential danger, God himself. being there and protecting David. That's what he's rejoicing in 
and recognizing. And of course, that would include 
even protecting David and protecting us from ourselves. You know, 
when the Lord Jesus said, I give my sheep eternal life and they 
shall never perish, neither shall any snatch them from my hand. Well, it means absolutely no 
danger can befall us by way of we're protected from by that 
savior, even from ourselves. Perhaps you've heard the silliness 
of it. It doesn't mean they can't jump out of his hand. Well, let's 
not be silly here, right? No, it means he saves and he 
keeps, he protects as our good shepherd. Well, it's interesting 
that when David speaks of God providing this table, he says 
it's in the presence of my enemies. Why does he add that, the presence 
of my enemies, except to underscore God's protection? And you've 
got enemies about, enemies who would devour who are right there 
present. And yet, no bother. His people enjoy the feast without 
fear because God himself, that good shepherd, that loving host, 
he protects his own. Now, his very words show that 
does not mean there are no dangers out there, right? The very wording 
shows that there are dangers. You've got enemies. And of course, 
in David's case, he had many enemies and many who truly, literally 
wanted him dead, and yet even though there are enemies in the 
plural who would harm him, he could say, no, no, God still 
protects me and provides for me even in that kind of context. Or when he says in verse three, 
the Lord restores my soul, what does that mean? But there are 
times that restoration is needed, even greatly needed. Well, why 
would that be? Well, due to problems, being 
weary or overwhelmed or dull or in a declension or whatever 
the case might be. In other words, these are not 
good states. And yet, even so, he restores. I've got problems, 
but he still is there. Circumstances, problems, things 
that would overwhelm his people, he's still engaged in protecting 
and doing good. In fact, he says in verse 4, 
even though there is a valley of a shadow of death, he still 
protects. Now, what does that mean, valley 
of the shadow of death? Well, Job uses it in Job 10 to speak 
of death itself. Or it could speak of the act 
of dying, the dark shadow that it casts as one is entering into 
the death throes, as it were. Bunyan in his Pilgrim's Progress, 
he used it to speak of any time of great sadness and darkness 
and trial. The language certainly points 
to that which could cause a sense of impending doom, the valley 
of the shadow of death. And by valley, it doesn't mean 
a lovely fertile valley like the Fraser Valley here. but rather 
it would be more like the Maline Canyon that you have up in Jasper, 
if you've ever been there, this very narrow chasm of a thing 
that is, you know, the very hills being so closed in like a gorge 
that you don't see any sunshine there, any daylight. And so this 
canyon itself, this narrow gorge is casting a dark shadow over 
everything. Well, that's something of what 
David is here describing, causing this, sense of dread while under 
the shadow, even such as is caused by death or is like unto death. And true it is that if the Lord 
tarries, everyone in this room will die. Saved and unsaved alike, 
right? And for us as the Lord's people, 
even though we know, as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5, to be 
absent of the body is to be present with the Lord, or Philippians 
chapter 1, to depart and be with Christ is far better. We know 
that. Even though we know, as Hebrews 
2 puts it, that the Lord Jesus Christ has delivered us from 
bondage to the fear of death, even so, the Bible does still 
speak of death, physical death, as an enemy, right? It's an unnatural 
rending of the soul from the body, and it can bring with it 
the fear of the unknown. We've not passed that way before. And then the act of dying itself 
can be very painful, difficult, protracted. You think of how 
Bunyan captured this, too, with even regard to Christians' lack 
of assurance. Remember, as Christian and Hopeful 
are crossing the river, and Christian's not feeling the bottom. He's 
kind of shaken. Of course, it was Hopeful who 
said, no, no, I feel the bottom and it's solid, not to worry. 
But the point is, Bunyan's capturing the fact that Christians may 
not always die with a great sense of assurance and comfort in their 
souls. It can happen. It's a valley 
of the shadow of death. And who knows what kind of deep, 
dark valleys, like unto death itself, that we will pass through 
in the meantime. It's quite possible. David's 
using a language that shows this is not something peculiar, not 
something uncommon. Rather, there is that valley 
of the shadow of death. And yet he can say with no hesitation, 
I will fear no evil. And that's not a personal boast. 
You know, I'm a good military guy. I'm not afraid of anybody. 
No, it's all, as he says, for you are with me. All because 
I see your rod, I see your staff. He knew that God would protect 
him even then, be it trials as dark as death, whatever they 
might be, be it in the act of dying or entering into death 
itself. In fact, he closes on that note, 
you recall. I will dwell in the house of 
the Lord forever. Whatever comes in the meantime, 
God will protect. And then come that day, I will 
dwell in the house of the Lord forever. And he says also there 
in verse six, that every day in the meantime, all the days 
of my life, God's goodness, God's mercy shall follow me. That will 
be my portion until all the way to the end in which it's in the 
house of the Lord forever. David realized he was protected. 
Well, do you realize, dear brother, dear sister, that you, no less, 
are protected, no less. Is this your shepherd? Doesn't 
mean trials won't come. Doesn't mean death won't come. 
Doesn't mean that we're somehow going to be exempt from hard 
times. No, no, Jesus himself said, in 
this world, you will have tribulation. Bank on it. We have enemies, 
not like David's enemies, but nonetheless, we all have that 
enemy of our souls who goes about like a roaring lion, seeking 
whom he may devour, right? We're all engaged in that spiritual 
war. We've all got our ongoing struggle with remaining corruption, 
like the Apostle Paul, when I would do good, evil's present with 
me. And you know the grief that that 
causes. And as I've said, if the Lord 
tarries, we will die. But we can say Psalm 23, four, 
no less than David. Even in the dark valley, even 
that valley of the shadow of death, with all the impending 
doom, I'll fear no evil. You're with me. Jesus gives his 
sheep eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any 
snatch them from his hand. We have greater light, if you 
please, than David from our new covenant perspective, the coming. 
the Messiah. So we see the blessings that 
David is articulating throughout this psalm, God's provision, 
God's protection. But then David also emphasized 
that God gives great consolation to his people. You know how Paul 
wrote in 2 Corinthians 1 describing God as the God of all comfort 
or encouragement. Well, great comfort and encouragement 
and encouraged heart even in hard times, frightening times 
and the like. And how clear this is as an emphasis 
here when David says here in verse four, that in that valley 
of the shadow of death, whatever it is, it's very discomforting. 
And it's noteworthy that he does not say your rod and your staff, 
they protect me, though that's true, but you know the sword, 
you know the wording. your rod and your staff, they 
comfort, they encourage me. Protected, yes, after the fact, 
he's encouraging what God has done, but he's saying even in 
the midst of that deep, dark valley again, whatever it may 
be, there's this encouragement that he's experiencing, knowing 
that God is for him, that God, it was his shepherd, were his 
sheep. And therefore, this great consolation, 
this great encouragement, comfort from that knowledge that God 
is his shepherd even then and always. Or again, when he comes 
to verse 2 and he speaks of those green pastures and that still 
water. That speaks not only of God's provision, and it even 
speaks beyond God's protection. What a very comfortable situation 
or condition, right? And if you were a sheep, come 
on, you've got this nice tender shoots of grass there, a lovely 
stream, there's still water you can drink from, not trying to 
get water out of a fire hydrant or something, right? It speaks 
of a very comfortable position. Well, that's what God gives, 
such consolation, regardless of what's going on in the world. 
And this is further seen in those words in verse three that I've 
already referred to. He restores my soul, overwhelmed, downcast, 
gripped with sadness or fear or the like, and God comes and 
restores. And the idea, again, it's encouraging, 
giving comfort to the soul, and not just some kind of emotional 
fix. Well, I got a little bit of a pet me up here from God 
and I feel good now. Well, it's the idea, and you 
know this, dear brother, dear sister, you know this in your 
own experience. of God coming with his truth. Your pastor made 
reference earlier to Romans 8.28, that even in hard times, I would 
venture to say that every Christian here has sucked sweetness from 
that flower. You know, when some great trial 
that has come upon you, or some all of a sudden surprisal that 
grips you, and yet the text comes. And we know all things work together 
for good to those who love God, to those called according to 
his purpose. And then you don't stop there, but you go on verse 
29. Whom he foreknew, he predestined to be conformed to the image 
of his own son, that he should be the firstborn among many brethren. 
And you recognize that even these trials, they come to make you 
more like Christ. and you've drawn great encouragement. 
Well, that's God himself, that rod and staff, not just protecting 
you, but rather God himself and his promises coming to comfort 
you. Or those words I've already referred 
to, John 16, 33, when our Lord Jesus said, in this world, you 
will have tribulation, but he doesn't stop there. But be of 
good cheer, I have overcome the world." Texts like that, truths 
like that, so much so that even remember how James says, to count 
it all joy, when you encounter these various or diverse trials, 
God's using these to produce patience. Let patience have her 
perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking 
nothing. God comes with His truth and encourages your heart. You 
know what I'm talking about. You've experienced that. You 
could give me, I'm sure, the time to take particular instances 
where you have been overwhelmed and discouraged, brought low, 
and yet God brings His truth to bear on your mind and your 
heart and lifts the spirit. Again, not just an emotional 
fix, but great truth upholding you. Peter can talk about various 
trials have come on you, and you're now grieved through this, 
a real sense of heaviness, and yet he also speaks of rejoicing, 
because you know you've got this inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, 
not fading away, and you now look ahead to that with great 
joy and rejoicing, knowing that you are kept by the power of 
God through faith for that blessedness. When he speaks here in verse 
five of the table being spread and pictures God as a host, you 
anoint my head with oil. Now I've seen, perhaps you have, 
a picture of a sheep with oil being poured on his head. I don't 
think that that's really what David is envisioning, because 
as I've said in verse five, he shifts the picture from a shepherd 
to a host. And it's the idea of a table 
being spread, and a host would do this. Remember even in Luke 
7, when Jesus was invited to a meal there with Simon the Pharisee, 
and one of the things that he had left out, the niceties, you 
know, you didn't kiss me, but you didn't anoint my head with 
oil." It's not some ritual. Or we recall in 2 Chronicles 
how you've got some who'd been taken captive out of Judah, and 
the people of Samaria saying, you know, wait a minute, we deserve 
God's judgment. What are we doing here? And so 
they not only fed them and clothed them, but they anointed them. 
It's not a ritual. It's a health and beauty aid. 
It's something that a kind host would do. Again, Simon the Pharisee 
failed to do that there in Luke chapter 7. So what he's saying, 
he anoints my head with oil, was the idea of comfort. It's 
the idea of encouragement. It's extending a warm welcome 
and even giving honor. That's the idea here. as he comes 
to give great comfort and consolation and encouragement and welcomes 
me readily. That's what David is saying. 
And then he's encouraged too by the truth that God's goodness 
and mercy were his portion all his days, every one of those 
days, irrespective of what those days were. But he says, goodness, 
mercy, follow me. And it's actually the idea of 
pursuing me, chasing me, ever close at hand, each and every 
day, everywhere I go, here, God's goodness, God's mercy, pursuing 
me and overtaking me. Again, the idea of rich encouragement. And then of course, at last, 
we have what Paul referred to in 2 Thessalonians as everlasting 
consolation. What David here speaks of is, 
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. When God 
himself will wipe away all tears, no more pain, no more sorrow, 
no more crying, no more death, God making all things new. And 
again, we dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Whatever happens in the meantime. 
David was encouraged by all of this. In fact, David, in even 
that Old Testament light, he's looking ahead to his eternal 
blessedness dwelling in the house of the Lord forever, and he's 
drawing great consolation and comfort in that when he's pinning 
these words. I have all of this in the meantime, 
and when we're done, I have this unendingly forever and ever and 
ever. And he's drawing great consolation. Let me ask you, is that so with 
you? How mindful are you of our eternal 
blessedness? As you know, the Bible doesn't 
speak on this just once or twice. It's throughout Old Testament 
and New. Our eternal blessedness, all because of God's grace to 
us in Jesus Christ. Do you think of it? Are you mindful 
of it? Are you enjoying your blessedness 
even here and now? That's what Peter's talking about 
when he's saying, though now for a time, if need be, you're 
grieved by these hard trials, yet even so you're rejoicing 
because you're looking ahead to that glorious, undefiled, 
unfading inheritance that is ours again, all because of God's 
grace. Well, that's the consolation 
that David was here speaking of. He comforts my soul. But then in addition, Another 
emphasis found throughout a facet of our blessedness is the Lord's 
presence with his people. Now I got three Ps there, right? 
God provides, God protects, and God's presence. And I couldn't 
find a synonym that began with P for comfort. If you find one, 
I would be grateful to hear it, okay? So, but anyway, so here 
we have the fourth blessing that at least I would open up from 
this, that runs throughout the Psalm, is God's presence. Now again, as I've already said, 
it's gonna be God's presence forever. When it talks about 
dwelling in the house of the Lord forever, he's not envisioning 
some tabernacle, that would be before the days of that Old Testament 
temple being built, he's talking about dwelling where God dwells, 
being with God forever in that eternal blessedness. However 
much he understood of what that would involve, he knew it would 
at least involve being with God himself. And surely this is set 
forth in scripture as what makes heaven heaven, right? being with the Lord himself, 
our never-ending blessedness. Even upon dying, that disembodied 
or intermediate state to be absent from the body is to be present 
with the Lord, to depart and be with Christ, far better. But that's not the end. We don't 
live eternally in a disembodied state, the spirits of just men 
made perfect, but rather, as you know, comes the day when 
Christ comes and he raises these bodies and body and spirit are 
reunited and glorified together with Christ. And as Paul says, 
writing of this in 1 Thessalonians, and there shall we ever be with 
the Lord and Jesus himself said that if I go to prepare a place 
I'm going to come again to receive you to myself that where I am 
there you may be also and whatever glories it involves it especially 
involves this he is there we shall be with Him. In fact, even 
that eternal state as pictured in Revelation 21 and 22, it speaks 
of, as it were, a heaven and earth merging and becoming one, 
and God's people before Him. And we're told there in chapter 
22, they shall see His face, enjoying God's glorious presence. I find it interesting that picture 
that Jesus gave of the judgment day in Matthew 25, all nations 
gathered before him, the sheep on the right and the goats on 
the left. And it's not simply judging of 
nations, but all the individuals who constitute those nations. 
Remember, as you've done to the least of these, my brethren, 
you've got that, right? You're familiar with that. It's 
interesting that when Jesus speaks to the unsaved, to those who 
forever perish, his word to them is depart from me. His word to his people is come, 
come. Yes, it is receiving that kingdom 
prepared for us, but the point is the very word, come. Coming 
to be especially with him. Well, that is our eternal blessedness. As Psalm 16 puts it, in God's 
presence is fullness of joy, at his right hand, pleasures 
forevermore, without interruption. That's our future, the Lord's 
presence. That makes heaven heaven. But 
our blessedness is not simply that unceasing enjoyment of God's 
presence in the future. David's emphasis in this psalm, 
as I already said, is on the here and now. What was then his 
portion, even at this time in this world? And we see that especially, 
that even in that valley of the shadow of death, there in verse 
four, you are with me. not just in the valley of the 
shadow of death, but even in the valley of the shadow of death. And it's not simply that, yes, 
he's the omnipresent God. He's everywhere present, nowhere 
absent. No, no, David's speaking of this in a more personal sense 
of God manifesting his presence and his glory, a deliberate accompanying 
with his people. That's the idea here, as my shepherd, 
not just as the omnipresent God, you are with me, even in this 
world, even in that deep, dark valley, whatever that was. And 
the idea of a shepherd surely suggests that, right? I mean, 
shepherd's not out for lunch somewhere, you know, sheep will 
take care of them. He's with the sheep, come on, 
that's what he does. He's right there with them, extending 
his care and so forth. Even here in the psalm, actively 
making us to lie down in green pastures. doing his people good, 
not from a distance, but right there present. More than once, 
David here speaks of, he leads me. He leads me in the paths 
of righteousness. He leads me by the still waters. He's leading, 
not again from a distance, but as one very present with his 
people. And David's speaking very personal 
here, not just he leads all of us corporately along. Yeah, that's 
true, but no, me as an individual, God present with me, even in 
this world. I mean, the Lord Jesus spoke 
of his people as they hear his voice and they follow him. Well, 
yes, okay, we know that means obeying. But it's the idea of 
being with him so much so that he says that none shall snatch 
him from his hand. That's pretty close. You're held in somebody's 
hand. That's their presence right there with you, right? That's 
the picture we have here. That even in this world, God's 
present with his people. It not only conveys that by way 
of the sheep-shepherd analogy, but when we come to that second 
analogy, verse five especially, the Lord as a host. I mean, doesn't 
that again, he spreads the table right there? Not that he sends 
a servant and angels come and they spread the table and well, 
no, he is right there spreading that table and it's reflected 
Even in David's words, notice again, verse five, through much 
of the Psalm, he's saying the Lord is, he's talking about the 
Lord, but here he actually addresses him. You prepare a table before 
me in the presence of my hand. You anoint my head with oil. 
The idea, he's right here. It's not like, well, he's off 
in the stratosphere. No, he's right here preparing 
this table and anointing my head, et cetera. He's speaking to God 
as one very aware of God's presence with him. Do you pray that way? 
I mean, after all, he's the one who said, I'll never leave you 
nor forsake you, and heaped together five negatives to drive the point 
home there in Hebrews 13. Well, when you pray, do you recognize 
he's here? It's not like, well, you know, 20 universes away from 
here, he can still hear. He's there. He's present. He 
draws near to those who draw near to him. The idea of knowing 
God as near and real. Well, there you have just something 
of the blessedness that David is outlining in this psalm. There's 
more to be said, but certainly those are four prominent traits, 
not just mentioned once, but they're found running throughout 
the psalm. God provides, God protects, God 
comforts and encourages, and God is present with his people. Now, David could see that, again, 
as I've said, from that Old Testament perspective. If anything, brethren, 
we should be thrilled all the more because we understand it 
in the light of him who said, I'm the good shepherd and I lay 
down my life for the sheep. The one who came into this world 
to suffer and die and bear the wrath of God in the place of 
sinners like us. The one who, though he died, 
yet lives. And as Jesus himself said in John 10, 16, having said 
in verse 15, he laid down his life for the sheep. The very 
next verse, he foretells his resurrection. I have other sheep 
that are not of this fold. They're not Jewish, Gentiles. Them also I must bring. Point 
the fact that he'd be resurrected and ascended on high and gather 
in sinners like us and make us his own. Well, when you read 
Psalm 23, see it in light of him who is the good shepherd 
of the sheep. Now, there are a number of applications 
that come out of this psalm, especially from David's response. 
Okay, here's the truth, but it's not enough just to say, well, 
okay, we got truth now. How are we to respond to that 
truth? And God willing, I want to come to that this evening 
to look at David's responses as are set forth in this psalm. 
But the application I would give now really is vital to those 
applications, to those responses. If David's blessedness is our 
blessedness, our response should be as his response, right? That 
only makes sense. But leading to or necessary for 
that response is this. David was clearly aware of his 
blessedness, at least when he's pinning these words. He's writing 
of this very experientially. Here's something that he was 
aware of. This is me, this is the Lord, 
my shepherd, and because he's my, this is me, now and forever. Very aware of his blessings, 
right? Well, let me apply it that way. 
I speak to you as Christians now. Whether you're strong in 
the faith, weak in all kinds of struggles, whether you're 
mature, or a babe, or one who's still a babe, though you should 
by now be mature. Doesn't matter. The question 
I would ask you is this. How aware are you of your blessedness? The things that we see here, 
that's wonderful for you, David, but we didn't get that. No, no, 
no, no. This is us too, right? Us too. How aware are you? You know the psalm, right? Everyone, 
surely, you know something of the psalm. Perhaps you know it 
very, very, very well. Perhaps you can quote it out. 
But how conscious are you that all of this is as true of you 
as it was of David? Not only that you will dwell 
in the house of the Lord forever, but you have all of this present 
blessedness all the days of your life in the meantime. Are you 
always aware of that? Actually, I don't know that David 
was always aware of that. When I see some of the Psalms, you 
begin to think, yeah, he wasn't so aware of it at those times. 
But at least at this occasion, he was very, very aware. And 
all these blessings were always his, whether he had some subjective 
sense of them or not. But are you at least consistently 
aware of your blessedness? the Lord is your shepherd, and 
especially in light of Jesus Christ and every spiritual blessing 
that is yours in him. Even in specifics, not just, 
yeah, I'm a blessed man, I've got heaven, I've got salvation 
in me, but even specifics, like we see David focusing, the Lord 
does this, he leads me, the Lord does this, he provides for me, 
he protects me, always. Do you think in terms of your 
blessedness, how aware, how conscious are you of these things? And 
really, I should be asking this, how aware are you of your relationship 
to or with God? Because this all grows out of 
that. It's not just David's counting his blessings, naming them one 
by one, and, oh, I've got this, this, and this, and this. It 
all grows out of his relationship to God. That's the note on which 
he begins. It's the Lord. It's Jehovah. It's the true and 
living God. shepherd who's made me his and 
has that intense loving concern for me, that shepherd's heart, 
that limitless ability, and that infinite wisdom by which he deals 
with me in his grace. He's aware of his relationship 
with the Lord himself. I have all this blessedness because 
of who he is. and who he has made me to be 
by way of taking me to himself, though a sheep going astray, 
yet now recovered and belonging to the true and living God by 
his grace." Christian, that's you. Well, how aware are you 
of your relationship with the true and living God, not only 
as our shepherd, but as our Father in heaven? Is that real to you? Is he real to you? In the midst 
of day-to-day routine, the blessings that grow out of this. How real, 
how much even experiential delight do you have? David is here clearly 
delighting in these truths. He's not just listening to so 
many facts. Well, this, I got this, I got 
this. He's certainly not doing it by way of complaint. He's 
glorying in this, glorying in it's the Lord himself. He's my 
shepherd, all because of him. Even if we never recognize that, 
Yet this is still our blessedness. But brethren, he should be very 
real to our own consciousness, right? He's brought us into this 
blessed relationship. Are you more aware of your blessedness 
and your relationship to the true and living God in Christ 
than you are of your enemies? Are you more aware of Him than 
you are of your trials? Are you more aware of Him and 
your blessedness than you would be, say, in that valley, in that 
shadow, in that impending doom that you see all around you, 
whether it's a heavy trial or the approaching of death itself? 
No, it's still gonna be the Lord is my shepherd and my mind is 
very much on Him. He is still very real to my faith. 
Is your blessedness as real, more real than those things that 
now trouble you, than those things that would frighten you and give 
you that sense of impending doom? That's what we see going on here 
in David. Brethren, see what is true. Here's 
the application. See what is true of you, and 
believe it, and believe it. Mind you, it's true, as a Christian, 
it's true of you, even if you're failing to believe it. You might 
as well believe it then, right? I mean, just like Romans 8, 28, 
and we know all things work together, but it doesn't say, if they will 
believe, it doesn't say that. even if they refuse to believe 
it. It's still working for your good, so you might as well believe 
it. Sucks sweetness from that flower. Well, so too was Psalm 
23. I don't feel that way today. 
I feel kind of, you know, grumpy or feel kind of dull or feel 
kind of declension. You don't know my struggles with 
remaining corruption and what I've done. And this is still 
true. Therefore, believe it. Even think 
in these terms, brethren. This is what we see. We're going 
to see David's responses to these things, but these responses grew 
out of his consciousness of his relationship to God and his blessedness 
because of God's grace to him. Well, again, how aware are you 
of how you have that blessedness? How aware are you that it's because 
Christ came, that Good Shepherd, and he laid down his life for 
the sheep, and then raised, and exalted, and glorified, and laid 
hold upon you, and made you his own. How mindful are you? I am 
what I am by the grace of God, and what great grace. I was like 
a sheep going astray, going my own way, whatever way it was. 
It wasn't God's way, it was my way. But now by God's grace, 
I'm the very opposite, all because of Christ. Well, are you mindful 
of that? You are grateful. Right? You are grateful, but how consistently 
so? Well, only as consistently mindful 
of it as you might be, right? Is this our controlling reality? 
The Lord is my shepherd and I know how that happened, all because 
of saving grace in Christ. If we are as blessed as David, 
as I said, then our response to these things, these truths, 
should be as his. But if that's to be so, we need 
to start on this foot. We must be aware of our blessedness, 
even as David was when pinning this psalm. And therefore, let 
me just encourage you. You know Psalm 23? Well, then 
really know it. And if you're kind of a bit shady, 
some bits I can remember, some not, well, then look at it. Rehearse 
it before the Lord himself and recognize, this is not just David, 
this is me. And recognize how it's so. It's all because of 
Jesus Christ. Rehearsing the blessings, rehearsing, 
reminding yourself of the relationship. Believe it and think in these 
terms. Isn't that what Paul meant when 
he said, don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed 
by the renewing of your mind, that you actually are thinking 
in terms of what is true? All right, not just how I feel, 
some subjectivism, but here's what God has said. Well, brethren, 
there's the application for us. Now, the unsaved will sometimes 
quote or refer to Psalm 23 as even a source of comfort for 
themselves. Maybe you've seen even, you know, 
some of the old Westerns, you know, you have somebody who they've 
buried him and And nobody knows any portion of scripture what 
to say, but some scallywag will come along maybe and start quoting 
bits and pieces of Psalm 23. You ever seen that? They don't 
make Westerners like that anymore. I date myself, I suppose, in 
showing it. But you know, you get the unsaved. Liberal theologians, 
you know, they're happy to have some liberal preacher in a church 
and they'll quote Psalm 23 over this person who was clueless 
of the gospel all their days and died a rebel against God, 
but here they're going to now read Psalm 23 at their funeral. 
You've seen that. Can I say that's entirely a misappropriation 
of these words and the blessedness that is here described? Because the unsaved cannot say, 
the Lord is my shepherd. He's not their sheep going astray. It's very clearly seen by the 
fact that they are going their own way, whatever way it is. 
It doesn't say all we like sheep gone astray, each has gone the 
same way, no. our own way, be it over wickedness, 
be it religious hypocrisy, be it just living for this world, 
a nice guy with a lot of common grace and reasonable morality, 
good neighbor. Still, he's going his own way. 
It's not God's way. He's still living as a rebel against the 
true and living God. Jesus said, my sheep hear my 
voice. They hear in the gospel, they hear his word and they follow 
him. In that very context, in John 
10, Jesus said in the verse right before that, to some, you're 
not my sheep. You do not believe on me. You 
are not my sheep." They could not say, the Lord's my shepherd. 
No, he said, I'm not. Well, so it is with the unsaved 
still. And therefore they cannot say, 
I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. No, they will 
hear the Savior say, if they die in that impenitent state, 
depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for 
the devil and his angels. Well, what about you? Has Christ 
saved you? Are you still going your own 
way? Is he truly your shepherd? Or are you one living like a straying 
sheep? I don't care what God says, I wanna do what I wanna 
do. Oh, I'll go to church, I'll be 
religious, I'll be a nice guy, I'll be a, and hope that my good 
will outweigh my bad or et cetera, et cetera, but bottom line, never 
been laid hold of by the good shepherd, you're still going 
your own way. When the Bible speaks of people 
as sheep without a shepherd, that's not a flattering picture, 
okay? Boy, look at them, how marvelous. No, it speaks of them 
in a very real sense, in a very dangerous way. In fact, not just 
in danger of being taken, But the unsaved are already taken. 
They've been overcome by their own sin, living as a slave to 
sin. More than that, already captured 
and held by Satan himself and all of his designs and evil, 
cruel devices against the soul of the ungodly. If you're here 
without Christ, you're sheep without a shepherd. It's Satan 
himself who has you in his grips. If it was an actual literal lion 
that had you, ready to devour you, I suspect you might be ready 
to cry out for somebody to give you a hand here, right? Well, 
it's far worse than a literal lion, but he's got you and he 
holds you tight. I've got good news for you. There's 
a shepherd who saves his sheep. One who calls sinners to repent 
and believe the good news. The one who suffered the just 
in place of the unjust, that he might bring us to God. The 
one who died to save sinners, who now lives to save sinners, 
and who saves, who lives and saves to the uttermost all who 
come to God by him. The one who said, repent and 
believe the good news. The one of whom Paul spoke when 
he said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved. Well, what about you? Are you 
his sheep, or your sheep going astray? Will you hear his voice 
now in the gospel? Will you even be saved? Or will 
you wait till that last day to hear him say, him say, depart 
from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil 
and his angels? What's it gonna be? My God have 
mercy, believe on the Lord Jesus. You will be saved. Let's pray. Our great and gracious God, our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for your rich mercy and kind 
grace to us in Jesus Christ. Lord, though like straying sheep, 
very much in our own rebellion, and we would not be controlled, 
and yet you have mercy upon us, oh God, that you would send your 
only begotten Son into this world for sinners like us. Lord Jesus, 
that you would suffer and die to pay the debt to receive the 
penalty for our sin. That you would then lay hold 
upon us and make us your own. And then all this rich blessedness 
that is ours. Oh, Father, grant that we would 
be very mindful of these things. Grant that our minds would be 
consciously and consistently occupied, not simply with the 
blessings that are ours, but rather the relationship that 
is ours, all because of your grace to us in Christ. It's in 
his name we pray. Amen. Please stand together and sing the doxology 
in praise to our God,