Series

This is the most familiar psalm in the Bible, and I’m sure most of you have read it and thought about it quite a bit, so let’s just jump right into it. It begins with a wonderful word-picture of the Lord as our Shepherd. He is our Shepherd, in both good and hard circumstances. First the good—in the pasture.

1. He meets our needs v.1; John 10:1-18
v.1, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. A shepherd in that day lived with his sheep, and was literally everything to them—he was their provider, their protector, their guide, everything. As sheep, we are not very smart, we have our heads down most of the time, so we don’t see the big picture, we don’t see where we ought to be going, we don’t always anticipate the danger we could be in, we wander off in search of more physical pleasures (grass or water)—we are completely dependent on the shepherd. That’s a perfect picture of how dependent we are on God.

But when we recognize that, and actually do depend on Him, then we “shall not be in want” of anything that we need. It does not mean that we will never want anything again. We live in a culture that constantly appeals to our sinful nature to want things that we don’t need, some of which are actually bad for us. But when we take our proper place as the sheep of the good shepherd, then we won’t lack anything we need. Ultimately, all we really need is God Himself. Even if our home and country are destroyed by an earthquake, like the one in Haiti, even if we die of dehydration or starvation because they couldn’t get the aid to us in time—even then, God provides all we really need, and will take us safely home to heaven.

Ultimately, our greatest need is the need to be saved from the consequences of our own sin. Jesus described Himself as our Good Shepherd in John 10. He said He knows us each by name; He leads us, like it says in v. 3 of this psalm; and most significantly, He lays down His life for His sheep. Picture yourself as a helpless sheep, obliviously munching on grass, with a mountain lion streaking toward you, with jaws and claws ready to tear you to shreds; then see Jesus stepping in between you and the lion, taking the lion’s attack on Himself instead. That’s the idea here, and it is simply astonishing. Why would He do that? The only answer is love. He did it out of love for us. He met our greatest need at the cost of His own life.

He makes us lie down in green pastures, where we can feed, be nourished, and rest. He feeds us with insights into the spiritual realities of life; He feeds us with friendships that mean so much to us; He feeds us especially with His Word, the Bible. If we will read it, meditate on it, pray over it, we will find ourselves strengthened and nourished. Last week, we came to His Table, and He fed us with Himself, represented by the bread and juice of communion.

He leads us beside still waters where we can drink in peace and be refreshed. God can use all sorts of things to refresh us: good news—like the news that our kids are doing well; a sunset; a blue spruce laden with snow; a grandchild's giggle; a friend's warm greeting; a good night's rest. These things may seem very ordinary and commonplace, but the Bible tells us that every good and perfect gift is from God—the Good Shepherd.

He restores my soul. Sorrow and grief drain our batteries. So does criticism; or too much work without a rest; or bitterness in our souls; or conflict with others. We feel as though something way down inside needs recharging. The Good Shepherd restores us at the very deepest level of our being.

Don’t you need that? The question I want to ask you in light of these three lines is, Are you taking advantage of these benefits of being one of God’s sheep? These are things He wants to do for you, but when was the last time you laid down in green pastures, drank contentedly from quiet waters, experienced the Lord restoring your soul at a deep level? I experience these things the best in times of solitude and silence. That’s why I love to get away to the mountains as often as I can, just to sit in God’s presence. It’s restoring to get away from all that I have to do and get to a place where I can just be. And what am I in those times? I’m one of the sheep of His pasture. I’m His son. I’m the object of His affection and attention. I’m the recipient of His grace. And I don’t have to do a thing to get it. I’m telling you, friends—that’s refreshing! Make an appointment with God and put it on your calendar. Don’t let anything bump it off. Spend 3-4 hours just being alone with Him, and see if it doesn’t restore your soul.

3b, “He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” In terms of the metaphor with the shepherd and the sheep, this just means that he guides them in the right path. The shepherd shows the sheep where to go, so they won't fall off a cliff, so they will be safe from predators, so they’ll have good water and pasture. But when we apply it to ourselves, then it takes on a moral quality—the paths of righteousness. The “sheep” part of us may not like the paths of righteousness—they seem confining at times, and we want to go our own way. Isaiah wrote, Isaiah 53:6, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” That’s the nature of sheep. But those paths God wants to lead us on are always for our benefit—we stray from them at our own risk. He desires to lead us in them, because He loves us, and He wants to protect us from falling off a moral or spiritual cliff.

Did you ever notice the reason the psalm mentions for why God leads us in paths of righteousness? It says He does it, “for His name’s sake.” I just said He does it because He loves us, and it’s good for us to follow His ways, and that’s true. But that’s not the ultimate reason God leads us into righteousness. Ultimately, He does it for His own sake, for the sake of His own reputation.

There’s a very interesting passage in Ezekiel 36 that sheds some light on this idea. Ezekiel 36:22-32, “Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. 23 …the nations will know that I am the Lord…when I show myself holy through you before their eyes … 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws … 32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel!” He is saying that if we go astray, if we wander off His paths of righteousness into sin, then because we are identified with Him as His people, His reputation suffers. People form their opinions of Jesus Christ based on what they see in us, His people, the sheep of His pasture.[1] We put fish on our cars and nativity sets in our yards, and go to church, and in other ways let people know that we are Christians. So they naturally base their opinion of Christ on what they see in us.

That’s why God leads us in paths of righteousness—that’s why He tries to direct our lives in ways that will enhance His reputation. It’s not about you! What would you say your life is doing for the reputation of Jesus? Think about your words, and the tone of voice you use with people. Think about whether you are sarcastic and critical. Are you living with the highest of ethical standards? Do your neighbors and co-workers and fellow students think more highly of Jesus Christ because of you, or are you wandering off on your own way and ruining His reputation?

Verse 3b is sort of a transition to the next section in verse 4, where the sheep find themselves in the valley. Because sometimes, even when we are following the right paths for us, we will wind up in a valley of one sort or another. Even there, the Lord is our Shepherd.

The word literally translated “shadow of death” can mean the deepest darkness, like in a deep ravine, and sometimes, our path will go through those dark places. Life is not a bed of roses. We are all subject to shadow-things like depression, illness, rejection, unemployment, foreclosure, divorce, and yes, even death itself. How great it is to know that the Good Shepherd goes through all that with us. “You are with me.” So we will not be afraid. His rod and staff comfort us in those times. The shepherd’s rod was a short club that he might use to ward off predators; the staff was used to keep the sheep in line. So he’s saying that the Shepherd protects us from enemies of all sorts, and He disciplines us when we need it, and both of those are a comfort to us, especially when we are going through hard times.

The hardest time of all, of course, is the time leading up to death. As much as we would like to forget it, or ignore it, all of us will one day walk through that valley. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has been through it Himself, and He promises to go through our valley with us, to hold our hand, to guide us home. How wonderful to know that we are being accompanied by one who has been there before, and has come out the other side. He said to His disciples, John 14:2-3, “In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” So we can face the prospect of our own death with courage and hope, as the psalmist did. I will fear no evil, not even death itself.

There are 100 places where the NIV Bible says “do not fear” or “do not be afraid”, and in almost every one of them, the reason given has something to do with God’s presence and activity in our lives. God takes our fears seriously. What makes you fearful? What do you lie awake at night thinking about? What makes your blood pressure go up, or your pulse race, or your palms sweat? You may say, Well, I’m hardly ever afraid. But are you ever worried, anxious, deeply concerned? Those are milder versions of the same thing, and can easily escalate into fear. Are you concerned about your financial future, or the future of our country? Are you worried about your health? Or your children or grandchildren? Are you anxious about whether you can get in the college of your choice, or whether you’ll get asked to prom, or how your parents’ marriage is doing? Is there a certain person who threatens you and you feel uncomfortable around them? Do you feel insecure in certain social situations? What is it for you? “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

Then in v.5, the metaphor changes from God as our Good Shepherd to God as our heavenly Host.

II. The Lord Is My Host Isaiah 55:1-2; Ps 63:5; Luke 7:44-46; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

5a, “You prepare a table before me…” God is the world’s most hospitable host. The table is set and groaning with all sorts of good food. Listen to His invitation in Isaiah 55:1-2, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” There are lots of passages in Scripture where fellowship with God is described in terms of a shared meal, a feast, a party. That’s partly because, even more in that culture than in ours, sharing a meal together was a sign of mutual loyalty and love.

1. Passover Exodus 12:1-28. In the Passover, God commanded the Israelites to eat a meal of lamb and unleavened bread, as a sign of His commitment to them and His protection of them when the angel of death killed all the first-born of Egypt.

2. The Prodigal’s Father Luke 15:23. The prodigal son’s father ordered the fattened calf slaughtered and a great feast held to celebrate the return of his son into the circle of the father’s love.

3. The Last Supper 1 Cor 11:25. At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted a meal for His followers, symbolizing the fact that when we feed on Him by faith, our sins are forgiven, we receive His resurrection life into us, and we, too, will live forever.

4. The Marriage Feast of the Lamb Rev 19:9. At the end of time, all those who have been born again into the family of God will sit down to the most incredible feast ever seen, with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Matt 8:11) and all the saints of history. It will be the marriage feast of the Lamb of God, when we, His people, are finally and completely united with Him.

In all these feasts, the common theme is God’s grace: the guests don’t deserve it, and the host loves them and serves them and feeds them anyway.

5b, “You anoint my head with oil.” I’ve heard that more hand lotion is sold on the Front Range of Colorado than any other place in the country. So we can understand that it was customary in Jesus’ culture for the host to welcome his guests with some oil on their head to alleviate the dryness caused by the sun and the dusty roads. Our heavenly host does that for us. It’s a way of saying that God goes out of His way to make us feel welcome and comfortable in His presence. He is attentive to our needs, and quick to respond to them in advance.

C. He provides abundant refreshment v.5c; cf. Luke 6:38; Ro 5:15; Ro 15:13; 2 Cor 1:5; Matt 7:11; Rom 8:32

5c, “my cup overflows.” It’s just one more way of saying that God is lavish in His hospitality. He keeps pouring His blessings into our lives until they overflow. The New Testament says that God’s grace overflows to many (Rom 5:15), God will fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in Him, so that in whatever circumstance we are in, we can overflow with hope (Rom 15:13); and our comfort in Him overflows even in the difficult times (2 Cor 1:5). To put it simply, God is not stingy. He’s amazingly generous. Jesus said, Matthew 7:11, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Paul said, Romans 8:32 (NLT), “Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” I suggested a few weeks ago that you make a list of every good thing God has ever done for you. I did that and was amazed! Truly, my cup overflows from the goodness of God.

Jesus said He came to give us an abundant life. The problem is that many people have filled their houses with fine things, and their schedules with work and exciting experiences and fun, and have found that their lives are still empty. The sheep of the Good Shepherd are filled up on the inside first, so they can say, "My cup runs over," regardless of the external circumstances of their lives. The abundant life the Bible talks about is not one of material abundance, but a life that is rich toward God.

Are you enjoying the feast of spiritual blessings God has set out for you? If you were invited to someone’s home for Thanksgiving dinner, and walked in to the house where this feast had been set out (see image), would you just go in the living room, or out on the porch, and not sit down to enjoy it with your host? I have a feeling that’s what many Christians do. God has invited us into an intimate relationship with Himself, where the table is set and groaning with good things, but we’re too busy. We’ve got places to go, things to do, people to see. We are bombarded with information from TV, podcasts, texts, IMs, blogs, etc. Young people’s ears are plugged with ear buds so they cannot hear God inviting them to the feast. O friends, I beg you, hear God calling to you: “Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare” (Is 55:2).

The Lord sets this feast out for us, 5a, “…in the presence of my enemies.” I’ll talk more about enemies[2] in a later sermon, but for now, just note that all this special attention, all these signs of the Lord’s love and grace and commitment to us, are lavished on us in the presence of our enemies, whoever they may be. God is for us, no matter who is against us (cf. Rom 8:31).

Verse 6 is the summary to the whole psalm, and it introduces yet another metaphor, that of being pursued by God and His goodness.

The word translated love is a key word in the Old Testament. The Hebrew word is hesed, and it means God’s covenant love. It emphasizes His loyalty to us, His undying commitment to us. When God makes a covenant, He keeps it. It is sometimes translated mercy, or lovingkindness, or unfailing love, but the key element in it is God’s loyalty to us.

The goodness and loyal-love of God will follow us all the days of our lives. The word follow doesn’t mean to come after, like a wagon pulled behind us; it means to pursue, to chase, to hunt down. An English poet named Francis Thompson wrote a poem in 1917 called The Hound of Heaven, and that title neatly captures the thought here. God is like a bloodhound on our trail, relentlessly pursuing us with His love and goodness. Even when we wander from the good Shepherd’s paths of righteousness, the Hound of Heaven continues to pursue us because He is committed to us in His unfailing love.

The psalm closes with the words, “…and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” When David wrote those words, there was no Temple, no permanent “house of the Lord” on earth. So what did he mean? I think He was referring to the intimate fellowship that we can have with God. A person’s house is where they live, and David is saying, he wants and expects to live in God’s presence for ever.

This is our hope, too, our confidence, our firm expectation: that we will not only enjoy an abundant life with God here on earth, but that we will dwell in His presence forever. Many people think that this life is all there is, so we better grab all the gusto we can get. These people are like folks who have lived all their lives in a deep cave. All that they know of the world is underground, pitch black, damp, chilly, and limited by the walls and ceiling of the cave. They have made themselves reasonably content there, because that is all they know. But there is much more! And so with us. Whatever spiritual pleasures, feasts, goodness, and mercy we have known in this life will be completely exceeded by the glory of the house of the Lord. And the Good Shepherd says He will come to take His sheep to that glorious place forever. This is good news.

But did you notice the one condition on all of this? It was back in verse 1 where it says, “the Lord is my shepherd.” Everything that this wonderful psalm offers and promises is based on this one condition: that the Lord is our shepherd. And there is also a hint in this psalm of what it takes to have the Lord as our shepherd. Not everyone is a sheep in His flock, you know. We have to be willing to lie down in the green pastures He provides; we have to be willing to drink the still waters He leads us to; we have to be willing to follow His leading in paths of righteousness. In other words, we have to submit to His authority before we can say He is our Shepherd.

Is that true of you today, friends? Are you following Him wherever He leads, or are you still leading the way, and trying to get the Lord to follow you? If Jesus Christ is not yet your Good Shepherd, I want to encourage you to think about your relationship with Him in a real serious way. Each of us still has the opportunity to make sure we are in His flock, and under His care. And it would be well to do that before we have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death.

[1] It seems to me that we have fewer and fewer illustrations of this dynamic in our culture, because people are less and less loyal to a group that is bigger than themselves. There was a time when there was pressure from the whole school for students to act in a way that made them look good, but increasingly, people say, “That’s just that guy—he’s a jerk; it doesn’t reflect on me.” We used to have that same sort of social pressure in companies, and in churches. (The Amish and Mennonites still have it much more than other religious groups.)

[2] See Ephesians 6:12.