The Twenty-Third Psalm

Psalm 23

“The Lord is my Shepherd … “
The words are so familiar. When we start to think that we understand all that this great Psalm is saying to us, the Lord comes to with something new, something fresh, something that speaks to our hearts, something that brings blessing into our lives. What are to say about this? ~ From God to us, comes blessing, much blessing. How much blessing? Who can say? All we can say is this – It’s His blessing, and His blessing “overflows” (v. 5).

  * Speaking about God – The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness      for His name’s sake.
  * Speaking to God - Even 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 overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23:1
* The Lord is my Shepherd;

* The Lord is my Shepherd;

* The Lord is my Shepherd;

* The Lord is my Shepherd.
  * “The Lord is my Shepherd” (Psalm 23:1).

In Luke 15:3-7, Jesus tells the story of the lost sheep and the loving Shepherd.

We read about a lost sheep. We know that we are lost sinners. We are lost because we are sinners. Lost sheep need a loving shepherd. Lost sinners need a loving Saviour. That’s what Jesus is. He’s our Saviour. His Name means “Saviour” –  “You are to give Him the Name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

Why did Jesus come to this world?

–  “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).

–  “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17).

Jesus came to find the lost. He came to save sinners.
God speaks to us in love. He says, ‘I Myself will be the Shepherd of My sheep… ’ (Ezekiel 34:15). We rejoice in His love. We say, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’ (Psalm 23:1). Jesus is our Shepherd. He is ‘the good Shepherd’. He laid down His life for us that we might receive the forgiveness of our sins. ‘Christ died for our sins’. He – ‘the Righteous’ – died for us – ‘the unrighteous’ – ‘to bring us to God’ (John 10:11; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 Peter 3:18). He is ‘the great Shepherd’. He was ‘raised’ from the dead’. Through His resurrection, we receive eternal life. He says to us, ‘Because I live you will live also’ (Hebrews 13:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:4; John 14:19). He is ‘the chief Shepherd’. He will come again with ‘the unfading crown of glory’ for His ‘good and faithful servants’ (1 Peter 5:4; Matthew 25:21).
“He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3b).

We enter the Kingdom of God through the new birth. Jesus Christ is “the Door” to God’s Kingdom (John 10:9). To those who have come, in faith, to Him, the Lord Jesus says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

* Where does the Good Shepherd lead those who follow Him?  – He leads us “in the paths of righteousness.”

* Why does the Good Shepherd lead His people in the paths of righteousness?  – It is “for His Name’s sake.”

The real goal of Christ-like living is not our pleasure. It is God’s glory. we find our true pleasure as we give glory to the Lord.

Are you following the Lord Jesus? He will lead you in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.

In ‘the Shepherd Psalm’ (Psalm 23), we read, in verse 5,: ‘You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows’. We are to feast on God’s Word. We are to be filled with God’s Spirit. The ‘table’ is the place of feasting. ‘Oil’ is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. As we feast on God’s Word, we will have good cause to say, again and again, ‘God is good’: ‘His goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life’ (6). The Lord never fails us. He always comes with His life-giving Word, the Word of life, through which our life on earth becomes the beginning of life eternal, the pathway to a life in which the fullness of God’s love will be revealed in a way that we can hardly begin to imagine: ‘I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever’(6). This is what Christ is preparing for us (John 14:2)!
We sing our song of praise and thanksgiving. Our enemies are never far away!
(Psalm 23:5).

 * “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” The presence of our enemies – this is never removed. It’s always there. There is, however, another Presence – the Presence of the Lord.

“Be still for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here” – This is what we must remember when the presence of our enemies threatens to overwhelm us.