Preached at Markham Baptist Church, February 9, 2003

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I 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 mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long. (Psalm 23) (NRSV)

Preaching Psalm 23 is like trying to describe the colour of a rainbow, or the magnificence of a summer sunset, or the delicate beauty of a June rose. The description is never as good as the object described. It needs to be experienced rather than talked about. It needs to be seen and felt and known. To describe it brings it down to the level of a math problem to be figured out and mastered.

Have you ever had one of those moments where you stumble across something so beautiful, so awesome that it takes your breath away and you do not want to speak for fear that the noise would destroy what you are seeing? Psalm 23 is like that.

Charles Spurgeon calls it the "Pearl of the Psalms". Indeed it is so beautiful in its simplicity but is so packed with truth and encouragement that I doubt we will ever discover it's riches fully.

Its beauty, I believe, lies primarily in the fact that it focuses so greatly on God and so little on humanity. It is a description of His character, His actions, His being. And if we do nothing else this morning except gaze at the truth of this psalm and in the end say, "How beautiful God is!" "How wonderful God is", we should have spent the time wisely. For there are few places, or times that we are enabled or even allow ourselves time to think and see the beauty of our Lord to think of His tender care, His provision, His protection and His guidance. Just think on those things and allow them to envelop us like a duvet on a cold winter's night.

And perhaps this is why this is the world's favorite psalm. For it helps us to stop our rushing - to stop our planning, to stop our daytimers and think of the beauty of God. To allow ourselves to be lost in the wonder of his character and the brilliance of His love and for you and me.

It begins, "The Lord is my shepherd." That in itself is a fantastic, beautiful statement. We allow that name "Lord" to roll off our lips casually but it is a name that is packed with meaning. It is a name revered by the ancient Hebrews for it is the personal name of God. It was the name God gave to Moses at the burning bush. It is the name that means, "I am who I am." It refers to His timelessness. "I am" - He has no beginning, no end. He simply is "I am." And it speaks of His self-sufficiency. He needs nothing; He needs no wisdom because He has all wisdom; He needs no power for His is all-powerful. He does not need to be helped, served or worshipped. He is the great "I am."

That is the God you worship. That is the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ. He is the God who was and is and is to come. He is timeless and completely self-sufficient.

And He is described as "Shepherd". Now don't romanticize that image - to be a shepherd was one of the lowliest jobs. You never read of the oldest son being a shepherd - it was the youngest son because it was the last thing anyone wanted to do. A shepherd had to live with sheep 24 hours a day. The task of caring for sheep was endless. They have to be guided, protected, provided for - it was a huge and difficult job.

Now put those words together - Lord and Shepherd. The Lord is my Shepherd. The Lord, the ever living One, the self-sufficient Creator of the world is my Shepherd. The great God of the universe is my shepherd - my protector, my provider, and my guide. The Lord is my Shepherd.

O, how wonderful God is that He would stoop to be my shepherd. O, thank you God that You are awesome and mighty - the God above all gods - but you would lower Yourself to be my shepherd. The Lord is my Shepherd.

So if God, the Lord, is my Shepherd, what could I possible want? Nothing. This is what the psalmist says, “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.” I shall not want for anything because He who is everything is my shepherd. I shall not want. One of preacher calls the 23rd psalm the most admired but the least believed psalm in the whole of the Bible. O, my friends, that we would not just admire this psalm but believe it with our whole heart.

I shall not want - I shall not be in need for the Lord is my shepherd. He who owns everything will supply my every need.

Is it rest that you need? Well, He makes me lie down in green pastures. He gives rest. Not just physical rest but rest from worry and the fear of our situations. There is rest for our emotions and souls in knowing that the Lord is our Shepherd. A number of you commented how helpful last Sunday morning was to you as we cast our burdens on the Lord. One of you wrote to me saying that you lay awake that night thinking of a situation then you said to yourself, "NO - I gave that to the Lord this morning in worship,” and you went to sleep. That's an example of how the Lord makes you lie down in green pastures - He grants rest.

The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. What about refreshment? He leads me beside still waters and surely our God refreshes. We think of all that sucks life out of us, all that drains and tires but not God. He is the life giver. The one who brings refreshment - He leads me beside still waters.

AND He restores my soul. Could there be anything more refreshing? Surely the Lord is the one who restores life to our soul. I think of the times when I have known deadness in my life. When I have sinned and blown it so badly and I come to God and I tell Him about it and how many times I have heard Him say, "My death covers your sin. You are forgiven. You are loved. You are my child.” And how refreshing that is because I've been telling myself that I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed and that I might as well go around with my finger and my thumb in the shape of an "L" on my forehead. But the Shepherd comes and with His love and care and forgiveness He brings life. He restores my soul.

OR is it guidance? He leads me in right paths for His name's sake. Do you want to know what path to choose? God will lead. It may not be the easiest path, it may not be the path of rose petals and sunshine. But it will be God's path and it will be the right path. He cannot for the sake of His name lead us on the wrong path.

The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. I shall not lack safety. I could even walk in the valley of the shadow of the death and I would fear no evil for your rod and staff comfort me.

I can walk through that valley and not fear. How many millions of people can attest to this? There is no fear in that valley for Jesus Christ has gone on before and defeated death. If there is one thing Christians should do well is die. We should die well. Why? Because of the truth that Jesus Christ has defeated death he has gone and come back and said, “It's all right. Everything is prepared the way is clear.” The sin that could hold us down in death has been removed and we can now know life.

The shepherd used the rod or a club to ward off enemies. The Shepherd used the staff to guide the sheep. Both are symbols of God's presence. He has gone on before us in the valley and we do not fear.

The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not lack - I shall not lack rest, refreshment, or guidance or safety - and this in verse 5 - I shall not lack provision.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows.”

The Lord provides for us. You think you provide for your family but it is God who has given you everything you have. He has given you the mind, the strength to do what you do. HE is the one who has blessed your work and provided. The Lord is the one who provides.

He provides, right in the face of your enemies. God provides for you. He welcomes you into His presence and says, “Come and eat, let Me provide for you.”

This image of being anointed with oil may seem like a strange image but both it and the cup overflowing speak of God's hospitality of being welcomed and cared for. It is a familiar image in the mideast where people were welcomed to the table to eat and when they arrived out of the hot desert with their faces scorched by the sun, oil was applied to the head, the face, the shoulders to soothe and restore parched skin.

And to soothe parched throats, wine was poured in a cup. My Cup overflows.

Now this is all picture language. How does God provide for us practically speaking? Well in my own life I know He provides for all my needs and I need only trust Him. I remember one time in my life when I was out of work and did not have a pay cheque coming on a regular basis. We began to worry about finances. During that time I was down in Boston for the residency portion of my D.Min. While there I shared my story and concerns with my fellow students. On the day I left from Boston to come home there was an envelope pushed under the door of my room. In the envelope was a note that simply read, "My God will meet all your needs according his glorious riches in Jesus Christ" (Philippians 4:19) And attached to the note was a hundred dollar bill.

God was saying to me, "I am your Shepherd. I will provide for you. I will not let you fall, I will provide, trust me."

And God is not stingy. That hundred dollar bill was not just any old hundred dollar bill - it was a hundred dollar AMERICAN bill. Isn't He gracious beyond measure? My cup overflows. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.

And then this - I shall not lack a heavenly home. I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Goodness and mercy shall follow me because of God's shepherding care. He will always guard me and welcome me into His home.

The Lord is my shepherd. There is this left to say. This Psalm speaks of a very personal relationship. The wonder of this psalm is not just that God is a shepherd. It is that the Lord is my Shepherd. That He will actually give rest, refresh, give safety, guide and welcome me into His presence fully with all that I could ever want! That is that He would actually do this for me!

This is key. For there is no beauty here if you say the Lord is a shepherd. There is no help for you there is no rescue. Christianity is a religion of pronouns. It makes all the difference in the world to say Jesus is a Saviour or Jesus is my Saviour. The Lord is a Shepherd the Lord is my Shepherd.

Leslie Weatherhead tells of a time when he was attending a performance with his father of Handel's Messiah. And when the choir got to the climax, you know the point where they sing, "And He shall reign for ever and ever, Forever, forever. King of Kings and Lord of Lords." Leslie Weatherhead noticed that his father was crying - great tears were running down his face. And his father leaned in and said, "They are singing about my Lord and my Saviour." And Leslie Weatherhead said that he never forgot his father's emphasis on "My", "my Lord and my Saviour."

O, the wonder of it all that we can have a personal relationship with God. He is not impersonal force, but the God who walks with me and talks with me and tells me that I am His very own. Praise God for the fact that we can know Him personally and intimately.

And it is easy to start the relationship you know - all you have to do is say, “Lord I want to know you. I want your forgiveness in my life. I want your guidance and provision in my life. Come and be my shepherd, come and be my Saviour, come and be my Lord.” And you too will know the joy of the Lord being your Shepherd.