Schwartz, J Eddie: Month Of Meetings-1996-08 ~ Psalm 23

Good evening, everyone. Let's turn in our Bibles, please, to Psalm twenty three. Psalm twenty three. It is a familiar psalm, but as has been prayed, may we read these words as if we were indeed reading them for the first time. And my focus tonight really is verse one, but Psalm twenty three: The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth 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. The shepherd life in the Middle East and elsewhere is an entrancing subject. Uh, the Bible narrative is full of illustration concerning shepherds and sheep, so that if we know something about the shepherd, something about the sheep, we will be able better to understand what we have in the Word of God about our shepherd and about sheep. Possibly one of the reasons why, uh, there is so much in the Word of God about shepherds and sheep, is the fact that Israel, in fact the overall Middle East, is primarily an agricultural country, so that sheep are abundant. Everywhere you go in the Middle East, you will see shepherds and sheep. So I think for that reason alone, uh, a good many people would understand, should understand the, the language, uh, as we consider shepherds and sheep. The first reference to shepherd and sheep is Genesis four and two. You need not turn there, I'm simply giving a reference. And Abel was a keeper of sheep. Genesis four and two. It is interesting, when thinking of the Lord as our shepherd, he is presented in the Word of God, in a good portion of the Word of God, as the shepherd, but also as the lamb, isn't he? Now, we do not read of the lamb in the singular until we come to Genesis twenty two. Uh, we have in that chapter, among other words, these words appearing for the first time: worship, love, and lamb. And, uh, there is no lamb apart from love, and there is no worship apart from the lamb. So we read about sheep, we read about shepherds. The first reference, Genesis four and two. The last reference in the Bible is First Peter chapter five and verse four. Peter said, and when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Now I realize that Psalm twenty three is a very familiar portion of scripture. I also think that oftentimes familiarity robs us of some precious thoughts. In the Old Testament, we read, uh, in Isaiah forty and eleven, he shall feed his flock like a shepherd, he shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead them, or those that are with young. Isaiah uh fifty three verses six and seven. Here are familiar verses too. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. We read about the Lord Jesus as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. Many other portions in the Old Testament that we could turn to and read about shepherds and about sheep. We come to the New Testament. In Luke chapter two, shepherds were abiding in their fields at night, keeping watch over their flock. And it's interesting, isn't it, that such an announcement as the birth of the Savior of the world would be made first of all to shepherds. Have you ever thought about that? You ever wondered about that? We would expect that, uh, the announcement would first of all be given to great men of the world, to kings, to rulers, to potentates. Uh, that would be in our thinking, but God gives it to shepherds. Well, I think it's fitting, isn't it, that the one who came to be the shepherd would be made known to shepherds abiding in their fields, keeping watch over their flock at night. So we have that in Luke chapter two. In Luke chapter fifteen, we have that threefold parable of the lost sheep, the lost silver, and the lost son. The sheep lost to safety, the silver lost to usefulness, and the sun lost to fellowship. John chapter ten, another familiar portion where the Lord Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. We think of Hebrews chapter thirteen, verses twenty and twenty one. Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. George Henderson, in his little book, The Pearl of the Psalms, points out that Psalm twenty three has been called the Pearl of the Psalms, just as Luke chapter fifteen has been called the Pearl of the Parables, and as Isaiah chapter fifty three has been called the Pearl of the Prophecies. As we think of Psalm twenty three, this familiar psalm, I think for us to have a, a better, a deeper, a greater appreciation for what we have here in this short psalm, uh, we best consider it, first of all, in the setting. You know, when you go into a jewelry store and you want to look at some gem, uh, usually the gemologist is very careful as to the background that he's going to use in displaying the gem. He's going to use the proper background, whether it's a red, uh, in many instances a black felt background, to, uh, better show forth the beauty, the luster, uh, the glory of the gem. So in considering any portion of scripture, but particularly this portion, we should consider the setting of Psalm twenty three. And I repeat, I realize that this is familiar ground to some of you, maybe most of you. How many times have you heard messages on Psalm twenty three and on the setting, Psalms twenty two and twenty four. But we do have to consider the setting. Here we have a trilogy of psalms, Psalm twenty two, Psalm twenty three, and Psalm twenty four. You know that Psalm twenty two has been referred to and is often spoken of as the Psalm of the Cross. From it, our Lord quoted it, uh, when he as the Good Shepherd gave his life for the sheep. The Lord cried, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And we are inclined to ask, well, if he is the omniscient, if he is the all-knowing God, why would he ask such a question? Why would he ask why? Well, we know it was not for his sake. John eighteen and verse four tells us that he, knowing all things, went forth. Peter said, Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee. Well, why did the good shepherd who gave his life for the sheep, why did he cry from Psalm twenty two, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It was not for his benefit, it was for our benefit. And Psalm twenty three verse three gives us the answer. But thou art holy. And the Good Shepherd in Psalm twenty two is before God as the unholy one. He was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. But thou art holy. That's the reason he is forsaken. Why was he led as a lamb to the slaughter and openeth not his mouth? Because Romans chapter twenty three says, all the world is guilty before God, and every mouth is stopped. We have absolutely nothing to say. And so he taking our place is led to the slaughter without opening his mouth. And so in Psalm twenty two we have the Psalm of the cross. The shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Coming to Psalm twenty three, we have the Psalm of the crook. Here is our blessed Lord on resurrection ground. You know Psalm twenty three or Psalm twenty two uh, has a division line in it. It's down at verse twenty two, because this one who is suffering so says in verse twenty two, where the division comes now, I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the congregation, or church, as is the word in the New Testament. I will praise thee. And the writer of Hebrews, chapter two comes back to this verse when speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who suffered in such agony upon that Roman gibbet of shame, upon that tree being made a curse for us, is now on resurrection ground. And so Psalm um twenty three is the Psalm of the crook. Having borne the judgment of the world, he now has risen, or has been raised, triumphant conqueror over hell, death, and the grave, and he is now engaged in leading his sheep into green pastures and beside still waters. Psalm twenty four is the Psalm of the Crown. You read it if you haven't read it, or reread it if it has been some time. And here we have the King of Glory. Who is this King of Glory? He's the Lord of hosts. The, the kings from the east came asking, where is he that is born King of the Jews? The angelic announcement when Jesus was born was that he shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. Remember when the Lord Jesus was dying, that one thief turned late, but he turned, whether it was because of something that he remembered in, uh, Sabbath school, in, in synagogue school, so many years before that, about the Messiah, about this coming one who would reign. He had learned something somewhere along the line that he knew, as he looked to this one on the middle cross, that this must indeed be the Christ, the Messiah. Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And the Bible says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, or Jesus as Lord, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And here he is in his kingdom in verse twenty four. He's the king of glory. So Psalm twenty two depicts the sufferings of Christ. Psalm twenty four depicts the glory that was to follow, while Psalm twenty three describes the experiences of the sheep or the Christian, if you please, from the moment of his apprehension of the one Psalm to his entering into the other, Psalm twenty four. Because, you know, in this Psalm we do walk in the shadow. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Some says, whose death? Well, we think of our death, but maybe the thought is, as we're walking in the valley, we're in the shadow of his death in Psalm twenty two. I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Uh, I told you, did I, about my mother? I think it was the last time I was here. Last August, a year ago. Uh, I knew that she was, uh, at the point of death, and so I was in Richmond to see her. Louise and I were up, and I figured this would be the last time I would see mother. And so she was there on her bed, confined to the bed. She died two weeks later, but this was the last time I saw her. And she looked at me after we had discussed several things. She said, do you think you can preach my funeral? I said, well, Mother, I, I'll do the best I can. She said, you'll do all right. Brother Durwood will help you. I said, what, uh, what portion do you want me to use? Well, she said, uh, you preach on that portion where Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. I said, that's John chapter fourteen, Yes. She said, preach on that, and I did. I said, well, mother, it's time for me to go. I said, uh, do you want me to read some portion to you right now? She said, yes. I said, what do you want me to read? She said, read Psalm twenty three. I said, okay. So I read it, and I said, Mother, you are about to walk in the valley of the shadow of death. She said, I know that. I said, but it's only a shadow, and a shadow can't hurt you. She said, I know that too. I said, Mother, have you noticed, and we'll talk more about this later, I said, have you noticed that when the psalmist starts the psalm, he speaks of the Lord in the third person, the Lord is my shepherd. Up until he goes into the valley of the shadow of death, now he's not speaking about the shepherd, he's speaking to the shepherd. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. I said, Mother, you're getting ready to go into the valley of the shadow of death. I said, but the Lord is with you. She said, I know that too. And we had prayer, and that was the last I saw my mother here. So it is the Psalm of resurrection. Here is the one who died in Psalm twenty two, now on resurrection ground, he is the, the great shepherd who leads his sheep. So here we have a trilogy of, of Psalms. Psalm twenty two, the cross, Psalm twenty three, the crook, Psalm twenty four, the crown. Psalm 22, grace, Psalm 23, guidance, Psalm 24, glory. Psalm twenty two, the sword, Psalm twenty three, the staff. Psalm 24, the scepter. Psalm twenty two, provision. Psalm twenty three, protection, and Psalm twenty four, prospect. Psalm twenty two, substitute. Psalm twenty three, shepherd. Psalm twenty four, sovereign. Psalm twenty two yesterday. Psalm twenty three today. Psalm twenty four tomorrow, and forever. Now, when reading any portion of scripture, particularly the Old Testament portions of scripture, I think we must, we should ask three questions. First of all, what is the primary interpretation? Secondly, what is the prophetic anticipation? And thirdly, what is the personal application? Primary interpretation, future anticipation, and personal application. I doubt that Psalm twenty two has reference to a particular personal experience of David. For example, look at verses sixteen through eighteen of Psalm twenty two: For dogs have compassed me, the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me, they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones, they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture. Now, when would such words be a- applied to David? I know of nothing in David's history whereby these words would be applied to him, but they certainly apply to the Lord Jesus Christ, do they not? So, I doubt that this is a, a personal experience of David. Uh, some things here he never experienced. And, uh, this is true in many other instances. Uh, for example, let me just refer to one or two verses. Psalm forty in verse nine, we read, My own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. Now, here, no doubt, is an experience that applies to the psalmist. And yet, when we come to John chapter thirteen and verse eighteen, we discover that the Lord lifts that little verse out of Psalm forty one and applies it to himself as he speaks about Judas, the one who betrayed him. And the Lord said that the scripture might be fulfilled. So even though here is the primary interpretation in most instances, I repeat, though I doubt that David had these experiences in Psalm twenty two, but first of all, there is the primary interpretation, and then there is the future anticipation. There is the near fulfillment and the ultimate fulfillment of so many Old Testament portions of scripture. In Psalm twenty two, it seems that David is on the sideline, but he is writing about the Lord Jesus Christ. Uh, one or two of us were talking the other night about these Old Testament saints seeing Christ. Moses, you remember, saw him who is invisible. A- and he considered the sufferings of Christ to be a far greater glory than the treasures of Egypt. But Moses saw the one who is otherwise invisible. And to what extent did Moses see him? Well, I don't know. We could turn to many scriptures and, and have our thinking on it. Uh, Abraham, the Lord Jesus said, Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. And when you read a Psalm like twenty two, uh, it's as if David is sitting right at the cross. I mean, even to the point of the Lord's garments being gambled for. But now when we come to Psalm 23, here is a shepherd whom God uses to write about the Lord, the shepherd. And note verse one there. Now, in our consideration of the primary names of God, we realize as we look at that word Lord with all capitals, that that is Jehovah. More specifically, Yahweh. But so many today will simply say Jehovah. All right, we see that is Jehovah, all caps. If it's Lord, all caps, or God, all caps, we know that it is Jehovah. Remember, if it's capital G, small OD, we know it's Elohim. If it's capital L, small ORD, we know it's Adonai. But here we know it is Jehovah. And if you were to look up the wording here in the Strong's Concordance, as I did some time ago and as I did right before coming, you will see that the title here in verse one is Jehovah Raha. Jehovah Raha. Now, in the etymology of the word, we have it today, and I think I have it on my outline, is Jehovah Ro, R-O-HI. You will see it differently, uh, in different books, and no contradiction. You will see it sometimes as Jehovah RO-EH. And it is a transliteration of that Hebrew Raha, Jehovah Raha. What does that mean? It means the Lord, Jehovah, my shepherd. Jehovah, my shepherd. So with verse one, we think of the person. This is a familiar portion of scripture, isn't it? Apart from the Lord's Prayer, no portion of scripture has been so universally treasured by the human heart as the Shepherd's Psalm. Someone has said that it is the Psalm that everybody knows. Now, many people quote it, as you well know, the Lord is my shepherd, but it seems that many who do quote it live a life of a wilderness of want. I can remember when I was serving five years apprenticeship in the engraving trade, engraving printing plates. I heard about a young man, this was in Richmond, Virginia, I heard about a young man, uh, down in the northern part of North Carolina, Reidsville, who was, uh, engraving plates for the Chase Bag Company. He was just starting out. His name was Raymond Giles, and I saw some of his work, and I was quite impressed. Then later, some years later, when a large typesetting firm in Memphis was scouring the country for engravers, uh, I was one that was contacted in our area. I wound up moving to Memphis, and I found when, shortly after being there myself, I found that this company had been in contact with this Raymond Giles in Reedville, whom I'd never met, but I had seen some of his work, and here the two of us working together. I realized after a year or two that, that, uh, it was Raymond Bill Giles, he was known as Bill Giles, I realized that he had a problem. We didn't know it at first. He had a drinking problem. And, uh, eventually our paths separated, and, uh, Louise and I were driving through Greensboro. This is many years later now, driving through Greensboro, we saw someone hitchhiking. And we stopped, and it was Bill Giles. He'd just come out of a rehabilitation, one of many that he'd been in. So we renewed our acquaintance. I talked to him all night, or the better part of a night, about the Lord. He professed to be saved. Uh, we as a family gave to him a new Bible, and we were expecting to have him on Christmas Day. We were all ready, only to learn that he was all dressed, had gotten drunk, never showed up. I saw him one time after that, and he had gotten into a lot of trouble and was facing some prison time. Then I received a call from his mother, also an alcoholic, telling me that Bill had died. I said, died? Yes, he died from drinking. I said, well, how did it happen? I said, well, he was drinking, he went up to his girlfriend's house and, uh, stood in her kitchen, and he said, I'm going to die. And he laid down in the floor and died. And his mother said, I said, well, what were his last words? She said he was quoting Psalm twenty three. Quoting Psalm twenty three, the Psalm everybody knows, and some might quote it, but in some instances, and maybe in many instances, their life is a wilderness of want. Who is this shepherd? The shepherd who wrote the psalm said, Jehovah is my shepherd. Now here is that personal name, that foremost name of God. That one that gives to those who hear it understanding that he is indeed a person, not just a force, but he's a person. Jehovah is my shepherd. Long ago, in that march of divine revelation, a great discovery was made by another lonely shepherd. We've read of it just recently in Exodus chapter three. that lonely shepherd tending his flock on the back of the desert of Horeb, the mountain of God. And that shepherd said to this one, whom he only knew up to this time as, if you please, a force, some impersonal God. He said, my people are going to ask me who sent you. Now, what is your name? What name do you want me to give them? And God said, you tell them I am sent you. I am that I am. And it was James A. Robertson from Aberdeen, professor of New Testament literature and theology, who said, this was a revelation of profound significance in the history of the world. In the empty and sterile waste of the desert, this brooding man beside the burning bush rose supreme above the thought of a blind, ruthless power moving through the universe, and heard the nameless give itself a name, and learned that God was a person, the great I am, the great shepherd, the Lord. And here he was talking to another shepherd, and the two together planning a colossal undertaking of leading as shepherds, if you please, the flock of God out of Egypt. And this one who is the living one, the self-existent one, who was, who is, who will ever be the mighty being who from the beginning was the shepherd of souls, whom the psalmist calls my shepherd, is the one whom we believers can say is our shepherd. Jehovah is our shepherd. It's usually the youngest son who takes care of the sheep. This was the case with David, first Samuel sixteen. Where there is no son or where there is only one son, then it's the youngest girl. That was the case with Rachel, you remember. And there was, there, it seems to be one exception, and that was Joseph. He was the youngest son, he and Benjamin, and, and yet, though he was with his brethren, we read in one verse, his brothers were the ones who took care of the sheep. Maybe that was one of the reasons why they hated him so. But David said, the Lord is my shepherd. All right, now when we come to the New Testament, to whom is this title applied? Well, here again, you have read these verses. You've heard others preach from them many times. Look at John chapter ten. John chapter ten, the Lord Jesus speaks of himself as the shepherd. John chapter ten. and uh, verse eight: All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door, that is, of the sheep's fold, an enclosure, and the shepherd would, uh, stay right there at that open area. He himself would be the door. I am the door, said the Lord Jesus. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly be- because he is Jehovah. He is the self-existent one. He is the living one. Verse eleven: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. That is in Psalm twenty two. Why did God send his son to be the shepherd? Because all we, like sheep, had gone astray. And secondly, because God would not entrust the care of his flock to an harlot. And thirdly, because the Son of God was the one who could be trusted. So he is the good shepherd who gave his life for the sheep. Look at Hebrews thirteen twenty, and we are coming to a close. Hebrews thirteen twenty. Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep. That brings us to Psalm twenty three. He's not only the good shepherd who gave his life, now he's the great shepherd who has been raised from the dead. Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, makes you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Look at First Peter, chapter five. Peter speaks of himself as an elder, as an under shepherd, if you please. You remember he's speaking to shepherds now. You'll see that in verse two. feed the flock of God which is a- which is among you. Verse three. neither is being lords over God's heritage. And, uh, he says, and when the chief shepherd, verse four, and when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. The chief shepherd is going to come in glory, that's Psalm twenty four. So we have the good shepherd who gives his life for the sheep. And you know, isn't that strange in itself? Under law, it was the sheep who died for the shepherd. But under grace, it's the shepherd who dies for the sheep. That is indeed the grace of God, isn't it? And he's the great shepherd in resurrection, alive forevermore, and we are united with him. And our brother reminded us that we are kept by the power of God. These are Peter's words in First Peter chapter one. We are kept by the power of God. The Lord Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no one is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. You talked about being kept about, being kept by the power of God, walled around, garrisoned about. We are kept by the power of God. Why? Because the Lord is our shepherd. The good shepherd, the chief shepherd, and the great, or the chief shepherd who comes in. Isn't it wonderful to be able to say the Lord is my shepherd? Jehovah is my shepherd. We must sing one stanza of a song before we go. Two hundred and eighty eight. Two hundred and eighty eight. This is the song we know, isn't it? I have a shepherd, one I love so well. Do we know this one? Oh, okay. uh, you had me worried there. Let's sing the first stanza. Let's stand as we sing, and uh, you don't have to