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,