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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/eric-mccullough/davids-experience-in-psalm-23/
Now, after you've heard some of the big guns, maybe you can listen to a little pistol. Psalm 23, verse 1, more about the shepherd. 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.
Now God will bless what we have listened to this morning and this afternoon, and we know he always blesses the reading of his word. Alexander McLaren, a Scotchman by the way, says about this psalm, the very reading of it is like placing a handful of snow on a fevered brow.
A handful of snow on a fevered brow. That would give comfort, that would meet a necessary need. And I want to try to give a little devotional word this afternoon from this psalm. You will know that in psalm 22, we have the good shepherd that John tells us in chapter 10 that gave his life for the sheep.
In psalm 24, we have the chief shepherd. Peter tells us in his epistle in chapter 5, let me just read it to you, when the chief shepherd is come, he will give a crown, a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
But in psalm 23, where we have read, it's the great shepherd, the one that gave his life for the sheep. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that in chapter 13, that he giveth his life for the sheep. Now I've looked at this psalm in a number of different ways.
I've looked at it in this way, verses 1 and 2. We have the shepherd and the sheep. We've been hearing about the shepherd, the one that Israel will recognize and acknowledge in a coming day. And they'll say, as we have been reminded, what are these wounds in thy hands?
These are they with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. The shepherd. Then in verses 3 and 4 of this psalm, I have thought about the guide and the traveler. The Lord Jesus is the one that directs our pathway as we journey as Israel from Egypt toward the promised land.
And that's what you and I are doing today. We're on a journey, many, many circumstances as we'll see in a minute or two. And then in verses 5 and 6, I've thought about the host and the guest. We're seated at this table.
He has prepared a table for us in the presence of his enemies. We're the guests and we're sitting at his table, our head anointed with oil and goodness and mercy following us all the days of our life.
On one of my visits to Ireland some years ago, I visited an elderly saint that I knew. She wasn't very well. And I tried to speak a little word of comfort to her. And she said, you know, Mr. McCullough, I have two detectives that follow me every day.
And I thought, who in the world are the two detectives? Then she quoted this verse, goodness and mercy, goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life. Now having said that, I want to look at this psalm in a different way.
I want to think about the experience of David, the writer of the psalm. There was a delightful day in his experience. And if you're saved today, you love to go back to that day when, as a poor guilty sinner, as we were reminded this morning, convicted of sin, brought to repentance.
You know, we're living in a day when there's a gospel that's being preached. All you have to do is believe. Well, you know what the Lord said, except ye repent, you will all likewise perish. There must be repentance before there's true conversion.
What a delightful day it was. I can look back tonight, I can hardly believe it, 78 years. I was 12 and a half, now you know how old I am. I've been coming to La Crosse for 65 years. And they must not be tired of me yet because they still ask me to come.
Can't believe it. I remember being up here in that old building that was pretty dilapidated even in that day. But it used to be packed with believers. And in those days, Mr. Paul Elliott liked to tell about coming with his brother-in-law from Heightsville.
And they had the old Buick with the wooden spokes on the tire, on the wheel. And in order to go home, they had to throw the wheel into the Mississippi River and allow that wood to swell and tighten up those spokes before they could drive home again.
Now, we don't know anything about that today, do we? But you see, they were devoted. And sad to say, we have a generation coming along that do not have the same commitment. If there's a meeting on, well, if there's nothing else going on, maybe they'll go.
But in those early days, when there was a meeting on, that meant everything. Well, here's what the psalmist says. The Lord is my shepherd. What a wonderful day it was when we could say, I know he's mine.
This friend so dear. He lives with me. He's ever near. Ten thousand charms around him shine. But best of all, I know he's mine. Did you say that today? There's a little lady smiling. I remember when she found that out.
He's mine. I remember reading about a girl years ago, just a little child. And she was confined to her bedroom and her mother was teaching her the words of verse 1 of this psalm. The Lord is my shepherd.
Going over that on her hand. The Lord is my shepherd. And one day she got seriously ill and she died. And when they went into the room, that child was holding on to that finger as if to say, he's mine.
Can you say that? He's mine. You know, I was thinking the other day about World War II days when I was working for Uncle Sam against my wishes. It was either that or prison. I was in high school when the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor.
And the next door neighbor come over and told us we didn't even have a radio in our home. She says, the Japs have bombed Pearl Harbor. And we thought, where's Pearl Harbor? Never heard of it. But we soon found out.
And at 18 years of age, every one of us had to register for the draft. And it wasn't long until Uncle Sam said, I want you. And I was put in the U .S. Navy for 26 months. And I can remember those days when there were no other Christians around.
And I would long even to see a Christian's dog. They found out you're a Christian, as they thought. It was your bunk they were rolling the dice on or playing poker or whatever. And I remember one day our ship came into Staten Island, and I took the ferry over to Manhattan.
And I was going home for the weekend. Hadn't seen a Christian for weeks. And Easter weekend, as I come up into the Grand Central Station to get the train up to Connecticut where I lived, I thought I heard singing.
And then up on the balcony, I saw a black man walking up and down with his hands in his pocket. And he was singing, up from the grave he arose with a mighty triumph for his foes. You know what I thought?
I'm getting close to some Christians. Nothing like fellowship of the people of God. Those that can say, He's mine. He's mine. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. What a delightful day that was.
But, verse 2 says, verse 3, he restoreth my soul. David had dark days in his experience. There was a day when he was out on the rooftop. And he saw a woman and desired to have that woman brought to his house.
And David, with all of the lust burning in his being, he committed sin. He committed adultery with that woman. You know, David committed three sins on that occasion. Not only he committed adultery, but then he covered it up.
And then he sent Uriah the Hittite, the husband of Bathsheba, out into the front of the battle, so he would be murdered. Well, David reaped for that all of his days. He needed restoration. There he is, a dark day in his experience.
And I want to say, while our God is a God of restoration, you know what God says about the priests? If they sin, they can partake of the bread of God, but they can never function again as a priest. That's what the Word of God teaches.
So we need to be careful, not only those who are young, but those who are older. The devil will do his best to bring down a child of God. He doesn't care how he does it. But then, not only were there dark days in the experience of David, there were days that were distinguished by his Christian living.
You remember that occasion when Goliath, the big giant, about nine feet, six tall. I've got a son-in-law, he's six feet six. I have to look up to him, and he'll ask me, how's the air down there? Well, Goliath was nine feet six tall, and he wore a coat of mail that weighed about 100 pounds, and the head of that spear was about 15 pounds.
And he was the one that was coming against the people of Israel. There was no one that would combat him, and David, the keeper of the sheep, came down to his brethren, and they mocked him. And then David said to Saul, the one that has defied the hosts of Israel, I'll take him on.
Well, Saul said, you'll have to put on my armor. But he put it on, and David said, I haven't proved it. I can't use it. But you remember, he took that staff in his hand and a sling, and he went to a little brook and gathered five smooth stones, and with one stone, he slew the giant.
I see him standing on his chest and pulling the sword out of his sheath and taking his head off. What a day in his experience. You know what David said when they mocked him, when Saul said, how can you combat such an enemy?
He said, there was a day in my experience when I met a lion and a bear, and he said, the God that enabled me in those days will help me. He said, when the bear came, I took him by the beard, and he slew him, and he slew the lion.
God was with him, and he said, I'll do the same with this giant, and his remains will be for the birds of the air. A day when there was delight in his heart, a day when he distinguished himself because his faith was in his God to combat the enemy, and that's what you and I need in this godless world.
But then there were days in David's life when he walked in fellowship with God. He knew what it was to enjoy communion with God. Days of devotion, difficult days, dark days, though I walked through the valley of the shadow of death.
When do you think that was in David's experience? You remember Saul hunted him like a partridge on the hillside, and there were days when Saul was hiding in the cave, and David went in, and he was lying sleeping.
And his man said to him to put him to death, but David just put the spear into the skirt of his garment. He could have slain him, but David knew his God, and David left him with God. You see, Saul envied David.
He eyed him, it says, and several occasions he took that javelin, and he tried to smite him to the wall. You know, dear brethren, envy is a terrible thing when it gets in among the people of God. It can affect preachers.
And I'm speaking to myself. Someone sees blessing in the gospel, it wouldn't be right for me to be envious. I should be thankful that God is blessing His Word. And you brethren that are preaching up in Mount Sterling, and down in Marian, we pray for you every day, and mention those children by name that need salvation.
It takes God. Our brother reminded us of that this morning. We cannot even put an anxious thought in a sinner. You know what James says? Of his own will begat he us. It's all his doings. We're just little pawns that God at times makes use of.
But there was days of devotion in the life of David. He said, in spite of circumstances, even walking through the valley of death, some of us know what that is. To lay a loved one aside, another week it'll be two years since my dear wife went home to heaven.
I think about her often. I told them somewhere that I still talk to her every night. And some think I'm losing it. You know when you're 70 or 80 and you speak a little bit funny, they think, oh well. But when you get to be 90 they say, well what do you expect?
Well I want to tell you, I still tell my wife I miss her, and I love her, and I'll be with you very soon. Good night. And I believe loved ones in heaven, brother, agrees with me. You know if a Scotsman agrees with you, you know you're right.
We were talking about Moses and Elijah on the mount with the Lord Jesus. Peter, James, and John were there, and they saw Moses and Elijah. They had never seen them before, but they spoke with them. They had a visible form.
Don't get the idea that your loved one that's in heaven is like a phantom floating around on a cloud playing a harp. A lot of nonsense. They've got a visible form. They're recognizable. Not like a spirit or a phantom.
They don't have the glorified body yet. That will come at the rapture. But now they have a form. And I often wonder what they're doing in heaven. Must be wonderful to be there. I buried a dear sister.
Jim and I buried a dear sister the other day over in Blue River. Very sweet Christian lady that told everyone about her Savior. But how wonderful it must be to be in the presence of the blessed Lord himself.
We sing that hymn, don't we? By and by when I look on his face. By and by when I look on his face. I'll wish I had given him more. Delightful days when we can enjoy heaven on the way to heaven. That's what Paul wrote to the Ephesians.
That's why he says so much in that epistle about the heavenly places. Every chapter seated in the heavenlies, not merely with Christ, but in Christ. They're there. He wants them to direct their vision heavenward.
And that's what God wants you and I to do. We get so occupied with all that's around us and this crazy election that's going on. Don't be concerned about it. God will put in office who he wants to be there.
And our prayer is that whoever it is, they'll be respected of what we enjoy. And that these privileges that are ours will continue. But then I want to close. Here's another day. He says, thou anointest my head with oil.
A day of coronation. I remember watching the coronation of the present queen of England on the television, if you can imagine. I was in Toronto at the time for gospel meetings and the brother had a TV in his house.
That was his problem, not mine. But we were up in the middle of the night and watched it. Maybe you did too. Very impressive to see that queen sit upon that throne of coronation in Westminster Abbey. And all of her escort there.
And then not only the crown placed upon her head. And the Archbishop of Canterbury, he'll turn in all four directions. And they'll say, God save the queen. And then she's anointed. Well, here's what David says.
Thou anointest my head with oil. David was anointed three times, you remember. He was anointed in the midst of his brethren. He was anointed over the house of Judah. And then he was anointed over all Israel.
Three occasions when David was anointed with oil. Well, we're looking forward to that crowning day that's ours. In the meantime, we can rejoice. Days of rejoicing. My cup runneth over. At the beginning he says, the Lord is my shepherd.
And at the end he says, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. What a glad prospect ours is. He is coming. Air and earth and sea are humming. Earth's creation yearneth the prince of peace to meet.
He's coming. He may come today. The Lord help us and bless his word to our hearts with what will follow for his name's sake.