The Lord Is My Shepherd - Part 2 — James Jennings

Psalm 23: The Shepherd and the Host

But last time I started a series, Lord willing, when I have opportunity to share a series going through Psalm 23, a psalm that is containing David testifying about the Lord. And he uses at least two metaphors that describe our relationship to the Lord and how He treats us.

Right? The first is the Lord is our shepherd. And we are one of His sheep. And he uses that metaphor. And the second is the Lord is a gracious host. And we are one of His guests. And these are incredible privileges to have as Christians.

And my hope is as we meditate on these realities of who the Lord is, it's going to make you all the more grateful that the power of God as we heard about in the first hour ever came into your life, and make you think well and biblically about who the Lord is.

Because one of the battles we have as believers is maintaining a correct perspective on who the Lord is. Satan is often on an attack to get us to have a distorted view of who our Lord is. And so previously, we considered kind of an overview of the psalm and the first part of v. 1, the Lord is my shepherd.

“I Shall Not Want”: The Lord’s Provision

And today, I want to go and focus on that next phrase, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Let's go ahead and read the psalm and then we'll pray. The psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His namesake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Let's pray. Lord, we do thank You for giving us such a glorious psalm that is full of so many glorious truths. And Lord, I pray that You would help me to feed these sheep through this very psalm that speaks about You, Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

Lord, You love this flock. You love this church. You love these believers. And so, Lord, I appeal to You, even this morning, that You would feed these brethren through Your words. Lord, despite all of my utter weakness as a speaker, Lord, I'm looking to You to provide in people's hearts deep and rich food, Lord, that I can't give them in my own power and strength.

And so, Lord, I ask for Your help in this time. In Christ's precious name, Amen. Psalm 23 The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. There was a young child once, they read this passage, and due to their poor reading comprehension at the time, they thought the text was saying, the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want that.

I don't want Him to be my Shepherd. They thought that's what David was saying. That David didn't want the Lord as his Shepherd. And indeed, the text says, I shall not want. I shall not want. But that means, not that one does not want the Shepherd.

But that if the Shepherd is theirs, if He's yours, they will have their needs taken care of and have no wants. No needs. Now that sounds very controversial because many of us have needs. And Paul even says, uses that word in Philippians 4.

And so we're going to need to define what this is and what this is not. But David is really emphasizing, as I mentioned last time, he's confident in the Lord's provision for his life as he is this helpless sheep who is being led by this good Shepherd who is overseeing all of his needs.

And children, you should want to be a sheep in this Shepherd's flock. It shouldn't be the Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. But the Lord is my Shepherd, I want that. I want to be in His flock. You know, one thing I've thought about is I've rarely met a young child who could say, I shall not want.

Rarely met that. They rarely will say, I am totally content with everything that has been provided for me on my birthday or any other occasion. And the ones that I have met are full of such contentment.

What would be the first and obvious reason? Why are they full of such contentment? Because they've been saved, right? Christ is now their Shepherd and they can say these words. If you don't have the Lord as your Shepherd, you're going to have a life full of wants, full of emptiness.

A second reason, though, maybe a child could appear to be content is they just have general kindness of God upon their life and they're a pleasant child. Or here, a third thing is, many children seem content, but it's really a disguise.

And for years and years, they conceal the true desires of their heart being known. They don't want to be portrayed as someone who wants something out there that they yet cannot obtain. And they're just waiting for that opportunity to have that pathway to dart after what they covet and think will satisfy their soul.

And children, you might be one of those children waiting year upon year for that opportunity. But I can guarantee you this, if that door ever comes, you're not going to find satisfaction in whatever it is you think is going to bring you that joy and peace in your heart.

Rightly understood, you could say that this psalm is a stunning five-star testimonial from David of why you should follow the Lord Jesus Christ. And David is completely biased. He totally shows partiality towards the Lord.

And you and I should too. Because the Lord Jesus says, I am the way. There's no other way. We should have a bias towards Christ. We should be completely convinced about Him that there's no other option.

Contentment Rather Than Whining

Another young child said of this verse, their mother walked near their door and they were cleaning up, and they heard the child quote the verse incorrectly, but in a way, it gave an interesting insight into the passage.

The child said this as they're cleaning up, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not whine. I shall not whine. I shall not cry. Now that's more accurate. If you're trusting in Him to provide for you, then to whine would be to complain about the Lord's care.

But if you believe He's the perfect manager, then who are you and I to whine? He promises to bring you into green pastures to eat. If instead you find yourself in a dark valley, is He not there with you also?

Depending upon what season you're in, David is convinced the Lord is always with him. And friends, David, if you read the life of David, if you read every psalm David wrote, you're going to see David went through many different tests and trials.

But here he is expressing his confidence that the Lord was always with him. He went through many difficult situations. So believer, as a sheep of the Lord Jesus' flock, I asked you this last time, could you write Psalm 23?

Could you go home or even as I'm speaking, write out these words and make it personal? Would there be anything about this passage that you would hesitate to write as being true in your own life? If that happens, then you have to examine your heart to see is there some characteristic about the Lord my shepherd that I am doubting and not fully embracing and believing is true?

All right, that's what Satan wants us to have happen. So how would you describe his oversight? I mean, David here shows us how he filled out his pastoral survey questionnaire that he got. I mean, this is how he filled it out in Psalm 23.

He's confident in this good shepherd over his life. And David had the question on the survey, how often does your shepherd visit you? What was his answer? How often does your shepherd visit you? What did David say?

He said on that, well, he doesn't visit me. I live with him. He's always there. Even when I sleep, even in the darkest of valleys, he's always there. You see, that's how good our good shepherd is. This isn't a matter of him visiting you.

You're in his flock. He's always aware. Wherever you and I am, he is completely aware of our situation and our circumstances, whether the valley or the green pasture. You know, maybe the picture David paints in this psalm makes you upset.

I mean, a sheep peacefully resting without any want of fear or danger? I don't like that. Because that's not what I'm experiencing in my own life. I don't like this picture that David is painting. But remember here, David who wrote Psalm 23 is also the one who wrote Psalm 22.

David’s Trials in Psalm 22 and Psalm 28

Look at Psalm 22, verse two. I realize much here is pointing to, even as Craig talked about in the Lord's Supper, these words of Christ. Christ applying these to Himself. But look at verse two. Oh my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer by night, but I find no rest.

Okay, how can Psalm 23 be true? And yet David is saying something in Psalm 22 that by night I find no rest. Oh my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer by night, I find no rest. I mean, doesn't it sound like a sheep who had no rest?

I don't think you should read into that reality that Psalm 23 is not true, just because David expressed that at that point in his life. He felt like he had no rest. Maybe it was in the valley, but look what he ends that, sorry, not that Psalm.

But throughout here, he's wrestling with the Lord and believing the Lord. Verse 10, on you I was cast from birth and from my mother's womb. You have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is none to help.

David is crying out. The David who believes Psalm 23 is crying out when he's in the midst of a situation like a Psalm 22. And that's what we have to do. We have to remember Psalm 23 when we're in the midst of a dark and trying trial.

You go to Psalm 28. Look at Psalm 28, verse one. To you, O Lord, I call to my rock. Be not deaf to me, lest if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Be not deaf. Hear my voices of pleas for mercy when I cry for help.

Look at verse 9. How does he end this Psalm? O save your people and bless your heritage. Be their shepherd and carry them forever. You see, David in the midst of this test in these trials, it's a time to remember who this Good Shepherd is and to remember who the Lord is, to remember His characteristics, and that He is with you even in the midst of this trial where it might not appear like He is.

And so many of these Psalms in a way are vivid examples of him being in a valley and the enemy no doubt wanting him to doubt God, but we see David exercise faith by praying and appealing to God and wrestling with the Lord in the midst of the trial.

You see, that's got to be the same thing with you and I. We're facing a valley. This isn't just some given that the Lord is there and we just sit back and all is easy. The Lord wants us going to Him by faith and believing His promises and wrestling with Him.

Years ago, Mike Morrow, who has since passed and gone to glory, preached a message at a conference called this, Don't doubt in the darkness what God has promised you in the light. We see that in David.

He's wrestling in different Psalms with doubting what he knew in the light. That's exactly what could happen to you and I. Our lives are not full of always being able to state Psalm 23 with some utmost confidence and no doubt.

Sometimes we're like David and crying out, Lord, where are You? But David is persistently going to the Shepherd, looking for His help, trusting that He will carry him forever. So Psalm 23, the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

God’s Faithfulness in Past, Present, and Future

The Lord is my Shepherd, I'm not going to lack provision. I'm going to be content. There's going to be full supply from this incredible Overseer who is watching over every single facet of my life. Is David speaking about the present, the future, the past?

What is he talking about here? Or as Jeff says, is it yes? Is it all three of them? Now if you look at the grammar, shall not want, the verb is in the future tense. He's thinking about future provision.

He's confidently looking to the future. But what's he also thinking about as he writes this? He's looking on his past experience with the Lord as his Good Shepherd and he's seeing this path that he's gotten to this point.

Whenever he wrote this psalm, whether it is at the end of his life as many believe, we can't certainly verify that, but David can look in the past, he can look in the present, and he can confidently go into the future looking to this Good Shepherd that he will not lack provision.

He's so confident. How does he end this psalm? Verse 6, Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me, shall pursue me all the days of my life. I mean, does that sound pretty confident to you? Surely and only, goodness and mercy will pursue me, will follow me all the days of my life.

This is the same David who wrote some of those other things in other psalms. David doesn't look at that and see any contradiction. Because you know what happened in the trial when he called upon the Lord?

Goodness and mercy did come. He was delivered from the valley. But when he wrote that in the midst of the trial, it might not all appear rosy and happy. So often, that's how it is with us. We've got to believe what Jesus said.

And behold, I am with you to the end of the age. We've got to remember this. We've got to believe this. We've got to trust this. We've got to believe that last verse. All the days of my life. I mean, that's the confidence he has now.

And he needs that in the midst of the valley. Satan wants you to doubt that God is not with you. So, brethren, all that to say, again, this psalm and David's perspective on the Lord, it's not inconsistent with other things he says in other psalms.

And this is a reminder for you and I to ask ourselves what is our own perspective on the Lord? Do I have a right perspective that is consistent with the Bible when I'm in the midst of my trials of who the Lord is?

If I were to write a poem commemorating my shepherd's care, what would I say? What would you say? Would it have a lot of doubts? Questioning? Would you express that He's watched over you every moment of your life and you can see His magnificent hand at work?

What would you say the Lord means to you? Where would you express you want to dwell forever? Would there be a total confidence in the Lord's management and provision? What would you say? Do you ever try that?

Do you try to write a letter expressing your love to the Lord? So often we do that in prayer, right? We're praising God in our prayers. Maybe get out a pen and be a ready writer to write something declaring your praises to your God.

That's one of the beauties about journaling. You're able to remember all your way the Savior has led you. So you and I's perspective of the Lord is vital. This psalm is a call to look to the Lord for all of your needs.

Looking to the Lord Rather Than the Means

And you could say, I know that, James. I'm already seeking to do that. Brethren, I think so often we don't know this. We're not looking to the Lord. Though He uses means, we end up shifting with too much of an emphasis on the means and less of a focus on the Lord our Good Shepherd.

He's looking to the Lord for safety, food, guidance, everything. Everything ever provided for you and I, no matter the means, realize this, it had Christ our Good Shepherd involved in you obtaining whatever it was you obtained.

He was involved in everything. Bringing the means into your life by which you were helped. That was Christ caring for you. It says in Luke 2 .8 that the shepherds were with their sheep by night. The Lord's always with you.

Because you and I are helpless sheep as we looked at last time some of those practical examples of how helpless sheep are. And the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. And then what does He go on to say right there?

He makes me lie down. If you remember, we looked last time at how difficult it is to get a sheep to lie down. And since that last message in the last two weeks, I've read multiple other books where there's people who are pastors who were once a shepherd, and they all seem to bring up these same four things.

So I guess it was pretty consistent. Who remembers what those four things were that the sheep need in order to lie down and rest? Yeah, well-fed. Yeah, no tension between them and the other sheep, right?

They can't rest if they've got a problem with the brother back there. Yeah, a sense of safety. Not sitting there in some fear that a wolf's going to come out and get them. One of you even gave me a very deep commentary to study as I go through this.

A children's book, Samian is Shepherd. It's a good children's book. I read it to my kids. I recommend it. They do take the entire psalm as just talking about the shepherd. They don't look at it as two metaphors.

Just make that brief comment. It's a good book. He makes me lie down. Again, the text says the Lord is my shepherd. And because the Lord is our shepherd, that's the basis, the ground for I will not want.

All is going to be provided. And then he goes on and he describes different provisions. He makes me. He leads me. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness. And that verse 2, he makes me lie down.

Lie down and rest. We can so easily take it for granted how impossible that is. I mean, even you think, brethren, you and I will lay down sometimes and we have good sleep with no fears. All is provided for.

And we can just take that for granted. I don't know about you, but when I was lost, I did not have a whole lot of good nights sleeping. I had different fears, anxieties. There wasn't peace. There wasn't peace in my life.

So the sheep need to be well-fed, free from bugs irritating them, free from internal bickering from each other, and free from fear. But remember, if I search each of those out in the Bible, does it really correspond in such a way?

That was a question I put forward. Or are we pressing the metaphor too far? But for now, I want you to turn and look at Psalm 3. And we'll look at the Bible does clearly express this reality of something that the sheep needs in this area of being free from want and not fearing.

Resting Under the Shepherd’s Protection

Psalm 3. David, the superscript before verse 1, says, "...the psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.". I mean, imagine that. Your son is taking over your kingdom and he's trying to kill you.

Are you going to have a good night's sleep? Are you going to be able to rest? If the Lord's your shepherd, I hope so. I hope so. What does he say? He's got many foes, many rising against him, many are sane.

Look at v. 2,. "...many are sane in my soul.". There's no salvation for him and God. See, don't believe God. V. 3,. "...but you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and He answered me from His holy hill.".

And look at v. 5,. "...I lay down and slept. I awoke again, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God.".

You see that. David is able. His shepherd so cares for him that when his own son is on a murderous tyrant to kill him, he can lay down and sleep even though thousands might encamp around him and want him dead.

He's able to say, I lay down and I slept. I woke again, meaning he didn't die. He was safe. He didn't have to stay up all night long. His shepherd was there protecting him. A shepherd you and I can't see.

And we're trusting in by faith. He sustained me. I didn't want. I was sustained. I was content. And he was not afraid. You see this in David's life. You constantly see these realities that he needs to lie down and sleep.

The good shepherd meeting those realities and giving him rest. Brethren, if you look at your life, I trust you will see the same thing has happened. Because if you're one of his sheep, this is a guarantee.

He's doing this in our lives. I mean, the Father bought us with His own Son's blood. This is a guaranteed reality. But you see, this could make you upset. I don't experience this. Well, are you really not experiencing it?

Or are you interpreting incorrectly your experience? Because if God cannot lie, and this is absolutely true according to the Lord, then what's really going on here? Is the Lord not your shepherd? Or is He your shepherd, but you don't rightly interpret how He deals with you?

Something's happening here if we can't seek to lay hold of this. He lay down and slept. The Lord sustained him. And so here, thinking about I shall not want. I shall not want. You know what? If you trust in other support convoys as a primary supply, they can be taken out and removed.

But the Lord your shepherd, He cannot be taken out. He cannot be removed. We saw in this psalm that like the rest of the Bible, this psalm is not primarily, let me stress this again, is not primarily about our shepherd's commitment to us.

What did we see last time? This is about His commitment to Himself. Look at verse 3 again. He restores me. He leads me. What is the purpose behind all of this? For His name's sake, right? This is God's commitment to you because God is committed to Himself.

And David's the one writing this. Meaning David in his own life, it recognizes what's behind all of the Lord's actions is His own glory and His own namesake. That's why the Lord's doing what He's doing in His life.

I mean, just like David, you and I have got to recognize the big purpose behind everything that's happening. It's God being committed to God. And that will help you and I interpret more different trials we go through when we realize maybe the Lord's brought me in this because somehow He's going to get more glory for His name's sake.

But if you just view this psalm, if you just view the Lord as just being committed to you as a sheep and it's all about a shepherd loving you and it's not about a shepherd pursuing His own glory and His own honor, then you're going to wrongly interpret different things that happen in your life.

Because it won't make sense why I went through such serious of a trial. If it's just about the shepherd caring for me, why did He allow that? For His name's sake. For His name's sake. I mean, this is God being about God.

And remember the grounds and the basis for why we will not want. It's the Lord is my shepherd. He's the one overseeing the cafeteria and what you eat. He's managing your armored protection in the dark valley.

Or He's giving you absolutely no protection and putting you in a prison that you would learn to be content in the midst of the jail cell. He has the maps to lead you. He knows you're going out before you even go out.

He's got the grace to restore you in the midst of sin and failures as He restores David. He's able to be with you into old age as your hairs get gray. He's able to walk with you through miscarriages. He's able to go through with the loss of children and a spouse and trials and apostasy in the church.

He's bearing the responsibility of providing for you. He's with you when you sleep. So what does it mean, I shall not want? What does it mean? To not want is to not lack or to be without. It's to have your needs met.

That's simple. You look at the lexicon, that's what it says. But there's a lot of different questions that I think come to our mind when we try to understand what David is saying here. I mean, first would be this, I shall not want, but in what areas?

Is he speaking about not lacking in the physical realm? Or the spiritual? Or both? Physical? Spiritual? Both? What do you see in the psalm itself? What are the primary things there seem to be speaking about?

Physical or spiritual? Are you guys with me? Physical? Spiritual? Both? He restores my soul. That's definitely talking about spiritual. Passes righteousness spiritual. Spiritual for his namesake spiritual.

But yeah, I think this is both. There's not a major reason to argue about it, but you don't want to just go to this passage and think it's just talking about the physical. And I think there's actually a wrong understanding if we try to separate physical from spiritual.

I mean, when the Lord gives you property, what's the purpose of the property? Is it just some physical thing in a physical realm? Or did He provide it with spiritual reasons behind you having it to use it for His own namesake?

So we want to be careful here to just split the spiritual and the physical apart from each other and make distinctions there that when you go to the Bible, you find in 1 Timothy 6, the richer to be rich in what?

Good works. God gave them what He gave them to use it for His namesake. You don't want to think the physical things are not there for Christ. They are. Remember that one sheep in the flock named Paul?

Paul’s Secret of Contentment

Keep your spot in Psalm 23, but go to Philippians 4. Look at what this sheep says here. This is pretty astonishing when you think about I shall not want. This guy had really learned something that I think many of us are still in the process of learning to a greater and greater extent.

Verse 10, he said, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length You have revived Your concern for me. You indeed, he's telling this church at Philippi, You indeed were concerned for me, but had no opportunity.

And he clarifies, not that I'm speaking of being in need. For I have learned in whatever I have learned. Paul learned something. His Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, got him to this point to learn something, and that is that in whatever situation he is to be content.

I shall not want is speaking about contentment. I know how to be brought low. I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I've learned the secret of facing plenty in hunger, abundance in need.

And what did he learn? What does he then say next? I can do all things through my Good Shepherd who strengthens me. Through Christ. Paul's saying the same thing David is saying in Psalm 23. I shall not want.

Guess what? Paul says the same thing. You go fast forward in time. Here Paul is saying the same thing. I shall not want. David's in the valley. Guess what? The Lord's with me. Paul's in the prison. Guess what?

The Lord is with me. Right? David is looking forward before Christ has come and really taken this banner of Jehovah Jesus, our Shepherd upon himself in John 10. Paul has come after that. It's already happened.

It's all the more clear what Christ has done that Psalm 22 applies to the Lord Jesus. That's who strengthens Paul. Christ, that's who strengthens David is the Good Shepherd, is Lord Jesus Christ. That's why Paul can state in verse 19, still in chapter four of Philippians, my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus.

And what is the purpose of the provision? To our God and Father be glory forever and ever, amen. I mean, David and Paul, they're thinking the same way. Right? We've got consistent theology here. To not want is to be content.

That is to not have needs when you actually have needs. You don't describe them as true needs because you've learned to be in that situation and it's okay. I'm not being stripped of my peace. That's what happened to Paul.

He's suffering. He's in prison. Most of us would say we have a lot of needs in that situation. Paul's able to say, I'm fine. I'm fine financially. I'm fine in this situation. I've learned to be brought low.

I've learned to be in whatever situation. I have learned the secret of contentment and that is that Christ is with me. But back to Psalm 23. I mean, contentment, as they say, is this perfect condition in life in which no aid or support is needed.

That would be a definition, but we would add to that as Christians, that's because all our aid and support has already been given to us and is being given to us right now through Christ. We're abiding in Him.

Apart from Him, we can do absolutely nothing. And the opposite of being content is being discontent. A condition in which you're anxious, unsatisfied, and you're demanding aid. You can't rest. You can't lay down.

Children, again, that's many of you. You don't have rest. Your life is full of anxiety. Only the Good Shepherd, only the Lord Jesus Christ, if you come and believe on Him, only He's able to give you that peace.

He's the only One. There's no other option. Your parents can't give you that peace. Coming to church can't give you that peace. Reading your Bible ultimately won't give you that peace if you don't believe on the One of Whom these Scriptures speak.

You can see from David's life, and you can see from Paul's, it would seem like they had a lot of wants and a lot of needs, but they actually had a lot of contentment because they were trusting the Lord.

Hunger, Providence, and the Meaning of “No Good Thing”

And so this really goes back to perspective. Perspective. Same thing, don't turn there, but in Deuteronomy, he makes this comment. He says, these 40 years the Lord your God was with you and you lacked nothing.

What does it mean they lacked nothing? Because later on in Deuteronomy 8, he says this, you shall remember the whole way the Lord your God has led you these 40 years in the wilderness that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not, and He humbled you and let you hunger.

Wait, I thought they lacked nothing for 40 years, and now He's saying He let them hunger. Well, that's what? Them hungering wasn't them lacking. Because their hunger needed to happen for Him to do the test to see what was in them.

Do you see? There's certain things the Lord is putting you in where it looks like there's really a need, but God's actually meeting a deeper need by putting you in the trial. And we've got to recognize that.

And it might be 40 years of you feeling like you have lacked things, but the Lord describes your situation as you lack nothing. And you're thinking, that's not what I felt. Again, your perspective is wrong, not God's.

You've got to repent of incorrectly judging God and His treatment of you. And you know what He went to say on in Deuteronomy 8? He wanted them to learn that they would know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

So they lack nothing, yet at the same time, the Lord let them physically hunger in order that they would all the more see the real satisfaction is going to come from who God is and from feasting on Him.

The physical need carried a purpose of driving home a reality in their life that could not have been driven home apart from the hunger. The same thing is happening in our lives, brethren. We've got to interpret it correctly.

And you know what? That would bring up one reason why so many want. They don't eat the green pastures, if you want to define it, as the Word of God. At least one of the things. They're not feasting devotionally on Christ and His Word.

And they wonder why they feel so much want when their devotional life is declining. Maybe it's just like what happened to the Israelites. The Lord wants you to see you've got to go to His Word. You need to feast on Him.