Psalm 23
Thanksgiving 2006

Reading:  Psalm 23, from ESV 

Freedom from Fear is the name of the National Non-Profit Mental Illness Advocacy Organization.  In an article posted to their website Dr. Jack Maser describes twelve subcategories of anxiety disorders which commonly afflict the American populace.  In the article he notes that approximately ¼ of all Americans will suffer from an anxiety disorder during their lifetime.  In another place the site notes that “anxiety and depression are the most common mental illnesses affecting more than 35 million Americans each year.”  The causes of such afflictions are complicated, including physiological malfunction and traumatic events.  I won’t attempt to solve these issues this morning, and do not wish to make light of these disorders.  Surely some among us have suffered from anxiety disorder or depression.  I simply point out these statistics in order to demonstrate something of the human condition.

In a dark and hostile world, where we know that life ends in death,

The hearts of men and women quickly drift toward anxiety and doubt, toward fear and despair. 

Henry David Thoreau once wrote that; “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

Human beings need something, no someone, upon whom to set our hope and our trust. 

David, the poet king of Israel, had uncommon confidence beyond the travails of life.  David knows that if Yahweh tends him, he shall lack for nothing.  Verse 1 is properly understood as, “I shall not want ever.”  For the grammarians and linguists present, you should know that the verb here for “want” is in the Hebrew imperfect tense, and in this context it takes the durative aspect.  In other words, grammatical usage here implies continuation and duration of action unceasing into the future.  David is declaring that the Lord’s provision does not fail.  As Shepherd, God never turns aside or leaves off from tending his flock.  David is content and confidant as one of the Lord’s sheep.  In fact, every verb in this entire psalm carries the same durative continuing force as found in v. 1.  David’s entire mode of speech in Psalm 23 entails repetitive, habitual care and provision from his covenant Lord.  The present represents this well, but you might add ever or always to the each verb as an exercise to catch the full sense.  You could read…

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want ever.  2 He always makes me lie down in green pastures. He always leads me beside still waters.  3 He always restores my soul. He always leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 

Prop: David’s God is worthy of our trust. 

Why is he worthy?  In the psalm David points us to God’s provision, his presence, and his pursuit. 

Because he provides for his people v. 1-3 

How did David know this provision? 

David knew by national heritage. 

David knew by personal experience. 

Listen to the passage,

I Samuel 17:32-37   32 And David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."  33 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth."  34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock,  35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.  36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God."  37 And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!" 

But even as David’s Lord provides for his people, we also learn to trust him as He remains present with his people (v. 4) 

Look at how David speaks of God’s presence in verse 4. 

"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." 

The some have thought that rod and staff refer to the same implement.  More recent commentators, through cultural studies, note the use of two implements by Palestenian shepherds, a club and a staff.  The club provides comforting assurance in protecting from predators, while the staff keeps on the path and offers reassurance of the shepherd’s presence even in the dark.  This is strong imagery of protection and trust. 

God is present in the face of death. 

The word typically rendered “shadow of death” is a compound Hebrew word, literally “ShadowDeath.”  This is a valley of deep darkness.  Frans Delitzsch calls this “the most fearful darkness.”  There is no frontier beyond Yahweh.  Both death and life are in his hands.  His presence should give us confidence indeed.  Though this is not a direct reference to the resurrection, it does represent David’s wholehearted trust and confidence in Yahweh even in the face of death. 

Death is mysterious and frightening for us.  Death brings grim finality to all a man or woman does and is upon the face of the earth, all his endeavors and relationships, all his vanity and virtue passes away like the grass in winter.  Do you fear death?  It is said that when a child loses a parent (at whatever age) there is a new awareness of mortality and of the imminence of the final hour.  It seems no one now stands between you and the grave.  I know that some of you have lost parents in recent years.  Perhaps you have felt this new awareness deep in the soul.  Perhaps others have felt more acutely the incremental effects of aging and the winding down of the body.  Those of you who are younger are not immune to death (as Dan is apt to remind you I am sure).  There is a funeral this afternoon in Acworth for a 20 year old college student killed in an auto accident earlier this week.  When you feel the specter of death, walking in the valley of shadow, remember the confidence of David’s tone here.  Indeed, sing the verse aloud if you have need.  God is with you.  But we can truly see more clearly than King David ever did in these days beyond the Resurrection of our Lord.  That’s right, we know the rest of the story.  We know that in Jesus Christ, the second person of the Godhead, yes God himself faced a man’s death for the sake of men, and what is more, he took it up again.  The grave could not hold the God of life, and if his Spirit is in you as it has been promised, then no grave will contain your life either. 

Yes, facing death will still bring proper mourning and even terrible sadness to the heart for those who are close.  But as Paul reminds us, we shall never mourn or fret as those without hope.  Christian confidence moves beyond the grave. 

More than kind provision and benign presence, God actively pursues his people. 

We can trust David’s God because God pursues his people. v. 5-6 

How does the Lord pursue? 

The image changes here from Shepherd to host.  The Lord now serves the table for his beloved in the presence of enemies

We have already noted that David had many enemies throughout his life.  Some commentators have suggested that this is a perfect image of David when he fled from his son Absalom.  But the superscript of Psalm 23 does not posit a life situation, but only designates authorship.  The terms are sufficiently vague such that any projections of specific life situations for David here are merely speculative.  But the striking truth is that these verses could have applied to David as both young man and old.  As long as we stand between the times awaiting the return of Christ we can count on regular opposition as well.  But as much as we should expect opposition, we should also anticipate the Lord’s provision in the midst of antagonism.  Here is the God who meets his people in the prison cell or the underground church, a host who is present in the arena of persecution.  He will meet you in your place of opposition as well. Psalm 23 does not hide from the darkness of the present age.  Instead, we are reminded and assured that God is present in the darkness and before enemies guiding and providing for those who trust him. 

Our Lord pursues with abundance forever.

We are perhaps even intimidated or alarmed by the unceasing pursuit of God’s love as declared in the final verse.  The verb employed here is the same word used for military pursuit elsewhere.  God will remain in hot pursuit of David, and likewise of all his chosen people. 

To borrow an image from my friend David Walters

Follow vs. pursuit in a car 

Conclusion: 

This past Wednesday night around just after 10:00 p.m. an intruder burst into the Philpot Personal Care home on Cascade Road in Atlanta.  The intruder moved straight past three other residents to find Veronica Thomas, and then struck the 59 year old MS patient about the head, leaving her body there dead on the floor beside her wheelchair.  The motive is unkown, police are investigating, was it greed, revenge, envy, or the selfish desperation of a family member burdened by the thought of her ailing? 

I caught the report on the evening news Thursday night.  I’ve come to pay closer attention to such newscasts since moving to inner city St. Louis, recently dubbed most dangerous city in the US by CNN.  When I hear of an incident, I wonder if one of my youth is involved or another congregant.  Such reports are all too common in our nation.  When I heard this report on Thanksgiving evening, after riding MARTA through the Atlanta that morning, I hung my head alone in front of the television and said a prayer, a simple plea to our Lord for hope in this case.  When I lifted my head the report continued with a testimony from a deacon in Mrs. Thomas’s Baptist church.  He noted the godly character of Mrs. Thomas, her faithful attendance to worship, and he said she was the sort of person that you are glad to know. But he said the image of Veronica Thomas which will remain engraved in his memory comes from the past Sunday when Mrs. Thomas, hobbled and hunched from Multiple Sclerosis grabbed hold of a pew and pulled herself up from her wheelchair in order to stand on her feet and lift up her hand in praise to our God, in praise to the Lord of David. Reaching unto the Shepherd who provides in darkest of days, reaching to the one she can trust beyond the old enemy of death itself. 

Like David, Veronica belongs to the Lord, even as we do, even as I do, even as you do. 

Psalm 23: 4 -- "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." 

Sermon by Parker James