Text: Psalm 23

Topic: How our good Shepherd cares for us

Introduction:

The really great Bible sentences are in the indicative mood, not in the imperative.

What God has already done for us is the basis of the Christian faith.

The primary religious emotion is gratitude, not duty.

The Lord is my shepherd.

Illustration: A little girl said, "The Lord is my shepherd; that's all I want."

The good shepherd takes care of the three basic needs of his sheep—food, water, and rest.

Our life has a center in the strong and competent Shepherd, whose flock we are.

Illustration: Fosdick used to tell about a Holy Land shepherd who kept track of his sheep by knowing them all by name.

Love individualizes.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.

The wise shepherd knows that the sheep must not drink when it is hot, nor when their stomachs are filled with undigested grass.

Great people draw apart from the hurry of life for rest and reflection.

This is difficult, but like Elijah, Moses, Saul, and Jesus, we must do it.

He leadeth me.

Sheep are led, not driven as cattle are driven.

Jesus says, "Follow me!" and always, everywhere, he goes first.

It's a lot easier to be in the army than the church, because we like to be driven.

God is ahead of us, a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day.

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

Sheep will drink only water that is calm and undisturbed.

God knows that for us, there must be times of calmness and peace.

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness.

Perhaps paths of righteousness are those that lead to our greater humanity.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

God the shepherd has been referred to in the third person singular.

The pronoun becomes second person when the psalmist refers to life's most devastating moments.

Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou annointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

This is a reference to Oriental hospitality, a custom as binding as any law.

One must take in a fleeing traveler for two nights and the day intervening.

One would give that traveler food, drink, shelter, protection, and an extra touch of generosity: "My cup runneth over."

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

With God, in contrast, hospitality is not for two nights and a day, but forever.

Conclusion:

Few of us know how to go it alone.

We need to travel on the high paths of righteousness, in the footsteps of our Lord.

Illustration: A story tells of a young man who could skillfully recite the psalm, compared to an old man who knows the Shepherd.

Big Idea: This psalm lives because it says there is a Shepherd who knows his sheep by name, who is abundantly able to provide, who guides and protects, and who at the close of day welcomes his own into the fold.