Psalm 23

Let's pray and ask for god's help this morning. Father, we, thank you, that as we've just read, and as as we've just sung, that you are our shepherd, that you are the god who is with us always, that you have covenanted to be by our side. That no matter what we go through in life, even into the darkest valleys, you are with us always. And we thank you as well as we've seen that you are our host, you are our king, you invite us to sit with you at your table. And we pride that as we consider these things, as we consider this Psalm, which has been, such an incredible source of comfort and blessing and correction for so many thousands of your people down through the ages, that you would speak to us afresh this morning.

Help us to see Jesus, help us to love him, and to treasure these words, and we ask it in his name. Our men. Well, I wanna begin with a question and, that is if you are, if you're a Christian here this morning, if you would call yourself, a follower and believer, in the lord Jesus Christ. What is it that gives you confidence for the future? What is it that gives you confidence for the future?

How how can you be sure, in other words, that god's favor and god's grace is gonna rest upon you for as long as you live. How can you be sure of that It's an important question, isn't it? Do you feel that you can honestly say verse 6 with David? Do you share his confidence for the future? Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the lord forever.

Do you can you say that? Can you say that? Do you have that confidence? That goodness and love is gonna follow you all the days of your life, and then you will dwell in the house of the lord forever. Because David in this Psalm is brimming with that sort of future confidence, isn't he?

I shall not want. I will fear no evil. Goodness and love shall follow me. I will dwell in the house of the lord forever. What makes him so sure?

How can he talk so confidently? How does he know his future is so certain with the lord? Well, I think there are 2 big reasons for that future confidence and they're in this Psalm. Firstly, is because so far he has experienced loads of god's goodness. He has experienced so much of his blessing up until this point.

He makes me lie down in green pastures He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He had that history. Sorry, this door. I think we're haunted morning because this door is gonna keep opening throughout throughout the the morning, I would think.

But, there we go. So he had this, he had this kind of history, we barring it So this is fire regulation, you know, I don't know what number, but there we go. I don't know how confident we can be now, and sort of spills something undermines everything I'm about to say, but there we go. But for David, at least, he he was able to have it because he had this experience of god's goodness and god's leading all of his life, but also because he knew the character of his god. He knew what his god was like.

In verse 1 and verse 6, we read the capital l o r d, and that is translated for the covenant name of god. That is the name Yahweh. It was the name that was given to god's people. It was for those who were inside his community of promise. And so that tells us that everything that comes between verse 1 and 6 comes in the context of a god who will be faithful to his promises and will be faithful to his people.

So those 2 things Really important the way they work together. A past experience of god's grace and a confidence in god's name is what can make him so sure that his future is safe. 1 of the songs we've already sung this morning, which is 1 of my favorite Christian songs is called come thy fount of every blessing. And, in the second verse, I think it is, we read these words. Hopefully, they'll pop up on the screen.

They are on the PowerPoint. There we go. Here the 2 that I love has blessed me Thou has brought me to this place and I know thy hand will bring me safely home by thy good grace. That is the sound of confidence, isn't it? That is a confident person who can sing that and notice it's exactly the same recipe.

Here the 2 thy love has blessed me. Up until this point, right up to the present day, I have had an experience of your love and of your blessing. I've got that experience and I know thy hand will bring me safely home by thy good grace, and my future is safe because of your character, because you are a gracious god That's the combination. Future confidence comes from past experience and a knowledge of god's faithful name. And the aim of this morning really is for us to lay hold of those particular reasons to lay hold of that 2 fold recipe so that we can actually say as god's people today in 20 18, we can say verse 6 not with blind faith and not with kind of finger crossing confidence but with certainty.

Goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the lord forever. Now last week we looked at verses 1 to 4. And, we only scratch the surface. It is, it is a magnificent little section. The lord our god, yahweh, the covenant god is our shepherd.

But today, we're going to look at verses 5 and 6 which is all about the shepherd who becomes a king or the shepherd who becomes a host, really, the shepherd who becomes a a host of a banquet. And as we saw last week, that journey from Shepard to King was David's life. He himself went from being Shepard in his field to king in his palace. That was the journey he went on. And we also noticed last week that in a sense, that was the life of Jesus Christ, wasn't it?

That was his journey. The good shepherd came to this earth, He laid down his life in the darkest valley and then he was exalted to be risen king of the universe. And here's the beauty of it, if we're Christians this morning, if we are united to Christ by faith, we can be confident that that will be our journey. After the valley of the shadow of death, every child of god, makes it to the king's table. Verse 5, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.

And so the first point this morning, as we think about reasons for future confidence, is this, the Victor's banquet. It will help. There are those are someone called Victor here, it's not referring to his banquet, particularly. But it's the banquet for the 1 who, the 1 who triumphs And as I said, just said, really, this Psalm is written by David in the Bible and, in the Bible, there is a strong line of connection between David and Jesus Christ. David was the Lord's anointed, and so is Jesus.

David was king for a while, but Jesus inherits the throne of David forever and ever and ever. There's a strong connection between them. And so in many ways, this Psalm, Psalm 23 is a prayer of god's king. It is a prayer of his Messiah. And so when you look at it like that, Jesus in a sense is the 1 who prays verse 5.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup, overflows. In other words, Jesus Christ has been through the valley of death, and now God the father has a victory meal in store for him. Have a look at this verse from Isaiah 53 on the screen. Famous, famous, passage this. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied.

By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will give him a portion among the great and he will divide the spoils with the strong. See the pattern, after suffering, after the dark valley comes victory. A share of the spoils amongst the strong. He's the exalted 1.

Philippians 2 in the new testament. Jesus humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore, god exalted him to the highest place. And gave him the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is lord to the glory of God the father. See the same pattern?

After the shepherd lays down his life, he is raised up. After the valley of shadow comes the table of feasting. That is the promise. This is the promise. A day is coming when the enemies of Jesus Christ will look on and see that he wears the crown.

The scepter of justice is in his hands. The books of judgment are in his palms. He opens them. A day is coming when the enemies will see this feast that god the father has prepared for his son and for all who have been invited in the son. A day is coming when the enemies will look on as the head of Jesus Christ is anointed with the oil of celebration.

They will see his cup running over with blessings and goodness. And because Christians are in Christ, those enemies will see us rejoicing with him at the table that is described in verse 5. And of course there is a sense in which they already do even in this life. Those who have trusted in Christ are people who already share in his victory. So it's not just then.

Right now, there is a sense in which we sit at the table. The battle is over. The enemies of Jesus have been crushed under his feet at the cross. We can have confidence in the face of opposition We are victorious in Jesus already, but 1 day that is gonna be fully realized. 1 day the table will be set and the enemies will see us eating and feasting with god's king.

And it goes without saying that if you live in a place surrounded by enemies who hate you, as David was at 1 time. This promise is very good news. Here's 1 of the many stories to come out of the persecuted church this month just in October. It's gonna come up on the screen taken from the Barnabus fund, which is just full. The website and the Facebook page is full of stories like this.

This is just 1 of many. Filaney Hertzmann targeted 2 Christian communities in Nigeria's plateau state on the third and fourth of October, leaving 23 people reported dead and houses and churches burning. 19 Christians including a family of 7 died in the attack on the arrear community on the third of October. And I witnessed described how the gunman wearing black clothes opened fire shouting a la rack bar. People were massacred and we are now helpless.

The killing is barbaric, he said. The following night, fellaini attacked Nickondero Village in the same region, killing at least 4 and setting on fire 2 churches. An estimated 500 churches in plateau state have been destroyed since 2001. And so you can imagine that for these brothers and sisters, verse 5 is great news. A day is coming for them when their enemies will look upon their enjoyment of Christ and we'll be unable to disturb it ever again.

And although we may not be exposed to that same level of threat here in the UK. This is still good news for us. The word that is actually used here for enemies shares a kind of common root with other words like to tie up or to imprison or to bind or to restrict and it often carries with it this idea of being oppressed. It's a word used of oppression, and that I think is very much the case. Perhaps you've heard that in Scotland recently, the government and the police have put up posters to try to prevent religious hatred than if you've seen them.

Here's a few examples. These have been going up all over the place in Scotland. Dear bigots, you can't spread your religious hate here. End of sermon, yours Scotland. Dear bigots, division seems to be what you believe in.

We don't want your religious hate on our buses on our streets and in our communities. We don't want you spreading your intolerance or making people's lives a misery because of their religious dress. You may not have faith in respect and love, but we do. That's why if we see or hear your hate, we're reporting you, end of sermon, yours Scotland, and there's several others that go with it as well. And obviously all of us who truly follow Jesus or against hatred, aren't we?

Any kind of hatred that is directed at someone because of their race or because of their sexuality is not on. We are again we are against that sort of bullying as much as anybody else, but the problem is that poster only will stir up what it's trying to stop. They are clearly aimed at religious people. I would argue even at Christian people, And because the words are so vague and unclear, most people will see that and think, oh, yes, they're talking about Christian views. Those are the kind of hateful views that they're talking about.

Never mind if the majority of Christians are trying to lovingly witness to their neighbors without hatred or bullying. Never mind that. Let's build the strawman and watch it burn. All who hold Orthodox Christian views are hateful bigots. And you can imagine this is all over the buses and the poster boards, you imagine you're you're an ordinary Christian worker trying to live for Jesus in your office, and that goes up outside your building.

And all your colleagues are suddenly reading it on the way in. What's it gonna do? Well, it may give you some opportunities praise god may give you a chance to talk with them, but also surely it's gonna stir up what is trying to stop. Surely, it's going to lead to actual bullying for many believers. So we may not have violent opposition like they do have in plateau state but there is a spirit of oppression, a spirit of opposition to those who follow Jesus, and therefore verse 5.

Is great news for all of god's people. 1 day, those who have devoted their lives to disturbing our joy in Jesus Christ. We'll see that he is the lord. And they will be unable to do that anymore. So here is our first reason for future confidence The father has promised a victory meal for his Messiah.

It has already started in this life and 1 day we're gonna be there face to face. But what is this banquet gonna be like? That's the question. What is it gonna be like? What is it like now for us to be at the table of the king?

And that is the second point. So we've seen the Victor's back banquet And secondly, I want us to have a think about the king's generosity. Just look at verse 5 again and look how look how generous this language is. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.

You can see it's like the language suggests this sort of over the top running over, full to the brim, taste the difference, extra special, plenty for everyone feasting. This is not a basic meal for the servants, and, you know, it's not just a pack of, you know, mini cheddas and whatever else you've got left in the cupboard. All the stops are out for this banquet. Nothing is being withheld. That's the picture here.

Actually learnt recently what the phrase all the stops are out means. It comes from the world of pipe organs. Don't know if many of you uh-uh move in those circles pipe organs but that's where it comes from and apparently the stops are designed to control the air flowing in and out through the pipes. And when you pull them out, it increases the power and the volume of that particular note. So when 1 pulls out all the stops, it's to go for maximum volume unrestrained as loud as we can go over the top music.

And in this case, that's the point. It's over the top feasting. It's to provide the best that you can imagine with so many blessings that every single cup is running over with joy. That is the sort of meal that the father has prepared for his son. And once again, it's a picture of what it's like for us to know Jesus Christ.

It's interesting up at the, up at the university. We've got these cards. There are about 50 cards and they've all got different color photographs on them of all kinds of different things. So there might be a family in 1 and an aeroplane in another 1 and somebody sitting on a pair of scales in the bathroom or all kinds of random shots and, we put them all up and we ask people to look at the pictures and to answer some questions by choosing them. So 1 of the questions we ask is how would you describe your life at university using these pictures, and they'll often choose someone extremely stressed and irritated or disappointed, or angry, you know, and, or, you know, whatever else.

And we ask them a number of questions, and 1 of them we ask is what kind of pictures come to your mind when you think about Christian things? And, you know, it's just a way of trying to build a conversation really, and that's 1 of the questions. And I was chatting to this girl recently and she chose a picture of a compound that has razor wire, 8 feet fence and then razor wire all over the top to sort of keep people in and to restrict them. And I asked her, why did you choose that? And she said, that's what I think Christianity is like.

It's just designed to restrict you and to stop people getting out. And if they try, it's gonna hurt them. That's what I think Christianity is all about. But she just couldn't be she couldn't be more wrong. I just said she I just said that that version of Christianity is just foreign to everything I know.

What we've got here is a picture of what it's really like to know the lord Jesus and to live with him in the new creation forever. It is like the best feast you can imagine sitting at the table of a generous servant god lavishing his blessings upon you. The kingdom of heaven is like a banquet Jesus says. It's an amazing scene. But there's even more to this than, than meets the eye, even more to it than generosity.

In the old testament, to eat and drink at somebody's table created a bond of loyalty between the 2 parties. Very often promises were made and oaths were taken and then there would be feasting. So it's like any good wedding, isn't it? You know, I think it's Pretty feeling mims is the next wedding, and that's the sort of recipe that we expect. Isn't it?

You know, promises are made, oaths are taken, and then feasting. The feasting, if you like, is is part of the festival and it sort of seals the covenant. It seals the enjoyment of the covenant after the promises are made. But that was a very common idea in the old testament. Have a look at this verse from Exodus 24 just to see a little case study of it.

Moses then took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said, this is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all of these words. Moses and Aaron, Naidab and Abayahu, and the 70 elders of Israel went up and saw the god of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli as bright blue as the sky, but god did not raise his hand against these leaders. Of the Israelites, they saw god, and they ate, and they drank. See the pattern there?

A covenant is made, It is sealed with a blood sacrifice, and to top it all off, these leaders have a meal together before the lord. What does that remind you of? Forgiveness of sin, a new covenant, the shedding of blood, What is the scene, the last supper? There is a meal after the covenant vows The new creation is called the wedding feast of the lamb. There is a promise.

You will be my people, and I will be your god. There is a covenant, and I will eat with you, then there's feasting. And so that is the significance of Psalm 23. We've got a generous king, eating with his people, committing to them with promises. Binding himself over dinner in covenant loyalty with his king and with his people.

It's a wonderful scene. And that is our second reason for future confidence, isn't it? Surely? How is it that we can be sure that our sins are dealt with. How can we be sure that goodness and love will follow us all the days of our lives?

How can we be sure? That there is a seat for us at this table because of who god is. He is the covenant l o r d, the lord who makes promises and feasts with his people. What a great reason for confidence that is. And lastly, so we've had 2 things there.

The Victor's banquet, the king's generosity, and thirdly, the lover's pursuit. And in this last little bit, David's future confidence, if you thought he was confident up until this point, it just accelerates up to the max. It is amazing. Have a look at verse 6. Surely, your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the lord forever.

And again, that word for love is a very important old testament word. And it is a word which describes god's commitment to his people, which is both loving and faithful. It's a loving faithfulness. It's a beautiful combination when you think about it. This lover isn't faithful to you as long as it suits him.

He doesn't only love you when he feels like loving you. I mean, how many relationships are there that decay and break down because they lack that combination because feelings are more important than covenant I'm committed as long as I feel like it, and then I'm gone. Praise God that he is different. His love for his people is full of passionate feeling, but it's also dependable. It's interesting with their with students.

Lots of them, I've noticed feel very homesick in the early days, of being here at university. And in 1 sense, that's very normal, isn't it? Because lots of students, not all, but lots of them, have come from homes where they've had this reliable steady supply of kindness and support for all of their lives. And then it becomes a university and they live in halls where there's a steady supply of nothing except filth and, you know, unreasonable staying up at night. You know, they come to halls where they don't have that same support network.

And they come to places where it might it might not be the case. And I and so it's natural for them to miss because they've had this steady supply of support and kindness for all their lives. And I think that is the sort of thing David has in mind. God's love is like that, a loyal, passionate, steady commitment to his people. But it's not just the word for love, which is super strong.

The word to follow is just as powerful. In fact, the word to follow is often used in David's life to mean a pursuit. He uses that word when his enemies are pursuing him. Which is which I think is a helpful way of thinking about it because the word follow can be quite passive, can't it? I mean, if I follow you in my car, it's not the same as me pursuing you in my car.

If it's a pursuit It takes the following up a notch, doesn't it? In a pursuit, I'm totally taken up with where you're going. If you go left, I go left. You drop to 30, I drop to 30. I'm totally pursuing you.

Well, that is the word that David uses. He knows what it's like to be pursued. I mean, goodness, saul, chased him over land and sea for, I don't know how long. He was pursued by his enemies, but here he turns the phrase for good. He takes it positively.

That is a picture for him of what god's love is like. It pursues him for all of his days. Spurgeon said this, hopefully, it'll come up on the on the screen. On verse 6, these twin guardian angels will always be with me at my back and my back. Just as when great princes go abroad, they must not go unattended.

So it is with the believer. That's what he thinks the 2 ain't the goodness and lover like. He says they're like 2 angels. Always on the back of the believer. Wherever you turn, there's goodness angel, there's love angel.

At every turn, they are pursuing us on each shoulder and they will make sure that every child of god finds their way to the house of the lord. So what we have in verse 6, isn't it? I will dwell in the house of the lord forever. And the truth is to many people in the Old Testament, That kind of confidence would be borderline blasphemy. The idea that 1 could dwell in the house of the lord forever.

People can't just stroll in to the house of the lord whenever they feel like it. They can't just approach and decide to set up camp in the holiest place. That is not their place. Who is righteous enough to dwell in the presence of absolute power and holiness forever. Who could say that?

Only 1 the lord Jesus Christ. He has gone before us into the house of the lord. He is at the right hand of the father even now. And that means that if we have been united to him by faith, we too are in the presence of god. We live with him.

He lives with us. We are wrapped up in his righteousness, and 1 day we're gonna be there face to face. Sounds like arrogance, doesn't it? We will dwell in the house of the lord forever, but actually it's just gospel confidence flowing out of an understanding of God's grace. Spurgeon again, couple of quotes from him says, while I am here, I will be a child at home with my god the whole world shall be his house to me.

And when I ascend into the upper chamber, I shall not change my company nor even change the house. I shall only go to dwell in the upper story of the house of the lord forever. See? Already he's saying, already he dwells with us. Internal life has already begun and therefore death will just be like going upstairs into the heavenly part of the house.

And so I hope you are persuaded that this Psalm gives us wonderful reasons for future confidence, not self confidence, not finger crossing confidence, but true gospel confidence because of our past experience and because of who god is We can say with David, goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the lord forever. This is a this is a wonderful, wonderful Psalm. I just wanna share 1 last quote with you which I picked up, and I think it just fuels our rejoicing. It's just it's just a great, a great way of summarizing. This Psalm has charmed more griefs to rest than all the philosophy of the world.

It is remanded to their dungeon more felon thoughts, more black doubts, more thieving sorrows than there are sands on the seashore. It has comforted the noble host of the poor. It has sunk courage to the army of the disappointed. It has poured barm and consolation into the heart of the sick of captives in dungeons of widows in their pinching griefs. Of orphans in their loneliness.

Dying soldiers have died easier as it was read to them. Gasly hospitals have been illuminated. It has made the dying Christian slave freer than his master. It has visited the prisoner and broken his chains and like Peter's angel led him forth in imagination and sung him back to his home again. And I think as we finish this brief survey of Psalm 23, that that that's the application really.

Let it charm you let it comfort you. Let it give you courage. Let it challenge and correct you. Let it dress your wounds. Let it sing you home.

And above everything else, let it give you that god centered confidence for your future life as a believer. And if you're not a believer in this king, and I don't suppose necessary that everyone is, if you're not a believer, I hope you can see that any future confidence you might have just evaporates in light of this. Where else are you gonna find such passionate, faithful love as the sort which is held out to you in Jesus Christ. Now is the time this morning to repent of sin and to believe in this sacrificial shepherd king. You see, too often I think this psalm is just admired for its poetry, but then people close it, they walk away, and in the end it has no more saving power in their lives than any other book or poem would do.

Don't let it happen to you. Why would you feed on the muck of this world when god wants to bring you to the green pasture Why would you want to eat dust and ashes in this life when there is a seat for you at the king's table? Ask him. For that goodness and love, which he would delight to give in his son. Let's take a moment and pray and, maybe there's something that struck you a verse that you just want to turn into praise or you want to ask for god's help in some area.

Let's have a moment quiet to respond, and then I'll lead us in a prayer. Father god, we thank you so much for this Psalm. And for showing us that it is like a treasure chest that is full of all kinds beautiful treasures and wonders for your people. We thank you father that so many of us here have that past experience of your grace. That as we look back on the dark valleys, and in the times in the green pastures, we we know and we can testify that you have been faithful to us.

That you have led us and satisfied us and guided us even through the darkest periods. We thank you for that experience. We thank you father as well that you reveal yourself as the lord, that you are the covenant god who has sworn by your glory and by your name that you will be faithful to your people. We thank you father that these 2 things together give us confidence for the future, that whatever we face, whatever we go through, we know that like 2 guardian angels, goodness and love will pursue us. For all of our days, and that when all is said and done and we take the journey upstairs, we will dwell in the house of the lord forever.

How good it will be to be at that final covenant meal, the wedding supper of the lamb. When we know that no enemy will be able to disturb our joy in you. No enemy will be able to rob us of the treasure that is Jesus. That we will sit with you and feast with you as you dwell with us and we with you, and lord what a hope we have. Thank you for the confidence that each and every 1 of your lambs can have this morning.

We praise you in Jesus' name.