Psalm 23. It's a Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. And even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I 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 have anointed my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. You may be seated. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your grace and goodness for the time we've had today to reflect upon the gospel of Christ. Lord, I pray that you will give us everything that we need now to understand this passage, to be encouraged, to grow in our understanding of you, and to faithfully serve you in the world in which we live. Do your work in us, we pray, Father, for your glory and for the good of your church. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Well, Psalm 23 is probably one of the best known and most beloved passages in all of scripture. It's very personal in nature, if you will look at it in your English version, at least in my English version, just looking at it real quickly. I found 17 personal pronouns, either my, me, or I, in these six verses. We know that it is a Psalm of David, and we know from 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel that David was a shepherd. We know this from when God sent Samuel to anoint the next king after Saul, and David was out shepherding his father's flock. And as mentioned a couple other times, the references are there in your sermon notes. One of the things that we see about this is David, as he writes the psalm, is doing so as as one of the sheep. The Lord is my shepherd and he takes the role of a sheep as he extols how great his shepherd is. He's telling us all about how the shepherd has taken care of him and how the shepherd continues to take care of him in this life and also looking forward to the life to come. One of the things that we also see in this psalm though is it becomes a great text for us to preach wonderful truths to ourself through the course of our life. As we see the things that are brought out in this passage of scripture, there are circumstances that David mentions in this passage that the shepherd takes care of that we also can probably many times over testify of God's goodness and how he's taken care of us in a similar fashion. But also in the midst of it, sometimes we just need to remind ourselves. In the midst of the grief, we need to remind ourselves of these truths. In the midst of the trials, we need to remind ourselves. In the midst of the course of our life, when we're not sure where it's going and where things are headed, we need to remind ourselves the Lord is our shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. Again, very personal in nature. And that's what David does. He starts off this, I'm gonna break it up into, I think, an opening confession in verse one. It was, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. That is kind of, I think, the banner over the whole psalm. and the truth that that represents. But we'll also get a conclusion where he starts with the Lord, the Lord is my shepherd, and he ends with dwelling in the house of the Lord forever. And so I think those are kind of the bookends that hold it together. There are two images that we'll see. Some see three, and I can also see that. We see the Lord as shepherd, and we see the Lord as host. Some see a third image here in verse four as the Lord is as companion. I'm gonna I'm gonna lump that one under the shepherd imagery though. But let's look at what this passage represents. It says, the Lord is my shepherd. Notice in your Bibles that the word Lord is all capitalized, capital letters. And if you've been here with us at the Wago Community Church, you've heard this before, but whenever that word Lord is capitalized, it is in reference to the very personal name of God. It's a passage, it's a word, a title, a name, that God's personal name that is used over 6,000 times in the Old Testament. It comes from the passage of scripture from Exodus chapter three, verses 13 to 18, where Moses, if you remember, is in the wilderness, tending his father-in-law's sheep, and he sees the bush burning, but it's not consumed, and he goes over, and the Lord tells him to take off his sandals, because the ground which he is standing is holy ground. And then in verse 13, it says, then Moses said to God, behold, This is after God has told him what he's going to do. He's going to send him to bring his people out of Egypt. So then Moses said to God, behold, I'm going to the sons of Israel and I will say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you. Now they may say to me, what is his name? What shall I say to them? God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I am has sent me to you. God furthermore said to Moses, thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, the Lord, notice the capital letters there, again, his personal name, the Lord, Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial name to all generations. And so what we see here, again, is this connection to This name of God that many believe is pronounced Yahweh, or if you have the King James, they many times will, in those passages, rather than capitalize, will have Yehovah or Jehovah. It is the personal name of God and it represents especially his covenant name, his covenant relationship that he has with his people. And we see this repeated many times. And it's brought out even clearer when Moses actually goes down to Egypt and he tells Pharaoh, the Lord, Yahweh, says, let my people go. And Pharaoh goes, who had many gods over the land of Egypt, he says, I don't know who the Lord, I don't know who Yahweh is. So he didn't, so what part of the demonstration of the power of God, the Lord over Egypt was to demonstrate to him that Yahweh, the one true God, is God over everything and is more powerful than the gods, all the gods of Egypt. And so we see that emphasis. It is this personal name that David uses to describe here to say Yahweh is my shepherd. He is my shepherd. We see this name and all that it represents in Isaiah 42, verse eight, it says, I am Yahweh, I am the Lord, that is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven images. And then we also see that towards the end of Exodus, when Moses, he asked God to show him his glory. And part of that is the description of his name and what his name represents and what characterizes who he is. And part of it was that Moses was saying, Lord, if you're not going to go with us, don't send us because we need you to go with us to show us where we should go and to bring us in. And he asked to see His glory. And then the Lord says, I myself will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show compassion on whom I will show compassion. And then later in chapter 34, verses 5 through 7, it says, then the Lord passed by in the front of him and proclaimed, Yahweh, Yahweh, God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and truth, who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin, yet he will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. So we get an idea of what's connected with this name Yahweh. And part of it, as we're going to see here, is his goodness, his loving kindness, his compassion. He's forgiving, but he's also just. And he will judge those who who are guilty, and He will judge sin. We see all of this brought out, and we're going to see this idea brought out again in Psalm 23. But part of that is also one of the things that says the Lord, Yahweh, is my shepherd. And the commentators that I looked at tell me that that word, my, is emphatic. It's emphasized in the construction of it. The Lord is my shepherd. Again, very personal, and this relationship that David has with the Lord, and he sees this relationship as a shepherd with his sheep. Now, God uses the idea of shepherd and sheep imagery in Scripture to describe his relationship with his people many times. We see it right away in the book of Genesis with Jacob as he's getting ready to bless He blessed Joseph and said, the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, and then he describes him and says, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, who has been with him. Remember the promise that he made to Jacob? He said, I'm going to be with you. guided him even to this time at the end of his life when he's ready to bless his sons. We see in Psalm 95 verses 6 and 7, And then in Psalm 100 verse three it says, know that the Lord himself is God. It is he who made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Isaiah 40 verse 11, like a shepherd he will tend his flock. In his arm he will gather the lambs and gather them in his bosom. He will gently lead the nursing ewes. And then we read this morning together, Ezekiel 34, where God brings an indictment against the shepherds of Israel, those who he had put in charge over Israel to lead them, to feed them, to instruct them in the knowledge of God and in his word, who had failed and had looked only after themselves. And God is talking about the judgment that he's going to bring against those leaders for their failure and their wickedness. And he says, I will be their shepherd. I'm gonna be the one that's gonna lead them and feed them and bring them rest. And so we see that. We see the imagery of sheep, Isaiah 53.6. We all, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Again, Luke 15, one to seven, Jesus tells the story that if a shepherd has a hundred sheep and one goes away, he doesn't just say, well, it's just one sheep. No, he leaves the 99 and he goes out and searches for the one who was lost. And when he finds it, he comes back rejoicing. And so again, we see a number of this. In John 21, verses 15 to 17, as Peter is being reinstated three times, Jesus says something along the line, feed my sheep, feed my lambs, feed my sheep. 1 Peter 5, one through four, where he's talking about being shepherds. Peter is an elder of the church. Elder is also exhorting the elders among you. He says, shepherd the flock of God among you. And he tells them how to do that. And then he tells them when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown promised to those who love him. So we see this emphasized over and over again, but clearly the passage of scripture finds, I think, its ultimate fulfillment in the passage that Brian read in John chapter 10, where it says Jesus is the good shepherd. And in this passage of scripture, one of the things we see is a connection here. Remember, the passage of scripture is a connection to the name of God is connected to that confession where God says, I am who I am, I am who has sent you. John includes a number of I am statements that connect directly back to that Exodus passages. And one of them is in John chapter 10, when he says, I am the good shepherd. I am the good shepherd. And he says, the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. And then as he goes on and describes it, he says in verse 30 where it says, I am the father of one. We know that the Jews understood what Jesus was saying here was more than just making a statement, I am a good shepherd. He says, I am the good shepherd. And he says, the Jews picked up stones again to stone him. And Jesus answered them, I showed you many good works from the Father. For which of them are you stoning me? And the Jews answered him, for a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy. And because you being man, make yourself out to be God. And so Jesus draws the connection. I think, I don't know if it's directly there, but I think that would have been the imagery probably that came to people's minds as Jesus is talking about the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. So we see this imagery. What do shepherds do? Shepherd obviously take care of the sheep. And to say that we are one of the sheep is not necessarily a compliment. Scott can tell you about goats and probably, I don't know if sheep are much different. But if you ever hear Scott talk about goats and sheep, you know that it's not a compliment when you're referred to as a sheep. Sheep have a tendency, apparently, to go astray and to do things that get themselves into all kinds of predicaments and oftentimes need to be rescued. And again, Isaiah uses that, we all, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. But nevertheless, Jesus or David says, the Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. Think about that for a while. And what are the implications that that has for your life and for my life? The first thing it should cause us to do is ask the question, is the Lord my shepherd? David can confidently say, the Lord is my shepherd. But I think the emphasis for the question that naturally should come to our mind, is the Lord my shepherd? Have I trusted in his provision for my salvation? We see clearly the New Testament, Jesus says, I am the good shepherd, I lay down my life for the sheep. Is that through Christ and through Christ alone, we have the forgiveness of our sins. We have the assurance of eternal life. We are reconciled to God. That's where we have that personal relationship with God where we can say as confidently as David, the Lord is my shepherd. And especially through the years as we go through, we can recount as David did that how faithful that shepherd has been throughout the course of my life. But we must, first of all, settle the matter. The Lord is not your shepherd. If you've never trusted in Jesus Christ as your savior, the Lord is not your shepherd. And what it takes is that humble, humbling of yourself, confessing your sins, realizing that there is nothing that can save you from your sins except for Jesus Christ and what he did through his life, his death, and his resurrection. It's not through going to church. It's not by trying to be a good person. It's not by trying to keep the Ten Commandments. None of those things can save you. And none of those things can earn the forgiveness of your sins. It is only through Jesus Christ, what he did, who he is as a son of God, and what he did through his sacrificial life and death on the cross and through his resurrection. But again, when we trust in him by faith, we confidently say the Lord is my shepherd. conclusion is that because the Lord is my shepherd, we can confidently also say, I shall not want. I shall not want. Now we use in our English that word want differently than it's used here in this passage because I want all kinds of things. We can probably think of all kinds of things that we want. Want a nice house, a nice car, a good job, a beautiful family. We can think all kinds of things. Good health. But here, the passage, the word is used more in the sense of I shall not be in need, or I shall not lack. We see this in Psalm 34. So if you just turn over a couple pages of Psalm 34, We'll see this brought out in verses 8 through 10. Psalm 34, verses 8 through 10. O taste and see that the Lord is good! How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! O fear the Lord, you His saints! For those who fear them, there is no want. And then here's a illustration of what, the young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing. In other words, the Lord knows our needs and the Lord will take care of those needs. We see in Philippians chapter 4, 19, a couple weeks ago, He says, and my God will supply all of your needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Again, not out of His riches, but according to His riches. He will supply them in Christ Jesus. We see in Matthew chapter 6 verses 25 to 34, you can turn there and look at that passage later, but here Jesus is saying, do not be anxious about what you're going to eat, what you're going to wear. knows you, have those needs, you're more valuable than the birds of the air, you're more precious than the flowers of the field. God has promised to take care of you and he'll provide for you. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. So we see that this is, again, the opening confession. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want, I shall not lack any good thing that the Lord knows that I need. We can confidently say that, we can stand upon that. In the midst of our circumstances, even when we might see there are needs in my life, we can go to them and say, Lord, you are my shepherd, I shall not lack, I shall not be in need of any good thing. You know that I need. And then what we see in verses two through four is the shepherd's care for the sheep as described for us in a number of images. He says that first of all, He makes me lie down in green pastures. Now notice in the following verses, in verses two to four, it's all the things that the shepherd does. The shepherd is the one who is doing these things. He makes me lie down in green pastures. Here we have the idea of rest and nourishment that the shepherd provides for his sheep. At the passage in Ezekiel 34 verses 11 through 16, again picks up, he says, I will feed them on the mountains of Israel by the streams and in all the inhabited places of the land, I will feed them in a good pasture and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock and I will lead them to rest, declares the Lord God. And I will seek the lost and bring back the scattered and bind up the broken and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment. So we see again this idea of rest. And notice that he starts here with rest. Rest. We see also in Isaiah 49, verses eight through 16. Thus says the Lord, in a favorable time I have answered you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you. I will keep you and give you for a covenant of the people to restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages. saying to those who are bound, go forth. To those who are in darkness, show yourself. Along the roads they will feed, and their pasture will be on the bare heights. They will not hunger or thirst, nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down. For he who has compassion on them will lead them and will guide them to springs of water." And Jesus also says, come to me all you are weary. and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Find that rest, that rest that the writer of Hebrews describes in Hebrews chapter four. First of all, the rest that comes from relying and trusting in Christ and knowing he has accomplished all the things for our salvation. And as we trust in Him, we rest. We rest in who He is and what He has accomplished for us. The second thing that we see, which again is closely related to the first, is He leads me by quiet waters. Remember, the idea here is that He leads us Cattle, you drive cattle, we've all seen the cowboys from the past, you know, where they're doing the cattle drive and they're driving the cattle and trying to get them going and yet what you do is you lead sheep. And what we see here is this imagery is Jesus is the one who leads beside the quiet waters. Again, quiet waters apparently are necessary for sheep to go and find a place of the water for their thirst. Apparently if it's a running brook that's making a lot of noise, they'll get unsettled and they will not drink. It can also be a place where they're going for cleansing, maybe a wound or maybe something has happened to them and it's there where they find their needs met. as far as thirst and care for wounds. We see in a number of places, Psalm 31, verse three, it says, for you are my rock and my fortress. For your namesake, you will lead me and guide me. We're gonna see that in a little bit here more clearly. Isaiah 411, like a shepherd, he will tend his flock. In his arms, he will gather the lambs and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead the nursing ewes. And 4910, it says, they will not hunger or thirst, nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down, for he who has compassion on them will lead them and will guide them to springs of water. Quiet waters, peaceful waters, he leads them. And then he says he restores my soul. To restore means to turn back or to return, and it has the idea of returning something to its original state. It's used for restoring a wall in 1 Kings 13, verse six, for restoring the captives to their land in Isaiah 52, eight, for repairing the walls in Isaiah 58, verse 12, for rebuilding Jerusalem in Daniel 9, verse 25. It has, again, the idea to restore, to bring something back to its original state. And it can also be used as repentance in the scripture. We see a number of passages of scripture where it talks about this restoration and the need for it. And we see the restoration that's coming, especially from Ezekiel chapter 34, was why did they need to be restored? Because they had been beaten down, had been taken advantage of. a number of things had been happening because of the bad shepherds that were taking care of them. And even as we look at the course of our lives and the things that can happen in our lives, there's those times where we need that restoration, that renewal. In Isaiah 51, verses 10 and 12, it's a different word, but it has much of the same idea. where it says that David, remember, writes this psalm after his sin with adultery and murder, writes this, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Both that word renew and restore are the same word, again, used interchangeably, but again, it's a different word, but has the idea, the same thing. We see in Psalm chapter 19, verse seven, how does this restoration take place? Through God's word. The law of the Lord is perfect in Psalm 19, seven, restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. In Psalm 80, verse 3, 7, and 19, three times he says, O God, restore us and cause your face to shine upon us and we will be saved. Verse 7, O God of hosts, restore us and cause your face to shine upon us and we will be saved. O Lord of hosts, Restore us, cause your face to shine upon us and we will be saved. It's that restoration process that God brings his people through. Through the hardships of life, through the things that are happening, God uses them in our lives to bring about that restoration so that we turn to him and that we find our needs met ultimately in him, in him alone. Next he says, he guides me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. The paths of righteousness are the right paths but they also are righteous paths because he leads us in conformity with his nature and with his character. And we see this that his reputation is at stake for your namesake, for his namesake. In Deuteronomy chapter 32, We see this again about His name. What does His name represent? All that He is in Deuteronomy 32, verses three and four. For I proclaim the name of the Lord, ascribe greatness to our God, the Rock. His work is perfect, for all His ways are just. All right. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He. 1 Samuel 12, 22. For the Lord will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. Jeremiah 14, 7-21. Although our iniquities testify against us, O Lord, act for Your namesake. Truly, our apostasies have been many. We have sinned against You. Verse 21, do not despise us for Your namesake. Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory. Remember, and do not annul Your covenant with us. We see a number of times in the Psalms. Psalm 25 11, For Your namesake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. In 31 3, For You are my rock and my fortress. For Your namesake, You will lead me and guide me. Psalm 79.9, help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name, and deliver us and forgive us our sins for your namesake. We see in that verse that the glory of his name and his namesake are parallel in that passage. In 1 John 2.12, John says, I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for his namesake. It is according to his name. We can understand he will guide us in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. We can trust him as he guides us through the paths of righteousness, the right paths. And then we see a bit of a transition here in the next verse, in verse four, where he says, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me. As he's going through The transition here in this passage is that he's telling us, remember in the first few verses, of all the things that the shepherd does. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. But here as he gets to this next verse, he says, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. Why? He doesn't say, for he is with me. He says, for you are with me. Now the gaze is not so much testifying and proclaiming to us all the good things the Lord has done for him. He now turns his gaze towards the shepherd himself and he says, for you are with me. You are with me. Significant as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death here Some translate the deep shadows, the darkness, or extreme danger. See, death has been defeated by Jesus in his life, death, and resurrection, and all that he came to do. And he tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that the last enemy to be abolished is death. And he's gonna do that when he returns. But later in that same chapter he says, talking about how we are going to be changed, and this mortal will put on immortality, and this perishable will put on the imperishable. He says when that happens, death will be swallowed up in victory. And then he taunts death by saying, oh, death, where's your victory? Oh death, where's your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us a victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And he tells us how that impacts how we are to continue to be steadfast as we live our life. But as we go through life, there will be the dark valleys. There will be at times in our life that shadow which death casts over the path of our life. One of the things that we see here is that David, as he's talking about this, he knows that that is not the final destination. He says, as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me. So when death casts its shadow in the forms of sickness, discouragement, danger, trials, whatever we go through, again, we can confidently say even death itself I will fear no evil, for you are with me. He goes on to say that your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Got ahead of myself a little bit there. Just to go back a little bit, the idea of God's presence with us, we see it in Moses. God says, I will be with you. Joshua, as he tells him to go and do what he's called in chapter one, he says, I will be with you. And even to us as we are called to share the gospel, lo, I will be with you to the ends of the age. In Hebrews chapter 13, he tells us, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Again, it all is connected to His name, what His name represents and His faithfulness, His faithful covenant love that He promises to His people as we can have that same comfort And then the rod and staff are used for protection and for discipline. They're used against the wild beast and the thief. We read in John 10, the thief comes to kill and to steal and destroy, but I've come that you might have life and it might be full and meaningful. Here we see he uses that rod and staff for the protection of the sheep and for their comfort. He goes on. To have the idea of those wild beasts that come against the sheep, where he protects, his presence is with them, he has the ability, the tools, the proper tools to bring about that protection. But also, some bring the idea of discipline in this, and actually, the word for rod is actually used, that same word that we often quote from Proverbs, that we should not spare the rod when it comes to disciplining our children. We see this idea of discipline that is also found in Hebrews 12, verses five through nine, where we're told that God disciplines those he loves. And both of these, rod and staff, are used in ways to communicate those truths for us. What do they do? Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. They comfort me in knowing that God is going to protect me from the things that will ultimately bring me ultimate harm, and that he also will use it in my life when I need discipline to bring and to yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Comfort. They comfort me. I remember growing up as a kid, my dad's presence in the house was always a sense of comfort. There were times growing up when my mom and dad were going through marital difficulties and dad would leave the house. And those nights, I just remember at times waking up and being afraid because dad wasn't there. When dad was in the house, it didn't matter even if things were not necessarily good, but when dad was in the house, there was a sense of security that came along with that. And yet, how much more, as sinful people, we can do that, but my dad, in that way, not a Christian, yet there was a sense of security. How much more for our great God who's the shepherd of our souls, who has demonstrated over and over his constant faithfulness to us, to give us that peace and security, to give us that comfort in knowing that He is with us. And then we see the transition and the Lord is a host. You prepare a table. He again is talking directly to the Lord. He says, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. And it's here in the context that he is bestowing honor upon him. It's a vindication for him in front of his enemies. Imagine yourself to be invited to the king's palace for a meal, a banquet, and there are a lot of people there, and they're all waiting to see who's the honored guest, only at their dismay to see that the honored guest is someone they hate. And you can imagine what they're thinking is, oh no, here, this guy, I don't like him, and I've been invited, now I gotta watch him be honored by the great king. And all part of that honor comes with the anointing of his head with oil. The idea of oil and anointing has the idea of oil of joy in Psalm 45, verse 7. It has the idea of refreshment. It has the idea of one who has been out in heat and dry land, and their head is anointed. We see it with Jesus when he went to, I don't think it was Simon's house, I think that was a different one, but one of the times when he was anointed, the people were saying, because of who he was anointed by, they said, well, if he knew who was anointing him, then he wouldn't let her do that. But Jesus says to him, he says, I entered your house, oh, it is Simon, he says, I entered your house and you gave me no water for my feet. but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume." And so again, that's something that showed honor to your guests that they would come to your place. And again, my cup overflows, indicating the abundant supply. Again, emphasizing the joy and the festive celebration. That is, you are, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. And then he comes to this confident conclusion. Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. It says goodness and loving kindness in the passage that I read to you earlier from Exodus chapter 33. Remember, Moses says, show me your glory and God answers him. He says, I will cause all my goodness to pass before you. And a part of that description, he emphasizes this term, his loving kindness, his steadfast love as the ESV translated. Other passages, his loyal love, his faithful love. It has the idea, again, of this committed, loyal love that a husband and wife pledge to one another in their marriage to have towards one another. And that is the kind of love that God has for his people, that committed, loyal love that demonstrates his faithfulness time and time and time again. It's his loving kindness. And he says, surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life. It's interesting, this word follow. actually carries with it also the idea of to pursue or to chase and can even be used to translate the word persecute. It is used, remember, in Genesis chapter 14 when Abraham is going to go rescue his nephew Lot and he says he gathered his men and they pursued those that had taken him hostage. uses that term twice, they pursued. I love that idea of pursuing. It just seems to be more active and more intentional. You know, I think of the word follow, I'm not gonna criticize the way it was translated, because it still has the same meaning, but to follow behind means, you know, he's just following, and I'm up here, and somebody's behind me following me, but if somebody is chasing you, All right? I mean, it has that idea of intentional pursuit until God gets what he wants. I pray this prayer for my children, that God will pursue them. God will save them. God will pursue their hearts, capture them, just as he did me when I was running from him, not caring what he was thinking, what he was doing, what he thought, that God pursued me. God continues to pursue us when we go astray, continues to draw us back to himself. He says, this will happen all the days of my life. This psalm is for our daily life, all the days of my life. There is not a moment in my life or your life, if you're trusting Christ, that his loving kindness does not pursue you. and draw you to himself. And then finally, he says, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So not only for this life, but also for the life to come. John 14, 1 to 3, Jesus says, do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. For I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. and you know the way where I'm going. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you're going, how do we know the way? And Jesus said to him, I am the way, I'm the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me. The end, Revelation chapter seven talks about those who come through the great tribulation He says, they will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore, nor will the sun be down on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to the springs of water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. What a beautiful psalm. So many great truths to remind ourselves. It's interesting that in this psalm, there are really three responses in all the things. He says, first of all, the Lord is my shepherd. First response, I shall not want. Second, I will fear no evil. The third, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. All of these things are things that we need to remind ourselves constantly. Do you know that the Lord is your shepherd? Then you shall not want. The Lord will help you. You shall not lack any rest or restoration or renewal. You shall not lack the guidance that is necessary, the safety and provision, the eternal reward or inheritance, all are provided by the great shepherd of the sheep and the great host of the banquet. Do you have any needs? Do you need that guidance? Do you have any fears? In this psalm, we find in that shepherd, they are all met. So that we can confidently say, as David did, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. And he will guide me to my dying days. When I can confidently even then say, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever, but again, It is conditioned upon whether the Lord is actually your shepherd, if you put your faith in Christ as your Savior. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for your grace and for your goodness. What a beautiful psalm for our souls today, Lord. Help us to feed upon your word. Let these truths guide us each and every day as we walk the walk of life. Sometimes when the path gets hard, sometimes When we're going through trials, sickness, whatever it might be, we need those moments of encouragement because the shadow of death is so strong and real. Lord, I pray that you would help us to confidently walk knowing that you're with us and that you'll guide us, you'll direct us even to the end. Thank you for your grace and mercy in Jesus' name, amen.