Stephen Crane writes in his book about a young private in the Union Army who was so fearful that he fled the field of battle. He was overcome with shame and grief at his cowardice. And so he determined that if he only had a war injury, that he would be able to withstand his own fear. He volunteered with his regiment to be a standard bearer. And so the next time that his company went to battle, he was on the front lines carrying the American flag. So my question to you this morning is, what is your red badge of courage that keeps you from fleeing in moments of sheer terror? I want us to look at the answer to this question this morning from Psalm 23. Please open in your copies of God's word to Psalm chapter 23. Please give attention now as I read God's holy word. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, 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 runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen. May God add his blessing to the reading of his word. Let's pray together and ask God's blessing also on the preaching. Father, we come to you today dependent upon you and your Holy Spirit. We pray for of falling afresh of your spirit upon us, that you would make application from your word. May we not be just hearers of your word, but may we be doers. May we be changed today. Father, we commit this time to you now. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. I just want to make a couple of observations before we get into the text. First of all, This must be or has to be one of the most favorite beloved texts of all Holy Scripture. David here writes of two images or metaphors, the first being the good shepherd. We're very, very familiar with that. And then in the second part, that's one through four, in verses five or six, he writes about the gracious host. And there are several things that stand out here, and you may have noticed this yourself. One is how personal this psalm is. Notice the personal pronouns here. There's 17 personal pronouns. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. But there's also a confidence here that David writes with. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. And that's the question for us today. And that's what I want us to focus on. How is that possible? Think about that valley of deep darkness that you may be experiencing this morning. What are you fearing? What is troubling you? Is it the future? We start playing this what if game, right? What about a cancer diagnosis? Or maybe you're struggling with the demonic. When we think of fear, we tend to think of Satan and his demons. I want us to ask the question this morning, what is fear? What does David mean when he says, I will fear no evil? Does that mean that we don't ever get nervous? We're never afraid. Well, if you're walking along in the woods and you come across a snake, what happens? Your emotions immediately shoot to a 10, right? Your heart is in your throat and then you realize you look down and that snake is really just a stick. Did I fear? I did. It's a physiological response, right? The fight or flight. I don't want to be killed. So there is a real fear emotionally that we might experience. That's not what David is talking about or addressing here. The fear here that he speaks of is that of despair. It's that of disbelief or unbelief, the sin of unbelief. Franklin Roosevelt wrote, Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear. Think about, again, our author, David, writing, and he is standing before the giant Goliath. And yet he tells Saul, I'm not afraid of this Philistine. Let me at him. How is that possible? David, a young, small lad, probably 15, that would face the champion of the Philistine army. And of course, you know, the story would later decapitate him. It's about perspective. David was not looking at Goliath. He was looking over Goliath's shoulder and he was seeing Christ. So it's the perspective. When we're focused on God, our problems, our fears become really, really small. But when we're focused on our fears, God becomes very, very small. I want us to look at how Christ comforts us in three ways this morning from our text. First is his provision. You are with me. I will not fear. Why? You are with me. Number one is provision. Number two, his protection. And we see that in verse four, for you are with me, your rod and staff. Your rod relates to Christ's protection. And number three, his perfection. And this relates to his staff. So number one, Christ comforts us by his provision. It begins with his presence. All of the benefits that we have in Christ come from him and his presence. You, literally, for you are with me. Who is David speaking of? Verse one, the Lord is my shepherd. In your text, your copies of God's word, Lord is in caps. That is the proper name of God. Jehovah, I am. This is the one who brought all things into existence. The Lord is my shepherd. Jesus said in John chapter 10, I am the good shepherd. I lay down my life for the sheep. He is with us. Of course, Christ makes the equivocation, right? Who is good? Only God is good. Jesus is linking himself here to Jehovah, the one, only, and true God. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He is our God, Emmanuel, God with us. Corrie ten Boom wrote, if you look at your circumstances, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you will be at rest. Christ, our rest. And he brings and gives us rest. I think back to a time in my own life when I was 10 years old, my parents let me watch a television program You probably would think it's benign, but it affected me so traumatically that as a 10-year-old, I had to take a bath that evening, and I had to have my mom sitting in the bathroom with me. I was so frightened. And so if you're 10 years old as a young man, and you want your mom sitting with you in the bathroom, you know you're fearful. But later that night, I asked my father if he would sit in the hallway outside my room. I asked him to keep the light on in the hall, and my door was open. And as I'm going to sleep, I have this memory of looking over and seeing my father in the hallway. His presence brought me such great comfort. The psalmist continues in verse two, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. So the question we have to ask ourselves is, is this a blank check? Is this the health and wealth gospel? Is that what David is writing here? Not at all. In fact, one of the most misused verses in all of scripture is, delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Well, what does he mean there? It means that as our desires are conformed to his desires, we want what he wants. David here is describing our needs. Jesus will supply all of your needs in every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, Ephesians 1.3. Of course, not only will he meet all of our spiritual needs and does in Christ, but he promises to meet all of our physical needs. The problem is in our culture and even in the church today, we're a needs-based culture. Everything is a need, right? Health insurance is a need. Whatever, you fill in the blank. Problem is, even with men, we elevate respect. That is a need. That's not how we're to operate. Needs are very, very limited, right? Clothing, food, shelter. But yet, Christ promises to meet all of our needs, our legitimate needs. Look at verse five. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. This is that image, that metaphor of the gracious host, the good shepherd, and yet now we have the gracious host. My cup overflows. Look back to verse two, I shall not want. It's like an inclusio, this bracket that Christ delivers and meets all of our needs. I was thinking as I was preparing this, we tend to think we're not as wealthy as King David. I want you to think with me for a moment. When you go to your house, how many servants do you have? When I go to the sink and I turn on the spigot, fresh water comes out. I have a microwave, I can put a plate of food in there and I click a couple of buttons and my food is hot. Think about how rich, how blessed we are, even more so than even King David in all of his wealth. Think about all the servants that we have. Our cup overflows. We have everything that we need in Christ. It gets better. Look at verse six. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. This is the blessing of being in God's presence. Think about this. Christ our shepherd. Shepherds don't herd sheep, they lead sheep. What a beautiful metaphor that is. Christ before us and we have here goodness and mercy shall follow me. We're surrounded by God and his love. We see Christ as the good shepherd. We see here mercy as the Holy Spirit and of course goodness Only God is good, God himself surrounding us behind and before. This is that, notice, eternal provision. Not just now, but eternally. I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. We have his presence with us forever. This is that eternal provision. The provision that Christ gives us begins with his presence. But he continues, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. So number one, Christ comforts us with his provision, beginning with his presence. Number two, Christ comforts us by his protection. The shepherd's rod represents power, authority, and protection. Think about a king's scepter. And this rod, a shepherd would take a young sapling, would pull it out of the ground, invert it, and cut off all of the roots. And on the base of that sapling, he would form a small ball. He would work on it for hours. It would fit perfectly in his hand. And this is what he would use to protect his sheep and himself. Think about David, the shepherd boy. Again, when he talked to Saul and told him, I've got this, what did he say? The Lord delivered the lion and the bear into my hand. Most likely, he was referring to the rod of protection that he carried with him to protect his sheep from these wild predators. Contrast this with a hireling. Jesus talks about this in John chapter 10, 12 and 13. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd who does not own the sheep, he sees the wolf. What does he do? He flees. He runs. And the wolf snatches them and scatters them. Why does he flee? He doesn't have ownership. He's there to get paid. And if it's between him and the paycheck and death, He's gone, not so with Christ, our good shepherd. He is the one who lays down his life for the sheep. So how does Christ protect us? How do we see his protection here in our passage? Look with me at verse two. And this is not gonna be clear in the beginning, but I want you to think about this with me. He makes me lie down in green pastures. Well, how is this a protection? Well, sheep are known to just need one more bite of that luscious alfalfa. Sheep are known to eat so much that they'll die. And so the shepherd, in protecting the sheep, will cause them to lie down. What a beautiful picture metaphor for us. Are we not overextended? Do we not over consume? One of the battles in our culture today is with social media. Do we not spend an inordinate amount of time on the internet, on social media, building our own brand, the cult of personality? Christ gives us protection even from ourselves I want you to think with me, and I think this is the best application, is the Lord's Day, the Sabbath, that Christ has given us one day in seven that we might rest. We need rest. It's a protection. And so avail yourselves of this wonderful day, the Lord's Day, in which we come together in worship, in which you rest, not just from your physical labors, but it's a reminder of our rest in Christ and His work that He completed for us. We're resting in Him for our salvation. But it's very, very practical. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. God has made the day of rest for you and for your protection. Look at verse 2b. He leads me beside still waters. Again, sheep are so timid. They're so scared that by moving along fast running waters, they'll get spooked. And again, Jesus as the Good Shepherd knows us so well. He knows our frame. He knows that we're but dust. 1 Corinthians 10, 13. He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. He is gentle and lowly. Matthew 11, 29. And I love this picture in Isaiah 42. A bruised reed he will not break and a faintly burning wick. he will not quench. This picture of Christ, our Savior, going along, a candle that's almost burning out, and he passes by so slowly and gently that he does not cast that light, or that light does not go out. Or the reed that's barely hanging on by a thread, and he's passing so gently and lovingly that he doesn't even break the reed. This is our Savior who knows you intimately. He knows what concerns you. He will not give you more than you can bear. I think a good application of this is for us, dads, as fathers, that we not provoke our children. We need to know them well. We don't need to be overly sarcastic with them to the point where they're provoked. We need to know our wives as well. Know her needs, men. know what concerns her and defer to her as Christ does to us, the good shepherd. He protects us with his love. Psalm 103, 13 and 14, as a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him, for he knows our frame. He remembers that we are but dust. So Christ comforts us, one, with his provision, beginning with his presence. And then number two, Christ comforts us with his protection that relates to his rod. And now, number three, Christ comforts us by his perfection. Your rod and staff, they comfort me. When we think about a shepherd's staff, it's so iconic. You could just see a silhouette and you know immediately what that is. RPTS, their tagline is Study Under Pastors, and underneath it is a shepherd's crook. The Latin for shepherd is pastor. And so he is perfecting us with the use of his staff. And we borrow heavily from this idea and this imagery of a shepherd. The shepherd's staff was created and designed specifically for sheep. That's all it's good for. It was six to eight feet long and the shepherd would use it when a sheep would start to wander off the path and maybe fall down off into a crevice and use that crook of his staff to bring them back. Isn't that you and I? How often are we prone to stray? We're greedy just for a little bit more grass. We're clumsy. We fall into water and yet our shepherd, the good shepherd, perfects us. He brings us back onto the path and shows us the way. Look at verse three. He perfects us by restoring our soul. He restores my soul. In the Hebrew, the word for restore is the word for repentance. This is very, very significant. He, our shepherd, our savior, gives to us repentance. That's true restoration, is it not? The faith and the repentance that we've received from Christ. The parable of the lost sheep in Matthew 18 and 12 and 14 is a wonderful reminder of Christ and his love for us, his sheep. Matthew writes, if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the 99 which have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your father in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. He leaves the 99 and he goes after you and I who are prone to stray, we're prone to wander. He leads me in paths of righteousness. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness. We have repentance, and now we have righteousness. He's guiding us in the way He wants us to go. Aren't we thankful for His word? My wife recently was on a trip. We were not together and she got lost. And so she called me and said, I'm lost. And I didn't help her. I said, well, where are you? She said, I don't know why I call you. She had GPS, but for whatever reason, the GPS kept taking her on a wrong path. This was in a really not a good area in Dallas, Texas. And she didn't realize at the time, but she wasn't breathing properly. And so her hands kind of started tingling. How true is that for us in life? If we don't know where we're going, it brings up in us fear and anxiety. And yet Christ here, as the good shepherd, leads us in the paths of righteousness. He shows us where we're to go. Another beautiful picture of the shepherd and his sheep is that of using the staff to guide his sheep. And shepherd have talked about how this pastoral scene where the shepherd lays his staff on the sheep and they liken it to a sheep and the shepherd walking hand in hand. I love that picture. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? Because you are with me. Jesus is holding our hand. My father was a Baptist pastor. He pastored First Baptist Church in Livingston, Texas. I was probably five years old. We went through the building to turn out all the lights after an event, and there was this large gymnasium. And the lights are very, very bright. And so as he turns off all the light, he noticed that I didn't say anything. I wasn't scared. And he asked me later, he said, weren't you scared when you and I were in the gym and I turned the lights out? And I said, No. And he said, why? I said, because you were with me. You were holding my hand. And that's the picture here of the shepherd holding our hand, leading us in the paths of righteousness. He gives us repentance. He gives us righteousness. He leads us in right paths. And why? Why is he doing all of this? For his namesake. It's for his reputation. He does this for his own glory. He has sworn an oath to his people. He cannot and will not deny himself. This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. Hebrews 12, excuse me, Hebrews 7, 21 and 22. The great shepherd comforts us with his presence. He comforts us with his protection. and he comforts us with his perfection. He's conforming us more and more to the image of his son. So the question I asked you at the beginning, what is your red badge of courage? What keeps you from running away in fear? Well, it's not about us, is it? It's about Christ who bore our sins in his body. We have not, according to the writer of Hebrews, in our struggle against sin, have yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. And yet Christ did. By his wounds, we are healed. He is the standard that has been lifted up. And we are to look to Him. You remember that story of the children of Israel in the wilderness. They're being bitten by venomous snakes. And it's very odd. What does Moses have them to do by direction of the Lord? I want you to build a pole. I want you to put up on a standard the snake. And we're thinking, what in the world? That snake is a representative of death, that thing which is killing God's people. Jesus became sin. He knew no sin, but he became sin that we might become the righteousness of God in him. We are comforted by Christ alone, by his perfect sacrifice for us. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, literally deep darkness, I will fear no evil. Why? For you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we're so grateful to you for our Lord Jesus Christ, who not only provides all that we need, but he gives of himself to us. We have more than we would ever want or need in Christ, who satisfies everything. He has never forsaken us. He will never forsake us. He is with us. We're grateful for his protection, even from ourselves. And Father, for your perfection, for your conforming us more and more into the image and the likeness of your perfect son. And so Father, help us to gaze our eyes upon Jesus, to put away our fear, to trust in him alone. for our salvation. We pray all of this now in your name. Amen.