The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in path of righteousness for his name's sake. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the most covered song in history is yesterday by the Beatles. Over 1,600 versions of yesterday have been recorded. Amazing. For a variety of others, the likes of which are Liberace to boys to men. Frank Sinatra to invoke. Yesterday's popularity is unapparable. While that is amazing, beloved, and yesterday is indeed a great song. I would argue that there is a song that has been covered and has been covered more and has been covered long than yesterday has. And that song is a song of David. That song is song 23. There I say this morning that there is not a preacher who has not preached it. There is not a God-faring man or woman who has not sung it. It has been sung in every language known on the earth and covered by countless masses of men and women throughout the ages. Or better yet, countless men and women throughout the ages have called upon it to cover them. Songs grow old and songs play out. What was popular today is not popular tomorrow. And yet you read the 23rd song and you are reminded that it is timeless. It is a song always appropriate. It is a song that is always fitting. It is a song that is never out of date on sunny days or in the rain. In the joys of life or in the pain, some 23 rains. At the birth of a child or the death of a parent, the 23rd song has been and continues to be a comfort and a strength, a fortress and an anthem. Charles hadn't spurred in cold at the pearl of the songs. If the Book of Psalms could represent this morning beloved the constellation and field with 150 stars, then Psalm 23 is serious. The brightest star in the heavens. And for many of us, it is the first verses we memorized as a child. And for many people, it has been the last verses that they have heard or even spoken in this life. And so this morning, I want you to join me if you will in covering Psalm 23. We want to put another version out into the world. Having been preached by so many and therefore becoming so familiar with nearly everyone, it is always possible in situations like that. That words, and particularly the word of God, might lose its importance and significance and impact upon our lives. So I want to challenge us to do over the next few weeks. And I hope and pray that the Holy Spirit would be pleased to awaken us afresh. To that holy affection that resides in us by the Spirit beloved for and in this beloved Psalm. Might it quicken our harsh desire once again to know Jesus Christ. The good shepherd and what a blessing it is to be one of his sheep. So our series is called this morning. The good shepherd and his sheep. Psalm 23 begins with a superscription. It's appropriate one. It's very simple. It is called a Psalm of David. David wrote it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. David composed it. And beloved, it is fitting that he did so. If anyone was qualified to write these words, it was David. If anybody's life had encapsulated these experiences and it was David. As we know, beloved David was a king. But David wasn't just any king. In the history of the nation of Israel, he was the standard by which all other kings were measured. He was the king. He was the king that had finally brought peace and secured prosperity for Israel. He was the king that established Israel as a national power. He was the king that gave Israel significant. He was the king after God's own heart. He was the king that God had promised that his throne would be established forever.
And yet, even though he is mostly known and highly regarded as the great king of Israel, yet like his four parents before him, like Abraham, and Jacob, and Rachel, and Moses, David was also a shepherd, a lowly shepherd. He was a keeper of sheep. In fact, when God called David as a king, Samuel, the prophet who would anoint David as king, Samuel said to David, the father, and first Samuel, chapter 16 and verse 19, sinned me, your son, David, the shepherd. Now, beloved, when they're out looking for king, the last place you would expect to find the king is sleeping out amongst the sheep. And yet, when God was looking for king after his own heart, Samuel told his father, sinned me, David, the shepherd. David would become king, the most noted, the most memorable king in Israel's history. But in his heart of hearts, he never really ever stopped being a shepherd. In fact, all David did was go from shepherd in his father's sheep to shepherd in the nation of Israel. And in Israel, when Israel looked to David as king, they saw strength, they saw courage, they saw compassion, and they saw love. They saw man filled with the spirit of God. They saw a man filled with the love of God. They saw a man filled with the love of God's people. And in a word, when the nation of Israel looked to David, they saw a shepherd. They saw their shepherd. And yet, the interesting thing about Psalm 23, beloved is that David reminds us, that even the ones who whom the people look to as a shepherd, is himself but a sheep. It's himself but a sheep in need of a shepherd. He who was the shepherd of Israel, daily understood himself to be a sheep. And needing a shepherd. Understanding that there is but one good. There is but one great. There is but one chief shepherd, namely our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And looking at Psalm 23, if the Lord carries over the next several weeks, I want us to glean from this Psalm 10 important truths that result. As David would remind us that result in us having the Lord, having Jehovah, having Jesus Christ as our shepherd, ten truths. And these truths, beloved, are precious. These truths are priceless. No, we're not going to look at all ten this morning. In fact, we're just going to look at two this morning. That we actually find just in verse one. We'll look at two. The question we want to raise this morning is this. What does it mean for the Lord to be my shepherd? The answer we find in verse one. Because the Lord is my shepherd, then I have my profession. The Lord is my shepherd. What we profess, beloved, is important. What we confess is very important. What we confess and what we profess is what we say we believe. What we confess and what we profess ultimately serves as the Constitution of our lives. It is that upon which we build our convictions. It is that upon which our conduct stands. It provides for our lives courage and confidence as we seek to live out our profession. It is the summary of our lives where I remind that everybody believes in something. Everybody believes in something. Every country, every political party, every organization, every team has core values, has convictions. And for David, for David, the core values, for David, the convictions for David's confidence was simple. The Lord is my shepherd. What do you believe? From where do you get your confidence? What is that conviction upon which you stand and your conduct in life is established? David said very simply, Jehovah is my shepherd. James Montgomery Boyce, the late pastor of 10th Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, once said Psalm 23 is a masterpiece throughout. But if ever a Psalm could stand on a single line or a single phrase, it is this one. The Lord is my shepherd. This beloved should be the universal comfort and conviction of every Christian. This is the profession of faith this morning that we all should rehearse in our hearts and our minds on a daily basis. It reminds us of some important truths that I must never forget as I understand and confess that the Lord is my shepherd. What am I saying? When I say the Lord is my shepherd. What are you saying a few things? The first thing you're saying is that I am a sheep. What does that mean? Well, in July of 2005, a group of Turkish shepherds witnessed a horrific event. In the early hours of the morning, these shepherds had led their sheep up upon a hill and had left them there grazing on the hills. While the shepherds themselves gathered below to have a breakfast break. While they were conversing and while they were eating breakfast suddenly and without warning they looked up and they saw their sheep falling over the cliff to their death. One by one. One sheep had lost his way, walked too close to the edge and fell off. The other sheep did what she'd do. Followed over a thousand sheep went over the cliff that day, 450 sheep died. And the only reason more didn't die beloved is because the growing pile of the sheep on the bottom cushioned the fall for the others who would follow. The fact that the matter is sheep are not the smartest animal in the barnyard. In fact, sheep are actually the least industrious animal. They are cowardly. They are weak. They are defenseless against predators. They are easily influenced. They are self-destructive and they lack instinct and they lack the intelligence of most other domesticated animals. Sheep need, constant supervision and constant care. Left to themselves they would wander off and either destroy themselves or be destroyed by others. So beloved is important to remember that when the Bible refers to us as sheep, it is not a compliment. It is not an endearing term. And we know this. We know this. We don't mind being called a big dog. Nobody wants to be called a sheep, no matter how big. And yet, beloved, no one wants to be called a sheep except you also know that it's the Lord who is your shepherd. And if the Lord is the shepherd, then call me a sheep, his sheep, because that means that not only am I a sheep, but that also means that I am saved, that I am saved. You know how the Bible describes us as sheep and Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 6. We all like sheep have gone astray because that's what sheep do. They go astray. And we all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us have turned to our own way. That's what sheep do. And what happens beloved? What happens when you go astray? You become easy target for the enemy in Ezekiel, chapter 34 and verse 5. God says, so my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd and they are easy prey for any wild animal. Before Christ? Before Christ? That was me. I was a wandering lost sheep. No guidance, no direction, just wandering about waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting to be devoured by the wolf of sin waiting to be destroyed by the bears of nicotine. And when Christ came, beloved, listen, listen, when Christ came, I didn't start being a sheep. I just wasn't lost anymore. I was no longer wandering in the wilderness of my sin. I was no longer lost in the deserts of this world. Now the good shepherd has sought me. Now the good shepherd has bought me, brought me into his foam. He saved me. He saved me. I have got it promised He would do. In Ezekiel, chapter 34 and verse 12, you know, I will like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on the dark and cloudy day.
Not the Bible says about Jesus. Jesus is the good shepherd who gives his life for the sheep. In Luke chapter 19 and verse 10, he is the good shepherd who came to seek and save the lost. He came, beloved, to gather his wandering sheep. He left heaven to find all his lost sheep. He went to the cross to bring his sheep home. This is love, beloved. This is love that our Lord, Savior Jesus Christ gave his life for his sheep. All the songwriters said, all the love that sought me, all the blood that bought me, all the grace that brought me to the fold. Wanderous grace, wondrous grace that brought me into the fold. The Lord is my shepherd. I am saved. The Lord is my shepherd. I am a sheep and because the Lord is my shepherd, I am safe. I'm safe. I'm safe. You know what the sheep become to the shepherd? Precious. The sheep become to the shepherd, his possession. And because the Lord is my shepherd, I belong to him. I am his possession. I am precious to him. I matter to him. This is a marvelous truth, beloved. We are his. Some 100, verse 3, know that the Lord is God. It is he who has made us. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. We belong to him. We are his, beloved. The once lost and lonely sheep are now the in the loving care of the shepherd. He gives life to them. If the Lord is your shepherd this morning, it's important to understand and live your life as if you're precious to him because you are. If the Lord is your shepherd this morning, you have work and you have value in heaven. If the Lord is your shepherd this morning, because you are valued, because you are precious to him, because you belong to him and you are his possession, you are safe. Because the good shepherd doesn't lose any sheep. He's not losing you. You're not going to wander off where he can't find you. You belong to him. Wherever you go, the Lord has promised as you will hear his voice. In John 10, verse 27 and 28, that you will listen to him, that you will know him, that you will follow him because he has given you eternal life and that no one at any time should ever perish. You will never perish who belong to him because no one will be able to snatch you out of his hand. You belong to him. When David was about to fight Goliath, beloved. And there was the nation of Israel, powering like sheep, afraid, about to be devoured by the giant Goliath and the wolf and the lion that is the Philistines. David, when Saul called David, David said that he would fight Goliath and saw a question, what makes you think that you can take on Goliath? David said, first Samuel, chapter 17, beginning in verse 34, your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. That's what the good shepherd does. The good shepherd guards his sheep, the good shepherd watches over his sheep, the good shepherd stands between the lion and the bear and fins off the enemy. When, beloved, the lion of sin and the bear of condemnation comes to steal you away, the Bible reminds us that Jesus stands there and fins them off. Why? Because he is the good shepherd, and it says in Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 5, who was pierced for our transgressions, who was crushed for our iniquities, upon whom was the chastisement that brought us peace with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, each of us turned to our own way, but the Lord had laid upon him the iniquity of us all. He had stood in the gap, the bear of sin, the lion of condemnation, the giants of the wrath of God. He took, and he has lain. This shepherd has paid the price, and now the sheep belong to him. This is why we say, right? On any given Sunday morning here at East Point Church, the height of her catechism, Lord's Day 1, question 1, what is my only comfort in life and in death? And we say in unison that I am not my own, but I belong body and soul and life and in death to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who is my shepherd. And as my shepherd has fully paid for all my sins with its precious blood, we can sum up the first answer to the catechism in one sentence. The Lord is my shepherd, I belong to him, and that is my only comfort in life and in death. I am the sinner, he is the Savior, I am the servant, he is the master, I am the subject, he is the Lord. I am the sheep, he is the shepherd, and because of that beloved, I am safe. I'm safe. That's what Milton Brunson and the Thomas community singers used to say. Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need. He makes me lie down in the metal's grass, and he leaves me beside the quiet stream. He restores my failing health, and he helps me to do what honors him the most, and that's why I'm safe. That's why I'm safe. That's why I'm safe. I'm safe in his because the Lord is my shepherd. I'm safe. I'm safe, and I don't mind being called sheep because I belong to him. You want to know what I believe? That's what I believe. The Lord is my shepherd, I have my profession, but not only do I have my profession this morning, but I also have my portion. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I have my profession, and because I belong to him, I have my portion. Psalm 23 and 1 says, the Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need. That is the point, beloved. The idea is not so much that you have everything that you want. You and I know that we want things that we probably shouldn't have. We want all the time, but the idea here is not that you have everything you want. The idea here is that the Lord is your shepherd, you have no lack. Your needs are met. Whatever is required, whatever the sheep require, the Lord, the good shepherd would provide. David knew that. He as a sheep, whatever he needed, the Lord would provide. Whether it was stones against Goliath, whether it was strength against wild beasts, God would supply. Whether it was repentance, or whether it was faith against the sin in his own life, God would supply. Because that's what the shepherd does, beloved. The shepherd supplies all that is needed. For the sheep, Psalm 84 and verse 11, the Lord, God is a sun and shield. The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk up rightly before him. No good thing does he withhold from those who belong to him. This is the comfort of the sheep in living in the loving care of the shepherd. They are trusting the shepherd to supply what is needed day to day. This is what it means, beloved. Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have my daily bread. Have what I need. Have what I need. Have the faith I need for today. Have the righteousness that is needed for today. I have the courage and the confidence that is needed for today. I have the comfort and assurance that is needed for today. The Lord is my shepherd, I have no lack. They tell me that we grew up poor. Now they had to tell me that. And if you were to visit the house where I was raised, you might think so also. But we didn't think so. We had food on the table every day. We had clothes on our back every day. There was plenty of love to go around every day. We had our daily bread. We had our daily bread. We didn't have everything we wanted. We had what we needed. In fact, I look back in a reminder that we had enough. We had enough. And this is what the Lord promises. In Psalm 34 and verse 10, the lions make row weak and hungry. But those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. The lions, the lions beloved, may go without, but not the sheep. The lions may go hungry, but not the sheep. With the Lord as my shepherd, I may not have everything, but I have enough. Because he is my shepherd. And I have my boy. It was Sam cook and the soldiers. I do believe. Said, I don't possess houses and land. Find clothes or jewelry. Sorrows and cares in this old world. My life seems to be. But I have Christ. All in my life. And this makes me happy. For Christ is all. All in all. This world. Because he is my shepherd. He is also my portion. And I lack. There's only one question to ask this morning. I will ask over and over again. Is the Lord your shepherd? Is that the profession of your life? Is that the confession of your faith that's morning? Can you say the Lord is my shepherd? Can you say therefore I shall not want? Can you say that that is your profession? Can you say I have my portion? Because I belong to the Lord. I am his.
Forever shall not. Let's pray.