Psalm 23
Psalm 23
"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 paths 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."
So, Pastor James MacDonald just got done with a 4 part series on this psalm! It was so good that I would just love to share it with y'all.
You can check his stuff out at www.walkintheword.com
Vs. 1 "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."
Want what? I shall not want anything, my shepherd provides for all my needs! But more importantly, I shall not want another shepherd! The LORD is my shepherd, I don't want anyone else!
Vs. 2-3a "He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul." The LORD leads me to the best grass, the green pastures! He doesn't make me walk, run, or jump, but lie down in it. Sheep will run away constantly, just like we do. And sometimes he has to make us lie down. Shepherds will break the legs of sheep to make them lie down in safety rather than running away! Has God ever broken you down and made you lie down in His pastures? He also leads us beside still waters, these are deep waters, not shallow! Shallow waters are noisy and running very fast, but deep waters are where we can find rest. This is what our relationship with Him should be like. The deep waters, were we rest in God and are renewed! Finally here David writes, "He restores my soul." The previous things are how God restores our souls! He restores us by making us lie down with Him in His green pastures and bringing us to the deep waters of a relationship with Himself.
What are things that deplete our souls?
1. Business
2. People
3. Needy People
4. Over commitment
What are things that restore our souls?
1. Sleep
2. Time in Prayer
3. Time in the Word
4. Time in Fellowship
Vs. 3b "He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."
He leads me down Right Paths! He wont lead me astray. But the best part is why!! He does this for His name's sake, it is all for His Glory, He is the Good Shepherd!
Vs. 4 "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."
What is the valley of the shadow of death? It can be different things for different people. But as sheep in Israel, the pastures were up on the slops of the mountains and to get to the next green pasture you had to go through the deep valley, where the cliffs were so high that you could barely see the sun! We all have these valleys in our lives, but the verse say that I walk through the valley, not into. I walk through it, implying that I come out on the other side! But also, I will fear no evil as I am in the valley. Because my shepherd is with me!!! I am not alone in the valley! God is right there with me! My shepherd's rod and staff comfort me, the rod is used to defend me against attackers, I trust that my shepherd will protect me. And the staff is used to keep me in line, to keep me on the safe path when I start to wander. They are both there to protect me, and that gives me comfort!
Vs. 5 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."
The LORD prepares a table, a feast for me in the presence of my enemies! He exalts me in front of them! It is not wrong for us to look for and want vindication from our enemies, but only the LORD has the right to take action. And what better why to be vindicated than to be served by the LORD in the presence of my enemies!!! The anointing of my head with oil, this is part of that as well. It is an honor, but it also goes with the next part. My cup overflows! It isn't just full, but it overflows and will never stop! This is all about us going back and serving God here on earth! God gives us more than enough in Himself. He doesn't want us to serve Him out of our capacity, rather out of the overflow that He provides us with. That way we don't take any Glory for it was all His strength and power that allowed us to do what we were called to do!
Vs. 6a "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,"
These are the Hounds of Heaven!! Goodness and Mercy! Loving Kindness and Undeserved Compassion from God follow us everywhere we go! Pastor James tells a story about a retreat he was on: One morning the guy next to him woke up yelling, "Whoa, whoa, down boy, get down! OK, OK, stop it, get down!" Pastor James asked him, what he was doing and the reply was amazing! "It is Goodness and Mercy, the Hounds of Heaven! Every morning before my feet can even hit the ground they are all over me! Licking my face and just loving me! I can't escape them." That guy totally got what this verse meant! God totally Loves us. His Goodness and Mercy we can never escape from!
Vs. 6b "and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever."
Ohhhh this is Great!!!!
I shall....there is no if's and's or but's here, David is 100% confident that he will!!!
Dwell....not just visit or pass through, but live in, dwell in!!!!
The House of the LORD....who's house? God's House!!!
Forever.....For, EVER!!!!
When we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun
We've no less days to sing His praise
Than when we've first begun
This right here in this short 6 vs Psalm, is the abundant Christian life.
Press into Jesus! He will provide for you all your needs!
In Christ,
Dave
"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 paths 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."
So, Pastor James MacDonald just got done with a 4 part series on this psalm! It was so good that I would just love to share it with y'all.
You can check his stuff out at www.walkintheword.com
Vs. 1 "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."
Want what? I shall not want anything, my shepherd provides for all my needs! But more importantly, I shall not want another shepherd! The LORD is my shepherd, I don't want anyone else!
Vs. 2-3a "He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul." The LORD leads me to the best grass, the green pastures! He doesn't make me walk, run, or jump, but lie down in it. Sheep will run away constantly, just like we do. And sometimes he has to make us lie down. Shepherds will break the legs of sheep to make them lie down in safety rather than running away! Has God ever broken you down and made you lie down in His pastures? He also leads us beside still waters, these are deep waters, not shallow! Shallow waters are noisy and running very fast, but deep waters are where we can find rest. This is what our relationship with Him should be like. The deep waters, were we rest in God and are renewed! Finally here David writes, "He restores my soul." The previous things are how God restores our souls! He restores us by making us lie down with Him in His green pastures and bringing us to the deep waters of a relationship with Himself.
What are things that deplete our souls?
1. Business
2. People
3. Needy People
4. Over commitment
What are things that restore our souls?
1. Sleep
2. Time in Prayer
3. Time in the Word
4. Time in Fellowship
Vs. 3b "He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."
He leads me down Right Paths! He wont lead me astray. But the best part is why!! He does this for His name's sake, it is all for His Glory, He is the Good Shepherd!
Vs. 4 "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."
What is the valley of the shadow of death? It can be different things for different people. But as sheep in Israel, the pastures were up on the slops of the mountains and to get to the next green pasture you had to go through the deep valley, where the cliffs were so high that you could barely see the sun! We all have these valleys in our lives, but the verse say that I walk through the valley, not into. I walk through it, implying that I come out on the other side! But also, I will fear no evil as I am in the valley. Because my shepherd is with me!!! I am not alone in the valley! God is right there with me! My shepherd's rod and staff comfort me, the rod is used to defend me against attackers, I trust that my shepherd will protect me. And the staff is used to keep me in line, to keep me on the safe path when I start to wander. They are both there to protect me, and that gives me comfort!
Vs. 5 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."
The LORD prepares a table, a feast for me in the presence of my enemies! He exalts me in front of them! It is not wrong for us to look for and want vindication from our enemies, but only the LORD has the right to take action. And what better why to be vindicated than to be served by the LORD in the presence of my enemies!!! The anointing of my head with oil, this is part of that as well. It is an honor, but it also goes with the next part. My cup overflows! It isn't just full, but it overflows and will never stop! This is all about us going back and serving God here on earth! God gives us more than enough in Himself. He doesn't want us to serve Him out of our capacity, rather out of the overflow that He provides us with. That way we don't take any Glory for it was all His strength and power that allowed us to do what we were called to do!
Vs. 6a "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,"
These are the Hounds of Heaven!! Goodness and Mercy! Loving Kindness and Undeserved Compassion from God follow us everywhere we go! Pastor James tells a story about a retreat he was on: One morning the guy next to him woke up yelling, "Whoa, whoa, down boy, get down! OK, OK, stop it, get down!" Pastor James asked him, what he was doing and the reply was amazing! "It is Goodness and Mercy, the Hounds of Heaven! Every morning before my feet can even hit the ground they are all over me! Licking my face and just loving me! I can't escape them." That guy totally got what this verse meant! God totally Loves us. His Goodness and Mercy we can never escape from!
Vs. 6b "and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever."
Ohhhh this is Great!!!!
I shall....there is no if's and's or but's here, David is 100% confident that he will!!!
Dwell....not just visit or pass through, but live in, dwell in!!!!
The House of the LORD....who's house? God's House!!!
Forever.....For, EVER!!!!
When we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun
We've no less days to sing His praise
Than when we've first begun
This right here in this short 6 vs Psalm, is the abundant Christian life.
Press into Jesus! He will provide for you all your needs!
In Christ,
Dave
posted by Mark 1:17 at 12:00 PM
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