Summary: Those who receive the abundance of grace will reign in this life. The blessings of Psalm 23 are predicated on the sufferings of Psalm 22

I Shall Not Want & The Reason Why

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PPT 2-5 text & Pics

I have combined Normal Rockwell's 4 freedoms with Psalm 23 I think they are a nice fit for each other.

Freedom from hunger

Psalms 23:1 (A Psalm of David.) The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Psalms 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

Freedom from worry

Psalms 23:3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name' sake.

Psalms 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

Freedom to worship

Psalms 23:5 Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

Freedom to speak

Psalms 23:6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

I believe Psalm 23 is unique among all the Psalms in that it rises above them all in confidence and faith. Though David mentions the shadow of death, there are no shadows of doubt in this psalm. Almost all the other psalms have cracks, and troubles sneaking their way in, and David has to fight through them for example in Psalm 3 we read this

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Psalms 3:1 A Psalm of David. When he fled from Absalom his son. LORD, HOW they are increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me.

Psalms 3:2 Many are saying of me, There is no help for him in God.

Psalms 3:3 But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

You see fear and faith battling together in this Psalm, and usually in the Psalms faith wins. But in Psalm 23 fear has been put to bed, it is defeated on every front, whether it be of provision of needs, emotional health, the enemies attacks, a need to sense the shepherds presence, or his future outlook.

This psalm make no mistake about it, was one of the best times in David's life. There are far more other times where he expresses sentiments like these:

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Psalms 6:2 Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.

Psalms 6:3 My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long?

Psalms 13:1 ? To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.? How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

Now in truthfulness which Psalms do you relate to more?

In all honesty on any given day we could probably be found quoting or thinking either.

Today as we begin our series in this wonderful Psalm I want to address 2 simple thoughts that are expressed in this Psalm:

I shall not want, and the reason why.

Perhaps the most quoted Psalm of all.

People claim it who have no claim to it. Goats claim it regularly.

Jesus taught that repetition is of no value in prayer, yet that is the way this Psalm is used by many.

Quoting Psalm 23 won't get your dead kin into heaven.

That said, The psalm is full of eternal confidence. Faithful you have been, faithful you will be.

It is a good psalm to quote on the worst of days, to encourage yourself in the Lord. This psalm will pick you up on a bad day. It's a psalm to quote to a storm if you are facing one.

There are 2 main themes in this Psalm.

I shall not be in want is the main idea of the Psalm.

The basis of that confidence is the other.

I shall not want.

I shall not want for green pastures

I shall not want for still waters

He shall not leave my soul in tatters. I will not live in depression. My soul will be restored.

I shall not lack guidance for the right path. (Paths of righteousness)

I shall not live in fear of evil, people, things, or plans.

I shall not be overcome by fear in dark times.

I shall not have to live without a sense of Your presence. (Thou art with me)

I shall not want the sense of His rod and staff of protection. (The rod of His power)

I shall not want though surrounded by my enemies. My supplies of food and comfort shall be sure.

Psalm 23 reminds me of this passage in the book of Isaiah:

Isaiah 33:16 He will dwell on the heights; His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him; His water will be sure.

That passage in Isaiah speaks the kind of confidence that is expressed in Psalm 23.

So that is one of the main themes of this Psalm, not being in want. The other main theme explains the reason for the lack of want. The other main theme is what was the basis of David's confidence of provision.

It is laid out for us in verse 1, and in verse 3, but before we look at that let's deal a false assumption on why David was so blessed. The false assumption would be that it was based on David's character and that the way he interacted with God.

We read in the bible that David is called by God, a man after my own heart. How many of us could be called that? We should be. But if that were the requirement to be without want, to get blessings from God, most of us would all fall short. But the truth about David is that he was a man of extremes, he was the best and he was the worst.

In this Psalm he doesn't lay claim to being the best as the basis of his receiving from God, but what he claims is something that we can all latch on to.

The Lord is my shepherd. In other words it is not because of who I am, but because of who He is that I am blessed. Not because of who I am, but because of whose I am. David who had been a wonderful shepherd see God through the lens of a shepherd, and not just a shepherd, but the most faithful, loving, and caring shepherd there ever was.

I get all these benefits because I have a good shepherd.

In verse 3 David says the basis of his benefits are founded on God's reputation. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His names sake. He leads me not because I am good, but because He is good.

Let me show you Psalm 23 condensed into 1 verse in the NT

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Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

Romans 8 you shall not want because the Lord is your shepherd.

There is something very interesting about Psalm 23 I want to point out to you. The bible teaches us all scripture is given by inspiration. There are no accidents or coincidences, this book was methodically planned and laid out before there was one blade of grass upon the earth.

The thing I want you to notice about Psalm 23, which is the most exuberant, faith failed, extremely confident of God's provision, protection, and presence Psalms is it's position in the Psalms. It follows on the heels of Psalm 22. We are going to compare the 2 briefly and then I will be done.

Now just in case you don't know, Psalm 22 is a prophetic psalm portraying Jesus on the cross. You will see that in the first verse we look at.

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Psalms 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Psalms 22:1 MY GOD, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?

In Psalm 23 David declares he shall not want. In Psalm 22 Jesus declares He is in serious want. My contention is simply this, the blessings of Psalm 23 were earned by Jesus on the cross. It is amazing to see how the things David enjoyed the exact opposite Jesus suffered. His suffering opened the door for our blessing.

Psalms 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

Psalms 22:2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but You answer not; and by night I am not silent or find no rest.

David had quiet peaceful green pastures in which to rest. Jesus had no rest.

Psalms 23:3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name' sake.

Psalms 22:12 Many bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls of Bashan have hedged me in.

Psalms 22:13 Against me they opened their mouths wide, like a ravening and roaring lion.

Psalms 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it is softened and melted down within me.

David's soul was restored, Jesus' soul was torn to pieces. His heart (soul) was oozing out of Him like melted wax.

Psalms 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

Psalms 22:17 I can count all my bones; gaze at me.

Psalms 22:18 They part my clothing among them and cast lots for my raiment

Psalms 22:19 But be not far from me, O Lord; O my Help, hasten to aid me!

God was with David, Jesus moans because He feels His Father has abandoned Him. (And He had!)

Psalms 23:5 Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

Psalms 22:15 My strength is dried up like a fragment of clay pottery; my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and You have brought me into the dust of death.

Psalms 22:16 For dogs they have encompassed me; a company of evildoers has encircled me, they pierced my hands and my feet.

David ate bountifully and without concern in the presence of his enemies, they could not touch him, and he sensed the favor of God on his life in an overflowing way. Jesus' strength is evaporating, He is almost dying of thirst, and enemy have put nails through His hands and feet. He has no protection from them.

Psalms 23:6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalms 22:26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

David says he will live forever in the goodness and lovingkindness of the Lord. Psalm 22 says the same, based on receiving what God has done for us.

The blessings of Psalm 23 are predicated on the sufferings of the good shepherd and His love for His people, not on the goodness of David.

The only real way to speak as David did in Psalm 23 is to base it on the merits of Jesus' sufferings on our behalf. The more you trust in Jesus as the basis of blessing the happier and more triumphant will be your walk in Christ. Let me show you that truth in the NT:

Romans 5:17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Grace is unmerited favor. Here in Romans Paul speaks of those who receive, "the abundance of grace".

How much grace have you received? Just enough to get by? Many Christians struggle with feelings of unworthiness and can relate to the prodigal son who said, "I am not worthy to be your son, make me one of your servants." But the father got his finest robe, his signet ring, and killed the fatted calf. That is receiving the abundance of grace. David is psalm 23 is speaking of a shepherd who lavishes blessings on him not because of David's personal goodness, but because of His names sake. I.E. His reputation as a wonderful shepherd.

Paul says those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness REIGN in this life. Reigning is based on receiving not merit.

We are going this service with communion and I remind you that Jesus told the disciples to take and receive that which was broken for them. As we partake today, let us not simply take His atoning sacrifice, but also all that it affords us. Let us receive the abundance of grace this morning.

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