The final verse of Psalm 23 is perhaps the most comforting of all of them. In this verse we really see comfort for both life and death. As I mention in a previous video Psalm 23 has sometimes been associated with death and dying. Yet it is true there’s so much meat in there for us to consider even for our life, even for our time here on earth.

David writes in that final verse

Surely goodness and mercy will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:6)

What incredibly comforting words, but it often doesn’t feel that way for us. Our lives are filled with so much sorrow, suffering, and pain. We think to ourselves we deserve so much better than this.

You know what do we truly deserve from God? We really deserve only his wrath and punishment for our sins and yet God provides. His goodness and mercy pursue us all the days of our life. In fact God even provides for the wicked, even those that don’t care a thing about him, he still provides for their physical needs.

But how much more so for us, who trust in him is his dear children? As He pours out for us his blessings of mercy upon us not giving us what we deserve for our sins, but instead bestowing upon us grace through His Son Jesus Christ. Reminding us again and again, reassuring us that we have an eternal home awaiting us forever in heaven.

Yes this Psalm is comforting not just at the time of death, but even in life. Be comforted in knowing that the Lord is your Shepherd. With him you lack nothing. Amen.

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Psalm 23 has a lot of imagery of shepherds and sheep. However in verse five the picture kind of changes a bit to that of a man who’s provided for by God.

You set a table for me in the presence of my foes.
You drench my head with oil.
My cup is overflowing. (Psalm 23:5)

It’s the imagery of a feast, maybe we can think of a Thanksgiving meal spread out on a massive table and how the person of honor is invited to come and to eat, despite the fact that his enemies are looking on in scorn and disgust.

When I read these words it’s hard for me not to envision a picture of the New Testament sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. It’s not so much of a stretch for us to imagine that table laid out before us a reference perhaps to the Lord’s Supper, that cup even overflowing as in the Lord’s Supper God gives to us bread and wine, yes, but also with it the true body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins, an abundant blessing.

It’s not too much of a stretch to think about this one who’s anointed with oil. Could it be a reference even looking forward to baptism, as even Jesus own baptism was referred to as anointing? We think about what happened there the Holy Spirit descended upon him the father spoke of him

“This is my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with him.” (Matthew 3:17)

As we think about the blessings for us in baptism we can be reassured there we are God’s dear children. That we received the forgiveness of sins all while the scoffers and enemies of God and His Word and of the church look on.

There are many who say there’s nothing more there than bread, wine, or water. It doesn’t benefit you any more than maybe stilling a little bit of hunger or washing your body clean from dirt, but there is. As we trust God’s Word and what it says that through those things God provides for us abundant blessings not the least of which is the forgiveness of all of our sins.

Yes, rejoice in this table spread out before you. Rejoice in the sacraments that God has given to you to provide these incredible blessings. Amen.

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I remember back at seminary one of our professors telling us to be extremely careful when using the 23rd Psalm for a hospital setting. He said make sure that you know that that person is on their deathbed or else don’t use it at all. Because Psalm 23 is associated with death and dying. When you start using that Psalm people will think they’re dying whether or not they actually are.

And why is this? Why do we associate Psalm 23 with death and dying? I think it’s really from verse 4 that says this

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. (Psalm 23:4)

A number of years ago I took a trip to the Holy Land and I remember touring a place known as the Wadi Qelt. It’s a deep dark valley that runs from Jerusalem down to Jericho and our guide told us that that valley is thought to be the scene for Jesus most famous parable, or one of his more famous parables, that of the Good Samaritan, but also the scene for Psalm 23. That perhaps David was thinking about the Wadi Qelt when he wrote these words.

It’s easy to see. Walking through that valley there’s massive shadows that are cast over the path, incredible amount of darkness even in the middle of the day, but also with its twists and turns, so many places that bandits could hide behind. Certainly one traveling along that route by himself might have reason to fear. And yet what does David say? Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil. And why? Because God is with him. God is with us.

We think about those times, even as we come close to death in our own lives, that there is really no reason to be afraid. No evil that we need to fear. Why? Because God has taken care of our greatest evil already through Jesus. He has taken care of it through his suffering and death on the cross. He has taken care of the power of the devil and of our sin and even death itself. Jesus is our Shepherd we truly find comfort and peace in him whether in the midst of our life or even on our deathbed. To know that he is with us and he is bringing us home to be with him forever in heaven. Amen.

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What do you think about tour guides? I think there’s many people out there that would say tour guides are a waste of time and a waste of money. “I can find my own way through the woods.” “I can find my own way climbing up that steep mountain.” “I can find my own way through that historical site. I don’t need to spend the money or take the time for a guide.”

But guides can be very important. Guides can show us things, right, that we maybe never would have seen on our own or discovered. Maybe add additional details to the thing that we’re touring. Guides can also maybe help us, especially find our way back home, ensure that we don’t get lost. Guides can be critically important. Psalm 23 verse 3 it says this

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3b)

It describes God, a good shepherd, as a guide. What does he guide us along? Those paths of righteousness. We think of paths of righteousness perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is following the right way. Maybe following the rules, following God’s law.

Certainly does guide us by His commandments showing us right from wrong, but it’s also important to know that that word righteous quite often in scripture refers to God’s people. Believers. That we are right in God’s sight because of what Christ has done for us. So very much so the paths of righteousness could refer to the path of a believer. And what is that path? Well Jesus says of himself

Jesus said to him, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. (John 14:6)

Jesus says that he is the path. Through trusting in him we know that we will get to our destination, eternal life, and he says that he guides us even now. And how does he guide us? In Psalm 119 it says

Your words are a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105)

He guides us through his word. That word that does remind us of our sin, but also points us always back to the guide always back to our Savior Jesus who brings us safely home to heaven. Amen.

Have you ever thought to yourself I need a vacation from my vacation? There’s a lot of people that live by the motto work hard, play hard and so even when they’re on vacation it’s filled with stress as they feel like they need to go, go, go. See everything. Do everything. You know, I’ve been there, especially with a bunch of kids on vacation, all the sites that we’ve seen, and feeling we need to get our money’s worth, and it’s go, go, go. I’ve often commented to my wife I need a vacation from our vacation.

It’s not the way vacations supposed to be, right? It’s supposed to be relaxing, refreshing, rejuvenating. It’s the picture of what we see in Psalm 23 verse 2 that says this

He causes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside quiet waters.
(Psalm 23:2)

That’s a perfect picture of vacation. A relaxing scene of reclining in green grass, all around, perfectly still water. There’s even more than that for a sheep. A sheep would consider that a feast, right? That grass as far as the eye can see, as much water as they can drink, everything they need and what does it say at the beginning of the very next verse?

He restores my soul.
(Psalm 23:3)

A vacation. Rejuvenation. God intends for his people to have these little breaks, to have vacation time, rest.

In the Old Testament he instructed them that they were to take one day a week off and to do no work on that day. To also spend that day in his word to be refreshed by it. He instructs us to do a similar thing even today. To make sure that we take a day off, a time especially in God’s Word, for what purpose? To be refreshed by it. Rejuvenated.

And how is this possible? Well, as we come to church, God brings to us again his word that reminds us of our sin, but also reminds us of our Savior, Jesus, who has forgiven our sins, who has wiped away our guilt, who has accomplished everything necessary for us. There is nothing more we need to do or be stressed out about. It’s all done in Christ. He feeds us also with himself and his sacrament. Through these things we are truly refreshed, restored.

So take a vacation, every week, and go to church. And be fed by God and His Word and there find true refreshment. Amen.

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During the third or fourth week in Easter in many of our churches we celebrate something known as Good Shepherd Sunday. When we think of the Good Shepherd it’s hard not to think of the most famous of all of the Psalms of the Bible, Psalm 23, that says “the Lord is my shepherd.” It’s an incredibly comforting Psalm.

I’d like to take you through that Psalm verse by verse over my next six devotions as we focus on God as our Good Shepherd. So that very famous song begins

The Lord is my shepherd.
I lack nothing.
(Psalm 23:1)

Those are powerful words and with God as our Shepherd we don’t need anything else he provides everything that we need. It gives us that picture of him is a shepherd. What does a shepherd do for his sheep? The shepherd provides for the sheep, feeding them, but also protects them from harm and danger, cares for them, doesn’t he?

God truly provides for us throughout our lives and so often when we look at our own life we think of the long list of the things that we lack, right? In the Psalm it says “I lack nothing,” but we’d say “well there’s a lot of things I think that I lack.”

I wish I was more popular or I wish I had more friends. I wish had more money. I wish my relationships were better, or I had better health, or so many other things in our life that we think that we lack. But with God we lack nothing. God provides for our physical needs. He gives us the basic necessities of life, food and clothing, but more importantly he provides for our spiritual needs.

In fact he has taken on the greatest evil: sin, death, and the devil and put them far away from us that we need not fear them. He has done it through Jesus Christ who himself is our Good Shepherd, has laid down his life for the sheep. If you think about it, with God and what he has done for us there’s truly nothing more that we need. We have everything that we need for this life and for eternity in God who is our Good Shepherd. Amen.

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