July 4th Psalm 23
A Psalm of David
The Shepherds Psalm
1:
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2:
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the
still waters. 3:
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for
his name's sake. 4:
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they
comfort me. 5:
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6:
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Psalm 24
A Psalm of David
The King of Glory
1:
The earth is the LORD's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and
they that dwell therein. 2:
For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the
floods. 3:
Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his
holy place? 4:
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up
his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 5:
He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from
the God of his salvation. 6:
This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O
Jacob. Selah. 7:
Lift up your head, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting
doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 8:
Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD
mighty in battle. 9:
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting
doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 10:
Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of
glory. Selah.
In Psalm 23 we have
one of the most famous Psalms in the Bible. In Israel God is always
pictured as the shepherd of his people, (Isaiah said, All we like
sheep have gone astray etc) and the Kings of Israel were Gods
‘under-shepherds’ who had the responsibility to protect, provide
for and lead the people. Its interesting too that God often chose his
kings and leaders from among the shepherds. In this Psalm David the
king says the LORD is my shepherd. He is the one who provides, cares
and leads me. And what a great image David gives. David brings before
us three valleys, The valley of provision, the valley of his presence
and the valley of his pavilion. In the first valley David discovers
that The LORD – the shepherd provides an abundance for him. He
provides food in abundance, water that is safe, he restores me when l
wander and he leads me in right paths and he does it for his own
glory. David is confident to say of the first valley ‘I shall not
want’. Then David says that even if he were to lead me down into a
dark valley in which l am stalked by the wolf of death and even if
the wolfs shadow were to lie across my path, yet even there, l will
not be afraid of anything that can come upon me because l can feel
his rod correcting me and his staff guiding me and then l know that
my shepherd is very near by, even if l cannot see him. Both of these
things are like a wall around me. In the third valley David is
confronted by his enemies and the LORD prepares a table for him right
in their presence. In sight of his sworn enemies the LORD anoints him
with oil (A symbol of the Spiritual life brought about by walking in
the Spirit.) His enemies would deny him of his crown but the Lord
fills him with the joy of the LORD, right there. Finally David looks
forward with confidence saying there are two things that will be my
constant companions through life, The LORD’s goodness when l do
right and his mercy when l do wrong. And from here to eternity – he
will live in the conscious enjoyment of being in the presence of the
LORD for ever. In Psalm 24 David composes a Psalm that looks far into
the distant future. He sees a time when Christ shall reign supreme
and when he will reign with him, on an eternal throne. Christ will
have claimed his earthly heritage and all men will be won over to his
kingdom. In that day the whole earth will be the LORD’s and
everything and everyone in it. The Lord will found his kingdom and
impose his kingdom on the nations of the world. It will be focused on
Mt Zion. And the burning question of that day will be who will be
qualified to ascend the Hill of the LORD? And who will be able to
stand in his Holy Place? Who will be adequate to come and kneel at
feet of Jesus of Nazareth? Then he answers his own question – He
that has clean hands and a pure heart (We are back to the beatitudes
of Matt 5 again) Those who do come will be men who live righteously
according to the true meaning of the Law and they will be clear of
any temptations of pointless rebellion to Christs rule and of false
acknowledgment of Christ supremecy. These men and women will recieve
the blessing of the LORD and righteousness from God who will save
them. These will be the characteristics of of that generation –
holiness, faithfulness, sincerity and righteousness. They will seek
the face of Christ. Israel – think about how wonderful that will
be. So don’t be gloomy – Gates of Jerusalem lift up your eyes
because the the KING of GLORY is coming. David teases saying who is
this KING of GLORY? Then he answers his own question – He is the
LORD (Jehovah - Christ) strong and mighty, mighty in battle. So come
on Gates! Open up and the KING of GLORY will come in. Think about how
wonderful this is going to be.
- How many Valleys are there in Psalm 23 and what does David find in each valley?
- In Psa 23 what is Davids ultimate goal?
- What is the qualifications for those who aspire to ascend up Zion to see Christ in glory?
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