A Psalm For Thom

Psalm 23

If you have ever been to a funeral chances are you have heard this poem read. Interestingly throughout time

this Psalm has become a comfort to those who have lost loved ones or who are faced with a terminal illness. It holds a special place in my heart as it was one of my friend Thom Potts’ favorite Psalm. A few years ago I received news that my best friend of nearly 17 years was entering the last stages of his 20 plus year battle with cancer. As I went back to PA to serve him and his family I took great comfort in this Psalm as it illuminates hope and comfort to those who are faced with the “shadow of death”. Although it usually is associated with death, depression and despair Psalm 23 is one of trust, hope, encouragement and security.

Psalm 23 is short Psalm (six verses) penned by David. It is often referred as the Shepherd’s Psalm of David as it paints a beautiful picture of God’s tender love and care for His children. With only six verses this Psalm is packed insights to humanity, God, and his great love and provision for us.

The Shepherd

This Psalm is broken down into two pictures of God. The first is a picture of God as a shepherd (verses 1 – 4) and the second pictures God as a host (5 - 6).

“The LORD is my shepherd”

The opening verse begins with a picture of YHWH (the existing One, the Eternal One, the I AM) as a shepherd; however not just A shepherd but “MY” (David’s) shepherd. As a shepherd himself and as king David acknowledges God as his leader, his guide and counselor. Before I go any further I think it would be good  to ask yourself, “Is YHWH MY shepherd? Is He the one who is leading me and guiding me in my life?  Does He have supreme rule and authority in my life? Am I completely and utterly dependent on God as my shepherd?”

The word shepherd is defined as “a special friend, a herdsman, or one who tends to sheep.” I love the first definition, “a special friend.” God (Isa 40:11) and Jesus (John 10:11, Heb 13:20, I Pet. 2:25) are both referred as a shepherd throughout the Bible and his people are referred as sheep (Psa 78:52).

Some people are actually offended by this analogy because we all know sheep are dumb and need tending to all the time. They are totally dependent on the shepherd to lead them to food and water and they cannot defend themselves. However they also fail to realize that in the ancient Middle East sheep were considered precious to their owners and were even a symbol of wealth. Yes, we may be dumb and needy but we are precious to the Great Shepherd and we would be lost without Him.

It is a beautiful thing to visualize God as our shepherd because the job of a shepherd is to lead, protect and care for the sheep. A shepherd loves his sheep; he often gave them names and tenderly watched after them day after day. He would go to any extreme to get one lost sheep back in the fold. He would protect them from predators by fending off wild beasts with his staff. A predator would literally have to get past the shepherd in order to get to the sheep. This is what God is to us; our Great Shepherd.

“I shall not want”

As long as we are the sheep of God’s flock we lack nothing. As his sheep we should be completely satisfied under God’s care. We have no needs, no worries (at least we shouldn’t) and we are safe. Our contentment should be in the Good Shepherd and in nothing or nobody else. We have all we need in God.

“He makes me lie down… “

As a loving shepherd God knows what we need to survive and thrive thus He leads us to places of rest and feeding. God will take care of us as He brings us to these places we need for survival and rest. His presence and tender care revives us and relieves our inner being, our seat of emotions and passions (“He restores my soul”).

“He leads me in paths of righteousness”

God leads us down the road we need to be on (the right path) so we may go where we need to be. He is our righteousness and He is the one who guides in our moral paths. He does this for His names sake. We are the pride of God and when we walk in the paths of righteousness we reveal God’s glory, his fame, reputation and nature. He leads us in righteousness so we may live the good life, but He also leads us in this path so His fame and glory can be made known.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”

This verse could refer to a place of deep darkness, depression, or anxiety (or even a physically dark and despairing place) or it could be the looming reality of death in our lives. Dark times and death are inevitable in anyone’s life. Whether talking about the loom of physical death, a dark time in your life or a state of emotional despair these can all be distressing to one who chooses not to trust the shepherd. David writes that he “will fear no evil.” All of these “shadows” will not instill fear because he is in the tender care of the Shepherd. We would do well to learn as David did that when the dark times come we cannot let them overtake us and cause us to fear. Fear fades in the presence of the Lord. 

The Host

In verse 5 the image of God changes from a Shepherd to the Host of a great feast. This picture shows that we are not only sheep in God’s care but we are also the honored guest at the Table of the Lord. Now this is an analogy that is less offensive to many.

God has set us a place as the special guest of honor at his table. He has spared no expenses and has invited us to eat with Him at His table. This is the place of communion with Him. As the Host God not only feeds and honors us but also assumes the responsibility for the safety of His guests. While under the care of the host all guests were safe from their enemies. As a guest our heads are anointed with perfumed oil (a means of refreshing and invigorating the body… kind of like a shower). The blessings and provisions of God are abundant just like a guest has a generous amount of wine available to them by the gracious host.

His abundance of blessings includes goodness and mercy. We have a plentiful supply of God’s prosperity, happiness, favor, and kindness. These blessings will remain with us for as long as we are alive.

“Dwell in the house of the Lord”

This is the ultimate communion with God. Many have interpreted the house of the Lord as the place where we go when we die. It is not necessarily a place we will go to some day. I believe it is where we are today… dwelling in the house of the Lord means we are in God’s presence. God is here today, He is in the midst of our lives right now. We can and have been given abundant life here on earth. I know of so many people who have written this life off and are just waiting to die so they can escape this world and go to heaven and be happy. My friends happiness is here in this life. The life we have today is a gift from God. Happiness and bliss is not just reserved for the afterlife; God desires we be happy and live the abundant life today. Living in the presence of the LORD today and forever is what David is writing about in this Psalm. Humans need to quit wasting our lives waiting for heaven. Heaven is the icing on the cake. The life we are living today is the cake. How you live your life is completely dependent upon you. I don’t think God’s intention for life is to just get by so we can go to heaven some day. If that were the case I would rather He bypassed the life here on earth and saved some time and energy and just sent me to heaven. Dwelling in the house of the LORD forever includes today. Today is included in forever. Let us dwell in God’s presence here on earth. Let us live the abundant life here on earth. It is a gift from God so let us not waste it by simply existing on this earth.

Conclusion

The LORD is my shepherd and I shall not want. God has blessed me in this life and I am extremely thankful that he is leading and guiding me through this life. I trust He will and has provided all for me. I am a dumb sheep in need of a shepherd. I am also an honored guest at the table of the Lord. I am blessed to have a life where I can live it in the presence of the LORD and will not waste or bide my time hear on earth waiting to go to heaven. I will enjoy the abundant life God has given me today and I look forward to continue dwelling in the presence of the Lord when He takes me home.

It is no wonder that people hold on to this verse in times of darkness and death. It is a beautiful picture of the wonderful love and care God has for us in dark times.I challenge us to not only hold this verse close to heart in times of death and turmoil, but to also hold them close in the life we live daily. May this Psalm not only be considered the Psalm of comfort in death, but that it may also be the Psalm of comfort in living the abundant and secure life in Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving All Year Round

Psalm 98

Psalm 98 is a Psalm of David and gives us a glimpse into the heart of a man who had dedicated his life to living in continual praise and thanksgiving to God. This is a Psalm of public praise to God for his faithfulness in making and keeping His promises and also for answered prayer.  It is directed as a prayer of offering of thanks to God for his constant care.  It is also a Psalm of heartfelt worship and humble gratitude towards a God who is everlasting, compassionate and faithful to keep his promises.  In this expression of his gratitude, he has left us all a worthy example of how we should respond to God’s wonderful deliverance.^[1]    

Vs 1a:  “I will give you thanks with my whole heart” – David publicly and unreservedly proclaims that he gives God thanks with his whole heart. 

Whole heart – inner part, inner man, mind, will soul… his whole being.  David is not only giving ordinary or mundane gratitude; he is not just giving lip service (empty or vain words) to God.  According to John Calvin David’s heart is, “one that is sincere and not double.”  It is a genuine heartfelt thankfulness.  It is much more than just saying a heartless, “Thanks”.   All his power is devoted to blessing God.

           

Vs 1b “before the gods I sing praise” – He unashamedly sings before the gods praise.  The word gods can be translated as angels, kings or the gods of the kings.  It seems the most probable translation would be “before the rulers and kings I will sing praise” since the Israelites were monotheistic in worship. 

Vs. 2a:   “Bow down toward your holy temple” – David prostrates himself in reverence toward the tabernacle which represents the presence or dwelling place of God.  He knew his proper place before an Almighty God.  He was not proud instead he was humbled at the presence of God.  This was not the actual temple since the Temple had not been built yet, so it was probably the tent or tabernacle that David bowing towards.  It wasn’t a sign of idol worship either since his prostration was not in reverence of the tent but the presence of the One in the tent.

Vs. 2b:  “I give thanks for…” – Three things David gives thanks to God...

1)     His name – God’s reputation, fame, and glory.  His name is who He is; the eternal one, the One who was, is and always has been.

2)     His steadfast love – God’s continual mercy He shows to His people.  His loving kindness.

3)     His faithfulness – God has made promises and He is trustworthy to keep these promises. 

          Above all God “exalts” or lifts up on high his name (who He is) and his word (promises).  It is important to God that He puts above all else His reputation and His promises since the two go together.  The meaning seems to be that He has not only done what He said He would, but has done much more in addition.^[2]

Vs. 3:  “On the day I called you answered…” – David praises God for his answered prayer.  As a result of the answered prayer his faith and spirit was strengthened in God.  We are all encouraged or strengthened in faith when we actually witness an answer to prayer.  Answered prayer certainly builds our faith and encourages us.

Vs 4 - 5: “All the kings of the earth…” – This is either a prayer request or a confident expectation.  Regardless in David’s soul strengthening answered prayer he is confident that there will be a day when all rulers will acknowledge God as Supreme ruler.  

Vs 6:  “For the Lord is high, he regards the low…”  These are words of comfort and encouragement to David and should be for us as well.  As great, magnificent, awesome, amazing and awe inspiring God still cares for the common person.  He is a God who is for the broken, humiliated, lowly and repentant. 

We saw in Psalm 51 where David writes, “A broken spirit and a contrite heart the Lord will not despise.”  Those who are humble and know their place before the Almighty God; He will remain close to and give regard to. 

However the proud, self dependent, unrepentant and haughty person God will stay far from.  He will remain distant because proud individuals see no need for God other than for personal gain or benefit (note he does not abandon them he just cannot get close to them, and not because he can’t but because the proud won’t let him come close).  The proud are to proud to admit their failures, short comings or even acknowledge their sins.  They come to God when things get tough and they can’t get themselves out of the predicament they are in. 

Vs 7 – 8:  “Though I walk in the midst of trouble…”  David speaks of God’s protective hand in preserving him in times of danger and trouble.  Even though his life is endangered by his enemies God has remained faithful in providing protection for him.

“right hand of power” – God’s almighty and divine power in physical and spiritual salvation.  It is only God who saves.

Psalm 138 (For us today)

          
Upon reading this Psalm it is nearly impossible for me to not respond with the same amount of gratitude and praise towards God as David.  When I think back to when the Holy Spirit called me from the self centered sin infested life I was living and invited to become an adopted son of the Almighty God how can I not thank God with my whole being.  A casual “thanks” is not enough to express the heartfelt gratitude I have towards the God who reached down and called me to be his child.  It is not enough for me to give him lip service.  I respond to God by giving him my whole being; my everything; I devote my life to serving Him (not as a way of trying to pay back what I could never pay back) but as an act of thanksgiving and gratitude. 

          
I give God thanks for his faithfulness, his long-suffering, forbearance and mercy and I praise my God for who He is and what He represents.  I am thankful that he calls me to humility.  He calls me to be dependent on Him for my every need.  There is no room for pride or boasting because I am completely reliant upon Him.  There is no room for pride in my life because pride causes a separation between God and me.  God looks favorably and delights in our humility and dependence on him and does not desire us to be prideful.

1. James 4:6  ^“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 
2.  Matthew 23:12 ^“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
3. Proverbs 29:23 ^“One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.” 
4. Mark 7:20-22 “And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.”

The words of David ring true about the prideful.  Pride separates you and God.  Very rarely do you see a prideful person able to express gratitude and thankfulness to people or to God.  However the heart of the humble can express gratitude and praise almost as second nature.

God is faithful.  I can’t tell you how thankful I am for that truth.  He has not failed me in any way in my life.  Sure there were times when things did not go the way I had planned or hoped; but He has been faithful in fulfilling His purpose in my life.  As followers of Christ I believe we have the responsibility and pleasure of living lives of gratitude and humility.  We can never say, “Thank you” to God enough and we can never be too dependent on God.  The things God has done for us are amazing and the things He has in store for us are just as astonishing so give him thanks for what He has done for you.  If you honestly can’t think of anything to be thankful for (I believe there is not a single person in this room who can’t) then think of the gift of eternal and abundant life God has made available to you through Jesus Christ.  Think of the great sacrifice Jesus made for you and me so we might be right with God and hopefully your response to God’s loving kindness and favor will be a life filled with gratitude and praise.

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^[1]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Ps 138:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

^[2]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Ps 138:2). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.