The Lord's my Shepherd

[0:00] Well, if you would turn with me this morning to the book of Psalms. The book of Psalms and Psalm 23. The book of Psalms, Psalm 23.

[0:23] As you'll know over the last few weeks on the Lord's Day evenings, we've been looking at the names of God. We've looked at the name Jehovah Jiri, the Lord will provide.

[0:36] Jehovah Nisi, the Lord is my banner. Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals you. Jehovah Makadesh, the Lord who sanctifies you. Jehovah Shalom, the Lord is peace.

[0:49] And last Lord's Day we were looking at Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord of righteousness. This morning we're looking at Jehovah Rohi, the Lord's my shepherd.

[1:04] Jehovah Rohi, the Lord's my shepherd. So we'll read Psalm 23 together. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

[1:15] He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake.

[1:27] 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.

[1:38] You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

[1:49] And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So Jehovah Rohi, the Lord is my shepherd.

[2:00] Psalm 23 is without doubt, I suppose, the most well-known and the most loved psalm in the Psalter. For out of all the 150 psalms, hymns and spiritual songs which we have given to us in the Word of God, Psalm 23 could be classed as everyone's favourite.

[2:22] With millions of people the world over, they have memorised the precious words of this psalm. And whether they have a connection to church or not, this psalm is known to many and it's loved by many.

[2:37] Simply because the shepherd psalm, in the shepherd psalm, we are reminded of the care which the divine shepherd has towards his sheep.

[2:48] And what makes Psalm 23 so relevant to us is that it's applicable to every area and to every event in our lives. Because the words of this psalm, they've been used throughout many generations to encourage those who are downcast, to give direction to those who need guidance, to bring peace to those who are experiencing turmoil, to provide assurance to those who are anxious and worried, to give hope to those who may have no hope at all, and to bring comfort to those who are mourning.

[3:23] Psalm 23. And it's no surprise that Spurgeon called Psalm 23 the pearl of all psalms. The pearl of all psalms.

[3:35] But as those who live in a rural community such as this one, we're not only familiar with the words of Psalm 23, to some extent we're also familiar with the theme of the shepherd from the psalm in Psalm 23.

[3:48] But what's interesting about Psalm 23 is that the first, that Psalm 23 is the first time in the Bible in which the Lord is referred to as a shepherd.

[3:59] With this personal declaration of David the shepherd boy, it's the first time that the Lord reveals to us on the pages of Scripture that he is a shepherd to his people.

[4:11] And the Lord reveals himself to us by saying, Jehovah Rohi, the Lord is my shepherd. And as we've looked at the various names of God over the past while, we've mentioned that every name given to us in Scripture, it's progressively revealing the character and the conduct of the Lord, in which the Lord is revealing to us who he is and what he is like towards us.

[4:37] But what I think is so beautiful in the way in which the Lord reveals himself as a shepherd, is that when the Lord is revealed as a shepherd, this theme is then carried on throughout the rest of Scripture.

[4:52] Because after David's declaration here in Psalm 23, many of the prophets then begin to describe the Lord as a shepherd, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, they all describe the Lord as a shepherd.

[5:07] And even the identity of the shepherd though, it finds its fulfillment in the New Testament, of course, in the Persian of Jesus Christ. And we saw that in John chapter 10, when Jesus referred to himself as the good shepherd.

[5:24] And then later in the New Testament, Peter calls Jesus the chief shepherd. And Paul calls Jesus, he calls him the great shepherd of the sheep.

[5:34] And so when we look at the Bible, there's this beautiful shepherd theme, which is woven into the Scriptures, just woven in there for us. And so it's no wonder when we look at Psalm 23 and the opening words, it's no wonder David says, Jehovah rohi, the Lord is my shepherd.

[5:54] The Lord is my shepherd. But as we look at this Psalm, and I want us to walk through it together, I'd like us to see that David is drawing our attention to two things.

[6:07] Because there are two things which are presented to us in the opening verse. And they pave the way for us to see that this, as Spurgeon said, this is the pearl of all Psalms.

[6:18] These two things are the Persian and the provisions. The Persian and the provisions. In verse 1 he says, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

[6:34] So David begins with the Persian. He begins this beautiful item of praise by giving us a description of the Lord. Where David reveals who the Lord is and what the Lord is like.

[6:47] And by looking at the history of David's life as a shepherd, we know that this shepherd theme was very familiar to him. And what's amazing is that David was able to look at the natural relationship which he had towards his own sheep.

[7:05] And from there he could see this spiritual application that could be made about the Lord's relationship towards him. And we can certainly see that from the personal name which the Lord uses to describe the Lord.

[7:20] Because he says, The Lord is my shepherd. And as we've said before, the title, Lord in capital letters, it's the covenant name in which the Lord is revealed to us as the great Jehovah.

[7:34] The one who keeps covenant. The one who keeps covenant. Covenant. And without even describing the Lord as a shepherd, the Lord's name alone ought to emphasize to us that he is faithful.

[7:49] He is faithful to his covenant and he is faithful to his covenant people. But what David is describing to us is that he is describing to us that the Lord is also like his covenant.

[8:02] Because the covenant, as we know, it's everlasting. Therefore the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. He is eternal. He has no beginning.

[8:13] He has no end. And his eternal nature implies that the Lord is self-existent. He is not created. Which means he doesn't change.

[8:24] If he is self-existent, he doesn't change. He remains the same. Yesterday, today, and forever. But he's not only self-existent, he's self-sufficient.

[8:36] Because as the Lord, he's not dependent upon anyone or anything. The Lord doesn't depend upon anyone for his wisdom because he is all-wise. The Lord doesn't depend upon anyone for his power because he's all-powerful.

[8:50] He's omnipotent. He doesn't depend upon anyone for his knowledge because he's all-knowing. He's omniscient. And he doesn't even depend upon anyone for his glory because he's altogether glorious.

[9:02] The wonder of David's declaration here in Psalm 23 is that the Lord doesn't need us. The Lord doesn't need us.

[9:14] But we need him. We need him. And we need him to be our shepherd. And as a shepherd who cared for his father's flock, David affirms to us that Jesus is the shepherd who cares for his father's flock.

[9:36] And this is the marvel of what David says here when he says, Jehovah-rohi, the Lord is my shepherd. Because in this statement, David presents to us the Lord who is self-existent and he's self-sufficient.

[9:51] He doesn't need anyone. But at the same time, by calling him a shepherd, David's drawing our attention to the humility of the Lord.

[10:03] Because being a shepherd in ancient Israel, it was considered to be one of the lowest family tasks. If a family needed a shepherd, you call the youngest son, just like David was.

[10:17] You call the youngest son and you give him the most unpleasant job to look after the family flock 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

[10:27] With a shepherd, he would have to nourish and guide and protect the sheep, day and night, summer and winter, rain, hail or shine. He had to be there. And so the question which arises is, who would want to be a shepherd in Israel?

[10:42] Who would want to be a shepherd? And yet David reminds us here that the Lord Jesus Christ wanted to be a shepherd. He wasn't the youngest son of the family.

[10:56] He was the only begotten son. He was the unique son of God who humbled himself to be our shepherd. But more than that, Jesus, our shepherd, humbled himself to the point of death, even death on the cross.

[11:13] And that's what we read earlier in John 10. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Then he goes on to say, I am the good shepherd.

[11:25] I know my own and my own know me. And that's what David had discovered for himself. He had come to know and experience this personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

[11:38] And he had come to realize that the good shepherd knew him. The Lord is my shepherd, he was saying. I know him personally. He belongs to me.

[11:49] I am his and he is mine. And that's what left David saying about this person, Jehovah, Rohi. The Lord is my shepherd. Jehovah, Rohi.

[12:01] The Lord is my shepherd. But when David came to know the person of the shepherd, he also came to receive all the provisions of the shepherd.

[12:14] And that's what David details for us in the following verses of this precious psalm. He's told us about the person, the Lord is my shepherd. But secondly, we see the provisions.

[12:26] The provisions, he says, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I shall not want. And so we see that in the opening line, David tells us who the shepherd is.

[12:39] The Lord is my shepherd. But the second half of the line, David tells us what the shepherd does. I shall not want. The shepherd makes provisions for the sheep in which they lack nothing.

[12:53] They don't go without. They are not in want. If they were left to themselves, they would lack everything. They would have no provisions. They would be lost.

[13:04] Because as we know, sheep are the most helpless of all animals. But here David asserts that the provision of the divine shepherd, a full provision.

[13:15] It's a full provision because when someone belongs to the good shepherd, who is self-existent and self-sufficient and who does all things, then the good shepherd, he will be good to his sheep.

[13:29] He will be good to his sheep. His sheep will lack nothing. They will not be in want. They will not be in want. And he says, the first provision of the good shepherd which David highlights is the provision of peace.

[13:46] His provision of his peace. He says in verse 2, He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

[14:00] Let me consider this shepherd theme of Psalm 23. I'm sure many of you have read Douglas Macmillan's book. If you haven't read it, I'd encourage you to read it. The book, The Lord Our Shepherd.

[14:13] And it gives to us an insight of the natural tendencies of a shepherd and what the sheep often do along with all the spiritual applications of the good shepherd and his sheep.

[14:26] But similar to Douglas Macmillan's book, there was another book called A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. And it was a book written by an American pastor called Philip Keller.

[14:41] And he, for eight years, he worked, prior to entering the ministry, he worked as a shepherd. And like Douglas Macmillan, Philip Keller wrote his experience of working with sheep and he applied it just like Douglas Macmillan does.

[14:58] But in relation to this verse, Keller points out that sheep don't lie down easily. They don't lie down easily. They don't lie down.

[15:08] It's not easy for them to lie down in green pastures and beside the still waters. He says it's almost impossible to make sheep lie down in peace unless four requirements are met.

[15:21] And just to run through them quickly, the first he says is fear. Because sheep, they're so timid that they refuse to lie down unless they're free from all fear and anxiety.

[15:32] So if you walk past a sheep and it's lying down, the first thing the sheep does is it gets up and it runs away. Because the sheep is timid. It's afraid. So it's hard to make it lie down.

[15:45] So fear. The second thing he says is friction. Because sheep won't lie down if there's friction and there's fighting within the flock. Sheep can sometimes be very territorial or domineering.

[15:57] Some of them domineer their space and if there is tension or friction, they won't lie down. There has to be peace for the sheep to lie down. So fear, friction, flies, he says.

[16:10] If sheep are affected by flies like they are during the hot summer months, they can't relax. And because the flies are always niggling away at them and always itching and they're always itching them and causing them to scratch against the fence posts and the fence, they don't have peace.

[16:29] So they can't lie down. Fear, friction, flies, and then he says food. If sheep are hungry, they won't lie down until they're full. And as long as they feel hungry and they need for food, they won't have peace.

[16:42] They won't lie down and rest. And so Keller says that in order for sheep to lie down in peace, they need to be free from fear, friction, flies, and they need to be filled with food.

[16:53] And so too, says Keller, only a good shepherd can provide peace for his sheep. Where he leads them to the place of safety and security and peace in the green pastures and beside the still waters.

[17:10] But what's interesting is that the good shepherd leads his people to the place of peace by his voice. As we read in John 10, Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.

[17:26] And when Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice, he's drawing attention to the fact that hearing the voice of Jesus is what brings peace. Hearing the voice of Jesus is what brings true, lasting peace.

[17:41] And my friend, you know that you're a sheep which belongs to the shepherd. When you hear the voice of the shepherd from his word and you desire to obey it.

[17:52] You know that Jesus has claimed you as his own and he has said that you are my sheep. When you can say, I love that hymn, when you can say with the hymn writer, I heard the voice of Jesus say, Come unto me and rest.

[18:08] Lay down, thou weary one, lay down thy head upon my breast. I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad. I found in him a resting place and he has made me glad.

[18:22] And what has made you glad is that he brought peace into your experience. And because there is peace, you know the love of the good shepherd. And you love his voice.

[18:34] You love his voice because it's that voice which tenderly speaks to your soul through his word. It's that voice which makes you feel safe and secure.

[18:45] It's that voice which reassures you that you have shelter and protection and safety. It's that voice which provides for your every need. It's that voice that brings peace.

[18:59] Our shepherd, he says, provides his peace. Our shepherd provides his peace. But then he moves into verse 3 and he says that our shepherd provides his pardon.

[19:14] Our shepherd provides his pardon. He says, he restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

[19:25] And so David expresses in this verse that it's because of Jehovah Rohi that he provides his pardon. he says that the Lord provides his pardon for his name's sake.

[19:39] He provides his pardon because he is the divine shepherd of the sheep. And he pardons his sheep by restoring their soul and leading them in paths of righteousness.

[19:52] But this phrase restores my soul. It can be translated as he brings me to repentance in the sense of being converted or coming to salvation.

[20:04] And that is certainly true of David's experience and every experience of the child of God. It is the shepherd who leads his people to repentance and converts the soul from darkness to light.

[20:19] But this phrase can also be understood as restoring the joy of salvation. Restoring the joy of salvation in which the Lord restores the soul with joy and blessing.

[20:33] A soul which is barren of joy and blessing because of sin. And that would certainly be fitting with David's experience from Psalm 51.

[20:45] Whereas you know Psalm 51 it's a prayer of repentance where David committed adultery with Bathsheba and he murdered Bathsheba's husband Uriah and yet in Psalm 51 David he has been brought to confess his sin and he's cast down because he realises what he's done that he has sinned against God he's done evil in his sight and he's pleading with the Lord to wash him.

[21:14] Wash me as white as snow create within me a clean heart. But the reason why he's asking is because his soul is cast down he not only wants cleansing he not only wants his heart to be made clean but he also wants to be restored and he pleads with the Lord restore to me the joy of my salvation.

[21:40] Restore to me the joy of my salvation. And again in his book Philip Keller he gives the interesting illustration of a sheep when it's cast down.

[21:56] Keller says that when a sheep is cast or cast down the sheep is either falling over onto its side and then rolled onto its back I'm sure you've all seen it before where they're lying down and they roll over and they can't turn back over onto their legs.

[22:14] And if a sheep is left cast down it'll bleat and cry and kick the legs in this failed attempt to try and turn back over. But after a few hours she says gas will collect in the stomach of the sheep if it's left or turned on its back and eventually it'll cut off the air passage to the sheep and the sheep will die.

[22:36] But if a shepherd sees the cast down sheep he or she will reassure it maybe even massage its legs he says to restore circulation I've never done it myself and then he will gently turn the sheep over lift it up and hold it so that it becomes steady and lets it go.

[22:59] And Keller says this is a beautiful picture of restoration that when we've gone astray as sheep are prone to doing and we've ended up on our backs because of our sin we've made a mess of things we've become utterly helpless to restore ourselves and it's then that our loving shepherd comes to us and draws near to us and reassures us of his forgiveness and he lifts us up with his mercy and he holds us by his grace and he restores to us the joy of our salvation and he then leads us he says in the paths of righteousness which is the path of his word his righteous word a word which always leads us back to Jesus is that not what Isaiah was saying in Isaiah 53 that we are prone to wonder we're prone to falling but we have a wonderful shepherd who restores us

[24:03] Isaiah said all we like sheep we've gone astray we've turned everyone to his own way but then Isaiah he points us to Jesus and he says the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all our shepherd provides his pardon our shepherd provides his pardon and so our shepherd provides his peace and he provides his pardon then in verse 4 we see that he provides his presence he says even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you're with me your rod and your staff they comfort me David he continues by saying even though or yea though I walk in order to give the idea of the shepherd's progressive leading and guiding where David has explained so far that the good shepherd he provides peace by making his flock lie down beside the green pastures and he leads them beside the still waters and David has reminded us that the good shepherd he provides pardon when he restores the soul and leads us in the path of righteousness but now

[25:26] David brings us into new territory for the Lord's flock he says he brings us to the valley of the shadow of death and the vivid description of the valley it seeks to emphasize that there's no other route which can be taken because we can't go over the valley we can't go round the valley we can't turn back from the valley but he says we must all go through the valley of the shadow of death and the imagery which David is expressing by calling it the valley of the shadow of death is the idea of deep darkness in which the darkness is getting deeper and deeper and darker and darker the further you go into the valley because in the valley of the shadow of death there is no hope there is no light there is no life and there is no peace and that's because death is an enemy death is the enemy and even though many people try and make light of death and the reality of death the only reality to death is that it destroys homes it tears apart families it brings chaos into people's lives it leaves nothing but sadness and heartache and sorrow behind and when we're confronted with it death casts this frightening shadow over us because we can't prevent its arrival and we can't delay its visitation it doesn't ask us any questions it just takes and when it comes we're made to realize that we're utterly helpless in its presence death is the last enemy and it's a powerful enemy but it's in the presence of death that the presence of the shepherd is made known and because of the assured presence of the shepherd David says I will fear no evil

[27:35] I will fear no evil instead of fear he has peace he has peace because of the shepherd's presence but did you notice the change in the way David speaks about the shepherd because in the first three verses David said the Lord makes me lie down he leads me he restores me and he says again he leads me but now in this verse when he's speaking about the valley of the shadow of death he says 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 and the picture that's given of the shepherd is that the shepherd is no longer ahead of the sheep he's no longer going before them and leading them to the green pastures and the still water he's no longer leading them it's because when it comes to going through the valley of the shadow of death the shepherd is David is assured that the shepherd is now walking side by side with him walking by his side no longer ahead but by his side but what brings comfort and peace is not only the presence of the shepherd beside him in the midst of the valley he says that his rod and his staff they comfort me they bring comfort and they bring comfort because they are both held in the caring hand of the divine shepherd the sheep are looking at the hand the hand that feeds them the hand that helps them the hand that leads them the hand that guides them the hand that restores the hand that renews them the hand that lifts them up the hand that gently pushes them and prods them the hand that protects them and keeps them and you know

[29:37] I love that phrase from John 10 I always come back to it when Jesus affirms that his flock will always have his presence because they are kept safe in his hand he says my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life and never shall they perish neither shall any man be able to pluck them out of my hand a lovely picture not only the hand that comforts but the hand that holds and the hand that keeps our shepherd provides his presence his presence and so our shepherd provides his peace his pardon his presence then in verse 5 he provides his protection his protection you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies you anoint my head with oil my cup overflows and it's at this point in the psalm that some commentators suggest that the verse indicates a change where it's the change of the metaphor of the shepherd guiding the sheep now to that of a householder welcoming a guest to his prepared table and it's easy to see how we could come to that conclusion since David ends the psalm talking about dwelling in the house of the Lord forever but on the other hand when we consider the context of this verse we can see that the psalmist he hasn't moved away from the shepherd image at all because shepherds in eastern countries they would often feed their sheep on these raised tables which would be similar to what we have in the form of wooden troughs but a bit higher where instead of feeding the sheep on the ground and just throwing the feet onto the ground for them the shepherd would call his sheep to the trough and he would bring them to this one place and distribute the food to them and the reason why the eastern shepherd would use a feeding trough was because when the sheep would come in from grazing their fleeces and the ground it was often infested with bacteria and parasites and the sheep could easily pick up these parasites and bacteria and they could get all sorts of diseases from them and maybe it would kill them and that's why David says you prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies all the parasites are there the enemies are the parasites and bacteria he's preparing the table of the troughs in the presence of the enemies but then

[32:24] David goes on to say you anoint my head with oil and with this David is indicating the action of the shepherd whilst the sheep are feeding so the sheep have all gathered round the trough and they're all feeding and munching away at their feet but the shepherd comes with this oil and the oil was often a mixture of olive oil sulfur and spices it was an expensive mixture but it was for precious sheep and the shepherd would while they're standing there feeding standing still the shepherd would pour the oil on the head run down the back of it and this oil was used to protect the sheep from the parasites and the bacteria and all the skin diseases that they might pick up in the fields and as David considers the shepherd's protection of the sheep he bursts into praise of his shepherd and he says my cup it's overflowing my cup it's overflowing and what

[33:28] David gives to us is an image of what the shepherd is like towards his sheep because the shepherd he's providing abundant blessing full and overflowing blessing it's complete protection from the enemies that would otherwise cause so much harm and all David can say is my cup it's overflowing it's overflowing because our shepherd does in us and for us far above and beyond our asking or our thinking my friend that is the joy of our salvation that we are protected in the care of the good shepherd even in the presence of our enemies even in the presence of our enemies but here we're being assured that in the presence of our enemies we're being kept being kept kept says

[34:48] Peter by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed when Christ returns our shepherd provides his protection our shepherd provides his protection and so this person the Lord is my shepherd he provides his peace his pardon his presence his protection and then lastly in verse 6 David closes this wonderful psalm by saying that the shepherd provides his promise his promise surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever after reflecting upon the person and nature of the good shepherd David now knows that every provision every provision is his and he doesn't say surely goodness and mercy will follow me he doesn't say it out of uncertainty or doubt or insecurity but he says it with absolute surety goodness and mercy will follow me literally

[36:08] David is saying the goodness of God all his provisions and even his covenant faithfulness and love they will pursue me they will follow so closely behind me that I'll know they're there all the time it'll come behind me and assure me of all of the shepherd's provisions and what's said here it reveals the all encompassing nature of the shepherd the all encompassing nature because throughout this psalm David has told us that the shepherd leads him the shepherd leads him he's in front of him leading him to the green pastures and beside the still water then he said the shepherd is beside him through the valley of the shadow of death side by side him now he says the shepherd is behind him the shepherd's behind him following with goodness and mercy and with this David is reminding us of this all encompassing provision of the shepherd he's out in front he's beside us and he's behind us all around us this all encompassing provision but even more than that the provisions of the shepherd never end they never end because David reminds us that the promise of the shepherd is not only relevant to us now today but it's relevant to us he says all the days of my life all the days of our life and the promise of the shepherd is not dependent upon our feelings it's not dependent upon our circumstances not dependent upon how we feel and how close we feel to the Lord and what we're like and how sinful we feel and all these different things the promise of the shepherd doesn't depend upon us because the promise doesn't change the promise is like the shepherd doesn't change it'll remain and it will follow after us follow behind us until at last the shepherd takes his precious sheep out of the wilderness and he takes them hope to be with himself and my friend is that not what John saw

[38:26] John in his revelation when he was given that revelation of heaven where he looked at the sheep of the good shepherd and he said these are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in his blood and they shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore the sun shall not strike them nor even the heat for the lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water and wipe away every tear from their eyes my friend at the beginning of another year a year in which we don't know what's ahead of us we don't know but what we do know is that he promises to go before us he promises to be beside us and he promises to follow behind us that's our shepherd so who better for us to look to at the beginning of another year than the good shepherd in the portion of Jesus

[39:48] Christ and what better provisions will we ever receive than the provisions of this shepherd he provides his peace his pardon his presence his protection and his promise therefore why would we call upon any other name as we begin a new year other than the name Jehovah Rohi the Lord is my shepherd Jehovah Rohi the Lord is my shepherd may the Lord bless these thoughts to us let us pray O Lord our gracious God we give thanks to thee that thou art our shepherd that we would truly pray as the psalmist did long ago hear Israel's shepherd like a flock thou that does Joseph guide shine forth O thou that does between the cherubims abide that we O Lord would see thee as one who leads us one who is beside us one who is following behind us that even

[40:54] David could say that behind before thou hast beset and laid on me thine hand such knowledge is too strange for me too high to understand it is a marvel Lord that we are kept by thee we bless thee for thy goodness we thank thee that the Lord one who promises to us that goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life that in God's house forevermore our dwelling place shall be help us then to make Jesus our shepherd to be able to confess with David the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want do us good then we pray bless us and go before us and cleanse us for Jesus sake Amen I shall conclude by singing that Psalm Psalm 23 Psalm 23 in the Scottish Psalter Psalm 23 we'll sing the whole

[42:11] Psalm the Lord's my shepherd I'll not want he makes me down to lie in pastures green he leadeth me the quiet waters by down to the end of the psalm goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me and in God's house forevermore my dwelling place shall be these verses to God's placeagi the the hinder 거야 to He makes me die to life.

[42:58] In a posthumous fear he leadeth me. In a quiet water's light.

[43:19] My soul redone is full again.

[43:29] Am he weary long? Amen.

[43:42] The last of righteousness In God's Son and Savior Though I fall in rest of me Yet when I fear nothing For thou art with me And thy love And stop me, come for still

[44:43] My deep love has furnished In presence of my soul My hand of God With glory and heart And my cup overflows Goodness and mercy All my life Shall surely fall for thee

[45:47] And in God's hands Forevermore Thy dwelling place Shall be The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ The love of God the Father And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit Be with you all Now and forevermore Amen