He restores my soul  | Summer at College Park: Refreshed, Restored, Renewed
2026-06-28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NVIETWcdCI

Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. I'm going to have Eric do it on his motorcycle. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray.

Let's be able to gather and worship together this morning. We've had a kind of a busy week here at church, and so we are glad to gather, to worship, to share God's Word together, to come together in prayer, to gather around the table together. This week, we're in the week four of our series, Refreshed, Restored, and Renewed, as we look at how God refreshes us, restores us, renews us. And we're going to be in the 23rd Psalm, where we hear how the shepherd restores our souls. And so I'm going to begin with a passage of Scripture from Ezekiel. We'll pray, and then we'll read some Scripture together, and then we'll spend some time in song. So hear what Ezekiel says in Ezekiel chapter 34.

"I will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out the flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, I will seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all the places that they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness." And I want to direct your attention to the personal nature of this promise, as Ezekiel has, in much of his writing, promised judgment and darkness and struggle and retribution for the sins of a rebellious people. Here we find God himself saying, "Not just I will do this, but I, myself, will search for my sheep, and I will seek them out." Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you are the one who shepherds. We thank you that you have given us hope in the midst of a world that is often filled with darkness and struggle and conflict. So we ask this morning that as we gather for

worship as we read Scripture together, as we sing, as we gather around the table, as we pray, as we study your word, that you would be at work to lead us to those places of nourishment and refresh us. That you would walk with us through those dark valleys, that in those moments where it seems like our enemies surround us, that you would remind us that you have prepared a table for us. Help us to see your goodness and mercy following us all the days of our life, and may we dwell in your house forever. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. If you would, stand with me. We're going to begin by reading from Zephaniah, chapter 3, verse 17, and then we're going to sing on that day. So if you would, read with me. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty warrior who was saved. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you by his love. He will exult over you with loud singing. This is the word of the Lord. We're going to start by singing on that day.

I believe in Christ, risen from their dead. He now reigns victorious. His kingdom knows no end. Through his resurrection, death has lost its hope. I know where you are now. On that final day, I will rise as Jesus rose. On that day, we will see you shining brighter than the sun. On that day, we will love you as we lift our voices one. Till that day, we will praise you for your never-ending grace. And we will keep on seeing you. Singing on that glorious day. What a blessed hope, though now tired and warm. We will spend eternity around our siniest thought. Though we grieve our losses, we grieve not in vain. For we know our crown of glory waits beyond the grave. On that day, we will see you shine brighter than the sun. On that day, we will know you as we lift our voices warm till the day. We will praise you, for you never will know you as we lift our voices. We will keep singing on that glorious day.

Hallelujah, what a day it will be. For at home with you my joy is from me. As I roll into your arms open wide, I must see. My Father who is waiting for me. Hallelujah, what a day it will be. For at home with you my joy is from me. As I roll into your arms open wide, I will sing. My Father who is waiting for me. My Father who is waiting for me. On that day, we will see you shining brighter than the sun. On that day, we will know you as we lift our voices one. Till that day, we will praise you for your never-ending grace. And we will keep on singing on that glorious day. On that day, we will see you shining brighter than the sun. On that day, we will know you as we lift our voices one. Till that day, we will praise you for your never-ending grace. And we will keep on singing on that glorious day. And we will keep on singing on that glorious day.

We're going to sing next, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." And as we do, I want you to pay close attention to the last verse they sing as it leads us into our time of confession and assurance.

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. Tune my heart to sing Thy Grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing. Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above. Praise Thy mountain fixed upon it, mount of Thy redeeming love. Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I'm come. And I hope by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God, he to rescue me from danger interposed his precious blood.

Oh, to grace, how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be. Let thy grace, Lord, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above. You may be seated. As we just sang those words, prone to wander, God's people often, whether by sin or through fear or lack of trust, have chased after our own way instead of depending upon the Lord. In a few weeks we'll be in Jeremiah chapter 2, and I want to read that together this morning. If you would read with me. For my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

And do you hear the hopelessness that God brings as he talks about this sin? That it's first of all against him, but ultimately against him and against his plan. It's harming the people as they come to a place where there should be refreshment and ultimately finding themselves without water. And it's this that we come this morning confessing. Those areas where we have sought our own way, where we've hewed out our own cisterns, seeking to satisfy ourselves. In the good news of the gospel, there is something wonderful, and we sang it in the song this morning as well, "Take my heart, Lord, take and seal it for thy courts above." So if you would read with me the good news in Ephesians chapter 1. "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory." Father in heaven, we come confessing those times where we have sought to satisfy our own thirst by our own strength and by our own plans and our own ability. Help us to see the source of living water. May your spirit correct us and convict us and encourage us and strengthen us and refresh us this morning. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. As we prepare for the Lord's Supper, we're going to sing "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus."

"Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. Turn your eyes to the hillside, where justice and mercy embrace. There the Son of God gave His life for us, and our measureless debt-wise. Turn your eyes to that hillside, where justice and mercy embrace. There the Son of God gave His life for us, and our measureless debt-wise. Jesus, to You we lift our eyes. Jesus, our glory and our Christ. We adore You, behold You, our Savior ever true. Oh, Jesus, we turn our eyes. We turn our eyes to Him. Turn your eyes to the morning, and see Christ the lion aware. What a glorious dawn, fear of death is gone. For we carry His life in our veins.

Jesus, to you we lift our eyes. Jesus, our glory and our prize. We adore You, behold You, our Savior ever true. Oh, Jesus, we turn our eyes to You. Turn your eyes to the heavens. Our King will return for His own. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will shout. All glory to Jesus, Lord. Jesus, to you He lifts our eyes. Jesus, our glory and our prize. We adore you, behold you, our Savior ever true. Oh, Jesus, we turn our eyes to you. Jesus, to you He lifts our prize. Jesus, our glory and our prize. We adore you, behold you, our Savior ever true. Oh, Jesus, we turn our eyes to you. Oh, Jesus, we turn our eyes to you. Oh, Jesus, we turn our eyes to you. Oh, Jesus, we turn our eyes to you.

Matthew, the 27th chapter, as Jesus has already been betrayed, arrested, gone through the trials between the Jewish authorities and the Roman authorities. He's been scourged. He's carried his cross and ultimately crucified. Matthew 27 says this, "And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,' that is, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" And as Jesus calls out from the cross, these words are a direct quotation from the 22nd Psalm. I'd like to just read a few verses of the 22nd Psalm to you. It begins like this, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me from the words of my groaning?" And beginning in verse 6, "But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me.

They make mouths at me and they wag their heads. He trusts in the Lord. Let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, for he delights in him." And in verse 14, "I am poured out like water, and my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax that is melted within my breast. My strength is dried up like a pot shard, and my tongue sticks to my jaws. You lay me in the dust of death." And then in verse 16, "For dogs encompass me. A company of evildoers encircles me. They have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me, and they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." But just like the cross does not end in the darkness of Friday or in the tomb on Saturday, but ultimately in the resurrection of Jesus, this psalm does not end in the darkness of suffering.

Verse 24, it says this, "He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but he has heard him when he cries to him. And all the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you." In Psalm 22, we have a vivid picture of what takes place on the cross. And in a few minutes, we'll be in the 23rd Psalm, and it's a Psalm probably all of us have heard. Maybe we have it memorized, or maybe we've heard it enough that it's memorized. And the 23rd Psalm begins with those words that are so comforting to us, right? "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." He leads me beside the green pastures. He takes me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. We go to the paths of righteousness.

All of that wonder of the 23rd Psalm. And here's what Spurgeon says. There are no green pastures. There are no still waters before the 22nd Psalm. It is only after we have read, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me that we come? The Lord is my shepherd." We must by experience know the value of bloodshedding. And we must see the sword awakened against the shepherd before we are able to truly know the sweetness of the shepherd's good care. The joy of the 23rd Psalm is found because of the sacrifice of the shepherd in the 22nd Psalm. Let's pray. Father, fix our eyes on Jesus, the cross, his sacrifice, the grace that was poured out, the mercy and forgiveness, help us, as we partake of this meal, to hear those words in regard to our salvation, that it is finished.

Lead us to hope that the cross and the suffering is not the last word, but there is resurrection. And so encourage us this morning. Help us to see your great love for us. I ask that you bless this bread and this cup. May we proclaim your son until he comes again. It's in his name we pray. Amen. Let's remember the body of Jesus that has been given for us.

Let us partake of the cup, which is the new covenant in his blood. And as often as we eat this bread and we drink this cup, we proclaim our Savior until he comes again. We're going to sing, "His mercy is more."

For what God could remember, no wrongs we have done. Our nations all knowing he counts not their sum. Thrown into a sea with our bottom of shore. Our sins they are many, his mercy is more. Praise the Lord, his mercy is more. Stronger than darkness, new every morn. Our sins they are many, his mercy is more.

What patience would wait as we constantly roam? What Father so tender is calling us on? He welcomes the weakest, the vilest, the poor. Our sins they are many, his mercy is more. Praise the Lord, his mercy is more. Stronger than darkness, new every morn. Our sins they are many, his mercy is more. What riches of kindness he lavished on us. His blood was the payment, his life was the cost. We stood beneath the debt we could never afford. Our sins they are many, his mercy is more. Praise the Lord, his mercy is more. Stronger than darkness, pure every more. Our sins they are many, his mercy is more. Our sins they are many, his mercy is more.

I have wandered far from home, Following the greener grass. One step at a time I drifted, Till I looked up and got lost. But into the dark you came for me, And asked me where I'd gone. Not because you didn't know. But to call me home. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in the green and quiet land. He leads me to the water. He restores my soul. Lost and found and through the valley. All the way home.

Even though I walk through darkness, you are walking there with me. Not a darkness of your absence, just a shadow. You're the light. Your rod and staff are in your hand. You know this valley well. Stand still and see your salvation. He will lead you through. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in the green and quiet land. He leads me to the water. He restores my soul. Lost and found and through the valley. All the way home. Surely goodness. Surely mercy. Chasing me down all my days. I'm not a puppy trailing gently, more like grace that won't let go. You prepare a table for me. In the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, and my cup runs over. I will dwell in your house.

Forever. Not a guest, but a child. Come home. While I'm here, the whole world is your dwelling. And when I rise, I'll only go to the upper room of the same house. Where the Lamb becomes the shepherd. Leads us to the living water. Every tear wiped away. The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. He restores my soul.

Let's pray. I have wandered far from home, following the greener grass. One step at a time I drifted, till I looked up and got lost. But into the dark you came, and asked me where I'd gone. Not because you didn't know, but to call me home. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in the green and quiet land. He leads me to the water. He restores my soul. Lost and found and through the valley. All the way home. Even though I walk through darkness, you are walking there with me. Not a darkness of your absence, just a shadow. You're the light. Your rotten staff are in your hand. You know this valley well. Stand still. There should be a handout in your bulletin if you want to follow along with some of the texts, Bible verses, and notes. It's a little shorter this week. A lot of Scripture, but also if you are young or maybe young at heart, we do have a kids worship bulletin as well. Or if you're more into fill in the blanks, there's that. There's some activities inside and a place to color.

And draw on the back. So we're going to be on the 23rd Psalm. We have been working through this summer these glorious truths that God both refreshes, he restores us, he renews us, and he does so through his glorious presence. So let's go ahead and have a word of prayer. We'll dive into this this morning. Father in heaven, thank you for your word. We thank you for your church and your people, and we thank you that we can come together and sing and pray. Spend time with one another. Help us as we open your word and as we take a look at this song from David, from his experience of what a shepherd was, and to see you in this glorious, wonderful, comforting picture. So we ask this morning that through your word and through your spirit, you would restore our souls. We thank you for Jesus. It's in his name we pray. Amen.

One thing that I was not necessarily expecting about having children is that when they go to somebody else's house, those new toys are always far more exciting than the toys you have at home. And what's remarkable is not that they're excited by new toys, but it can be the same toys they have at home, but their friends version of the same exact thing they have is very exciting to them. Now the adult version, I think of this, is when somebody comes to visit you in your hometown, and you've taken kind of everything for granted, the history, the tourist attractions, the restaurants, and they come, and they visit you, and you begin showing them around, and you begin to see the things through their eyes, and it's new to them, and it's exciting to them, and those things that maybe we took for granted, hopefully, maybe we have a renewed appreciation for. I think the 23rd Psalm, probably for many of us, has become so familiar, and it's not

a bad thing in any way that it is familiar to us, because these are words of great love and great comfort. They should restore us, walk through us in those times where it's green pastures, and also through those dark valleys. It's a psalm that brings hope. It's why it's used so frequently in moments of comfort, because these words encourage our soul, but because it is so familiar to us, it can be easy to just simply say or take it for granted because we see it so frequently. And one of the things I would remind you as we begin this psalm is that this is not just simply a list of comforting truths. The reality of this psalm, if you look at it from beginning to end, that it's a journey. It begins with the shepherd leading through areas that feed and refresh and move us to righteousness, and from there it goes to the valley of

the shadow of death, which is dark and dangerous, but the shepherd is there protecting and providing for us. And then from there it moves to a wonderful feast. And even as the journey continues, you're pursued by the goodness and mercy of God until you finally come home. Right? This song is not just a collection of here's some great things about God, but reality is it's the journey of life and the different places that we walk through as we're being led by the good shepherd. And so most of us know this Psalm very well. In fact, if I was to say the Lord is my, let's try one more. The Lord is my, right? We know it, right? And we could probably go on to talk about how he leads us. Some of you can say the whole Psalm, but I want to go back to what happens before we get to this truth that the Lord

is my shepherd. You see this Psalm and the story of this Psalm begins with that truth. The Lord is my shepherd. But before that, that's not where our story begins. It begins in lostness. So last fall with the horses we are taking care of, I rebuilt one section of fence four different times. And the first time I rebuilt it, I thought, you know what? It's kind of old. It needs some repairing. So I, I got it all put back together. A few days later, I got a call. The horses were out and I went back and I said, "Man, um, you know, maybe it's all this brush that's getting tangled up in it. Um, it's making it easy." So I cleared back some of the brush and put the fence back together. Um, the third time they actually broke through parts of the fence. And so I, I went through and I, I cleared all the brush. I put the fence back up and it was supposed to be an electric fence. And I thought I had it properly tied in to the whole electrical system. And then the fourth time I finally said, you know what? Let's just plug this

into a 110 outlet and see what happens for these horses. And what the problem ultimately was is that these horses, despite the fact they had all the fresh water they wanted, all the grass they wanted, all the hay they wanted, they had a mineral block, they had safety. They looked over that fence and they said, you know what? That grass is far greener than the grass that I have right here. And that's not just the story of rebellious horses. the story of God's people. All of us. Every single one of us. That's the first temptation. Did God really say that this wouldn't happen? Here's some fruit. It's good to look at. Pleasing to the eyes. Desirable to make one wise. We look across that fence and we run after our own way. You see, our story begins not with the good shepherd, but with this truth.

All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way. And what you see is that as you move through Scripture, sin is the brokenness that every problem falls from. It leads us to grief, whether that's from the loss of life to the loss of relationships, the loss of everything in between. Sin universally brings sorrow. It brings fear. Discovered in our sin, or the consequences of our sin, that people would know our sin. Or being afraid of those who would sin against us. It could be that sin ultimately brings exhaustion, right? Different than tiredness. Because before the fall, our work, while difficult and leading us to tiredness and needing rest, was not exhaustion. And it becomes toil. And it's opposed. And sometimes it feels like we do the same thing over and over again, and nothing ever changed. It could be loneliness, because sin continually breaks relationships. It could be shame. You see, guilt shows us our sin, but shame says that sin is a part of you. And so we hide from that. And at the end of all of this, whether it's the grief, or the fear, or the exhaustion, the loneliness, the shame, and the guilt, we look around us, and we see the weight of this world

that is filled with sin. And Paul describes it this way in Romans chapter eight, "For we know that the whole of creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now, and not only creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for the adoption of sons, the redemption of our bodies." And sin brings this weight that even those of us who hope in Christ groan for the adoption. The problem about the struggle of sin in our lives is that we're in pretty good denial about what is happening in our life, right? We're convinced that we're fine, even in the midst of our shame and our fear and our grief and our loneliness and broken relationships, we're like the knight in Monty Python and the search for the Holy Grail going, "Tis but a flesh wound." And it's, "Sir, that's your left arm." And we're convinced that despite all of our wounds and our brokenness and our inability to make any

forward progress, that we are doing just fine, that we can handle it, that we can make it work. Do you know what the first question, not the first question asked in Scripture, but the first question that God asks in Scripture was this, "Where are you?" And He asks it in the garden after Adam sins and plunges himself in creation. Into that wasteland full of loneliness and brokenness and grief and conflict and sorrow and shame and guilt, and God comes and He says, "Where are you?" And here's the thing, God knows exactly where Adam is. He's not asking because He's trying to find him. What He's doing is He's calling Adam to come out and into the presence of God. And this thread runs all throughout Scripture. Isaiah sees it coming. He'll say this, "The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light. For those dwelling in the region of the shadow of death, a light has dawned."

Matthew quotes this in Matthew 4:16. And the light isn't advice for people in darkness. It's not a program or a path out of darkness. It's a person who steps into the darkness close to the people and comes and finds Him. He does not wait for His sheep to find His way home. He comes. That truth, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul and He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." The shepherd comes to find us. There are three parables. We're probably most familiar with the third. The parable of the prodigal son, but I want you to see the first. "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it upon his shoulders, rejoicing." Have you ever considered the wonder of this short little parable? Most of us generally think about the prodigal son in terms of this

set of three parables, but first of all, you have a man who has a hundred sheep. He loses one of them, right? One percent loss, right? That is the cost of doing business in today's world. That is not really a measurable expense. Yeah, it's a sheep and it's expensive and it provides income, but I've got ninety-nine more, right? We budget for those kinds of losses. And notice the shepherd doesn't see that one sheep is insignificant. And then notice what? happens, right? It is active pursuit. He leaves the ninety-nine in the open country and he goes after the one that is lost. Right? He doesn't post up some signs, get in the lost pets of Facebook, say, "Hey, I have a black and white sheep and I last saw it heading south on eighty-one." Right? He goes and he finds it. He searches until he finds it. And notice that the sheep

isn't walked home being corrected. When he has found it, he lays it upon his shoulder. That sheep got into this on his own, caused the shepherd to leave the flock to come and find it. And the shepherd, when he finds it, picks it up and places it on his shoulder. And then notice the attitude of the shepherd. What happens when we have to go find something that ran away from us? That dog, Dodger, several years ago, he had a habit, and I don't know why, but on Sunday mornings, he's like, "Front door's open. I'm going to make a break for it." And so there were so many Sunday mornings, like 15 minutes before church, I'm running down Princeton over here, chasing this dumb white dog, going, "Dodger, I've got to get to church." And then I finally find him, right? I'm not carrying that guy back on my shoulders. I'm going to grab him by the collar and go,

do this. I've got stuff to do, and we go home. That's not what the shepherd does, though. You don't get the picture of resentment or frustration, but he goes, actively searches, picks up and carries, and he does so rejoicing. And this psalm begins with this truth. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want, he makes me lie down in green pastures, leads me beside still waters, restores my soul, leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Notice that everything that is needed is provided by the shepherd. I shall not want is not a picture of us talking ourselves out of our desires. Like on Friday night at Bikes and Ice Cream going, "I don't really want any more ice cream." Right? I really wanted ice cream, but I thought I could talk myself out of it. The picture in this psalm, when you hear

these words, "I shall not want," is not the psalmist telling himself just to be content. He is saying that everything that I have needed and everything that I desire has been provided by the one who watches over me. Secondly, it's only in the care of the shepherd we can truly rest. Right? Sheep need to be at peace in order to rest. And so they need protection from those threats outside the flock. They need to be comfortable and at peace with each other, not in conflict with each other. They need to have food and water. The pests and parasites that so often bother animals need to be taken care of. And it's only in the care of the shepherd that these sheep can truly rest. And here's the remarkable thing: these sheep don't contribute to any of those needs. Right? He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside

his soul. He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness. The sheep aren't doing anything. The shepherd is. And all of this is found in the character and the identity of the shepherd because it is for his name's sake. Not just something he does, but it is who he is. And if you think about this, in terms of Jesus, and as he teaches, and he says, "I am the good shepherd." And not long before that, he says, "I am the light of the world." And he says, "I am the living water." I am the bread of life. He's also the one who goes before us into the valley of the shadow of death. He's the one who gives us his righteousness so we can walk in this path. At the end of the day, and the psalmist is making this point, that it is for his name's sake, that it is not through our accomplishments or our abilities and our achievements that we can have these things. It is because of who God is and what he has done.

We are lost, and we are found, and then we are brought through. 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. So we use the phrase, even though, generally, to describe difficulty in something that is otherwise very good. So for example, Friday night, it went really well, even though it was incredibly humid. Or we might say, it went really well, even though it rained. It went really well, even though our flight is delayed. And so the picture in that phrase, even though, is saying that even in the midst of difficulty, there is good happening. It's a little foreshadowing before we get to this picture. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I have heard nothing good about that place, right? It's not inviting. I like the green pastures and the still waters. I like my soul being restored.

I like the path of righteousness, but the valley of the shadow of death. It's difficult. You see, even we who have been found, rescued from the wasteland of sin, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, there will still be valleys in this life. And I think for us, death is probably the clearest example. Sin has been defeated, but the aftershocks still move through the world. Sin still comes. Sometimes we're afraid, right? There are times where we will walk through the dark valleys, and Jesus said it this way, "In this world, you will have trouble." But then he says, "Next, take heart. I have overcome the world." Right? The promise of the shepherd here is not escape from the valley, but closeness through it. Right? That promise that you are with me, you come comfort me. Right? It's in the valley where the deepest trust forms. And we've talked about this before. But up until the point, in the first three verses of this psalm, David is talking about the shepherd. You do this. He does this. And now it is I and you. And he stops talking about God and begins to talk to him in the depths of the valley.

The encouragement that we draw from this is that the valley is not our final destination. We are not alone. Our shepherd is equipped for what we face. His staff protects us and pulls us back and rescues us. His rod is there to defend us. But there is struggle in the depths of this valley. And oftentimes that struggle is to try to figure it out on our own terms and in our own timetable. And one of the greatest examples of this, and it's something I have to continually remind myself of, is Israel as they're standing before the Red Sea in Exodus chapter 14. And the way the terrain is laid out, they have the sea in front of them, mountains on the side, and behind them is the pursuing Egyptian army. And then God says something to them that is so strange. He says, "Through Moses, stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord." Right? Don't try to swim the sea, don't try to scale the mountains, don't try to fight the army, but stand and see the salvation of the Lord.

Think about how difficult that would have been in the moment, right? Every instinct, screaming to find your own way out, to move, to run, to fight. And the word is to stand still. And then Moses stretches out his staff, and by the power of God, the sea parts. That's still not easy. Right? To walk through on dry ground, in between two walls of water. To go forward through a literal valley, one of God's people's great fears, the sea, the darkness, the unknown, and to walk through it. Sometimes the shepherd's word in the valley is that he takes his staff and he says, "Stand and see the salvation, Lord." And sometimes he says, "Follow me through the walls of water." But his word is never figure it out on your own. You see, sometimes we're going to find ourselves in valleys we didn't choose and can't escape.

And we see in this text, there's a shepherd who found us. And what the psalmist is saying, I think both as he looks back and says, "The valleys I have walked through, he has been with me." Which gives me confidence for those valleys that I will walk through. And so we cling to this. We are not alone. We are not unprotected. And the valley is not the end of the path. And so we see that we're lost. We're found. He brings us through. And now, here is this glorious picture of forever. Listen to these words. "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

It is so easy for us to rush through these last few verses. So I went to Christian school through all my education. We had to memorize a lot of Bible. And oftentimes, the way I would recite, when they said, "All right, you know, we got to go through and recite your Bible verse," I would do it as quickly as possible, specifically so I wouldn't forget it. And if it was a longer passage, like for example, if it was like this, where it's six verses long, I would have started with good intentions and memorized very well, like the first three or four verses. But those last verses, I'd be on the way to class going, "If I say it enough, if I read it enough," and then I get there and I try to rush through that last part as quickly as possible.

And often, I think when we come to the 23rd Psalm, where we've seen the glories, we're familiar with all of it, but we focus on the waters and the grass and how he brings us through the valleys, and sometimes I think we miss this beautiful picture that a table is prepared. And maybe it's the cultural difference in the text. If I come over to your house and you pour oil on my head, right, I'm going to be like, "That's a little weird." If I'm sitting at your table, and you go, "You want something to drink," and you just keep pouring iced tea into my glass until it floods the table. And so oftentimes, I think we've neglected the glorious picture that's found in these verses. So let me show you some wonderful things. First of all, this.

There is a table in the middle of the battle. Look at this. "You prepare for me," a table before me, "in the presence of my enemies." Now this is not, especially in the original Hebrew of this psalm, not where you watch somebody running a race, and they run past the stand, and they grab a cup of water, and they try to throw it in their mouth and throw it off to the side, or an energy gel, or a little snack, and they keep on running. It's not trying to get out the door in the morning, and you tell the kids, "Put your waffles in a paper towel and get in the car." That it's not like cracking open a meal and just trying to eat on the go. It's not, "I only had time for a protein bar." The language here is this:

that the table is prepared. That means the table is placed. Everything is put there. You've got your tablecloth, your knife, and your fork, your napkin, and you have time to sit. The napkin is folded into your lap. The meal is brought course by course. In one commentary, the author said the picture that he pictures is this: it's like an elevated position, a hill. You're sitting at this beautifully appointed table, and surrounding you is the enemy, and they're just staring at you, unable to do anything. You see, God's provision doesn't wait for danger to pass before it operates. It feasts there. They're in the midst of it. There's also a picture that points to Christ. Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, sat at a table in the presence of an enemy. The good shepherd who prepares the table for his sheep has also sat down at a table with his own betrayer.

There is not just a table prepared of peace as enemies surround. There is deep and wonderful hospitality. You anoint my head with oil, and my cup overflows. And you may be saying, "Where did the sheep go?" We had sheep in the first three verses. We had sheep with a rod and staff in verse 4. And now it seems like we're sitting at a table. The sheep are still here. The table is prepared for the sheep. The head with oil. It's not the word generally used for oil anointing a king or a prophet or a priest. And interestingly enough, shepherds would apply oil to their sheep. Sometimes to prevent pests and parasites. Sometimes to clean and to soothe wounds. In our world today, when we go up and work with the horses in the summer, it's fly spray every time we're there.

To prevent the bugs and the flies from bothering them. And so the shepherd would come, and he would find the spots that hurt or the spots that are being bothered with bugs, and he would anoint with oil. But it's also the picture of when you go to someone's house. And hospitality in the first century. And you've been out in the sun and the wind, and everything is dry. And he gives you oil that both perfumes and cleans and refreshes. It's a daily tending, protecting, and healing. And then notice the cup. Some have said that this cup pictures the shepherd's trough that he fills with water, but it's also a picture of hospitality, right? Not coming and just giving you a little bit, but pouring until you have more than enough, more than you can contain.

Spurgeon says this, and I love it so much. "Beloved, I will now ask you a question. How would it be with you if God had filled your cup in proportion to your faith? How much would you have had in your cup? What if God had given you according to the amount of strength or faith you had?" And then the commentator who's Spurgeon quote says this, "Those that have this happiness must carry their cup up high so that it overflows onto their brother's empty vessels." But I think the deepest thing about the cup is what this cup is not, because there is another cup in Scripture. It's the cup of God's wrath, which in Psalm 75 says will be drained down to the dregs. It's the cup that Jesus asked will pass by him in the garden, and it wasn't removed from him.

And Jesus drinks the cup of judgment down to its last drop so that those who trust in him receive not the cup of wrath, but the cup of overflowing blessing. And then notice this. We are continually pursued. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. This word for follow is only used here kind of positively in most of the Old Testament. As far as I can tell in the whole Old Testament, used 144 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, and most of the time it's translated chase, hunt down, or pursue. It's the word used when Pharaoh's armies chase the Israelites. It's the word used when Saul is chasing David in the wilderness. And here, as far as I can tell, it's the only place in the Old Testament that it's used in a wonderful way

where it says the goodness and mercy of God is going to chase me down all the days of my life. It's wonderful and it's beautiful. One note in a Bible translation note says this. One might expect the psalmist's enemies to chase him. Instead, God's goodness and faithfulness pursue him. It's used outside its normal context to create a unique picture of God's favor chasing down the one he loves. And then my favorite is this, this quote. The goodness and mercy of God doesn't follow us like a good little puppy dog. They gallop after us like a celestial stallion. They chase us down paths like the hound of heaven. And they stay hot on our heels all the way to heaven's gate and into the arms of the Father. David knew what it was like to be hunted.

He knew what this word meant because he had experienced it. And he says, "In my life, God has hunted me with goodness just like Saul hunted me with hatred." And notice this: the table, the cup and the oil, the chasing of goodness, when does it end? It follows us all the days of our life. Not temporarily. "And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." The psalm doesn't end in a pasture. It doesn't end in a valley. It doesn't even end at the table set before the enemies. It ends at home. The shepherd has been leading somewhere the entire time. Through the goodness and through the difficulty, through the enemies and the hospitality, until ultimately we are welcomed home, not to a better season, but to a permanent one. And it's not a picture that is found just here.

For the Lamb will be in the midst of the throne, and the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd. And he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. The Lamb in Revelation is also our good shepherd, Jesus. The one who was slain for his flock now is the one who leads us home to the living water, where every tear is wiped away, every hunger and thirst are finally, completely, and forever satisfied. Lost, found, through the valleys, and now to our forever home. You see, the shepherd restores our home, restores our souls all the way home. My goal this morning is that you would see the goodness of God in this familiar psalm. Through all the seasons and the journeys and the good times and the difficult times of life,

that we wouldn't be like those sheep or those horses pushing through to try to find the grass, we would see that what our shepherd offers is infinitely better, infinitely more wonderful. And if that means repentance, then we would repent. If it means we have to let go of our own striving, that we would let go, that God would hold on, and that we would see His grace and His mercy, and our hearts would be refreshed and be restored. In a minute, we're going to sing a song, "The goodness of God," and the bridge of this song talks about God's mercy running after me, and it's directly taken from this psalm. Like that literal translation from Hebrew, that word, "Follow me," to chase and to grab and to hold on and to hunt. I want you to see that goodness. I want you to know that goodness,

and I want you to walk in that goodness. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for Jesus and for grace. We ask that you would help us to see and to know and to rest in your provision. We thank you for how you lead us through all the seasons. It's in your son's name we pray. Amen. We're going to stand, and we are going to sing the goodness of God.

I love you, Lord. Oh, your mercy never fails me. All my days, I've been held in your hands. From the moment that I wake up, until I lay my head, I will sing. From the moment that I wake up, until I lay my head, I will sing of the goodness of God. All my life, you have been faithful. All my life, you have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God. I love your voice. You have led me through the fire. In the darkest nights, you are closed like no other. like no other. I've known you as a father. I've known you as a friend. I have lived in the goodness of God. All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been faithful.

been so so good with every breath that i am able i will see of the goodness of God your goodness is running after is running after me

your goodness is running after is running after me with my life laid down i'm surrendered now i give you everything your goodness is running after is running after me all my life you have been faithful all my life you have been so so good with every breath that i am able I will sing of the goodness of God all my life you have been faithful all my life you have been so so good with every breath that i have able I will sing of the goodness of God I will sing of the goodness of God here this morning with us a couple of announcements this this Wednesday night uh we will be here uh spending some time talking about shepherds and how God leads and how God provides and how God rests and gives us rest and how he restores that 6 p.m. uh this Wednesday night um also uh just a couple

highlights we'll put the pictures back up here um after we're done um but we had uh our bikes and ice cream uh thing Friday night uh it started out really humid uh continued really humid too uh but counted slow and we're like well is anybody going to show up and the neighborhood uh folks started showing up and um I think we had between 45 and 50 people um come I we worked on some bikes well and by we I mean uh other people mainly dad worked on bikes uh bikes were adjusted tires were replaced tires were filled up um and we got to meet a lot of uh folks in our neighborhood maybe we kind of knew in passing but it was good and it was uh an encouraging thing we'll continue next um in series uh refreshed

restored and renewed uh as well also coming up um on the 12th of july that's two sundays from now if my count is right um it's jubils jubilation uh we are excited to uh celebrate um cody and holly um and jubil and so there are some invitations there on the back table uh if you want to pick one of those up we're going to go ahead and have a word of prayer and then we'll read from hebrews and then we'll sing the doxology and be dismissed let's go ahead and pray father in heaven thank you for Jesus and for grace and for how you refresh us and you restore us how you have made us new help us as we walk through this week whether in the easy parts or the hard parts that you would remind us of the truth

of your word that you are with us no matter the circumstances or situations thank you for Jesus it's in his name we pray amen i want you to hear these words from the book of Hebrews now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant equip you with everything good that you do his will working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be the glory forever and ever amen and so the God of peace who brought Jesus back from the dead who is your shepherd he has sealed you as his own and so he goes with you now the one who restores the wandering sheep the one who walks with you through every

valley whose goodness and mercy will chase you all the days of your life he has not stopped and he will not stop and so we go in that confidence amen praise God from whom all blessings flow praise him all creatures here below praise him above ye heavenly host praise father son and Holy Ghost Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.