“The Lord is my
shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green
pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He
leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, 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; You anoint my head with oil; My
cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”
Our
text is from the fifth verse of this 23rd psalm in which David
writes, in part: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies.”
Today
is the fifth Sunday of Lent, moving yet closer to Resurrection Sunday on April
20; But before we get to Resurrection Sunday, we must first pass in a few weeks
through what many churches call Maundy Thursday – the day in which the Lord
celebrated the Last Supper – the Last Passover meal at the table with His
disciples. And it is on THAT table I want to spend much of our time today.
One
of the principles of proper biblical interpretation is to understand who the
writer of the text in question was, and who was his audience. Of course, David knew
nothing about the Table of the Lord Jesus which He would initiate centuries
later. He could not know that even at that table, Judas, an enemy of the Lord,
would be seated. Neither could he have known of the many enemies of Christ
beyond the walls of the upper room.
David
only knew that the lessons he’d learned while tending sheep were immediately
applicable to his relationship with the Good Shepherd who tended to him. That’s
why he could write that it was the Lord who leads him along the paths of
righteousness, even if some of those paths bring him to and through valleys of
deep darkness. He could understand why the Great Shepherd makes him lie down in
green pastures. He could grasp the idea that it is his Shepherd who protects
him from predators with His Rod and Staff.
We’ve
talked in some detail about these things in the past few weeks, and especially
how those things apply to the Christian here in this sanctuary. So, today we now
look at David’s understanding of the Great Shepherd who prepares a table for him,
even in the presence of his enemies.
But
first, let me make this important point: We should know that God's word
transcends time and culture. It does so because His words are eternal, from
everlasting to everlasting. Therefore, it can rightly be said that David’s
experiences with the Good Shepherd in Psalm 23 have direct application to us today,
even if we’re not tending sheep. They’re applicable because the Lord Jesus is still
shepherding His sheep – you and me who listen to and obey His voice.
In
David’s day – and as still occurs in many countries today -- when a shepherd
planned to move his sheep to different grazing land, he first inspected the new
‘table’ to determine its suitability and safety for the flock. Specifically, he
looked for poisonous weeds which can sicken and kill them. The shepherd also
looks for signs of predators such as wolves, coyotes, and vipers.
So,
is there an application of this to us? Yes, of course. Jesus our Shepherd goes before
us day by day, even into our ‘tomorrows’ – preparing our ‘table’ even in the
presence of OUR enemies.
I
hope you know the Lord Jesus is already in your ‘tomorrow.’ Time is not linear
in eternity. There is no ‘yesterday’ or ‘tomorrow.’ All things in that place we are headed after
the death of our body – all things there are in the eternal ‘present.’
That’s
why Scripture tell us, “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and
forever.” (Hebrews 13:8); It’s why God told Jeremiah: “Before
I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I
consecrated you;
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5); And
it’s why David could write: “In Your book were all written,
the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of
them.” (Psalm 139:16b)
Our
Good Shepherd goes before us into our tomorrows to prepare for us a safe and
nourishing ‘table.” Listen to Moses speak to the nation just before they
entered into the Promised Land: (Deuteronomy 31:8) “The Lord is the one who
goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do
not fear or be dismayed.” And listen to God through Isaiah (Isaiah 45:2) “I
will go before you and make the rough places smooth.”
Back
now to the Psalm. Commentators are divided as to when David wrote this psalm.
Many believe he did so in his later years because the psalm seems to be more
reflective of his past than anticipatory of his future. It could be he wrote
the psalm as he remembered when King Saul and his army hunted him.(1 Samuel chapters
19-24). Or, he could have been thinking of when his son, Absalom, tried to kill
him and usurp his throne. (2 Samuel chapters 15-18).
It
was when Absalom was seeking to kill him that David wrote: “O Lord,
how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me. Many are
saying of my soul, “There is no deliverance for him in God . . ..” But
You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One
who lifts my head. . . . I will not be afraid of ten thousands of
people who have set themselves against me round about. (Psalm 3:1-6)
David
was no stranger to the histories of Israel and God's protection of His people.
He knew of the pillar of fire by night and the cloud during the day that led
Israel through their 40-year trek in the wilderness. He knew of Joshua’s
battles, and Gideon, and Deborah and Barak. And just as he could look back on
those histories, he could also look back over his own life and REMEMBER the
many times his Shepherd guided him and protected him. Surely, it was those
memories that emboldened him to write with such confidence as he did in this 23rd
psalm.
Application?
To make a point to remember God's hand in our own past is a good practice.
Those memories are important – and that brings up an important question: How
often do YOU look back over your life to remember the many times God has guided
and protected you? Yes, during many of those times you were probably unaware of
His presence, but in retrospect haven’t you now recognized His hand? Like it
was for the man in the poem, “Footprints in the Sand” – when he thought he’d been
all alone during his most troubled time, as he looked back over his life he
realized how often he’d actually been held in the Savior’s arms.
As
we’ve seen throughout the 23rd psalm, David acknowledges his utter
dependence on God. And that point must not escape us, for we also can have – we
must GROW to have – that same confidence in God. And HOW do we grow in our
confidence in God? If you’ve been listening to me for more than a month you
know the answer.
Paul
tells us: “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the
word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17), and Peter writes: “Like newborn
babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you
may grow in respect to salvation.” (1 Peter 2:2)
There
simply is no shortcut to a maturing faith and confidence in God than as the
Holy Spirit of God nurtures the people of God through the word of God. And to
that end, to help you who are not consistently and routinely reading your
Bible, I have been offering the pamphlet I put together to help you in your
faith-journey. And as I have said, if
you have access to the internet, there are many internet sites that include
annual Bible-reading suggestions.
Well,
my time is slipping away, and so, because this is Communion Sunday, I want to
switch gears and turn our attention now to another table the Lord sets for His
sheep. And although it’s a table of which David had no knowledge, the Christian
is familiar with that table because it originated with the Lord Jesus on the
night in which He was betrayed by His enemy seated with Him and the other
disciples.
St
Paul tells us: “The Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was
betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He
broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which
is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same
manner He also took the cup after supper,
saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as
you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”
We
will shortly be receiving Holy Communion at this simple table, but as we
receive Communion, may God remind us that we come here to remember and to PROCLAIM
the Lord’s death until He returns for us.
What
is it that we are to proclaim? That by God's merciful grace alone, we are, as
St Peter wrote: “[A] chosen
people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the
excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
(1 Peter 2:9)
What
are we to proclaim to each other and even to those who are not yet following
the Good Shepherd? We proclaim what Paul did to those at Colossae: “For He
rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom
of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians
1:13-14)
What
are we to proclaim – especially to those who are not yet walking with the Good
Shepherd? It is this: That THEY too – even those who are now enemies of Christ
– that they too might receive mercy; That they too might be rescued from
their darkness and brought into His marvelous light.
THIS
is what Holy Communion is all about – what the Great and Good Shepherd has done
for us who were trapped in our sins – sins from which no one could ever
extricate themselves. It’s about what God did for us when He ransomed us
from death and eternal hell when His beloved Son suffered and then died on
Calvary’s cross – and three days later rose from the grave. We proclaim this vital reality – vital to our
eternal life – that Christ Jesus “was delivered over because of our
transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 4:25-5:1)
This
is what this table of Holy Communion is about, that we remember and proclaim to
others: God's Son, body broken and blood spilled for sinners who crucified Him.
Body broken and blood spilled for sinners here in this sanctuary who, because
of our sins, caused the death of the Good Shepherd so He would bear the
wrath of God in our place. As our substitute.
Body
broken and blood spilled so that anyone who knows his sins have made him God's
enemy and subject to His wrath – that they can know
they
can finally and forever be reconciled to Him.
Do
we not know that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having
now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the
wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were
reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:8-10)
This
plain Communion table here before us, graced only with bread and the fruit of
the vine, foreshadows the Table spoken of in that 19th chapter of
Revelation: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the
marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready” .
. . . ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’”
(Revelation 19:6b-7, 9)
Yes,
THIS communion table looks bare by comparison to what it will look like in that
place. But we walk by faith, not by sight. And though bare, it might be said
that this table points to the sumptuous table that Isaiah foresaw: (Isaiah
25:6-8) “The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet
for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice
pieces with marrow, and refined, aged wine. And [God] will swallow up
death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and
He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth.”
David
knew nothing of the Table which Christ would initiate centuries later.
And
although we at Ashwood are not surrounded by our enemies, there are countless multitudes
of Christians today in places like Iran and Afghanistan and China and Russia –
and even in some places here in America – Christians receive Holy Communion at
tables surrounded by enemies
But
from reports I’ve read coming out of those terrible areas of persecution, many
of our Christian brothers and sisters are convinced of this – as WE also must be
convinced – the Good Shepherd is with us at the Table as we remember His substitutionary
death in our place. We remember that He was delivered over for our
transgressions and raised for our justification. We will remember, and we
will proclaim, His gift of reconciliation to Himself of all who want to be
reconciled. And we will proclaim that promise to those we meet – beginning in
the dining room outside these doors.
And
now, let us come to the Table for Holy Communion.
