Is Psalm 23 for You?

Berean Baptist on August 31, 2015

The LORD is my shepherd… (Psalm 23:1a)

 Psalm 23 is probably the most well-known text in the Holy Scriptures. This is a most beloved psalm and has been quoted in almost every conceivable venue where people need hope. Many a soldier has carried it into battle or placed it next to his heart in a frightening foxhole. Hospitals and funeral homes are also often places of recital. There was a time when every school child would learn it and say it as a daily routine. Sadly, those days are mostly gone because of our government’s hatred of all things godly. However, disdain for the Bible does not diminish the spiritual impact made by its words.

Although the psalm is loved and quoted by nearly everyone that claims to be Christian, and by some that do not, the message is not generic and it does not apply to everyone that claims it. It begins, “The Lord is my shepherd…” Is this really true of everyone? Does the Lord direct everyone that claims these words? I remember hearing them at state funerals in the National Cathedral said by political figures that were instrumental in keeping God’s word out of our classrooms and the Ten Commandments out of our courtrooms. These are not people led by God. They are defiant against the one they claim leads them. In times of deep sorrow and distress, they are quoted by those with no intentions of surrendering their lives to the Lord. They are troubled for the moment and they need help, but they have never been led by God nor do they intend to be afterwards.

The one who wrote this psalm had an abiding relationship with the Lord. David was not always obedient and there were times when he sinned greatly, yet the difference between him and other sinners is that he always recognized his sin and he came to God in deep contrition asking to be restored to fellowship. David was a man with a regenerated heart. He knew his God personally and called upon Him affectionately. His relationship to the Lord was never to do as he pleased and live daily as if God did not exist—or only exists for times of trouble. He felt God’s presence on a daily basis and this is why he was easily convicted when his heart was not right.

The last verse of the psalm says, ”Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” This is a claim that can hardly be made by a false professor. Even while David wrote this psalm, his enemies were planning their next attack. What would motivate him to make this claim? It could only be that his relationship to the Lord and his belief in God’s sovereignty was such that he knew nothing would befall him that was not in the divine providence. This is reflected in the preceding verse as he says, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” Who can write such words without perfect confidence in God?

Those that have not claimed salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ have no right to this psalm. Their claims are not valid though they may quote with all feigned sincerity. God does not stand by anyone that rejects the sacrifice of His Son. The difference is false hope versus good hope. Good hope belongs only to the righteous that have bowed the knee to Christ and received Him as the Shepherd who guides ALL of his life. This is what makes Him the God of your valleys who leads you through to green pastures and beside still waters. You can make the claim “The Lord is my shepherd” only if you have truly committed to follow where the Shepherd leads.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Incomprehensible! Unexplainable!

Berean Baptist on August 17, 2015

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? (Psalms 22:1)

It would be best that we tread lightly with these comments because we approach the holiest ground of any passage of sacred scripture. Here is the tree of Calvary prodigiously portrayed by the pen of David nearly one thousand years before the actual event. The mystery of scripture’s inspiration is opened before us with stunning accuracy as the death of the cross is foretold.

The first sentence of the 22nd Psalm is too high and holy for human comprehension. As Jesus hung on the cross bearing the sins of the world, He cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Martin Luther read these words and was completely perplexed. He wrote, “How can this be, God forsaking God?” This question was not speculative hyperbole. This was truly God the Father turning His back on God the Son, the only begotten darling of the Father. He was forsaken as a vile criminal with no offer of compassionate support. Why would God do this? How could He do it?

The “why” is explained throughout the entire canon of scripture. Sin lives on nearly every page of your Bible. We are infected with it from head to toe. It saturates our minds and fills even the smallest crevice of our bodies. It is impossible to speak of humans unless you also consider the corruption of our nature and our abhorrence of God. Scripture says all have gone the way of sin—there is none righteous. We are so consumed that we are spoken of as spiritually dead. The “why” of God’s forsaking Christ becomes clear when we realize the stench, the sewerage, the disgusting filthiness of our vile nature—every repugnant vulgar sin was placed on Christ as He hung on Calvary. The “why” is because God in His holiness, in His perfect righteousness is incapable of looking on sin.

As Jesus hung on the cross, the Father did indeed turn His back on Him because Christ became everything that God is not. Fellowship with the Son must be cut off because in those hours of suffering He was doused in the corruption of the sins of the world. He was paying a ransom to God by suffering the pangs of Hell for His people. The “why” is the theology of the atonement. He suffered to bring us to God, and the only way He could do it was by separation from the Father. He could not become sin for us and at the same time remain in fellowship with the Father. The reduction of truth here to our level of understanding is that He was shut off from the Father so that we would not have to be. The marvelous truth that shines through for us is the love of the Father and the Son that caused both to break eternal harmony to rescue the wholly undeserving. The “why” of Christ’s rejection is profound, yet the whole history of redemption provides the explanation.

The other question is much more difficult. In fact, I cannot explain it. “How” did the Father do it? How can the invisible, immutable Holy God condescend to the fabric of the creature and then have all sin placed on Him? None of this is comprehensible to the mortal mind. It happened and we know it did, but we are left to gaze upon it and marvel at its reality while at the same time only thanking God that in His infinite wisdom He knew it was the only way our redemption could be accomplished. We marvel but we cannot explain.

This Psalm is mostly a mystery. I do not know how God did it, but thank God He did!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Christ in Psalm 21

Berean Baptist on August 3, 2015

For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head. (Psalms 21:3)

Robert Hawker was an English pastor born a few years before the beginning of the Revolutionary War. He was a favorite of King George III who used to attend his popular weekly sermons that drew thousands of other worshipers to his church in Plymouth, England.

Hawker had a real passion for teaching the Bible in a way the common man could easily understand. He wrote a four volume set of commentaries called The Poor Man’s Commentary so titled because it was published to be affordable to the poorest in his congregation. His exposition of scripture is not known for its depth, but for its engaging style that helped poorly educated people understand the word of God. This was Hawker’s gift. He was deeply compassionate about the poor, and the name of his commentaries reflects his personal desire to give the poor bread for their lives, but more importantly the bread of life for their souls.

Hawker’s commentaries have an interesting trait, especially those on the Psalms. He believed Christ could be found in every Psalm, which sometimes led him down strange interpretive paths. However, there is much to commend in his writings when he did correctly see Christ as the Holy Spirit’s main intent. On the 21st Psalm, he wrote, “Reader, here is so much of Jesus, our glorious triumphant King, in this Psalm, that I do entreat you to be looking up for grace, and on the lookout through every portion of it, that we may not overlook or miss any of the precious things which are here recorded concerning him.” To this, we would whole heartedly agree as we see the stamp of the work of Christ in this beautiful Psalm.

As I read this Psalm, I am reminded of the constant parallels between David’s physical experiences and the Saviour’s spiritual experiences. We should not wonder that Christ and David are so closely allied in the Psalms because the Lord Jesus is the final heir to the throne established in David. The scripture says David was a man after God’s own heart, which is testified on many occasions in the Psalms that speak of his deep reverence for God and his desire to be in close fellowship with Him. David’s psalms are considered to be the best examples in scripture of how we may give true acceptable worship to our great God. The last verse of this psalm reads, “Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: so shall we sing and praise thy power.”

Robert Hawker was truly insightful in seeing Jesus as the real object of this text. In commenting on verse 3, Hawker remarks that Jehovah had set a crown of gold upon the head of Jesus and proclaimed Him as King of Zion. Hawker’s observation is good, as the text is prophetic, but like so many others in scripture the prophecy is so sure it is spoken of as already done. Who can miss the surety of Bible passages that encourage us to wait and look for the coming of Heaven’s King? This is a promise that cannot fail and for which our hearts cannot help but sing praises as David’s did so long ago.

One last comment I want to note concerning Hawker’s interpretation. Verse 4, says Hawker, silences any critic who would argue the psalm applies to any earthly monarch. Jesus asked for the power of an endless life and it was granted when He arose from the grave. Since Jesus is our mediator, He not only asks for life for Himself, but as our representative He asks for us as well. We stand in Christ, so whatever promises are His are also ours. What a wonderful thought this is! When the Father sees His Son, He also sees all of us that were given to the Son as a precious gift.

Read this psalm with Christ in mind. Sing praises to Him and rejoice in His salvation!

Pastor V. Mark Smith