Sermon series: A SUMMER IN THE PSALMS

Psalm 23 FINDING GOD IN THE VALLEYS OF LIFE

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.

Message:
Today, we have arrived in our study of Psalm 23 at the phrase...YEA, THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL, FOR THOU ART WITH ME, THY ROD AND THY STAFF, THEY COMFORT ME.
Thus far in our Psalm, David has been using the third person singular to describe the journey. "He leadeth...He makes me lie down...He restoreth my soul...He leadeth in the paths of righteousness."
Suddenly, the valley of darkness looms on the horizon and instantly David drops the third person for second person singular: "Thou! Thou! Thou! He is no longer talking about the Shepherd. He is talking to the Shepherd!
Yea, though I walk through the shadow. Please note that this is only the valley of the SHADOW of death. The shadow of a dog cannot bite, the shadow of a sword cannot kill, the shadow of death cannot harm the child of God.
But from a shepherd's point of view, the statement we are considering today marks the halfway stage in the Psalm. Our journey with the sheep now takes on a new dimension, for now we join the flock as they begin to make their journey into the high country where they will find pasture during the summer months. Their summer will be spent in the close companionship and solitary care of the good shepherd.
Dr. Keller in his book tells us that..."Both in Palestine and on our western sheep ranches, this division of the year is common practice. Most of the efficient sheepmen endeavor to take their flocks onto distant summer ranges during the summer. This often entails long 'drives.' The sheep move along slowly, feeding as they go, gradually working their way up the mountains behind the receding snow. By late summer they are well up on the remote, alpine meadows above timberline."
During this time the flock is entirely alone with the shepherd. They are in intimate contact with him and under his most personal attention day and night. That is why these last verses in our Psalm are couched in such intimate first-person language.
But to get to the high country where the pasturage is lust and green, the shepherd must lead his flock through the deep ravines and gulches and mountain draws.

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Every mountain has its valleys. Its sides are scarred by sharp and dangerous trails, and the shepherd is ever alert to the dangers of rampaging rivers in flood; avalanches, rock slides; poisonous plants; the ravages of predators that raid the flock or the awesome storms of sleet and hail and snow. Frequently these trails run through deep valleys and gorges where seldom the sun shines and there is darkness and gloom, that fills these valleys. It is this part of the journey that David is now talking about.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death." This verse is often used to comfort those who are dying, and it is not wrongly used in this way. God is certainly a source of comfort in a person's dying moments. The words of the text do not necessarily refer to death. The expression rendered 'shadow of death' by the Septuagint, and so intended to be read by the scholars who pointed the Hebrew text, is really a single word having no connection with death, but meaning 'dense darkness.' The meaning of this in the connection in which it occurs is this: "God will lead and guide me in the paths of righteousness, even though that path lies through the darkest and most gloomy vale—through deep and dismal shades—in regions where there is no light, as if death had cast his dark and baleful shadow there. It is still a right path; it is a path of safety; and it will conduct me to bright regions beyond. In that dark and gloomy valley, though I could not guide myself, I will not be alarmed; I will not be afraid of wandering or of being lost; I will not fear any enemies there, —for my Shepherd is there to guide me."
"The valley of dense darkness" is applicable to any path of gloom and sadness; any scene of trouble or sorrow; any dark and dangerous way. Thus understood, it is applicable not merely to death itself—though it embraces that—but to any or all the dark, the dangerous, and the gloomy paths which we tread in life; to ways of sadness, solitude and sorrow. All along those paths God will be a safe and certain guide.
As Christians we will sooner or later discover that it is in the valleys of our lives that we find refreshment by the presence of God Himself! It is not until we have walked with Him through some very deep troubles that we discover He can lead us to find our refreshment and strength and comfort in Him...right there in the midst of our difficulty.
Few people entirely escape having to pass through some valley of deep trouble and gloom and darkness. Just as the night follows the day, so paths of darkness succeed paths of light. Divine manifestation and approbation at the baptism of Jesus were followed by forty days and nights in the wilderness with temptation from the devil.
There are times when night gathers round the soul, if it be not in the soul. Nor is there anything haphazard about this. The shepherd led the flock through the gloomy valley. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. Life was never intended to be all light. Lands of perpetual sunshine are lands of stagnation. The journey's end is never reached without some traveling in the dark. Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary.

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Dr. Boice in his wonderful commentary writes: "It is important to note that "the valley of the shadow of death" is as much God's right path for us as the "green pastures" which lie beside "quiet waters:." That is, the Christian life is not always tranquil nor, as we say, a mountain-top experience. God gives us valleys also. It is in the valleys with their trials and dangers that we develop character.
What does God's Word tell us about the valleys? Isaiah writes: "When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together; that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this..." (Isaiah 41:17-20)
"But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, 0 Jacob, and He that formed thee, 0 Israel, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overthrow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord they God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour..." (Isaiah 43:1-3).
Psalm 84 is a beautiful Psalm that talks about the "valley of weeping." "How amiable are thy tabernacles, 0 Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, 0 Lord of hosts, my King, and my God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. WHO PASSING THROUGH THE VALLEY OF BACCA (VALLEY OF TEARS) MAKE IT A WELL: THE RAIN ALSO FILLETH THE POOLS. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. (Psalm 86:1-7)
The 'valley of weeping' was a waterless and barren valley through which pilgrims passed on their way to Jerusalem. The thought of the Psalmist thus becomes one of touching sweetness and suggestiveness. The 'valley of tears' is a desert place, but the spiritual man, the man of faith, is able to draw from such arid experiences their hidden meaning, and make the desert 'rejoice and blossom as a rose.'
The 'valley of tears' becomes a well...or, a fountain. That is, it becomes to the pilgrims as a sacred fountain. They 'make' such a gloomy valley like a fountain, or like a road where fountains, full, free, refreshing—break forth everywhere to invigorate the traveler.
This Psalm paints a picture of the traveler making his way up to Jerusalem to worship. As he passes through the 'valley of tears', he turns the experience into a

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time of joy and gladness; he makes a world of tears a world of comfort; he changes a gloomy path into one of pleasantness and beauty. By the power of religion, by the presence of the Saviour, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, such times become seasons of purest joy—times remembered ever afterwards with most fervent gratitude, as among the happiest periods of life. For the Shepherd's presence can diffuse smiles over faces darkened by care; can light up the eye sunk in despondency; can change tears of sorrow into joy; can impart peace in scenes of deepest turbulence; and make the most gloomy vales of life like green pastures illuminated by the brightness of noonday.
There is a picture by Sir Noel Paton, which is entitled, 'The Valley of the Shadow of Death.' As depicted in the painting...in the foreground is a dismal and dark valley, through which a blasting wind has swept, laying low alike the warrior and the king; the helmet of the one and the crown of the other lie useless on the ground. In the center of the picture is the Lord Jesus, with a shepherd's staff. On the left is a young maiden, whose face bears traces of the terror she has felt in coming through the valley, and yet a radiant hope as she now sees the good Shepherd there. She grasps his hand; he holds hers; his feet stand on a gravestone, beneath which lie the remains of the fallen; but where the Shepherd sets his feet, the tomb stone is luminous with the words, "Death is swallowed up in victory!"
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
Most of us do not want valleys in our lives. We shrink from them with a sense of fear and foreboding. Yet in spite of our worst misgivings God can bring great benefit and lasting benediction to others through those valleys. Let us not always try to avoid the dark things, the distressing days. They may well prove to be the way of greatest refreshment to ourselves and those around us. It is a most reassuring and reinforcing experience to the child of God to discover that there is, even in the dark valley, a source of strength and courage to be found in the Good Shepherd. It is when he can look back over life and see how the Shepherd's hand has guided and sustained him in the darkest hours that renewed faith is engendered.
THOU ART WITH ME! "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Heb. 13:5)
"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land, I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised" (Gen. 28:15).
In the valley experiences of life, or in fiery furnaces when our faith is being tried, the Good Shepherd is there!
In the book of Daniel, we are told the story of the three Hebrews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men refused to bow down before the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. The punishment...thrown into the fiery furnace. When the king looked into fiery furnace, "Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose in haste, and spake, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, 0 king.

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He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach , Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counselors, being gathered together saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them" (Dan. 3:24-27)
I WILL FEAR NO EVIL FOR THOU ART WITH ME!
Our Psalm continues..."Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me." In the Middle East the shepherd carries only a rod and staff. Each shepherd boy, from the time he first starts to tend his father's flock, takes special pride in the selection of a rod and staff exactly suited to his own size and strength.
Dr. Keller tells us: The young shepherd goes into the bush and selects a young sapling which is dug from the ground. This is carved and whittled down with great care and patience The enlarged base of the sapling where its trunk joins the roots is shaped into a smooth, rounded head of hard wood. After he completes it, the shepherd boy spends hours practicing with his club, learning how to throw it with amazing speed and accuracy. It becomes his main weapon of defense for both himself and his sheep.
The rod was, in fact, an extension of the owner's own right arm. It stood as a symbol of his strength, his power, his authority in any serious situation. The rod was what he relied on to safeguard both himself and his flock in danger. And it was, furthermore, the instrument he used to discipline and correct any wayward sheep that insisted on wandering away.
I believe that the rod speaks of the spoken Word, the expressed intent, the extended activity of God's mind and will in dealing with men. It implies the authority of divinity. It carries with it the convicting power and irrefutable impact of "Thus saith the Lord." "The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and morrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12).
It was the rod of God's Word that Christ, our Good Shepherd used in His own encounter with that serpent—Satan—during His desert temptation. It is the same Word of God which we count on again and again to counter the assaults and attacks of Satan.
The rod of God! "Your word, 0 Lord, is eternal ; it stands firm in the heavens" (Psalm 119:89).
"I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. (Matt. 5:18).
"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4)
"We have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shinning

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in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart" (2 Peter 1:19).
YOUR ROD, IT COMFORTS ME!
Our Psalm tells us that it is His rod and His staff from which we derive comfort.
In a sense the staff, more than any other item of his personal equipment, identifies the shepherd as a shepherd. The staff is essentially a symbol of the concern, the compassion that a shepherd has for his charges. No other single word can better describe its function on behalf of the flock than that it is for their comfort.
Whereas the rod conveys the concept of authority, of power, of discipline, of defense against danger, the word "staff" speaks of all that is longsuffering and kind. The shepherd's staff is normally a long, slender stick often with a crook or hook on one end.
Just as the rod of God is emblematic of the Word of God, so the staff of God is symbolic of the Spirit of God. In Christ's dealing with us as individuals there is the essence of the sweetness, the comfort and consolation, the gentle correction brought about by the work of His gracious Spirit. The staff of the shepherd is used for three specific needs. The first of these lies in drawing sheep together into an intimate relationship. The shepherd will use his staff to gently lift a newborn lamb and bring it to its mother's side if they become separated.
The staff is used by the shepherd to reach out and catch individual sheep, young or old, and draw them close to himself for intimate examination. In the Christian life we find the gracious Holy Spirit, "The Comforter," drawing folks together into a warm, personal fellowship with one another. It is also He who draws us to Christ, for we are told in Revelation, "The Spirit and the bride say, Come."
The staff is also used in guiding the sheep. Again and again, as the sheep are making their journey to the high country for the summer pasturage, the shepherd will gently lay his staff along the side of the sheep and apply pressure in the direction he wants them to go!
In our walk with God we are told explicitly by Christ Himself that it would be His Spirit who would be sent to guide us and to lead us into all truth (John 16:13). The same gracious Spirit takes the truth of God, the Word of God, and makes it plain to our hearts and minds and spiritual understanding. It is He who gently, tenderly, but persistently says to us, "This is the way--walk in it." And as we comply and cooperate with His gentle promptings a sense of safety, comfort and well-being envelops us!
The Good Shepherd said: "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is Mine, and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is Mine and make it known to you." (John 16:12-15)
It is the Holy Spirit who comes quietly but emphatically to make the life of Christ, my Shepherd, real and personal and intimate to me. The gracious Spirit continually brings home to me the acute consciousness that I am God's child and He is my Father!