PSALMS 24


     We will begin this lesson by giving the 23rd Psalm in metre.

                   THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE

                           Chapter 23

verse 1  "My Shepherd is the Lord Most High, And all my wants shall be
          supplied; In pastures green he makes me lie, And leads by
          streams which gently glide."
verse 2  "He in his mercy doth restore My soul which sinking in
          distress; For his name's sake he evermore Leads me in paths
          of righteousness."
verse 3  "Yea, though I walk through death's dark vale, Ev'n there no
          evil will I fear, Because thy presence shall not fail Thy
          rod and staff my soul shall cheer."
verse 4  "For me a table thou hast spread, Prepared before the face of
          foes; With oil thou dost anoint my head, My cup is filled
          and overflows."
verse 5  "Goodness and mercy shall not cease Through all my days to
          follow me; And in God's house my dwelling-place With him
          forevermore shall be."

     Now, we will begin the verse by verse study from the King James
version of the Bible. Psalms 23:1 "{A Psalm of David.} The LORD [is]
my shepherd; I shall not want."

     David could easily relate to the Lord as Shepherd. David had been
a shepherd himself. We know that the sheep of a good shepherd do not
want for any thing. The shepherd takes care of their needs. We, also,
know that on judgement day the great Shepherd {Jesus Christ} will
separate His sheep from the goats.  We will see in Jesus' own words
that He is the good Shepherd. John 10:11 "|I am the good shepherd: the
good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."  What is a shepherd?
He is a keeper of the sheep. The needs of the sheep are the first
concern of a good shepherd.  The sheep shall not want, because the
shepherd takes care of all their needs. Just as the shepherd, such as
David was, thinks first of the good and welfare of the sheep; The Lord
Jesus {our Great Shepherd} thought first of the welfare of His sheep
{all believers}. David fought off the wild beasts {literally
endangering his own life for his sheep}. Jesus lay down His life for
His sheep.

     Psalms 23:2 "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he
leadeth me beside the still waters."

     The good Shepherd knows the needs of His sheep, and He leads them
to the food {green pastures} where they can find this food. For the
believer, this food is the Word of God. We are told to eat of this
Word. Luke 4:4 "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That
man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."
Jeremiah 15:16 "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word
was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by
thy name, O LORD God of hosts."  We know, then, we are to eat the
Word.  Now, let's look at this still water. Let us look at this water
in the next few Scriptures. Notice one statement above about the
water, before we begin. This water is not forced upon the sheep. They
are led to the water, and they may or not partake of that water. It is
available, but they must drink. John 4:14 "But whosoever drinketh of
the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that
I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into
everlasting life." This water of the Good Shepherd seems to have life
everlasting in it. John 7:38 "He that believeth on me, as the
scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water." This living water, then, is the Spirit. It is available to all
believers. Notice, now, that the Great Shepherd has provided the Word
to eat and the Spirit to drink in. It is the sheep's option whether to
take it or not. I Corinthians 12:13 "For by one Spirit are we all
baptized into one body, whether [we be] Jews or Gentiles, whether [we
be] bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."

     Psalms 23:3 "He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for his name's sake."

     Man could not restore his own soul. All who ever lived, besides
Jesus, have sinned and are guilty of sin unto death. Jesus became our
substitute for our sin on the cross and gave us His righteousness.
Then, Jesus Christ restored my soul. He not only leads us into
righteousness, but He actually clothed you and me with His
righteousness. Our righteousness is in Christ. Jesus is the one who
keeps us on the right path. We are set free from sin by taking on the
name of Jesus Christ {Christian}. Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and
the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."  Jesus lay down His
life for His sheep. Restoring my soul makes me a new creature in
Christ. II Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he
is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become new."  Jesus leads us in paths of righteousness, but we must
follow. A good sheep knows the voice of the Shepherd and follows Him.
I John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we
have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his
Son cleanseth us from all sin."

     Psalms 23:4 "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."

     The protection of the sheep is the Shepherd. Death may be all
around us, as it is when the wolves come to attack the sheep, but as
long as you stay near the Shepherd, you are safe. There is an end to
the valley above, because it says {through the valley}. We must walk
through a few valleys, before we can appreciate the mountain top.
Mankind, in general, fears death. The Christian is not without hope as
the world is though. We have hope of the resurrection. Fear shows lack
of faith. I have noticed in my walk through life that, I grow more in
the valley, than on the mountain top. Jesus defeated death when He
rose from the grave. We Christians should look at death of the body
to the wrld differently. Truly, death to this world is just the
opening to a new chapter in your book of life. I Corinthians 15:53
" For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal
[must] put on immortality." I Corinthians 15:54 "So when this
corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have
put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is
written, Death is swallowed up in victory."  We are comforted to know
that the Lord will never leave us, even in the transition to our life
eternal from this life.  The rod and staff of the shepherd was
two-fold. It was used to nudge the stray back into the fold, and it
was, also, used as a weapon to keep the enemy away from the sheep. It
is a comfort to know that the Lord is watching over us nudging us back
into the fold. It is, also, very comforting to know that He fights the
enemy for us.

     Psalms 23:5 "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of
mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."

     The world and its people are the enemies of the believer. The
Lord promised us no better, when He said they would hate us, because
they hated Him. Notice, who prepares the table. It is the Lord. The
enemy may surround us, but the Lord still prepares the table before
us. The high priest was anointed with oil in such abundance that it
ran down his chin. This is the type of anointing spoken of here. You
never run out of the anointing God provides, it is more than enough.
Even the priests {symbolic of believers} were anointed with oil. This
anointing is there, even though the enemy is there, also. Leviticus
8:30 "And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which
[was] upon the altar, and sprinkled [it] upon Aaron, [and] upon his
garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him; and
sanctified Aaron, [and] his garments, and his sons, and his sons'
garments with him." Notice, what this anointing did. It set them aside
for God's purpose {sanctified}. Notice, the cup is not just full, but
actually overflows. When we are filled with God, this is what happens,
we cannot contain it all. His love overflows. Has your cup been filled
to overflowing?

     Psalms 23:6 "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever."

     Goodness and mercy are gifts from God. His mercy endureth
forever. We see from this, that not only do we receive them, when we
are saved, but they remain with us forever. Dwell means continually
live.  One of the greatest promises to all believers is found in the
following Scriptures. John 14:1 "Let not your heart be troubled: ye
believe in God, believe also in me." John 14:2 "In my Father's house
are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go
to prepare a place for you."  John 14:3 "And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that
where I am, [there] ye may be also."  Notice, also, that this place
for all believers is a place of abiding {for ever}.

                             Questions 24

1.  The Lord˙is my _________; I shall not want.
2.  Why could David relate to Jesus as Shepherd?
3.  What separation shall Jesus make at judgement day?
4.  Jesus said, I am the _____ __________.
5.  What is the job of a shepherd?
6.  Who are Jesus' sheep?
7.  What is this green pasture in the spiritual sense?
8.  Quote Luke chapter 4 verse 4.
9.  In Jeremiah chapter 15 verse 16, what did he eat?
10. What are we to do to grow in the Lord?
11. What is interesting about the leading to the water?
12, What did Jesus say about the water He gave them in John chapter 4
    verse 14?
13. What shall flow out of the belly of those who believe on Jesus?
14. If, the Good Shepherd provides the food and water for all, what is
    our option in this?
15. By one Spirit are we baptized into one _____.
16. He restoreth my ____.
17. He leadeth me in the paths of ____________.
18. Why can man not restore his own soul?
19. Jesus became our __________ on the cross.
20. He {Jesus} gave us in exchange His ______________.
21. Quote Galations chapter 2 verse 20.
22. What does Jesus restoring my soul make me?
23. If any man be in Christ, he is a new _________.
24. If we walk in the light as He is in the Light, we have fellowship
    with ------------.
25. What cleansed the believer from all sin?
26. Yea, though I walk through the ______ __ __ _______ __ ______, I
    will fear no evil.
27. How do we know that there is an end to the valley he was in?
28. What does mankind in general fear?
29. What is the Christian's hope?
30. What does fear show a lack of?
31. Where do we grow the most, on the mountain or in the valley?
32. What is death to this world really?
33. What was the purpose of the shepherd's rod and staff?
34. Where was the table prepared for him?
35. How much anointing oil was put on the priest's head?
36. Who are the priests symbolic of?
37. Were they anointed too, or just the high priest?
38. What does sanctified mean?
39. What 2 things shall follow the believer all the days of his life?
40. What does dwell mean?
41. Where is one of the greatest promises to believers about their
    eternal dwelling place found?