Psalm 23
8 April, 2007

I was at the Giant Eagle recently. As I walked down one of the aisles, I
noticed a sign on a shelf over some items for sale. The items were different
kinds of candy and on the sign was a cheery 'Happy Easter'. As I walked
past, I wondered about something. I asked myself, 'What are they
celebrating?' The sign was aimed at your average Erie person whose ideas
about Easter had very little to do with Jesus' resurrection. That’s why I
wondered, 'What are they celebrating?' That question can be a very helpful
one, particularly if we turn it on ourselves. What are we celebrating?
‘Well, the answer to that is easy. We are celebrating Jesus’ resurrection.’
But that’s somewhat like saying, ‘On Memorial Day people are remembering the
sacrifice of many for the sake of our political freedoms.’ That’s true, but
only in a very technical sense. On Memorial Day most people are celebrating
the beginning of summer. So, what is it that we are celebrating today? ‘By
His resurrection Jesus has conquered death and set us free. We are focusing
our attention on what He has done and are praising Him for it.’ That
certainly is true, but it is still lacking something. It is an answer that
is theologically correct and yet personally not very satisfying. It’s not
concrete enough. It’s not an answer that will help you or me become more
faithful. It isn’t at all clear how Jesus’ conquering death relates to
difficult jobs, dirty diapers and too much to do on too little sleep. It’s
not a helpful answer. So, this morning I’d like to develop that
theologically correct though incomplete answer, ‘By His resurrection Jesus
has conquered death and set us free.’ I want to make it more helpful. To do
that I’ve chosen the well known 23rd Psalm. I’ve chosen this Psalm because
it pictures part of what it means that Jesus has conquered death for us. Let
’s see how the Spirit will use this bit of His Word to help us be faithful
disciples of Jesus.

Let’s start with the tone of the Psalm. There is a sense of peace associated
with the Psalm. Generations have been moved by the poetry of the Psalm, the
gentleness, the peacefulness. And that makes sense. David is writing about
how his Good Shepherd watches over him. He is a sheep who is at peace.
Compare this with some of the other Psalms where the agitation of the
psalmist is reflected in the tone. But here, in the presence of the Good
Shepherd, he is at peace. He is also a sheep who is well cared for. He
experiences no sense of want. There are the green pastures, the still
waters. He lacks nothing. He does not wander carelessly and thus into
danger. He is lead along by his Shepherd and that in the paths of right
living. This poem, however, is not in some dream world, detached from
reality. The Psalm points to the darker side of things also. There is the
valley of the shadow of death. There are the enemies. There are the problems
of a troubled soul that needs to be restored. And yet, because of the
Shepherd, there is no fear of the dark valley. None. And as for those
enemies who would attack his soul, they are present, completely vanquished,
at a banquet where the table is well-prepared for a feast to celebrate the
victory. And the soul that was brought low and in such need is, in fact,
restored. Then, there is the recounting of the blessings of God. The oil of
gladness is poured upon the head. The favor of God is so great that it
overflows the brim of the cup. And then there is the hopeful glance at the
future. For the near future there is the complete certainty of the goodness
and mercy of God. But then looking further into the future, the future of
eternity, there is the confident expectation of Home. The blessings are not
limited to what we experience here, in this life. What is merely tasted here
on the pilgrim’s path, will be enjoyed in unimaginable fullness once we
arrive at the Father’s Home.

These are the blessings of this Psalm: the peace of God meets every crisis;
the sense of being gently cared for; realism when it comes to the troubles
of this life, but the further realism that all these troubles are dealt
with; leading, then, to living now without fear but in the confidence of God
’s blessing and looking forward to all that the word ‘Home’ is supposed to
mean. This is something of what the Psalm is intended to portray.

What I have to say next is so very important. Listen carefully. All the
blessings that I just mentioned to you from this Psalm belong to us, to all
who are Christians. They, everyone else, have none of them. None of them.
When you hear, ‘By His resurrection Jesus has conquered death’, you need to
think, ‘Psalm 23’ and you need to feel again the emotions the Psalm evokes.
The big overarching term is ‘conquest of death’. The little, more specific
details include things like a sense of peace, being gently cared for,
resources to successfully deal with life, a sense of Home that awaits. But
the power of all that this means will be missed unless you also then say,
‘These things are exclusively ours. They don’t have anything anywhere even
close to these blessings. These things belong to Christians only.’ After
all, what Jesus did by His resurrection, He did for us, and only for us.

I think that it’s safe to say that many Christians, maybe even most, have a
hard time with the last couple of sentences that I spoke. I’m not talking
about theological problems. They have experiential problems with what I’ve
said and thus don’t believe me. Sadly, it is a fairly widespread emotional
belief within the Church that we and they are pretty much on the same level.
There are some differences, things like we get to go to heaven – later. But
when it comes to day to day living, dealing with the common details of life,
we and they are pretty much in the same boat. So, why get excited about the
resurrection? What are we celebrating anyway? This emotional belief shows in
a fairly lackluster Christian life with a fairly lackluster sense of
mission. After all, why should they become one of us if there really isn’t
that much difference in our day to day experiences?

Let me point out what I think the problem might be. For one thing, we are
too impressed with them. We look around us at the people we live and work
and go to school with. We see smiles and hear laughter. We see people
getting along. Not that there aren’t problems. We all have problems. That’s
life after all. And they deal with them. We see people who look an awful lot
like us. Is there really any difference? That is a very important question.
How would you answer it? Like all questions of this sort, it is a question
that we need to answer biblically. What does the Bible say about these folk?
Consider just a few verses that describe them. ‘The way of the wicked is
like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.’ ‘Truly,
truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.’ ‘But the
wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss
up mire and dirt. There is no peace…for the wicked.’ ‘…whoever does not
obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.’ That’
s how God describes them. ‘But the people I know don’t look like that!’
Well, of course not! For one thing, we all wear masks. Do you really think
that your neighbors will tell you about the ugly aspects of their souls?
What you were expecting to see in your neighbors based on those verses will
only be seen in hell where there the truth will no longer be hidden. The
Bible is quite clear in its description of all who are without Christ. You
need to believe it and stop being so impressed with them.

There is the flip side to this. While you are way too impressed with them,
you are also way too unimpressed with us – or more specifically with
yourself. You see the things that go on in your soul, which you can’t see in
them. And so, you see your struggles, your fears, your doubts. You see what
is wrong. You see your sin, up close and personal. And, of course, you aren’
t left to yourself in this. Satan is very busy reminding you of all the
warts. I find it amazing that when I think about my past, what pops up first
is almost always something I did wrong. I remember quite well my mess ups,
my failures, my sins. I think I get some help to do that, and so do you. I
would remind you of something. David was one of us, just like us. David was
a sinner. And he had the inside look of his soul and he saw all the warts.
And yet, he could still write this Psalm and write it as one of the sheep.
Yes, you are a sinner. That is a fact. But it is also a fact that you are
the sheep of this Psalm. The blessings here, and many others beside, are
yours. And they are yours because of what Jesus did in His resurrection. So,
while you work at seeing others more accurately and not being so impressed
with them, look at yourself more accurately and begin being more impressed
with who Jesus has made you.

I have one more thing to mention to you. I have been wrestling with some
thoughts lately. I don’t have everything all sorted out, but, more and more,
I am coming to the conclusion that, for now, the most important thing for us
at Faith Reformed Church to ‘get’ is that there is a difference between us
and them; a drastic difference. We have been freed from death and we now are
children of the King. That Psalm describes us. They are still slaves of sin
and death and Satan. They live as lonely orphans. They have nothing that
comes even close to the smallest blessing in the Psalm. It seems to me that
there will be some very important fruit as this difference becomes clearer
to us. For one thing, we will be awed by the Gospel. The wonder of what
Jesus has done will shake us. Nothing will work right for us as individual
Christians or as a church without this. And out of that wonder will come
things like a joy that is obvious, love that sacrifices, and a calmness of
spirit that can face even great evil. And along with these things will come
a sense of pity. Once we understand what Jesus has done, what it means that
He has conquered death for us and that they do not yet enjoy this, we will
be moved by our pity to speak to them of a Savior who died and yet is alive,
a Savior who makes a real difference now as well as later.