Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

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 thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest 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 for ever. Psalm 23.

My subject is discipleship, and I do not know a more heartening Scripture for disciples than Psalm 23. It is so well known that probably you could all repeat it without a mistake, but often those parts of the Bible that we know best yield to us the greatest good. May it be so now.

Disciples could not be without a leader, and our Leader is the Lord, the good Shepherd of the sheep. But no man is the Lord’s disciple unless he is a saved sheep, and the first sentence of our Psalm involves that.

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD.

On this sentence hangs every blessing in the Psalm, and they are many. But notice, it is not, The Lord is the Shepherd, but The Lord is my Shepherd; it is a personal matter, deeply and exclusively personal. A young man said to me one day, “I don’t like the personal way you put things.” “And that is the reason you are not saved,” was my answer. If you cannot say “The Lord is my Shepherd,” you are not saved. You do not know Him, and you are not a disciple of His. How can you come into this? A girl was very ill, and greatly troubled about her soul’s salvation. Somebody sent her a Scripture text card by post. It ran, Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give to them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” She read those wonderful words, and said to herself “If only I could say that I was one of His sheep, I should be happy.” But she could not say it, and threw the card down with a sigh. As the card dropped on the coverlet it turned over, and she saw through her tears that there were words on the other side that she had not noticed. She read them, and these were they. “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Then the light broke in to her soul, and she exclaimed, “If I’m not a sheep, I’m a sinner, and Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and so He came to save me.” Then she understood that the sinners whom Jesus our Lord saves are the sheep that shall never perish. How wonderfully safe are all you lambs of Christ’s flock. He died to save you; He lives to keep you. The hand that smashed the power of death holds you in everlasting security. Eternal love and Omnipotence combine in the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for you. You are for ever safe.

He said, “I am the GOOD Shepherd.” You may crowd into that adjective every quality that it will bear, all are true of Him. If you were to show me a man who claimed to be a shepherd and yet was always losing his sheep, I should say that he was a bad shepherd and not worthy of the name at all, for a shepherd is not a loser of sheep but a keeper of sheep. The Lord is the good keeper of sheep.

I had been speaking about the eternal security of the sheep of Christ, and at the close of the meeting a man said to me — a good man too — “I don’t agree with you at all. You’ve been telling us that when once a person is saved he is saved for ever. Now I believe, that like the sow, I may return to my wallowing in the mire.” “Oh,” I said, “you are a pig then.” He flushed and I thought he was going to be very angry, but his face broke into a smile that was good to see, as he said, “No, of course I’m not. I see it now, I’m not a pig, I’m a sheep.”

There is all the difference in the world between a sheep and a sow. The sow that is washed is the man that has not been born again, but who is outwardly reformed. He has given up his bad habits — it may be he has become a teetotaller, and perhaps a little religious, but there has been no inward work of the grace of God in his soul. His nature is the same and we find him sooner or later back in the mire again. The pig loves the dirt. I remember reading of a certain Chinese Emperor who had an extraordinary predilection for pigs. He had one which was a special favourite. It had an attendant, and was dressed in a silken coat. One day it eluded the vigilance of its keeper, and grunted with delight in the mud, — silk coat and all. Why? It was the nature of the beast to do so. But when a man or woman comes to Christ, there is an inward work. They are born again, and receive a new nature that hates sin: they are His sheep.

The second sentence hangs upon the first.

I SHALL NOT WANT.

If we find the words, “Never perish” in John 10 we find “never thirst” in John 4. “Never perish,” “never thirst.” Those whom the good Shepherd saves, He seals. He gives to them the Holy Spirit. And the indwelling Spirit is the well of water that springs up into everlasting life. Christ is the giver of living water, so He told that tired and wretched sinner by Sychar’s well, and His words abide for us. We are slow to learn our poverty of soul and utter dependence on the Lord for satisfaction of heart. Often we slip backward because we do not give up self wholly for Christ. We think that after all we can find some good in self and some satisfaction in what we are.

We are slow also to learn how liberally and bountifully He gives. “I shall not want.” “Never thirst.” There are great words for us to take hold of by faith, and then prove how real they are by the Holy Spirit’s power.

HE MAKETH ME TO LIE DOWN IN GREEN PASTURES.

When the heart is satisfied there is rest and not before. The restlessness of the world is the result of the vain search for satisfaction. With what poignancy the Preacher tells in Ecclesiastes the story of man’s vain search, and what a contrast we see in the Song of Songs, where the heart can say of the heavenly Bridegroom, for may see Him in this passage, “I sat down under His shadow with great delight and His fruit was sweet to my taste.”

Jenny Lind, the Swedish nightingale, when at the zenith of her fame and popularity wrote,
“In vain I seek for rest
 In all created good;
 It leaves me still unblest
 And makes me cry to God.
 And sure of rest I cannot be
 Until my heart finds rest in Thee.”
She had learnt the weariness of the world, and the way of rest.

HE LEADETH ME BESIDE THE STILL WATERS.

The still waters speak of quietness of heart, not necessarily because circumstances are quiet, but peace and quietness of heart no matter what the circumstances may be. Do you remember that wonderful passage, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusts in Thee,” not “Thou wilt place him in the midst of a peaceful environment.” It means that we may be in perfect peace in the midst of circumstances that seem all against us. We have an example of it in the Lord Jesus Himself. Recall that incident on the lake of Galilee, when a great storm arose. The winds blew and the waves dashed in their fury against the tiny boat in which He sailed, and it seemed as though it would be broken and wrecked by the angry tempest. All in that boat, seasoned mariners though they were, were in a panic of fear, save one: and
“His head was on a pillow laid,
   And He was fast asleep.”

Why did not the disciples stretch themselves by His side, and share the peace that filled His blessed heart? They awoke Him from His sleep, and with one word He brought those tempestuous billows in quietness to His feet as a man might bring his dog to his heel. But those disciples were just as safe in the storm as they were when a great calm laid itself upon the sea, and there was no reason why they should not have shared His peace. The Lord can give His peace to our hearts, but we shall need a pillow to put our heads upon or we shall not enjoy it. What pillow was it that Jesus put His head upon? The pillow of His Father’s changeless love. He knew that His hand held the reins. Those wild tempestuous steeds were under His control, and in the knowledge of His Father’s changeless love, He could rest, and He gives us that same love to rest upon. “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” But we only enjoy the fact as He leads us; if we wander from His side, we are distraught and restless; as we keep near to Him we know the music and the rest of the gently flowing waters of quietness.

Safety, satisfaction, rest, and peace, these are the blessings that He bestows, and when our souls enjoy them we are free to go after Him who gives them; we shall go after Him if He who gives these blessings is greater to us than all that He gives. Then it will be true that

HE LEADETH ME IN THE PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR HIS NAME’S SAKE.

The path of discipleship is the path of righteousness. Once “ye were as sheep going astray; but now are returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” Now yielded to Him, no longer turning to your own way, He will lead you, invigorating your souls by His grace every step of the way. Mark the words, “He leads me,” He does not drive or drag, He leads. I was visiting a young mother. She was teaching her baby boy to walk, and as she led him across the floor, I noticed that she did not make him take the long strides that she could have taken, or go the pace she could have gone; she shortened her steps to his, and as he could go, she went, and spoke words of encouragement to him all the way; and as I watched the charming sight, I said to myself, “That is it, He leads me.” Yes, young Christian, you may be weak, but He who leads you is strong, and His strength may be perfect in your weakness. His grace is sufficient for you. He is not a hard Master; His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He cares for His lambs with an infinite tenderness, so precious are they to Him. He will lead and not drive you in the paths of righteousness, He will not make you go beyond your strength, or lay upon you one thing that you are not able to bear.

But do not be surprised if the way winds at times through darkness and gloom. You may be called to walk THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH. That does not mean when you come to your death-bed, it may of course include that, though countless Christians have proved that when they came to that crisis in their soul’s history there was not even a shadow. This world is the valley of the shadow of death for the one who loves the Lord. “Where thou lodgest I will lodge, and where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried,” said the Moabitish Ruth to her mother-in-law, and she is the example for all time of unselfish, devoted love. You said that to the Lord in your baptism, and in taking up your cross you carry that decision out in practical living. If you had seen a man carrying his cross in the day when the Lord was here you would have said, That man is as good as dead to this world, he is on his way to execution. That is it, he would be treading the valley of the shadow of death. But the Psalmist did not stop at “the valley of the shadow of death,” he completed the sentence and he made the valley ring with triumph. Said he,

I WILL FEAR NO EVIL, FOR THOU ART WITH ME. THY ROD AND THY STAFF THEY COMFORT ME.

He had perfect confidence because he had blessed company, and the company yielded continual comfort. Here is little Tom. On his way home from school, some bigger and rougher boys have treated him badly and sent him home a terrified and tearful lad. He does not want to go that way again. But his father says, “Come, Tom, take my hand, I will go with you.” He puts his hand into his father’s hand and as he walks by his side, he seems inches taller. “There are the boys, Tom, are you afraid?” “Not a bit, father,” is his ready answer, “for you are with me.” His father is greater than his enemies and he fears no evil from them. So it is, young Christian. Whatever tests and trials your witness for Christ may bring you into, you may have this confidence. You may say, “Thou art with me,” even in the presence of death. And notice well, no longer does the Psalmist talk about the Lord, he talks to Him; he has changed the third pronoun personal for the second, it is no longer “He” but “Thou.”

“THY ROD AND THY STAFF THEY COMFORT ME.”

As Aaron’s rod that budded was the insignia of his priesthood, so the rod of the Lord points Him out as our great High Priest, who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and is merciful and faithful, able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by Him. The Epistle to the Hebrews shows us the Lord bearing the priestly rod, and in that same Epistle He is the “Great Shepherd of the sheep.” His sheep are the sons of God and He is bringing them to glory. His priestly grace sustains them on the road. The staff, His strength, carries them on triumphantly. The table prepared, the head anointed, and the cup overflowing, all speak of blessings that none but our great Shepherd could supply. They are a feasting heart, a witnessing for Christ in the joy of the Holy Ghost, and a cup overflowing with blessing for others.

Goodness and mercy have followed you so far on your homeward way. You have not travelled far as yet, but suppose you are to live until the weight of a hundred years bows your head and bends your back, what then? You may face the future with confidence and say, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” Not one day a week only, but seven; not on the bright days only, but all the days of my life; through the enthusiasms of youth, the sterner years of middle age and into the infirmities of old age, it will still be the same. But you are not looking so far ahead, you are looking for the Lord, His coming draws nigh. We read, “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4). We “shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

Presumptuous man, this David! some would say; it would have been far more becoming if he had said, I hope I shall dwell in the house of the Lord. But if it had depended upon David, it would have been presumption even to hope. But it did not depend upon David, nor does such a glorious destiny depend on any one of us who can say “The Lord is my Shepherd.” If the Lord is my Shepherd, I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. This Psalm, beginning as it does, could not end in any other way, it would not be perfect if it did. If the Lord is your Shepherd will He lose you on the way to His house? Impossible! You are too precious to Him for that. You are His Father’s love-gift to Him. You are His for ever. The Shepherd is responsible for the sheep; He will lead them safely home. His honour is at stake, His pledged word and the glory of His Name; but best of all, He loves you too well to lose you. Who would not follow Him?

“O, who will follow the Nazarene?
   O Lord, our hearts awaken!
 May no false pomp Thy glory screen,
   Thy life from the earth was taken.

 And O, Thy Name is above the skies,
   All past Thy toil and sorrow.
 Though earth may woo, my heart replies,
   That I wait the grand to-morrow.”

Now let us hear the conclusion of the whole, matter; if any one will go after the Lord, he will find Him able to sustain him from the first step in the path of discipleship to the last; the difficulties in the path will only reveal more and more His inexhaustible resources of grace and power. “If so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.” “If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honour.”