Psalm 23 “A Prayer of Supplication”

This last week I wrote an e-mail to somebody who responded back to me with a quick note saying, “Where do you find the time to write such long e-mails, I barely have time to read my e-mails.”

I thought about that response, thinking how it was that I used to write handwritten letters to people. And, I rarely do anymore. E-mail is so much faster and easier. However, now with international calling on our cell phones and text messaging and the like, I suppose writing anything at all is perceived as being too time consuming.

I bring this up because when we read Psalm 23 it is clear in all of the imagery and word choice that life is supposed to be a walk with God. It is not supposed to be a run, a jog, or a race. We have to take the time to live.

This morning we are taking the time to hear God’s Word in our lives. We are taking the time to pray. We are taking the time to love God as a community of faith. We have been commanded to do these things by God. But, we cannot just race through them. This is a walking tour that God is leading us on.

Let’s start our walk this morning with the first verse of Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” King David was perhaps remembering that time when life was easier when he was just a Shepherd boy. This was a time before everything turned Goliath on him.

All he had to do in those days was make sure the herd of sheep had green grass under its feet–not overgrazing an area. All he had to do was make sure the sheep did not bunch too much together and self-suffocate. All he had to do was keep the thieves and predators away. So, I guess there really is a lot about remembering a simpler time and relating that back to his own faith in God. Do you remember when people truly saw church as a duty to God? When people believed there is a God! Those really were simpler days. Faith was simple.

“I shall not want.” How can we not want anything? That sounds impossible. This last week I was holding Jared’s and Mahea’s foster child and it was time for the little bloke to go back into the pram. He was holding his teething ring in his mouth and with one tight little fist around the part that jingles and looks like a teddy bear. Then, he dropped the teething ring. I picked it up–five-second rule–blessed it clean again but did not give it back to him because he was in the process of being buckled into the pram. Finally strapped in nicely, I could see that he wanted his teething ring again. I jangled and dangled it in front of him. He really wanted it. His little hands were reaching out for it and his eyes were completely focused on it. Is it not instinctual for us humans to always want? As soon as we are born we want.

I gave the child its teething ring back. It was immediately put into the mouth was a happy grin. Then, after a minute it was cast aside. We want. We want. Just having what we have is never enough. We want. It is therefore an amazing Psalm that reads “I shall not want!” How divine is that statement!

Just two weeks ago at the dinner table my wife brought up story of Shakespeare’s King Lear.. Doesn’t this sound like a set-up to a tragedy? The king calls his daughters to him near the end of his life to bequeath his wealth upon them. He asks his daughter Cordelia what she desires of his fortunes, and she replies “nothing.” King Lear responds in anger “nothing will come of nothing!” He cuts her out of his estate. However, all she ever wanted was her father’s love—she states that , too. In the end he takes even that from her. It is not until the very climax of the play that we see that it was Cordelia’s love for him that saves him.

Likewise in our own lives we should have but that one desire: to love God. If we desire God, then God will care for us just as the shepherd cares for his flock. Jesus himself tells us this in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:25) “Therefore I tell you do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear, is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”

I had this idea that came to me out of the blue that I am not sure you all will agree with in particular, but I will put it out there for you anyway: I was thinking that Quantum mechanics tells us that by observing an object in nature, we are changing that object. I don’t know if you truly believe that our not, but that is what we are told from science today.

So, let’s take that one step further: By not just observing, but actually desiring an object, that object is changed and in that change we can see the nature of God’s creation falling away. Let me give you a couple of practical examples. God has created vast pools of oil under the crust of this planet. It is what it is. When we desire the black goop, then it changes its very nature as God created it.

I will just put it out there that when we desire things, the act of our wanting such, makes those things less holy. We ought to be able to just accept what God gives us out of God’s grace. We pray simply “give us this day our daily bread” that is what we need to survive. That is all.

When we are younger though we want things and/or people, and we objectify people like things. In college I remember once the first day in class in an English Lit course, not Shakespeare btw, I saw a young lady come into the class. She sat down right next to me in one of those student desks. Naturally, I said “hi.” She smiled warmly. I smiled back. During the lecture my mind wandered and I found myself glancing over at her and beginning to wonder if there was more to her smiling at me. In observing her, I was probably in my mind making her out to be very different than she really was.

After the lecture I said that famously absurd icebreaker “Gee, have we not met somewhere before?” By that time I was thinking that perhaps we had indeed met someone before, so it must have come off as sincere. Right?

She replied, “You know, I was thinking that same thing myself. You are in my AA group. I remember you!” As she spoke I caught a whiff of very strong tobacco coming off her breath. It made me almost immediately nauseous. Then, the way she spoke was to my ear raspy and shrill.

“Nope, I have never been to AA.”

“Well, good, I keep those little shot bottles in my car. Let’s go out to the parking lot and light up.”

My reply: “I am sorry. I thought I knew you. I guess I was wrong. My mistake.” I made sure to sit across the room from her from there on out!

Verse 2: “The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures.” This is the most righteous translation! It is not that the Lord lets me lie down, encourages me to lie down, or any such thing. The Lord “makes me” lie down. That is to say, I have really no choice in the matter.

Why does the shepherd make the sheep lie down in the pasture? Is it not so that he can also rest? Therefore, we might think that God makes us lie down not so much that we can rest but that God may rest! Rest is important to God. After working six days on Creation, God rested. In the Ten Commandments, God told us to rest on the Sabbath. So, it is not just important to walk rather than run through life, it is also important to take an afternoon siesta.

We are tired; we need to rest. I remember driving through Navajo country once—used to do some mission work out there—and as I was driving I saw the body of a man lying out in the middle of the desert. Not knowing for sure what was up, I pulled over and went out to the body that was lying somewhat under a Joshua tree. The man looked at me and asked what was wrong. I asked him the same. He said simply that he was tired and was going to sleep.

I love that idea.

The Lord leads us to still waters to refresh us. Sheep do not drink from running water. You cannot have sheep lap water from a hose like you and I do. Actually, I shouldn’t be doing that anymore! But, this is the same idea as walking through life, and resting, we drink the still waters.

Verse 4: This verse changes the conversation from talking about God to talking to God. The great Theologian Martin Buber (That is his real name) wrote a whole treatise on this simple idea that we are in an “I and Thou” relationship with God. We must realize that not everybody has that kind of a relationship with God and that it is quite special indeed.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me, God.” On this walk through life, God is our companion. God comforts us.

Somebody asked me not too long ago why it is that we always read Psalm 23 at funerals. I will share with you that in these very words is the idea that we not just walk with God through life but also through death and into the life eternal. You see, if you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, then you are through it. It is behind you! God will guide you through that place at the end of life and get you through it so that you can be in the next green pasture still with God. Amen, amen, amen. This is our greatest comfort in this life and as we face death!

Verse 5 and 6: In these lines is further confirmation that God is with us through life and into the next.

“You prepare a table for me in the presence of mine enemies.” We ought to first note that God is no longer talked about like a shepherd. Sheep do not go out dining! And, they certainly would not dine surrounded by their enemies. In fact none of us would like to have dinner with enemies! Let me just point out that Jesus did dine with his enemies. You will surely recall that Jesus ate with Pharisees, tax collectors, and the like. At the Last Supper Jesus even broke bread with Judas, knowing that Judas was about to betray him and his actions would lead to death.

Now, when I was growing up, the teachers in the schools tended still to line up all the desks in standard rows and seat the children alphabetically. I have to tell you that for some reason in my grade everyone with a last name starting with f, g, h, I, j were somehow the least congenial students in the class. With my last name starting with h, it seemed that I was always surrounded by really very bad kids. I even went to my parents once to see if I could change my last name so that I could sit with the r, s, t’s. No luck.

I tell you truly that there were times in class, surrounded by “mine enemies,” that I could only turn to God. And, I am happy to say that God was there for me. Also, I should point out that one of the major reasons that I liked going to church as a youth was that I did not have to sit alphabetically in the pews. Amen to that!

The last lines of the scripture for today states: “and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” That sounds like John 14 where Jesus tells us that he has prepared a place for us! After this walk through life is through, and we have passed through the valley of the shadow of death, we will find our rest in that place with God. We shall be in God’s house forever. Amen.