The Weekly Perspective
by Burke Shade, Associate Pastor
I hope that you listened intently to Pastor Joe’s sermon last week on Psalm 23.
In my own ministry I find it more and more one of those “beast of burden” Psalms: it readily carries a heavy load in counseling or wisdom situations.
But Pastor Joe pointed out why it is such a great Psalm: because it is about JESUS, not some distant and unknown Lord. The modern translations supply LORD for “Yahweh,” and so we think of someone named LORD as a person of office—a King, Knight, ruler, feudal superior, etc. Like “Lord Vader,” “Lord Farquaad,” “Lord Sauron,” etc. But “Yahweh” is God’s personal name, like Bob or Tom or Peter. Someone you know or can get to know. Someone you are to know deeply, like Jesus, your brother, your savior, your advocate.
So it’s Jesus, the God-man, and not a distant LORD, who gives you what you need, who makes you rest in peace places, who is beside you in difficult times, who does surgery on your soul, who leads you in righteous and protects you in situations of death, (“I died, and behold I am alive forevermore” Revelation 1:18). He’s the one who gives you all kinds of glorious meals, whether in worship or at a broken home. He’ll pursue you to death so that you dwell with him forever. “Further up and further in!”
The second great thing Pastor Joe did is forever remove this Psalm as just a picture with little lamb-like children all around Jesus. That’s a true picture in the Gospel’s, but this is a warrior Jesus, a fighting man, a God and savior who does all these things not only for children, but also for adults. Primarily for adults. Even really old adults