Psalm 23

 

⁰⁴          Even though,

I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil.

for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff,

 give me assurance.

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Beyond the Valley

For the Lord’s Day:  the 19^th of December 2004

 

Introduction:  If, in talking with the average person in an unguarded moment about the subject of death, you will discover that when the subject is taken seriously – there has always been a widespread sense of fear and denial.  But perhaps in our day and age, denial should be understood as the primary reaction.  You see, very few people are prepared for the great appointment when they shall stand before the Lord of all the universe.  Popular senses of such an unlikely scenario come more from wishful thinking and even the celluloid images of Hollywood.

 

Probably the most likely and popular comprehension of the transition out of this world is that any salvation into a next life is accomplished simply by the very fact of death.  This is because the secular humanistic views have finally overwhelmed the better sense of traditional and orthodox religious teachings.  In a world where the psychobabelists have put to rest any sense of sin and wrongdoing – this final assessment should not be surprising.  Another popular understanding is that the personhood of individuals simply ceases to exist just as you might erase the software from the hard drive of a computer!

 

Centuries ago, the greatest English Bard, Shakespeare examined the most likely probabilities of the “undiscovered country” beyond the limits of this life.  The great Dane, Hamlet came to the necessary orthodox conclusion that death was not something to be trifled with.  “To be, or not to be: that is the question,” that begins the greatest colloquy in the collection of Shakespeare’s life works.  His further observation “that the dread of something after death” informs the soul challenges his readers to consider their own mortality.

 

Shakespeare in this regard is much like the philosophers of Greece, all of whom raised the questions that can only be answered in and through the grace and mercy of David’s Shepherd and God.  David, like all of those called into the Kingdom must wrestle with the ordinary fears related to the next life.  And in the simple faith demonstrated in this short verse, he puts everything in its proper perspective.

 

Development:  David begins realistically in commenting on the facts of life:  “Even though, I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.”  Calvin well notes that: “true believers, although they dwell safely under the protection of God, are, notwithstanding, exposed to many dangers, or rather they are liable to all the afflictions which befall mankind in common, that they may the better feel how much they need the protection of God.”

 

Looking back to the first three verses to the shepherd image – I am reminded that whenever my flock of sheep was scared they ran to the perceived safety of the barn.  Once, when I was out in the field next to the sheep, some false alarm caused them to run for safety.  I walked towards the fence to see what was wrong.  One of the lead ewes, spying me at the opposite fence row from their fear, turned the whole flock in my direction instead of the barn.  When they came up to the fence, they stopped and nervously eyed the brush at the back of the field.  So there they stood, catching their breath and within minutes, the fright was forgotten and they returned to their grazing.

 

Given such common sheep sense – I have often been perplexed how so many church members can run away from church, just when life becomes more interesting than they prefer.  Instead of drawing closer to the people of God – the common sinful reaction is to deny the fellowship of the Church instead: so that they can suffer in silence.

 

David will have none of this, “even though” he faces the common dangers of living, he will turn to the Lord of salvation instead of suffering alone.  It is this common theme in the psalms that should and must inform our prayers and disposition if we are to learn to trust the Lord Jesus Christ more and more.  Delitzsch catches the confidence of David in this regard:  “even when [David] passes through a valley dark and gloomy as the shadow of death, where surprises and calamities of every kind threaten him, he fears no misfortune.”

 

 

The darkness here is a special kind of darkness, as gloomy as the darkness of Mordor in Tolkien’s classic tale.  It is like an unexpected solar eclipse, or a kind of calamity noted in the pages of history, where a thick darkness of smoke, dust and gloom arises from natural conditions.  In 19^th Century London, England a temperature inversion could on rare occasions keep the smoke and fog close to the ground for hours on end.  In the American New England – the planned fires to lessen the forest once gathered in enough strength to darken the eastern coast for several days.  This event gave rise to popular expectations that the last days had suddenly arrived.  This darkness is such that you can almost feel it.

 

Delitzsch relates the darkness here to “the court of death, [which] signifies the shadow of death as an epithet of the most fearful darkness, as of Hades, but also of a shaft of a mine, and more especially of darkness such as makes itself felt in the wild, uninhabited desert.”

 

I have often heard people admit that they were going through such a valley in their emotions and circumstances.  I can certainly attest that such experiences are not pleasant.  Indeed, it was the decades in public service that gave me such an appreciation for the psalms.  No matter what complications came my way, David and his literary kin knew it and prayed out of it many centuries before I realized the same pain.

 

Now, my usual application of this verse, I would remind everyone, that in order for there to be a shadow, there must be a great light beyond.  And even as David knew the God of Light shines before us at the end of the age and what ever is between us and Him in this light – these troubles, concerns and problems can only shadow our way towards eternity with Him.  So let us learn to look beyond the shadows and see the great Light that is Christ who reigns both now and forever.

 

Application:  All of this from one line of text in this precious psalm, but there is more.  As I have parsed this one verse, I have six lines of text in three couplets.  The second third in my ordering of verse four is this: “I will fear no evil. for You are with me.”

 

For many years I realized that the older generation would prefer to hear all of those archaic “Thee’s, Thy’s and Thou’s” rendered so eloquently in the old King James Version.  And yes, we have lost a vital reference point in being polite as the old civilization understood it.  But, whether or not it was on purpose – the educational media moved us towards a simplified modernized way of speaking.  Only my elders spoke in the Elizabethan manner when I was young, and before I received my first Bible, the Revised Standard Version became the official text in our church.

 

It does not matter much in the way of understanding the text.  David, like all of God’s faithful saints knows His presence and walk safely in His company.  Like the two on the road to Emmaus – He is always with us in the Person of the Spirit, and like the men on their way, we do not always realize we have better company than we truthfully deserve.

 

Are we mindful of our company as often as we ought to be?  Of course not, we need to learn to practice the presence of God in our daily lives and to live and move more conscious of the fact that He is always there.  Through many trials and tribulations in public service, I became more and more aware that I was being protected not only from my own stupidity and sometimes crass behavior under pressure, but also from the designs and ungodly attentions of politically correct enemies. 

 

The last third of our text explains why we should have confidence in the presence of the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and all the rest of His Covenant people.  David simply states the source of his confidence:  “Your rod and Your staff, give me assurance.”

 

The “rod” here of course is the long handled crooked stick that was used by the ancient shepherds to reach into a mulling flock of sheep and gently pry one away from his fellows by catching him around the neck.  It was a common management tool for sheep down through the ages.  There were times when I wished that I had had one.  Just wading into a moving jumble of wooly meet on the hoof is an exciting enterprise.  I remember catching one young lamb by the hind leg, being pulled over by his exertions to escape, and then being run over by every other member of the flock.  I did manage to hang on to the one I wanted, but it was not a pleasant experience for either of us.  The “rod” in question here was a tool of discipleship, correction and a means of catching an animal whose wounds needed treatment, or whose fleece needed trimming or whatever other necessity made an easy and safe capture necessary.

 

The “staff” mentioned here was the walking stick of the Shepherd, and by necessity it was the poor man’s weapon of choice.  Usually, the staff would have a rooted crown, or even a metal top that could serve as a weapon in extremis against predators or even fallen humans bent on mischief or worse.  I still remember a short series in the sixties when the exploits of the English hero, Robin Hood were celebrated.  All of the honest men were armed with “staves” while the organized thuggary of the false prince carried knives and swords.

 

Of course the script equalized the ongoing struggle and few of the good guys in green tights were ever harmed to a dangerous degree.  We all know of course that swords and knives in properly trained hands are dangerous indeed.  The old Claymore swords of English and Scottish history and legend were handsome weapons being four and a half to six feet long.  And a truly strong warrior could and did cleave a man in twain, from his shoulder to the groin.

 

And yet, let us pick a minor point out of that illustration to give us increased confidence in the strength of our Good Shepherd.  The Lord’s men in the presence of Christ were not ordinarily armed and yet they moved in relative safety through hostile territory while Christ was preaching and teaching.  In only one instance did a disciple pull a weapon and even then Jesus had him put it away so that God’s will might be accomplished.

 

The point that I want to make is the same that David knows from experience.  The Lord God of heaven and earth has a purpose in the lives of every saint, and as we go about His business – we are hedged in and protected.  In fact, even as Shakespeare knew:  the blessed Trinity have scripted the whole of human experience, and our job is to learn the part laid out before us, to trust in the Father for protection and to go our way as we are called and enabled.  May we carry on as we work our way through the valley and hope in the great light at the end of our journey.  God is with us all the way – in that presence we can gain great and abiding comfort.  Amen.

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PREACHING RESOURCES

 

Calvin, John:  Commentary on Book of Psalms.

Delitzsch, F:  Commentary on the Old Testament – Psalms.

Spurgeon, C.H:  Treasury of David.

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