He is watching over us( Psalm 23)3

Our last look at Psalm 23 v4  ,and  the words ,'Your rod and your staff comfort me' It appears that the rod was a weapon to defend the sheep from wild animals,and the staff was used to gently guide and to rescue the sheep.So when David considers the Lord as his shepherd he sees him as the one who protects and  gently  guides him ,and that's a great comfort to him, as it is to all of us.Im sure if you are a Christian  you can recall how God has protected you,I think of all the miles I have driven my car,only God has protected me.I lived in Northern Ireland I could have been killed by a bomb,or I could have been shot.We may not realise it ,we are all very vulnerable,but God watches over us,He protects us from the devil,'But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one'  (2 Thessalonians 3 v3) He will protect us from the elements 'The sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night'(Psalm 121v 6) He will keep us from all harm and watch over our lives (Ps 121 v 7)The Lord gently guides His children ( Proverbs 3v 6)and indeed rescues us from going astray(Isaiah30 v 21)

                                                      'All the way my Saviour leads me;

                                                       What have I to ask beside?

                                                        Can I doubt His tender mercy,

                                                         Who through life has been my Guide'

                                                                       Fanny J .Crosby.

Fear no evil, ( Matthew 28 v 20 (b) Ps 23 (2)

 Let us continue  to look at Psalm 23 v4  ,last time we considered ,'The dark night of the soul',next we consider the words ,'I will fear no evil,for you are with me',I don't have to tell you that there is much evil in the world,and its all very frigheningt,with the result that many peoples hearts are failing them for fear. David who wrote these words,was faced with  many fearful challenges,for a great deal part of his life,how did he cope? The answer is very simple his faith was in God, in Psalm 27 it begins ,'The Lord is my light and my salvation,whom shall I fear?,after all he says''The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid ''?.A little boy,as he lay in bed  was very frightened because outside a violent storm was raging, and he began to cry,his father heard him crying,so he went into him,and  took him in his arms,and the little boy said,Daddy I'm not afraid now because you are with me'.And that's what David is saying to God ,'I'm not afraid because you are with me.

                                                 'To this I hold,my shepherd will defend  me,

                                                  Through the deepest valley He will lead me on.

                                                   The night has been won,and I shall overcome,

                                                    Yet not I ,but through Christ in me'

                                                 (Words M Farren/R Thompson/ J Robinson)

The dark nigh of the soul. (Psalm 30 v 5) Psalm 23 ( 1)

In that wonderful 23 Psalm v 4, we  read,'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 they comfort me'. Let us consider first,

                                                   'Even though I walk through the valley

                                                    of the shadow of death

It was John of the cross who wrote a poem called, 'The dark night of the soul' it reminds us that even for the Christian there will be that dark night of the soul, brought about by different experience,the death of a loved one, being diagnosised as having a life threatening illness,of being rejected,and so many other things,it may last for a long time, It was Bill and Gloria Gather who wrote a song based on the words in Psalm 30 v 5 ,'Weeping may e(ndure for a night,but joy cometh in the morning'.

                                1    'If  you've knelt beside the rubble of an aching broken heart,

                                      When things you gve life to fall apart,

                                      You're not the first to be acquainted with sorrow,grief ,or pain,

                                       But the Master promised sunshine after rain.

                                2    Hold on my child ( Hold my child)

                                      Joy comes in the morning,weeping only lasts for the night,

                                       Hold on my child,(Hold on my child,)

                                      Joy comes in the morning,The darkest hour means dawn is

                                                                  Just in sight'

 

A bright future (Psalm 27)

The first line of a hymn goes, 'Sometimes a light surprises the Christian while he sings',well I  wasn't singing,I was coming out of a shop,after buying a news paper,when the words of Psalm 27 v13  came into my mind by the Holy Spirit ,'I had believed to see the goodness in the land of the living'.David who wrote that lovely Psalm,writes out of a situation were enemies abounded . He mention how cruel  they could be v 2, and how many they were v3 ,yet even if that was all true his confidence was in the Lord v3 .In verse 10 he declares that  even if his nearest and dearest would forsake him,the Lord won't, he could easily have given into despair, but for one thing , faith in His God  and he that he would see God's goodness in the land of the living. I do not know what dark hole you  may be in at this moment but the Lord who is your light will be your  salvation.(Ps 27v 1).No matter how many difficulties you may be facing God is greater than those difficulties. Wait on the Lord ,trust on the Lord,hope in the Lord,and you shall see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the living.

Jesus is a ( Colossians 1 v 13)

There is a little town in Northern Ireland about 18 mls from Belfast and it's famous for one thing,it has a lighthouse.Lighthouses have always been very important,even now they still important.Most modern lighthouses are not man by people ,technology has taken over.Consider the lives that  have been saved by  having lighthouses .In ancient days many ships  foundered on the rocks because there was no lighthouses.yes the lighthouse beam was a life saver.There is a modern song ,written by Ronnie Hinson  and portrays Jesus as being like a lighthouse,one of the verses reads like this,

                                               'And I thank God I owe my life to Him,

                                                Jesus is the lighthouse, and from the rocks of sin,

                                                He has shown a light around me,that I might clearly see,

                                                If it wasn't for the lighthouse,tell me where would 

                                                                        the ship be?'

The second  verse in Genesis 1 reads, 'Darkness was over the surface of the deep'we can apply that spiritually ,it appears that there is a darkness over all the world, it is in1 John 5 v19,we read,'that the whole world is under the control of the evil one'.Now that is an awful darkness, very scary, to be under the control of that evil being  known as the devil.He blinds people spiritually,he fills people hearts with so many things ,promising them so much that appears good,but he is a liar and the father of lies(John 8 v44) But praise God the Easter message tells of Jesus who came to rescue us and save us from our darkness. yes Jesus is a lighthouse shining brigthly over this world and those who follow Him shall not walk in darkness,but shall have the light of life (John 8 v12)

Friendship ( Proverbs 18 v24)

 Jim Reeves uesd to sing a song with the following words in it,' A stranger is just a friend you do not know',I wonder is that true?,I doubt it.Friendship is important to most people ,I have had a number of good friends during my life .I would also add I've had some that we're not so good,young people can get into  trouble by getting the wrong friends (Proverbs 12 v 26).I know a man who became my friend ,he said he would like like to come round and visit me,and that was it,and we have been friends ever since.He is a very dear Christian brother. We can be friendly with many people,and we should be,but that does not mean that they are our friends,a true friend is someone you have a relationship with, one who will stick with you,and help you  and likewise you will help them. I jokenly said to a friend of mine who had taken me to hospital appointments, 'why do you not become sick so I can take you to hospital oppointments? , he laughed'.One of lovely things Jesus said to the disciples 'You are my friends',imagine Jesus being your friend,now when we are talking about friendship with Jesus,it comes with a proviso, we must keep His commandments,and that we should love our fellow Christians. ( John 15 v12-17) and of course we should love Him.Why is that proviso there?because as Chuck Swindoll says 'Genuine  friendships are founded upon shared values and goals'.Amos 3 v3 tells us, 'Do two walk together unless they agreed to do so' one writer comments, 'At peace with each other'.or as Matthew Henry say's,'Where there is not friendship ,there cannot be no fellowship'.the whole idea is that of harmony. Just to add to this  if you want Jesus to be your friend ,He must first become your Saviour and your Lord.

Not worhy ( Ephesians 1 v 6)

 A friend of mine told me that after he got saved he went to church,but he felt unsettled thinking that he shouldn't be there,because he wasn't good enough,It's understandable as a new Christian one may  think that,but its wrong thinking,the fact is none of us are good enough,we are all without exception sinners saved by grace,we are all flawed, and none should forget,that we are only sinners saved by grace. There is no them and us,yes we are all in different degrees of sanctification,I have never met a perfect Christian oh yes I have known some lovely Christians ,and some not so lovely,but they are all Christians,and we are to love them all. John was known as the apostle of love,and writes very strong words against those who professed  to be Christians and don't love their fellow Christians,here is what he says,'Whoever claims to love God yet hates his brother or sister is a liar. For whoever  does  not love their brother and sister,whom they have seen,cannot love God,whom they have not seen.And He has given us this command; anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister'( 1 John 4 v20- 21)  We are being told very clearly what God expects of us all who profess to be Christians,that none of us are good enough,but we are all loved and accepted by the grace of God,let us not forget that.