The Psalmist and the Anti-Psalmist - Psalm 23 (part 1)

Notice the difference between the Psalmist and the Anti-Psalmist.

In the next series of blogs, we will explore these differences ...

Which most speaks of who you are: The Psalmist? The Anti-Psalmist (A-P)?

I was once the Anti-psalmist.

Every line in the anti-psalm described how I felt about life and myself. The anti-psalm described who I was before faith, before hope, and before coming to know Jesus Christ.

Today, I am the psalmist.

Everything I need is found in my relationship with Jesus Christ ... my shepherd. In his love I have all I need ...

Psalm 23 - A psalm of David

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

A-P: I’m on my own. No one looks out for me or protects me. I experience a continual sense of need. Nothing's quite right.

² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

A-P: I’m always restless. I’m easily frustrated and often disappointed.

It’s a jungle –I feel overwhelmed. It’s a desert – I’m thisty.

³ he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

A-P: My soul feels broken, twisted, and stuck. I can’t fix myself.

I stumble down some dark paths.

Still, I insist: I want to do what I want, when I want, how I want

But life's confusing. Why don't things ever really work out?

⁴ 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.

A-P: I’m haunted by emptiness and futility – shadows of death.

I fear the big hurt and final loss.

Death is waiting for me at the end of every road,

But I’d rather not think about that.

I spend my life protecting myself. Bad things can happen.

I find no lasting comfort.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

A-P: I’m alone … facing everything that could hurt me.

Are my friends really friends? Other people use me for their own ends.

I can’t really trust anyone. No one has my back. I can’t even trust myself.

No one is really for me – except me.

And I’m so much… all about ME, sometimes it’s sickening.

I belong to no one – except myself.

My cup is never quite full enough. I’m left empty.

⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

A-P: Disappointment follows me all the days of my life.

Will I just be obliterated into nothingness?

Will I be alone forever, homeless, free-falling into void?

Sartre said “Hell is other people.”

I have to add, “Hell is also myself.”

It’s a living death,

And then I die.

We all are like sheep

We wander ... searching, seeking, longing for the flock we belong to and for the shepherd who can protect, provide, but more importantly love us for who we are.

Jesus Christ is that shepherd. He is the Good Shepherd ... who will carry you through the pain and strife of this life and guide you safely back to His home in heaven...

I was once a lost sheep, yet Jesus came to my rescue ... I was far from His flock, where I belonged, yet He still sought after me and found me in my helpless, hurting, hopeless frailty.

He can meet you wherever you are ... and if you are still reading this and don't know him ... He is gently trying to lead you back to Him ...back to the flock in which you belong.

There is no greater place to be ... than in the loving arms of Your Shepherd. For In Him, you'll not only find everything you need ... but you'll also find yourself...

"Anti-Psalm 23" written by Dr. David Powlison, professor at Westminster Theological Seminary and counselor at Christian Counseling Education Foundation since 1980. Also see commentary from David Powlison on Psalm 23 ... http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2009/07/25/antipsalm-23-vs-psalm-23/

Hope for the Helpless, Rest for The Weary, and Love for the Broken-Heart ...The Psalmist and the Anti-Psalmist - Psalm 23 (series)

I'm reminded that this blog is not my ministry, but the Lords'.

It is the Lord who guides anyone and everyone who will read this.

If you are reading this, it is not by chance or mere coincidence ... rather ... it is because God is drawing you near to himself, to his love, and to a saving faith in his Son Jesus Christ.

With this in mind ... I desire to remain faithful to my calling and stay committed to you (in Love) and ultimately to this ministry set fourth by Christ (in Love). Sadly, I've been so consumed with myself and becoming overwhelmed by things ... that I have missed out on this opportunity for blessing (others and really...myself).

For quite sometime now, God has been working in my heart through Psalm 23. Being a follower of Jesus doesn't make you perfect. I struggle and stumble just like everyone else. It's beyond humbling when you realize that I'm just like anyone else out there ... that really ... the only difference is that I have been saved by the Grace of God -- Because of His Love -- And in reality ... I belong to Christ and therefore follow Him.

It's crucial to understand who you are and to whom you belong. It has been a theme I have been stressing on this blog in recent "blogging".

In the next several blogs, I would like to explore this concept of belonging, in light of Psalm 23:

(a). The Psalmist - whose shepherd is the LORD God

(b). the Anti-Psalmist - the one who walks alone ... a lost sheep ... pretty much who I was before I discovered my identity and home in the loving presence of Jesus Christ.

I hope that by the end of this series of blogs ... that you will see ... that you belong to Jesus Christ and that you don't have to walk alone anymore.

I hope you will see ...

"There is Hope for the helpless, Rest for the weary, and Love for the broken heart. There is Grace and Forgiveness... Mercy and Healing and Jesus will meet you, wherever you are."

We all belong somewhere! Where do you belong?

We all belong somewhere? Where Do You Belong?

[John 10:24-30]

"The Jews gathered around Jesus, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

To whom do you belong?

Jesus states that there are two type's of people in life:

(a). Those who belong to him, given to him by his Father; His Sheep

(b). Those who don't belong to him; Not his sheep.

Likewise ...

There are those who live for God (love)

OR

those who live for themselves, a me-centered universe in which they make themselves God (sin).

Yet these two type's of people have one thing in common: Sin.

Do you have sin in your life?

I do. Everyday. I'm sinful and so are you. And because we are sinful, not one sin can be forgiven without consequences (or in God's eyes' the shedding of blood).

So that's where the Gospel of Jesus Christ comes into your life with utmost importance.

This is the gospel:

All have sinned. God is sinless. All sin had to be removed in order for anyone to live eternally with God, in God. God decided to sacrifice his life, through His Son, so that you could have life WITH HIM ETERNALLY. Therefore, God showed his love in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8-9). And it was on the basis of God's gift of saving grace through faith in his Son Jesus (Ephesians 2:8) ... that God would chose for himself ...a people (Romans 9:25-26) ... His Children ... His Sheep ... and a Family. A family and flock over whom He would shepherd, love, and call "his own" for all eternity.

This is the Gospel:

Sins are forgiven and eternal life is given to those who repent of their sins and place their faith, hope, and love in the person Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior over their life both now and forever.

I had no choice in what God has done in my life. He called me his own before the earth was created (Ephesians 1:4). Yet, for most of my life, I lived as an enemy to God. I did not believe in God and I lived for myself (worshipping myself through who I was in life) day in and day out. I did not know Christ, yet even in the days before I came to "know" Jesus as my Lord and Savior ... I still belonged to him ... I just didn't know it. I was always predestined in his love to be his own (Ephesians 1:5). Now, the question remains ... Are You?

So I say again: We all belong somewhere!

For Jesus Said, "My Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." [John 6:40]

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become Children of God ... born not of natural descent or a husband's will, but born of God" [John 1:12]

That is Grace. That is love. And that it the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That God rescues those who are sinners and those who do not deserve his forgiveness ... yet it is because of His love for you ... that He comes to you ... to call you his own. There is no greater love ... than Jesus Christ!

To Whom Do You Belong?