The first section of Psalms has been called the Genesis Psalms.

They help us to realize that every good thing begins with God.

The Psalms provide a roadmap for the journey ahead.

In them, we learn to bring every emotion and experience of life

into the presence of God. Join Scott Pauley now as we study God's Word together.

Ask anyone what their favorite psalm is, and it's very likely you're going to hear someone say Psalm 23.

At the very least, it is perhaps the most famous of all the Psalms.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Most often, Psalm 23 is used when people are very ill and nearing the end of life,

sometimes at a funeral service.

It's almost like Psalm 23 has gotten connected just by use to death.

But I want to say to you today that Psalm 23 is not a song for death.

It is a song for life.

In fact, it is a song for every stage of your life.

We know that David wrote it, but we don't know exactly when this shepherd turned king wrote this

psalm. Did he write it sitting in the fields as a young man keeping watch over Jesse's sheep, perhaps?

Did he write it when he was sitting on the throne ruling over the southern kingdom for a number of years, waiting on God's perfect fulfillment

of the promise? Perhaps. Did he write it when he was sitting on the throne of Israel for all of those

years or near the end of his life looking back? We don't know. But one thing we do know is that

Psalm 23 does not make David the shepherd. It makes Christ the shepherd. I love that. The son of David,

the one who had come through David's line, the Lord Jesus is the one spoken of in Psalm 23.

It is not a pastor that is the shepherd. The pastor is just the undershepherd.

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