Pastor Tom Horn's sermon on 'The Care of the Shepherd in Psalm 23' explores the profound spiritual truths encapsulated in this well-known psalm. He emphasizes that the shepherd, identified as Jehovah, provides for the deepest needs of his sheep, which include peace, restoration, deliverance from death, and protection from enemies. Pastor Horn highlights that outside of the care of the Shepherd, there is only wrath and fury. He identifies Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd who fulfills these needs by providing legal peace with God, restoring souls, delivering from spiritual death, and offering grace and mercy. The sermon stresses that while the sheep have many needs, the greatest need is for peace with God and that Jesus Christ is the Shepherd who can meet these needs. The ultimate purpose of the Shepherd's care is to bring believers into a relationship with God, where they can dwell in His presence forever.

Tonight we rejoice in the privilege to come and take part in your conference. And I would bring greetings in the name of Elk Grove Baptist Church in Gwendolyn, Georgia, but most of them are here, so they can greet you themselves. It's certainly a blessing. We rejoice to have people who love to hear, to be with God's people, to hear God's word. What a blessing that is as a pastor especially.

I would just say how in the world do you follow a message like we just heard, But my text follows the message we just heard. And to be quite honest with you, my text ignited the foundation of it. The very care of the shepherd is founded on the message we just heard. The Christ of the message that we just heard. Outside of Him, there is no care for us.

There's wrath and the fury of God. That's all there is outside of the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. Psalm 23, and indeed that subject tonight is the care of the shepherd. The care of the shepherd. Verse 1, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

For thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness, we could say His goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

This psalm is probably one of the most popular and well-known portions of Scripture in God's Word. So what can we say that has already not been said? We know this portion of Scripture, most of us could at least quote it if we could quote it. We love it, we love it just for its beautiful poetry. The words themselves give us comfort.

But as you study God's word, because it is God's word, You realize this passage, like all of the rest of God's Word, is more than just beautiful poetry. There is within this passage deep, essential, really inexhaustible truth found in these words. It begins in verse 1 by drawing a picture, the Holy Spirit does, by drawing a picture, an allegory of a shepherd and his sheep. And this shepherd is a great shepherd. Lord is his name.

We might could say God, because literally the Hebrew word is Jehovah. Jehovah is the name of the shepherd. That's who this shepherd is. He is Jehovah. This shepherd, He owns the ability and wisdom to perfectly supply for every need.

He owns the ability and wisdom, not just the ability, the wisdom also, to provide for every need. I mentioned this morning or tonight as I could sense a lot of stress over the pizza. We all thought we needed pizza. Guess what? We didn't.

That's right. We didn't. Our shepherd is the perfect shepherd that gives us our every need. And we didn't have it so we didn't need it. Sometimes the Lord puts His word, He puts it to test in our lives.

He tests that faith that we say that we have. The Lord is in control. Well, the Lord our God, the Lord the shepherd, he is the God of perfect wisdom, perfect ability, and that's wonderful news because the shepherd's sheep we see here in this passage are very needy sheep. They're very needy, God's sheep are very needy sheep. Yes we are, aren't we?

We are very needy sheep. I'm sure that we can go around this room tonight and we can fill a whole page of needs from health needs to physical needs to family needs to financial needs and we could go on and on and on. We could fill up a notebook of needs even among us in this room. But we should know that though these needs are great these needs that we might write down in that book and they are real I'm not saying they're not They are not our greatest needs They're not our greatest needs, but you know what the Shepherd this great Shepherd he knows that He knows that we may think Whoa, I just I really need Lord a piece of pizza. But the Lord knows we have greater needs than that.

As a matter of fact, you may have never noticed it here before, but there are some needs alluded to and spoken of in this passage, and these are our greatest needs. What are you talking about here? So first tonight, I want us to consider the problems, the problems in the Psalms. You might say problems, yes. There are some real problems here, some real needs that these sheep have.

Real needs. And that these needs must be and can only be met by this shepherd. So really before we can see the great height of the care of the shepherd, we have to see the extent of the needs of his sheep. Let's really know the needs, our needs, the true needs. We won't know how great a savior we have.

Listen, in today's modern religion, people don't need a very great savior. Not in religion, I mean, they do most of it themselves. What need do they have of a great savior if they can do it themselves? They don't know the true need, that's what they think. So they don't need a great Savior, they think.

But I don't think that's what this passage reveals to us. Let's take a look. Beginning at verse two. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. The shepherd, that's what he does.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. How could we describe what this is saying? I would say that it's peace. When you say that, we need peace.

I think that's the description that makes me lie down in grief. We get this picture in our mind of that. He leadeth me beside the still with quiet waters. That's peace. The thing about it is, when we put this together with the rest of God's work we find out that this is not just a state of melancholy peace.

No as a matter of fact if God, the shepherd were to supply just melancholy peace we would still be in need we would still lack, we couldn't say as verse one says that I shall not want or I shall not lack, shall not need. No, what we need is peace. Our greatest need is peace with God Himself. Every single person in this room needs peace with God Himself because every single person in this room was born into this world and we live in this world and in this life in our natural state where we're born and we live at war at enmity with God. You might say no no I don't believe that I'm not at war with God but God tells you that you are.

As we're born into this world he says the carnal mind is that infancy with God. And every one of us are born into this world with that carnal mind. It is that infancy with God. Well, no, I've progressed further than that. You know, we live in a progressive world.

It's not like that anymore. Well, the scripture says that you're born that way with this mind at war with God and you can't change it. Because it says it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So yes you are. All of us are born into this world in our natural state, in our natural mind, at war, at enmity with God.

We sin against God. We sin against our Creator. Let me just ask anyone here to never sin? Come on now, get those hands up. Anyone here never sinned?

Well not one. There's not one here without sin. So that proves the point. This is proof we need peace. Well I've not sinned that bad, You've sinned.

You've sinned. You've sinned against God. You've sinned against your Creator. We need peace. Our most desperate need of peace is this peace with God.

It's not just a feeling of peacefulness. It is actually a position of legal peace before God. Sin, sin in all its forms, sin at every level, stirs God's wrath against us. It causes his justice to pull his sword out to strike us. That's what sin does.

We need peace. We have declared war with the Almighty. We need peace. Matter of fact, look at verse 3. He restored my soul.

He lead me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Notice that doesn't say he restored my body. He restored my soul because we have a need that is much greater than physical restoration. We need the restoration of the soul. We need the restoration of that which is eternal within us.

That which is eternal within us has been ruined by sin, desperately, hopelessly ruined by sin. It desperately needs to be rescued. We can't even restore our bodies, can we? We can't. Some of y'all need an overhaul.

You're not sufficient for that, are you? No, no I'm not. Let alone restore our souls. Let alone restore our souls. We can't restore our souls.

We can't look at it because of verse 4. Yea, though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me. By Rod and my staff, they comfort me. We can't because we have a need. You see the need?

We have a need to be delivered from death. A need to be delivered from death. A need to be delivered from death. Not just death of the body, not just death of the body, but spiritual death and separation from God. Our greatest need is that we be delivered from spiritual death.

Remember Ephesians 2, 1, and Ye have be quickened who were dead, and trespasses and sin. That's death. That's the death that we desperately need to be delivered from. And again, we can't even deliver ourselves from physical death. You realize all of us are dying in this room.

There is a day at point in which all of us will, these bodies will be laid down. We can't stop that. So will we deliver ourselves from spiritual death? You might say, well no, you shouldn't even have to ask that question. Well, you do, because people believe, or at least in the way they're thinking, in the way they're talking, in the way they're living, they believe they can.

But You can't. You can't. Matter of fact, the Lord told Nicodemus, you must be born again. That's delivered from that death. And without that, you can't even perceive the Kingdom of God.

You can't even perceive, you can't even see the things of God. The reality that is about us. And verse five. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Thou have moistened my head with oil, my cup runneth over me.

Did you know that you have enemies? You have enemies that you need to be delivered from. All of us have enemies. Perhaps it's enemies of this world. All of us as the Lord's people have enemies in the heavens, powers and principalities in high places.

Even Satan himself is our enemy. Make no mistake about it. He is your enemy. He is your enemy. He is a friend to no one, even his own servants.

And death, death is an enemy like we talked about. It's coming for all of us. It's an enemy. Matter of fact, scripture says that death is the last enemy that will be destroyed. But you know another great enemy that we all have, and we may be more affected by that enemy, this enemy than any other, and that is self.

We need to be delivered from the enemy, we need to be saved, we need to be rescued from the enemy of self, of ourselves. Robert 14-12, there is a way that seems right in the man. There's a way that I believe is right. That's what self says. I just believe that's right.

I know what that book says, I know what the church says, but I just believe there's a way that, you know, the way I think. There's that way that seems right unto man, for the end thereof are the ways of death. Scripture tells us the heart, but mind itself, if you will, is desperately wicked and who can know it? Let me just give you an example of just how great this enemy is. We're looking here tonight at the Word of God, and He's telling us of our greatest needs through the lattice of this passage here.

Gar-Flesh may be saying, I don't really believe all this stuff. I hear what he's saying, but he doesn't know me. He doesn't know me. I'm an okay guy. I'm a good girl.

I just need to keep being good, just do the best I can, and I'll be okay. But our Creator, our God, who knows us inside and out and everything else inside and out, He's telling us here, and He tells us not just here, but all through His Book, That we have desperate needs that only he can supply Only he can supply our flesh though. This is all that's not okay. I'm doing alright May the Lord give us grace to hear our Creator. Amen.

May He give us grace to hear this great shepherd of the sheep and to know this, look at verse 6, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. We need, we must have the goodness, the free grace, the free favor and mercy of God. We must have it. We must have it. We need infinitely more than we can supply.

We need infinitely more than we can do. We need infinitely more than we can be. We desperately need what only God the lawgiver can give, what only He can supply, and that is mercy and grace. We need it every moment. We need just like the passage says to be pursued by it We must be or all that was lost We must be He He our God this shepherd.

He has to love us. He has to give us mercy. He has to give us grace. He has to accept us. He must come to us and rescue us and give us life and keep us and seal it.

If He doesn't, we're all ruined. If he doesn't do it, we're all ruined. And not one of us will survive if he doesn't do it. You see this passage is not just pretty poetry. No, it's the declaration of our greatest need.

But also, look. Look at this. It is also the glorious declaration that there is this shepherd. There is This shepherd who can and will and is able and sufficient to supply every one of these most desperate needs. That's glorious news.

There is a shepherd that can supply every one of these needs. And he tells us. He tells us. This shepherd can give us positional peace with God. This shepherd can give us restoration of our fallen souls.

This shepherd can deliver us from spiritual death and separation. This shepherd can deliver a rescue and keep us from all of our great enemies. This shepherd, he will give us mercy and grace and pursue us with this mercy and grace that we might have the Lord Jehovah Himself. I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That we write, and I really know that.

What a shepherd. Do you know the shepherd? Do you have the shepherd? Is he your shepherd? If you have him, if you have him, if all of your hope rests upon him, you can know, You can know and you can rest and you can believe what the scripture says and what it's teaching here.

You can know. I shall not want. I shall not lack. All of my needs, these great essential, unsearchable needs are provided for. If you have the shepherd.

Now you might say, well I see I have these great, desperate needs. I know I can't provide these things for myself. I am a sinner. I need mercy, but you might ask, who is this shepherd that I can know of? How can I know?

How can I have actually really know? I mean really know. This shepherd of the 23rd Psalm. Well, we see the problems of the Psalm. Now let's look not secondly at the person of the Psalm.

It says here, the Lord, Jehovah is my shepherd. But let me introduce you to him personally actually not me but God's own word hold your spot here and go over to John chapter 10 John chapter 10 Here in this passage we know exactly who is talking here. In verse 7 of John chapter 10 it says, Then said Jesus unto them. And he begins to speak. In John 10 and verse 11, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one that brother Troy just spoke about, he said these words, I am the good shepherd.

I am the good shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. I am the Good Shepherd. And jump down to verse 14. Again he says, I am the Good Shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine, or of my sheep.

As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep, and other sheep I have which are not of this fold, and not just a Jew fold, but a Gentile fold as well. Then also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd, and one shepherd." Who's the shepherd? Jesus Christ. And I'm the shepherd, and there's going to be one shepherd. Therefore, does my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down on myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. Isn't the Word of God, isn't the Lord wonderful?

This most familiar psalm that has been declared throughout the world. This most familiar song that has been declared through thousands of years. Thousands of years. This song that declares the great overwhelming problems that we have, but it also declares a Savior that can meet our needs, a Shepherd that can overcome these problems. And then he comes along here in his same word and he tells us exactly who the Shepherd of all shepherds is.

Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. I am him. It's the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He's the shepherd. He's the shepherd of the 23rd Psalm.

Now that ought to give our attention. I say that because it sure got the attention of the herd on this day. When he said that, look at verse 19, there was a division therefore again among the Jews for the saints. It got their attention. As a matter of fact, If you go over to verse 24, this seems to be a time after, I don't know if it was hours, days, or whatever, but it says in verse 24, Then came the Jews round about him and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt?

If thou be the Christ, tell us finally. And Jesus answered them, I told you, and you believe me not, the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness to me, but you believe me not because what? You are not my sheep as I said unto you, my sheep, he came right back to this truth, didn't he? That he's the shepherd. When he said he was the good shepherd, they knew exactly what he was talking about.

They're in line with him. They're right back to the 23rd Psalm. They knew, they understood. He said, I'm this good shepherd, but you're not my sheep. Well, that got the go.

Look at verse 31, the Jews then took up stones again to stone him. Took up stones again to stone him. The Apostle Paul, the book of Hebrews, under the inspiration of the Spirit, said that Jesus Christ himself was the great shepherd of the sheep. What great shepherd do you think Paul was talking about? He was talking about the shepherd of the song.

That's the shepherd he was talking about. The shepherd that meets every need, that has the ability and the wisdom to meet all of our needs, every one of these great, great, great, great needs of his sheep. As a matter of fact, Let me give us a quick run down here. We won't turn here. You can write them down and go to look later.

Watch this. Sheep, we need peace, don't we? We need legal peace with God. That's our greatest need of peace. It's not a feel-good peace, it's a legal peace.

God's wrath has been stirred against our sin. Romans 5 verse 4, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the legal peace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in the ninth verse it says, much more than being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. That's the peace, you see?

That's The satisfaction of the wrath of God's sin has stirred his wrath. But the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all iniquity, it puts away our sin and peace for God comes to us through Him. We need our souls restored, don't we? Our souls saved, our souls rescued. 1 Peter 1, 8, whom having not seen you love, you know who this talking about?

The man Christ Jesus. In whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Even the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 2, 24, who his own self bear our sins in his own body. Who's that?

The Lord Jesus on the tree. That we being dead to sin should live under righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray but are now returned to the shepherd and bishop of what? Of your souls. That's the passage there talks about the restoring that our souls need that restoration of our souls and guess what?

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only shepherd and bishop of souls that God's Word knows He's the only one Sure, not you, but you're not me. You're not a preacher. You're not a priest with a white collar The Lord Jesus Christ is the only one. He's the only one. See?

We need to be saved from death. Hebrews 2.14 speaking of that all superior savior, the Lord Jesus Christ says, for as much thin as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He Christ also Himself likewise took part of the same, that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. You know why we are delivered from the fear of death? Because we have been delivered from death itself. Amen.

And that's through the Lord Jesus Christ. Because He came and died. Colossians 2, 12, buried with him in baptism Christ again. The Lord Jesus Christ, the man Christ Jesus, wherein also you are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God who raised him from the dead, and you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, he has made us alive with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. That is deliverance from death.

Matter of fact, the passage we just read in John 10, verse 27, Lord Jesus Christ said, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life. I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man put them out of my hand. We need to be rescued from death, death now, death forever and only life can do that. You understand? Only life can do that.

Well, this shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ himself, he is life himself. He is. Sheep, we need to be saved from our enemies, right? Well, consider this. The Apostle Paul, we have much of his life recorded for us and he knew some enemies, didn't he?

He certainly knew the Satan's assault, he certainly knew the enemies of this world and of the world's religion. But as far as I know, you can tell me if I'm wrong here, as far as I know, there's only one time in scripture that he is exasperated. One time by an enemy. He said, oh, wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from this body of death?

So once I tell this, that means the Apostle Paul himself found that his own self to be one of his greatest enemies, if not his greatest enemy. His self. And what was his comfort? Who could deliver? How would this assaulting enemy be conquered?

The next verse he says, I thank God. God will deliver me. But how? Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Matter of fact, back over to the 23rd Psalm, as I was reading verse five, I just couldn't help but think this.

Thou preparest the table before me in the presence of my enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over." You know what he's saying there? He's our friend in the midst of enemies. He's our friend in the midst of enemies. And with a friend like him, what is an enemy?

You know, if you've heard him say it, with friends like you who needs enemies well with a friend like Jesus Christ this great shepherd what is an enemy He will deliver us from our enemies, whatever they may be. Sheep, we need goodness, even grace and mercy, right? Ephesians 2 and verse 4, But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace you are saved, and hath raised us up together and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might shoo the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness towards us through Christ Jesus. Oh, how we do need mercy, how we do need grace.

But do you hear that passage that is read to you? Jesus Christ is God's only channel for such gifts. He is God's only fountain, if you will, because He is the very person, the Lord Jesus Christ is the good shepherd. He is the very person of the shepherd. And she, we need the Lord Jehovah himself.

We need the Lord Jehovah himself. Well we've seen the problems of the psalm, the person of the psalm. Now finally, let's see the pursuit of the psalm. How desperately we all need to see this. How desperately I need to see this.

How desperately we all need to see this. How desperately I need to see this. How desperately we all need to live in this pursuit. You know, we need peace with God, but not just for the sake of peace. We need our souls saved, but not just for salvation's sake.

And what I mean by that, not just to say, well, I'm saved. I'm a Christian. We need to be saved from death, but not just so that we can live our life. We need to be saved from our enemies, even self, but not just so that we can be saved from a struggle or from affliction. We need God's mercy and grace, but not just for the sake of the gifts of God.

No, all of these things are the means to the greatest and highest end. And that greatest and highest end is so that we might know and we might have, and yes, we might even enjoy God and His great glory forever. And in doing so, so that God might be glorified in His saints forever. That's the greatest and the highest living. But we are so pitiful, sickeningly religious creatures, us saints.

I know predominantly I'm talking to saints tonight and I'm talking to us. We are so sickenly religious that God would give us these great gifts. God would fulfill our every need and we, even us, we worship and idolize what he gives us instead of worshiping the shepherd and the God and the Savior who has given them to us. We love sovereign grace don't we? Yeah.

Do we realize the sovereign grace is not the end but the means? Right. To God. Amen. To Him.

How many times has this song, this song been sang and this song read and this song preached by even us and the whole point be missed. The whole point because the Lord Himself, the shepherd is the focus. Not us, not the sheep. Look down there at Psalm 23 in your Bible, can you see all the personal pronouns? Verse 2, he, he, verse 3, he, he, his, verse 4, thou, thy, thy, verse 5, thou, thou, verse 6, it's really his, surely his goodness and mercy shall follow me.

The Lord he is for battle by by first-time out out first six it's really his his business shop the world itself is the focus dot provides all of these essential needs in us, for us. He gives us these glorious gifts. He pursues us yesterday, today, and forever with His mercy and His goodness. Listen to what I'm about to say. All and everything Christ has done and is doing for us is to bring us to God Himself.

So that we might come to God Himself. He, our God, the Lord Jehovah, He is our exceeding great reward. Not these things. These things are exceeding great, but there is someone greater than these gifts. It is our God who has given them to us.

He is our exceeding break reward. He is what our hearts desire. He is. You may not know it. Surely this world doesn't know it, but saints, we don't know it so much of the time in our lives.

It does not, our lives do not profess this truth that the Lord is the pursuit of our life. I am so thankful that God saved me. I am so thankful that God put me into one of his churches. I am so thankful that he called me to preach in the pastor. But if I miss the point of all of that, I'm nothing more than an idolater, a religionist.

That's all I am. Because the point of all of it is God himself. It's Himself. He is the pursuit of it all. The Lord our God.

The point is, let me just read what I've written here. The point is that us, dead and dying, sinful, defiled, useless, good for nothing, stinking corpses are being amazingly and freely loved and rescued and brought to life and being made new and changed and enabled to be able to do what we were created to do. And that is to enter into the very presence of our God and Creator and completely love Him and completely praise Him and worship Him and be completely filled with the glorious, all satisfying fullness of God in Christ. He, God Himself is the pursuit. He is.

Oh that He would be our pursuit. That He would be our pursuit. Is He your pursuit? Is He? I want you to see, and I'll close, I'm done.

This is, He is the ultimate end of the shepherds care, of Jesus Christ care. It says it right here, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That's the end of it. Everything else was to that end. That we would truly dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

That He would finally be our greatest and highest prize. Amen. He is, we may not know of him, but he is, oh, the Lord and the hand who teach us. Amen. He is the great end of all of us.

He is He Himself. Amen. He does eat himself. Amen.