Funeral: "The continuity of God's Care" (Ps 23:1,6)

FUNERAL MEDITATION: "THE CONTINUITY OF GOD'S CARE" (Ps 23:1,6)

pdf

Dr. Paul Manuel—2008

Where below you read "the deceased" Pastor Manuel

inserted the name of the individual.

In Ps 23, David draws from his own experience and paints a vivid picture of pastoral life: the responsibility a shepherd has to protect and provide for his flock, the responsiveness of the sheep to follow the shepherd wherever he leads. David likens the shepherd's task to the protection and provision God offers to His people, and likens the flock's compliance to the obedience God expects from His people. In the first and final phrases of this psalm, especially, we see The Continuity of God's Care.

 

David opens the psalm with his...

 

I. Commitment (promise) to God's care

 

In David's early years, he was a shepherd, so he knew what tending a flock entailed. He knew that sheep do not fend for themselves very well, that they need direction:

• To find the most nourishing food sources and
• To survive the perilous conditions of life in the wilderness.

David compares the needs sheep have to the needs people have.

• Like sheep, people need help in finding the most nourishing food sources, not just for physical sustenance but for spiritual sustenance as well.
• Like sheep, people need help surviving the perilous conditions of life, not just the normal uncertainties but situations that press one's physical limits and tax one's emotional reserves.

David's own experiences, as a shepherd, as a military leader, and even as a king made him familiar with such needs and with the importance of relying on God to meet those needs. So David's opening statement in this poem is his commitment to God's care: "The LORD is my shepherd" (Ps 23:la).

I had the privilege of knowing the deceased for ten years and, while that was a relatively short portion of his one hundred plus years, we had many opportunities to talk about spiritual matters. I did not know this psalm was one of his favorite biblical passages, but I would not have found that surprising. Ps 23 is a favorite for many people. What I did not realize until recently, however, is that he made it a regular part of his devotions, something he would recite every evening before retiring. That practice speaks to the commitment he made to God's care, that like David, the deceased was dependent on Him as his shepherd:

• To help him find the most nourishing food sources, and
• To help him survive the perilous conditions of life.

Like David, the deceased could say and did say repeatedly, "The LORD is my shepherd."

 

After describing the various ways God meets the needs of those who commit themselves to His care, David closes the psalm with the assurance he has, his continuing...

 

II. Confidence in God's care (provision)

 

As David writes this poem, he can recall the many ways God had proven His ability to provide, especially in difficult times:

• When a lion threatened his flock,
• When Goliath threatened his people,
• When Saul threatened his life.

David could recall many such instances when God supplied what was necessary at the time—be it courage or strength or endurance—when God made His presence and provision unmistakably clear. Having had those experiences enabled David to look ahead with assurance that the shepherd who had lead him through his life here would bring him to a glorious rest after his life here, enabling him to say with a confidence bolstered by experience: "I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever" (Ps 23:6b).

 

In his century of life, the deceased could probably recall many ways God had proven His ability to provide, especially in difficult times. When I came to know him, the deceased had already suffered the loss of his son and a spouse. In the last decade, he suffered the loss of his hearing, his sight, and another spouse. Despite those hardships, I never saw his confidence in God's care waver. Whether the need was for courage or strength or endurance or something else, God made His presence and provision unmistakably clear. Having had those experiences enabled the deceased, like David, to look ahead with assurance that the shepherd who had lead him through life here would bring him to a glorious rest after his life here. The deceased is now enjoying the reality of that rest and can say with a confidence bolstered by experience: "I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

 

If the deceased were to leave a message for his family and friends, it might be the message of Ps 23 and The Continuity of God's Care, that a commitment to God's care now builds a confidence in God's care later.

For a pdf see here.