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Voice Of Prophecy

H.M.S. Richards

The Twenty-third Psalm

From Los Angeles, California, we present the program of The Voice of Prophecy, A voice crying in the wilderness of these latter days, prepare ye the way of the Lord.

♪ Coming again, coming again, Jesus is coming again.

♪ We invite you to listen to our broadcast today and share with us the mutual blessing and inspiration of this hour together.

Speed away, speed away, over mountain and sea, To the hearts that are waiting with welcome for thee.

There are eyes that will gleam with the glad gospel light.

There are feet that will walk in the pathway of right.

There are voices to sing praise to Jesus the King.

Speed away, speed away, with the love of thy Lord, With the glorious tidings revealed in His Word.

Bear the Bethlehem story with gladness to men.

Feed the world to prepare for His coming again.

Free salvation proclaim through Emmanuel's name.

O Lord, our almighty King O Lord, our almighty King and Heavenly Father, We beseech thee to so guide those in authority and command thy watch care over those in national service, that freedom and happiness may be multiplied in the earth.

And thy gospel of the kingdom preached in all the world unto all nations.

O Lord, the strength of all who put their trust in thee.

All we like sheep have gone astray, but now We return unto thee, the shepherd of our souls.

Mercifully accept our prayers and grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping thy commandments we may please thee both in will and deed, and be brought at last to thy heavenly fold, through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.

A place where sin cannot molest, Dear to the heart of God.

In our mailbag we find hundreds of letters from mothers and fathers requesting us to mail Voice of Prophecy sermons to their sons and daughters in military service, and we are happy to comply with these requests.

Whenever a free sermon in printed form is offered by the Voice of Prophecy broadcast, be sure to ask for a copy for yourself or some loved 1.

Not every sermon is available, but at least twice a month, special radio messages are mailed to the field.

Here's a letter from a mother in Massachusetts.

She writes to us very enthusiastically, Thank you for sending my son James the sermon.

This morning's letter from him states that he has received the sermon, read it and enjoyed it.

He is in a hospital for the detention of patients in England.

Well, we are happy to provide these free gospel radio talks to our servicemen, hospitalized or otherwise.

Write to us, giving your name and address, or that of some friend or relative, and we will gladly mail the sermon absolutely free.

But remember to listen for the announcement each week as only 2 printed sermons are offered to the public each month.

It is our prayer that these Christian messages of hopes, the sermons of the Voice of Prophecy, will draw many of God's sheep nearer to the Good Shepherd.

I feed in green pastures, safefolded I rest.

Ye leadeth my soul where the still waters flow, When wonders flow.

Restores me when wandering, Redeems when oppressed.

Let goodness and mercy, my bountiful God, Still follow my steps till I meet thee above.

Till I meet thee above, I seek by the path which my forefathers trod, Through the land of their soldiers, the kingdom of love.

Let us all repeat together the beautiful 23rd Psalm.

The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.

He leadeth me in the paths 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, 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 and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." This twenty-third psalm is the most widely known scripture.

It is memorized and repeated in all lands.

It is the universal psalm, the chief psalm, the pearl of psalms.

It holds the central place in an unbroken Trinity formed by the 22nd, the 23rd, and the 24th psalms, which present our Lord Jesus Christ in 3 positions.

In the 22nd Psalm, the so-called Psalm of Sobs, he is the good shepherd who gave his life for the sheep.

In the 23rd Psalm, he is the great shepherd, who in resurrection power leads his sheep.

And in the twenty-fourth psalm he is the chief shepherd, who will return in glory.

Only a shepherd could have written the twenty-third psalm, and David was a shepherd.

The Lord is the shepherd of his people, and they are his sheep, so David said.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

The Lord is my shepherd, no want shall I know.

I feed in green pastures, safe folded I rest.

Healeth my soul where the still waters flow, restores me when wandering, redeems when oppressed.

In eastern lands the shepherd goes before his flock, he leads them.

So the sheep in this beautiful psalm, the flock of the Lord, are those who follow him.

Jesus said, as we read in John 10, 27, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Then you can repeat the twenty-third Psalm, and know that it's yours.

All believers can say, We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

We do not naturally belong to the Lord's flock.

We are orphans and need to be brought into the fold of the true shepherd.

Some time ago 1 of our national magazines carried the story of a young lady from the south who had married a Western sheep rancher.

1 of the incidents that she relates is the adoption of an orphan lamb by its foster mother.

When a mother sheep dies, leaving a lamb, the shepherd must find another mother that will adopt it, or accept it.

First, she looks for a sheep that has recently lost her own lamb.

Then he skins the dead lamb, being careful to remove the skin as whole as possible.

Puts it over the little orphan like a coat.

This strange-looking baby is put with a foster mother, who, when she sniffs it, thinks she smells her own lamb, because of the coat that the orphan is wearing.

So she accepts it, and cares for it as her own.

We did not belong to God's flock, but through the death of His Lamb, we are clothed in the robe of His righteousness, and are able to enter the true fold.

Our Saviour is not only the Lamb, He is the Shepherd too, the Good Shepherd, who giveth His life for the sheep.

The picture of the divine shepherd leading his flock fills the first 4 verses of the 23rd Psalm.

There is a sort of double progress in these verses which rises from memories of his care in the past, the experiences of God's present care for us, and our hope for the future.

In other words, what was, what is, and what will be.

The other part of The picture in these 4 verses gives the different methods that God uses in leading his flock.

Or we might say the various regions through which he leads them are described in order.

Rest, strange to say, in the past, work in the present, and sorrow, the valley of the shadow, still to come.

The psalmist puts rest and refreshment first, because this is the way God deals with us so often.

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The Twenty-third Psalm

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