The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: 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 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 and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Psalm 23 is certainly one of the best known passages of Holy Scripture and it has been called part of “The Holy Trilogy in Psalms”:
The Cross: Psalm 22
The Crook: Psalm 23
The Crown: Psalm 24
Each of these are Messianic Psalms; they tell of Christ and His life and work. They are thought to be Messianic by the nature of their content, or because the New Testament writers referred to them to teach about Christ. The 23rd Psalm fits both of these criteria. It portrays Jesus as the Good Shepherd and it tells about His love for his flock
The Shepherd Cares for Us:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want”
Our Lord is called a Shepherd here; He is like a human shepherd, only better than any we know. He cares for His people, the sheep of His pasture. The fact He is MY Shepherd gives a personal dimension that makes Him different than any other religious figure or even any celebrity
It is a common thing for a person to meet a celebrity whom they have adored for years only to find that celebrity is not interested in them at all. This can be a very discouraging and even an emotionally crushing event. But for us, our Shepherd is not like that at all. He cares for us individually.
Because our Shepherd cares for us, He will not allow us to want. He loves us and He has the power to provide for us. Therefore, He will provide for us; we will not lack in Him!
The Shepherd Feeds Us:
“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”
The most basic need of a flock is to be fed. David wrote this Psalm during the days of the open range. There were no fences; there was no bailing of hay. The shepherd had to find His sheep green pastures. In the same way, God provided manna to Israel and Jesus fed the 5,000. But these are examples of physical food. Jesus has something even better for His flock!
Jesus feeds His sheep with His Word: The Word of God is the bread of life; it tells us how to live and why to live. It tells us how to live with God and man and with ourselves. We need to feed on His Word regularly.
It is common knowledge that people should eat regularly for good health. The same is true for the study of God’s Word. We also need to remember that worship is not the same as Bible study. In worship you give honor to God, but in Bible study you get fed by Him!
The Shepherd Leads Us:
“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”
Once we are fed we need exercise. Too often we live to eat rather than eating to live!
Our Shepherd gives us food to enjoy, but He also wants to give us strength. If we eat abundantly without equally abundant exercise we will become obese and sick. Spiritually, this is also true. Not only do we need to be fed God’s Word, but we also need to exercise our faith!
As we exercise our faith, Christ leads us into restoration. He leads us into a place of calmness and contentment. He rebuilds our souls and gives us spiritual health. He does this time and time again. Like ships need to be dry docked for up-keep and repairs so that they can navigate rough waters, so do we need to be led to a place of restoration.
Ships, of course, are not built just to stay in port. They are intended to sail the seas. In the same way, Christ also leads us out into the world to the paths of righteousness. This means living a righteous way of life and doing the things we are called by God to do. These exertions can be spiritually challenging and draining, so we must draw on our spiritual fatness in service to God.
Some of the most challenging training provided by the U.S. Army is the nine-week Ranger School conducted at Fort Benning, GA. In this physically and mentally draining course, soldiers often lose dozens of pounds, so they are encouraged to report for the course at or near their maximum allowable weight for their height. They prepare for the difficult training ahead by feeding on healthy, nutritious food. God’s Word is the spiritual equivalent for His flock!
The Shepherd Protects Us:
“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.”
This world is a dangerous place, it is broken and sinful and it does not work as intended. People are sinful and do wrong things, but also sometimes accidents just happen. For example, a large flatbed truck with a huge bulldozer couldn’t negotiate a sharp turn and smashed into a house. The owner was relaxing in his living room when when he was crushed by the truck!
Sheep need protection. They have no natural weapons and they lack the natural guile of their goat cousins. They are hapless, helpless, and hopeless, as are we! Being compared to sheep is not really a compliment!
The good news is that our Shepherd provides the protection we need. This is an integral part of a shepherd’s role. The crook is used to guide the sheep but also to defend them from predators. Christ protects us both here and in eternity, and we can trust Him with our past, our present, and our future! As Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:12:
“For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”
The Shepherd Celebrates with Us:
“ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”
Jesus wants us to celebrate Him and with Him. The words used here imply a tremendous party.
There is a table full of food. There is drink to overflowing. There is perfume and party attire. This is like a Jewish wedding feast and it foreshadows the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which we will celebrate in Heaven.
But there is something strange about this party; it takes place in front of the enemy! Usually, when confronted by the enemy, you don’t party. If you do, you will be caught out and defeated.
In fact, during the Civil War, one of the key battles in Atlanta campaign began when Confederate officers were at a party. It did not end well for their regiments!
When the wolf is at the door you don’t sit down for supper, so this shows the overwhelming power of our Shepherd: He can eat and celebrate AND protect His sheep at the same time. This is effortless for Him!
The Shepherd Brings Us Home:
“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.”
To be homeless is a terrible thing. You have no place to rest or sleep. You have no place to find friends and have community. You have no secure place for your possessions, which is why homeless people will often be found wearing several layers of clothes even in the summer time. Homeless people are like cut flowers; they have no roots to sustain and nurture them.
Christian’s know that the world is not our ultimate home. In fact, we are on a journey here on this world that will not really end until we see our Shepherd face to face. The good news for us is that He has provided us a home! In fact, He has given us two homes!
Christ went ahead of us to make a place for us in heaven. Until we meet Him in the air, the church has remained behind to create a place for us here on Earth. So, in the end it does not matter: either here or in heaven we can share the joys of God’s house.
Conclusion:
We often forget that the early church had a Bible which consisted of what we now call the Old Testament. They did not need a written New Testament in the first few years of God’s church because they had access to the eyewitnesses to Jesus. They had the testimony from the Old Testament which foretold the coming of the Messiah, the prophecies of which they knew applied to Jesus. The 23rd Psalm is part of that Bible that the early church used for discipleship, devotion, and worship.
In Psalm 22, David told of his vision of the Christ. For us, this was a look into the past to remind us of what Christ did for us. Today, as we looked at the 23rd Psalm, we see what God is doing for us now through Christ. If we would look forward to Psalm 24, we would see what God will do for us in the future through Jesus.
Psalm 23 is a vision of our true hope. The God of all the universe cares for us and He provides for us. Today He is calling us to allow him to be Our Shepherd, both now and in the future! Won’t you enter into the sheepfold?
Every blessing,
Dr. Otis Corbitt
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