On a general
note, Psalm 23 is perhaps the most often quoted scripture. Apart from John
3:16, this Psalm 23 and the "Lord's Prayer" in Mathew 6 and Luke 11
rank as the most quoted scriptures. But it does not necessarily mean that they
are well understood.
David was a lover
of God, His name even means "beloved". This Psalm 23 was a song of a
lover to His Lover. It was not just one of those songs, but it was an
expression of David's CONFIDENT Trust in God. Psalm 23 was a song of a LOVER of
God and of one who was loved by God.
The LORD is my
shepherd; I shall not want.
One could
literally sense the tone of ASSURANCE in those words of David. When the Lord is
our Shepherd, we can be sure to have all we need. One translation says, NOTHING
SHALL I LACK. Another version says, I AM NEVER IN NEED. Yet another one
beautifully puts it this way, I DON'T NEED A THING.
Here he watched
them all day, taking care that none of the sheep strayed, and if any for a time
eluded his watch and wandered away from the rest, seeking diligently till he
found and brought it back. In those lands sheep require to be supplied
regularly with water, and the shepherd for this purpose has to guide them
either to some running stream or to wells dug in the wilderness and furnished
with troughs.
At night he
brought the flock home to the fold, counting them as they passed under the rod
at the door to assure himself that none were missing. Nor did his labors always
end with sunset. Often he had to guard the fold through the dark hours from the
attack of wild beasts, or the wily attempts of the prowling thief
The Lord is the
SLEEPLESS One and so, we are certain that He watches over us! Human shepherd
may sleep, but the One Who is our Shepherd does not sleep or slumber. This
should help us to appreciate the Lord's Shepherding Dimension over our lives.
The journey for
the shepherd begins EARLY IN THE MORNING. He is not thinking of breakfast, or
some undone task or some leftover chores. He is thinking about you. The Bible
asks rhetorically, WHAT IS MAN THAT THOU ART MINDFUL OF HIM? Indeed, His MIND
is FULL of US! Before we were formed in our mother's womb, the Lord had a PLAN
and a PURPOSE, and a WORD awaiting us!
In both old and
new testaments, MAN is referred to as "sheep". In Isaiah 53:6, it was
said that "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to
his own way..." and in Matthew 9:36, the people were described as sheep
without a shepherd. To hear and not heed the Voice of the Shepherd is to go own
way.
And this usually
brings a lot of loss and damage, even physical death at times. We can be said
to FAINT and SCATTERED if we are without the Shepherd; because ONLY HIM can
FEED and SATISFY our hunger and ONLY HIM can GATHER our broken pieces in the
warm embrace of His goodness and mercy!
The Lord is our
Shepherd. And He is ever in relentless pursuit of the lost sheep. He is so full
of compassion that He would LEAVE "Ninety-Nine" Obedient sheep to go
after the ONE (what? just one? yes, just ONE) lost, disobedient or ignorant or
"sheepish" sheep. Permit my vocabulary, please.
I hear the Lord
saying: I AM your Shepherd. I care about you. Your welfare is priority to Me. I
care what you eat and feed on. I care where you go. I care even where you lie
to rest. I care how you feel. I care. My compassion is welling up on My Inside
towards you.
My bowel of
compassion is flowing in your direction. You will see My care for you in a
greater dimension day after day. And you will acknowledge Me as your Shepherd.
Amen. Glory to God!
Verse 2: He makes
me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters.
Note the two
Verbs: the Shepherd MAKES us rest in the place of His Choice. He does not need
our counsel. He knows where exactly the "green pasture" is for us.
This brings to mind the vital place of hearing His Voice to know His Heart (His
Will, Desire, Stand) concerning EVERY situation of our lives.
And the second
verb: He LEADS us... It is My delight to lead you, says the Lord. I take
pleasure in giving you direction. I want you to also delight in obeying My
Voice and following in My Footsteps.
Verse 3: He
RESTORS my soul. He LEADS me in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake.
See those words!
In one word, Our Shepherd is doing a glorious work of reversing the cycle of
death. As we yield to the Shepherding-dimension of the Lord, we will experience
a work of RESTORATION back to the Original Intention of His Heart before He
fashioned us in our mother's womb.
If we stray away
from the path that the Lord has laid out for us by following our fleshly lusts
or the opinions of men or ungodly counsel, then we lose the provisions He has
made ready for us. But if we REPENT and RETURN to the Bishop and Great Shepherd
of our soul (1Pe 2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned
unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls), then we will be RESTORED.
Verse 4. 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.
Wow! Have we such
consciousness of the abiding Presence of God that casts out all fear? I have
seen believers today who are living in fear, thinking they are living in faith;
oh, we are not to be as such! Our boldness is rooted in our awareness of the
Indwelling Presence of God.
There are real
life situations that can only be captured as "the valley of the shadow of
death", but more real is the Lord who is with us as our Shepherd. He will
never leave us, whether we are going through the "dark and deadly
valleys" of life or enjoying its "green pastures".
Glory to God!
It seems to me
that while the ROD is used by the Shepherd to ADJUST, Discipline, Correct,
Rebuke the sheep; the STAFF is perhaps used to INSTRUCT, Guide, Educate, Teach
the sheep. Note that both the rod and the staff have ONE PURPOSE: to bring
COMFORT to the sheep.
Oh, there are
many times that the chastening of the Lord may seem too great for us to bear,
but in the end, it turns out for our comfort. And out of the comfort that the
Lord has comforted us, we can comfort others who He brings our way! The Lord chastens the son
whom He loves. Yes, the Shepherd does the same to the sheep He loves.
Verse 5: You
prepare a table before me, in the presence of mine enemies. You anoint my head
with oil; my cup runs over.
The natural sheep
don't worry about where to graze tomorrow, as long as they remain in the fold
of the human shepherd. It is the shepherd that is responsible to discern a good
pasture with nutritious plants for the sheep. He avoids fields with thorns and
thistles and poisonous weeds.
Same with the
Lord, our Shepherd. He has PREPARED before we came on board. He has made ready
a feast of Fat Things for us. Indeed, all things are ready! Or do you think
that God would lead us as His sheep to a pasture without good grass and then
say He is sorry for bringing us to such a place? And that we should
"manage the available dry grasses."? No! The Lord has brought us to a wealthy place
that will shut the mouth of the enemy.
Someone's going
through a tough time at work and the situation back at home is not helping
matters, and your heart is asking: Lord, are You still there? Can You furnish a
table in the wilderness? Yes, the Lord can furnish a table in the wilderness.
Yes, over and over, He can make rivers to flow again in the dry places of our
lives.
Final verse...
Verse 6. Surely, goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the
Lord.
As long as we are
following the Lord our Shepherd, we can be sure that His Goodness and Mercy
will follow us. Not
just for a moment, or an hour or a day or a week or a month or a year...but for
our LIFE TIME.
May we desire to
not just be a sheep that only loves to graze in the FIELD of the Lord, but that
presses on to BECOME A dweller in God's House. Or if we can also say, to become
the very Dwelling Place of God. That is why in WaterGate church, we say verse 6 this way: surely, goodness and
mercy are following me all the days of my life and I have become the dwelling
place of God.
In summary, it is
the Lord's desire that we rise up in His Fullness, both in Nature and Stature,
in Purity and Power, in Authority and Audacity. Practically, we all are
shepherds one way or the other: whether as a pastor, or a parent, or a boss, or
employer of labor, or as an elderly sibling...etc. Therefore we must seek to
express what the Lord has embodied and exemplified for us in this most precious
psalm of David.
Let us remember
that it was a song that David wrote probably while meditating on God's goodness
to him. Write yours too... Maybe we need to touch a certain depth of God's Love
before we can really do this, because John the Beloved, like David
"beloved" wrote about the Lord Jesus as the Good Shepherd in John 10.
Selah.
Amen.
We are praying
that the Lord will indeed be our Shepherd, as individuals, families, as a
corporate people in a local church and a nation. Lord, help us to stand as true shepherds
after Your Nature and in Your Stature to feed Your people...that we may be all
You have written concerning us!
Lord, help us to
touch the depth of your love that unveils the dynamics of YOU as our GOOD,
GREAT, AND CHIEF SHEPHERD. AMEN.
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