THE PRIVILEGE OF A
PERSONAL AND LOVING RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD!
PSALM 23
1 The Lord is
my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me
lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside
still waters.
3 He restores
my soul.
He leads me
in paths of righteousness
for his name's
sake.
4 Even though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear
no evil,
for you are
with me;
your rod and
your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare
a table before me
in the
presence of my enemies;
you anoint my
head with oil;
my cup
overflows.
6 Surely goodness
and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my
life,
and I
shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
This is, without
doubt, the most known, most loved psalm in the Bible. It has been the comfort
of those who know God; it has been used to encourage the sick and the dying. It
has been clung to by those going through difficulties, as they dealt with their
foes; it has brought great encouragement to all who have read it.
As we start our
meditation about this psalm, I want you to notice that the psalm is describing
the journey of a life lived under the protection of the omnipotent God.
The first verse
begins with a tender image: a shepherd and his sheep. This is not a general
relationship, but it speaks clearly of the relationship of one sheep with his
shepherd.
The LORD is the
shepherd. The self-existing God, creator of all, and sustainer of the universe,
is the shepherd. The very fact that the psalmist speaks of “my” shepherd requires
our reflection about who can claim to belong to God.
The Bible is clear
that not all enjoy this relationship with the Shepherd. When God inspired David
to write this psalm, He did not write, ‘The LORD is the shepherd of the world”. When Jesus looked
at the crowds, He saw the people as ‘sheep without a shepherd’.
Matthew 9:35-38
And Jesus went throughout all the cities
and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the
kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the
crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and
helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his
disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray
earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his
harvest.”
These verses not
only show us that sheep need to become God’s sheep, but also their immense need
for a shepherd.
People, without
the LORD as their shepherd, are helpless and harassed. When we observe actual
sheep, we can tell that sheep need a shepherd, since they are not capable of
taking care of themselves or protecting themselves.
Isaiah reminds us
of our state as sheep:
Isaiah 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
As helpless sheep, not only are we incapable
of taking care of ourselves, but we also have rebelliously presumed that we
could manage by following our own thoughts and goals. Because of this rebellion,
Jesus had to die so that we could come to the true and good Shepherd.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 10:11
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
We needed a
shepherd who would give His life for the sheep, and then we needed to
understand, by God’s grace, that there was no access to the LORD apart from
faith in the saving work of Christ. There are no alternative ways of becoming
His sheep.
Why should we, His
sheep, take the time to reflect on these truths? Remembering our state before
we met the Shepherd should produce immense gratitude. Realizing the grace-driven
relationship this implies should produce humble, thankful dependence and
submission.
The verse ends
with the words, ‘I shall not want’. God has promised to take care of His own
and this promise is a certainty, but we must trust His care, without greedy or
presumptuous expectations.
Philippians 4:19
And my God will supply every need of
yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
There is no lack
of supply. Our God, our shepherd, will supply our every need. Why, then, are we
ever unhappy and fearful? We tend to quickly forget our inability to take care
of ourselves. We were lost, without
direction and hope, and we were found by the Good Shepherd!
I do not possess
the LORD, I am His possession. Too often, in our prayers and expectations, we
tend to reverse the roles. All of a sudden, we forget Who is wise, Who is
perfect, Who is powerful, Who knows the future, Who knows our real needs, and
we come to wrong conclusions about what is good for us.
Being a sheep of the
Shepherd requires submission. This should not be hard, if we don’t gloss over
the first statement in this verse and then read “I shall not want’, without
understanding that David was speaking of his needs, not his ‘wants’.
As we look around
at all the lost sheep, we need to invite others to learn about our Shepherd. Our
lives must reflect our humble and grateful dependence on Him. As we continue to
reflect upon this beloved psalm, what joy and assurance it will bring to all of
the ‘sheep’ whom the Good Shepherd has called to Himself! What a privilege to
be one of His flock!
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