The Lord is my shepherd

Psalm 23 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
² He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I 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 have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
⁶ Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

At first glance, it may not seem that the psalmist is honoring God with the statement, The Lord is my shepherd.  Shepherds were not exactly considered the most honorable in society. Consider though, that David himself was a shepherd. He knew well what being a shepherd meant and he understood the benefits of being under the Lord’s care. Just before he slew the giant Goliath, in 1 Samuel 17:34-36, David said:  “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock, I went out after it and attacked it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I grabbed it by its mane and struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.”  In John 10:11-15 Jesus says:  “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”  Not only will the Lord protect us, but He laid down His life, dying in the cross so that we could live. 

The psalmist says: I shall not want. Philippians 4:19 says:  My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  There is nothing that we lack when we are the Lord’s. We have protection, provision and peace. In John 14:27 Jesus says:  Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.  Regardless of what comes we can rest in Him. In Matthew 28:11- Jesus says:  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

The psalmist says:  He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.  In order to go to the green pastures, the Lord will move us from where we are. Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  He loved us as we were, but He doesn’t leave us that way. He guides us in righteousness. He moves us from where we were to better places and better things. Our soul is redeemed and restored at the moment we believe, but the Lord continues to guide us and care for us. The psalmist says:  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  Even death is merely a shadow when we are in the Lord’s care. We have eternal life so death has no substance, no lasting hold on us. To take comfort in the rod and the staff of the Lord, is more than to know His protection. It is also to know His direction and discipline. We should not fear or despise the Lord’s correction in our lives, but rather take comfort. Hebrews 12:5-6 says: “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.”  In Revelation 3:19 the Lord says:  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 

The psalmist says: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  God doesn’t prepare a table for us in the presence of our enemies just so that we can gloat. Proverbs 25:21-22 says:  If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the Lord will reward you. In Matthew 5:44 Jesus says:  I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.  The burning coals that we place on the head of our enemies are not for their destruction, rather they are like the coal spoken of by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 6:5-7:  Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”   When we share the overflowing goodness of God with others, we in turn are blessed, by God with His goodness and loving kindness.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  Amen.