| April 5, 2002 |
 |
 |
 |
| The Lord Is My Shepherd Psalm 23 ~ A Psalm of David "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." Notice "my shepherd . . . I shall not want . . . He maketh me lie down . . . he leadeth me." This is a "He and me psalm. The emphasis is upon the fact that there is nothing between the man's soul and God. "The Lord is my shepherd." By the authority of His redemptive work, His death and resurrection, you can trust Him and call Him your Shepherd. "I shall not want." Notice that David does not say, I have not wanted, but "I shall not want." What is it that I need? Well, I need safety. I'm a sheep, a stupid little animal. Therefore, my Shepherd sees to it that I won't want for protection. He protects me. When a little sheep says, "I shall not want" and "I shall not perish," it is because it has a wonderful Shepherd. "I shall not want" looks into the future and gives assurance to the child of God. The security of the believer rests upon the Shepherd. Not only do sheep need safety, they need sufficiency and satisfaction. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." That is sufficiency. Sheep will not lie down until their tummies are full. So when sheep are lying down in green pastures, it means they are full. Christ is our sufficiency. "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). He leadeth me beside the still waters." Sheep are frightened by turbulent water. And they don't like stagnant water. They also don't want to drink where the hogs drink. All of this applies to the human family. We need rest in our day ~ not so much physical or mental rest, but rest of the soul. Remember what David said in Psalm 55:6: "Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest." He wanted to get away from it all. But he found out that getting away from it all did not solve his problems. He had to learn to put his trust in the Lord. rest in Him, and wait patiently upon Him. The Lord Jesus says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will rest you" (Matthew 11:28). "He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." He restoreth my soul. David knew what that was. David had sinned ~ he was that little lost sheep that had strayed from the fold, and his Shepherd had restored him. "He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." He leads, but we must follow. The Lord Jesus said to the religious rulers who were actually His enemies, ". . . I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:25-27). Sheep will follow their own shepherd. That is the way you can tell the one to whom the sheep belong. In Jesus' day the shepherd never drove his sheep ~ he led them. Our good Shepherd leads us in the right paths, and it is up to us to follow Him. (to be concluded tomorrow) May you be blessed with a wonderful day as you follow the Shepherd. Love in Christ Jesus, Sandy |