![]() ![]() I must know that He is my Shepherd, that He paid for my sins and bought me, that He cares for me and always will be my faithful Shepherd. If we say no more than that, this objective doctrine may seem to mean little to us individually and personally. There is not an adverse wind that blows, nor an enemy that opposes, nor a problem we face, that escapes His control or can snatch us away from His mercy (John 10:28).ĭavid doesn't just say that the Lord is the Shepherd of His people, which, of course, is true. In Him we are always safe, regardless of how steep the path or how heavy the burden may be. He is the Shepherd who always watches over us with His protecting eye. His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear Him. But even when we are unfaithful, as we often are, He remains faithful. Of course, when we sin we have to repent, confess and turn to Him. ![]() In our sins, failures, insecurities, fear and worries we can look to Him as our Shepherd. The psalm stresses not what we do for the Lord, or should do, but what He is for us and always will be. Not in ourselves, but in belonging to Him with body and soul we have that great comfort. This emphasis we also find in the first Lord's Day of the Heidelberg Catechism's speaking of our only comfort. Here all the emphasis is on what the Lord does for us. At other times and in other places there is a different emphasis on what the Lord does for us His people, and what He means to us. But nevertheless we have to do something. Of course, this is possible only by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8). Scripture, in describing the relationship between God and His people sometimes speaks of what we do by faith. The psalm emphasizes what the Lord meant for David, what He had done and would do for him in the future. He is the Good Shepherd, and not a hireling. The familiar psalm's portrayal of God as the Shepherd, the Lord Jesus attributes to Himself in John 10. All this became real in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. It is the name which stresses God's faithfulness He is the "I am that I am." With His almighty power, He is always faithful in His care for us. An older version has the name "Jehovah," which I still like. ![]() The name LORD, written with capital letters in the NIV, is the covenant name of God. "The Lord is my shepherd," says David in these well-known words. Shepherds of today, he said, are more like the hirelings of which the Bible speaks (John 10:12, 13). ![]() They knew each by name, and would risk their lives to protect the sheep. Those shepherds literally lived with their sheep the sheep were a part of their lives. When we visited Israel some years ago our guide told us that today's shepherds cannot be compared with those of Bible times. The other metaphor used in this psalm is that of a shepherd. As Christians we fear the powers of the world the more as we see our children threatened by them. We need protection and security and often cannot cope with our problems. We are equally weak and helpless against our spiritual enemies, the devil, the world and our own sinful flesh. They are helpless before hungry, vicious dogs or wolves. A dog can bite, bark and run, a cow or horse can kick. Also, a sheep is an animal with practically no self-defense. When a sheep goes astray, it cannot easily find its way back. Here God's people are compared with sheep. The Bible uses many metaphors, speaking of birds, plants, animals and other parts of the great creation. As he reflects upon all of this he considers the parallel to his earlier life, confessing that the Lord was his Shepherd. He had often seen his sheep lying beside the still waters, or contentedly grazing. He had cared for his sheep, and even risked his life facing a lion and bear to protect them. He recalls in this psalm how he had been a shepherd when young. He is not the sun-burnt shepherd boy among the peaceful lambs, but the man, David, the veteran. He could talk about his enemies and going through the valley of the shadow of death. Probably it was written by David when he was an older man who had experienced many struggles and dangers. It is one of the first psalms many of us memorized when young, and is considered to be one of the gems of Scripture. Likely no psalm is better known than Psalm 23. ![]()
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