MONDAY FEBRUARY 1st
Psalm 23
NIV (v1) – ‘The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.’
ESV (v1) – ‘The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.’
Way back in devotion 31 which was April 21st 2020 we looked at Psalm 23 and a short statement I said then was ‘The Psalm covers our pilgrimage as we walk with the Shepherd through life from our getting to know him, our walk with him in the present, and his being with us as we pass through death and into eternity’ on that particular occasion I took the main of my thoughts from verse 4.
The psalmist starts by affirming who the Shepherd is that he is referring to in this psalm, ‘The LORD is my Shepherd’ The name LORD in capital letters denotes the Shepherd is the LORD God himself. Jehovah, here Jehovah ROHI. (See January 19th)
For us as believers we refer to the Lord Jesus as our Shepherd, for he himself said that he was the good Shepherd, but we hold behind this the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and thus as God he is our Shepherd. And he is a genuine Shepherd, all others who come under the guise of being shepherds are but hirelings who do not really care for sheep, they will let the wolves come and allow them to kill and to destroy. (John 10:12) And what is said about Israel in the Old Testament can also be said about the Church, they were the sheep of God’s pasture and we the Church have also become the sheep of his pasture. (Psalm 100:3)
We learn from this Psalm about the pastoral care of the Shepherd toward us. I will highlight the points with additional references for you to refer to.
The provision of the Shepherd, ‘I shall not want’, he continually leads us in green pastures. Green pastures speak of lushness, plentiful supply, and at the same time there are still waters. (Psalm 34:9-10)
The pathway of the Shepherd, ‘He leads me in paths of righteousness’. So long as we are willing to follow the lead of the Shepherd we will always be on the right pathway, the pathway of righteousness which leads to the eternal home he is preparing. (Psalm 5:8, Isaiah 40:11)
The protection from this Shepherd, ‘I will fear no evil for you are with me’. In John 10 we read of Jesus being the good Shepherd, he also refers to himself as the gate or the door, and as the gate he blocks the way to stop the enemy coming to attack us, and as the gate he opens up the way into heaven for us, and he leads in safety through the valley of the shadow of death. (Psalm 118:6, Psalm 138:7)
The preparation of the Shepherd, ‘you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies’. (Psalm 31:19)
The perpetual presence of the Shepherd, ‘you are with me’ and ‘I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever’. (Isaiah 43:2, Psalm 27:2)
What a Shepherd, I end with the words of a hymn, I have a Shepherd. RH457 MM443
I have a Shepherd, One I love so well;
How He has blessed me tongue can never tell;
On the cross He suffered, shed His blood and died,
That I might ever in His love confide.
Following Jesus, ever day by day,
Nothing can harm me when He leads the way;
Darkness or sunshine, whate’er befall-
Jesus, the Shepherd, is my All in All.
Pastures abundant doth His hand provide,
Still waters flowing ever at my side,
Goodness and mercy follow on my track,
With such a Shepherd nothing can I lack.
When I would wander from the path astray,
Then He will draw me back into the way;
In the darkest valley I need fear no ill,
For He, my Shepherd, will be with me still.
When labour’s ended and the journey done,
Then he will lead me safely to my home;
There I shall dwell in rapture sure and sweet
With all the loved ones gathered round his feet.