Psalm 23: The Lord is My Shepherd | PurposeCity Psalm 23: The Lord is My Shepherd 2 10 There is a famous psalm written by David that, if written in today, would be Christian music’s number one hit – a multi-platinum recording. It is Psalm 23 and perhaps you have heard of it’s lyrics? There can be no question that this song beautifully expresses the goodness of trusting in a personal shepherd. But, I understand that a shepherd probably holds very little weight for those of us in a busy city or even a quiet suburban town. So, let’s modernize this reference that David, and later Jesus, used. Instead of calling the main character a good shepherd, lets exchange it for the word ‘bodyguard.’ The idea of a constant protector is what David was communicating and David, a once shepherd-boy turned mighty king, understood the importance in taking care of helpless animals. David also knew that the Lord was faithful in providing and watching over him. Can we echo this response when we find ourselves running or hiding in metaphorical caves? Can we echo this when we feel forgotten or lost?

Hopefully, we aren’t only proclaiming the following words found in Psalm 23 when life is working in our favor. For the truth is, these words can produce the most power in our lives when we feel the very weakest. Let’s take a look at each well chosen lyric to further understand David’s words to God: The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord There is truly so much wisdom to be gained from these verses, especially when we attempt to discover God in our lowest of moments, calling Him our forever Lord. Below, let’s look at just the first half of verse one, dissecting what David felt: THE Notice that David begins by saying that the Lord is His shepherd. He is emphasizing the word “THE” because He is well aware that there is no one else but God who can protect him from life’s snares and pitfalls. Do we truly live this way? Do we camouflage this protection with other things that bring about a false sense of security?

Truly, God is THE only thing that can bring about comfort and peace. Can we call Him the one and only thing that we need? LORD Next, David chooses the title for God Almighty as “LORD,” which means master or owner. While David could have chosen many adjectives to describe the God he knew intimately, he chose to call Him Master. I immediately think of a subject serving a King when I hear this title and I truly believe that this was the reverence and honor that David was broadcasting in this opening line. How can we make God our Lord? While we often call Him Savior and Lord, Savior implies that we can do nothing but admit He saved us undeservingly from our sins, but Lord requires action on our behalf. We must place God in the highest position of our lives at all times, surrendering to Him as Lord like David did. How can we begin to make God our Lord each and every day? IS David didn’t stop there. David continues by clearly communicating that THE one and only LORD, master and owner of his soul, IS. This word IS implies a present tense. David is not saying he remembers God was his provider when he felt God’s direction more clearly. Instead, the Lord IS, which means currently.

God is always present and personally with us just like a bodyguard protecting a celebrity from crazy fans. Sometimes we may feel like we need a constant hand to hold when life is pulling us in a thousand directions, while other times we may feel invisible, looking for His hand to grasp us tightly. David was vocal in the moments when he felt forsaken by God, yet He never ceased to praise an ever present Lord… even when He couldn’t feel God’s presence. David believed God was always there. How can we acknowledge God’s presence in our lives regardless of our circumstances or emotions? MY The next word is MY, which is very personal. MY house, or MY children, implies it is yours to claim. The Lord was David’s personal claim. This cannot come without a solid relationship. Yes, relationships go through highs and lows, but knowing that a relationship is yours, much like a marriage, can bring a sense of forever commitment which brings about true joy. Do you call Jesus yours? SHEPHERD David uses a word we often lack connection with, which is the word SHEPHERD. A shepherd has a responsibility and obligation to care for animals who would otherwise roam without guidance. We are the sheep.

We can easily be led astray and we need someone to direct us. David saw himself in this manner; wouldn’t you also admit this to be true in your own life? I’d like to close by putting some thought into the nature of a sheep, so that the real attention can be placed solely on the importance of a shepherd. I am assuming you haven’t spent much time with sheep recently, so I went to this website called Sheep101 (yes, there is such a thing) and this is what I learned, “Sheep have a strong instinct to follow the sheep in front of them. When one sheep decides to go somewhere, the rest of the flock usually follows, even if it is not a good decision. For example, sheep will follow each other to slaughter. If one sheep jumps over a cliff, the others are likely to follow. Even from birth, lambs are conditioned to follow the older members of the flock. This instinct is ‘hard-wired’ into sheep. It’s not something they think about.” I can now further identity with my sheep-like nature, can’t you? I can find myself listening to others instead of listening to what God has to say about me.

I then end up following mere men instead of following God’s perfect plan. If you are any thing like me, you have once or twice blindly wandered somewhere you’d never thought you’d be because you forgot to seek true wisdom. If not for the grace of God, I could follow my flesh and others around me, right until the end of my time. I am very akin to a sheep. Thus, I am forever thankful for a loving shepherd who leads me in the right direction. I believe that David hand selected these wonderful words, “the Lord is my shepherd” to remind himself of God’s goodness. Will you also proclaim this promising song over your life today? jrzgrl At worship yesterday we were asked what can God do to make us happy. As I pondered the question this morning Psalm 23 came to mind. David gives us/me the answer: I shall not want for anything for the LORD IS MY SHEPARD.After reading the psalm, I found your site, beautifully written. Please continue with the remainder of the psalm. tkhk3746 Everyone’s interpretation of this Psalm is probably a bit different.

However, since my dad went home to be with the Lord eight months ago, I awoke one morning realizing I had been dreaming about this Psalm that someone was reading it to me in my dream. I then realized it was my dad’s voice. This Psalm has taken on a new meaning to me. I read it daily realizing that this verse really is your reward in heaven. Once you are with the Lord, He really IS your daily shepherd. You have No want in heaven. I can imagine the beautiful heavenly green pastures you can lie down in…and the beautiful crystal clear water still waters in Heaven….and I know once we are in the presence of the Lord our souls are restored. When you are in heaven, every path is righteous for his name sake. WHEN you walk through the shadow of death, I know my dad did not fear any evil b/c his angel and the lord was with him. His cup now runneth over for eternity and God’s mercy and goodness will be with him for all the days of his heavenly life….and he REALLY IS dwelling in the House of the Lord forever! Jonathan Cates My dad will have went home to be with our Lord and Savior for 2 years in July.

While he was laying at home he mentioned seeing his sister, who had passed on a few years before him, in the room that my step mom put him in and one day he said to them that he saw her come in and start cleaning his room. Some people thought he was joking, he use to be a sort of a funny man and joke all the time, but he had this look of confusion (I really can not explain the look but please excuse me if I give a poor description of it), joy, and peacefulness while he told my wife and I the story. Some said it was the medicine making him see things that it was the lady who was watching him or the nurse. It upset him if I remember right, its been a while since it happen, so please bare with me . He said I am not imagining things, I know what I seen! I believed him, something came over me – I guess you could say a feeling and then with the way he looked made me a believer, then he said she would sit down and talk with him about things.

He really never told us what they talked about, but I told him to please tell her that I love and miss her, I was trying in my own way to tell him I believe him whole heartedly. Well on the way home that night, I had this weird feeling I should have not said that and then again a dream that I do not remember but I do remember waking up thinking that she was not there for me, she was there to comfort my dad. So when my wife and I went to see him again I waited until he and I was alone and I asked if he remembered what I said about telling his sister hey and that I miss and love her – to please do not because she was not here for me but here for him and I was sorry for asking him to do that. After that his Home Hospice Nurse was with him one day when he asked her a question. When we came over she started telling us about it – She was reading a book while watching him and he had this look again come over his face and she asked him what was wrong, he said can you see it, and she asked him can I see what? Then he pointed up towards the ceiling and the corner of the walls where all three met and said that beautiful light!

She said I do not see anything, but describe it to me. So he started telling her it was such a beautiful bright white light, so beautiful he had never seen anything like it before and asked her what was it, she said to him, it is heaven and this part I can not remember for sure if it was said but my memory says it did – but he asked her how do I get there and she said that you will be there soon enough. That’s all I can remember about that and the other things I rather keep to my self. But while he was being treated from Hospice, the medicine started not to work because of the other medicine he was taking was making it not work, so they had to transfer him to the Hospice house, which hurt us because he wanted to be at home when he passed but we all understood, so they could give him stronger medicine. to control his pain, while there he kept hanging on. I would go and see him and prasilently over him and talk softly to him and then just lay my hand over andhold his hand. Then one day, I felt something tell me to bring my bible so I did.

While my wife and my step- mom where talking, I sat beside him and started reading Psalm 23:1-6 as if he were reading it himself. Trying to comfort him and afterwards I told him softly that we will be ok, that we did not want to see hhim continue hurting, that Jesus is there and will take all his pain away. After that his breathing changed and went more up into his chest and my wife and steo-mom stood up behind me and behind my dad . And then he slowly took his last breath and went home to be with Jesus. I was upset and crying, but I felt so much at peace for I knew he was with Christ without pain and no longer suffering. Later on, I was thinking about Psalms 23 – that was written by King David to help show us God is always with us and never leaving our side. Please do not think in any way I told this story to make it about me in any way, because its not and never will be.

It is about how Gods Word can soothe and relax a person who is scared of letting go because he loves his family- his entire family!, that he was having such a hard time letting go and was willing to suffer for all his kids and his wife. And with him hearing that we would be okay and the comforting words of God, was all he needed to put him at ease. I love Psalm 23 and when you break it down it clearly states never be afraid for I Am (Christ Jesus) here with you and I will never let you go. I Am Always Here With You!! and as you stated my friend above He is dwelling in the House of the Lord Forever!!! So thank you tkhk 3746 for reminding me of that and the importance of Psalm 23 and how we should share it to comfort all who are both Suffering and Grieving to remind them Gods Glory is forever, seek your peace in that.

Quell Davis Psalm 23 - The Lord is My Shepherd Psalm 23 - 'The Lord is My Shepherd' Psalm 23 - 'The Lord is My Shepherd' Compare Psalm 23 in Multiple Bible Translations Bill Fairchild By Mary Fairchild Updated March 31, 2016. Psalm 23 is one of the most dearly loved, soul comforting passages of Scripture. The inspiring text is often quoted at funeral services and memorial events. In the King James Version it begins with this familiar reassurance: "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." Compare Psalm 23 in several popular Bible translations . Psalm 23 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. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Psalm 23 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Yea, 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever. Psalm 23 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23 The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

He lets me rest in green meadows; He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength . He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, And I will live in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23 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. The Lord Is My Shepherd (Psalm 23) - SongSelect The Lord Is My Shepherd (Psalm 23) The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want The Lord is my shepherd I have all I need Additional Song Info Updgrade your SongSelect account to view this content. This content is only available with another subscription. Ready to upgrade? View pricing to see available subscription plans. Ok You need a SongSelect account to view this content. Please Sign In to view content for this song. Haven't signed up for SongSelect yet? View pricing to see available subscription plans. Ok © 2017 CCLI, Inc. All Rights Reserved. [2016.12.02 (CCLI.SongSelect.273.ed45c2f)] Feedback We would love to hear your feedback on the new version of SongSelect. For all other CCLI related questions, please contact CCLI Customer Service and they will be happy to help. Name Please provide a name. Email Please provide a valid email address.

Tell us what you think Please provide a feedback message. Submit New Hope Notes: The Lord is My Shepherd The Lord is My Shepherd Pastor Steven Ferrar 1) �The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want 2) He makes me to lie down in green pastures 3) He lead me beside the still waters, He restores my soul 4) He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name�s sake Yea though I walk through the valley of shadow and 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 6) My cup runs over Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.� � � When I was in college at Southern California, I was one of the worst students. Being a college student during the 60�s there are a lot of distractions. I always waited to the last minute to do my homework assignments.

Well after one fun-filled weekend, I woke up on Sunday realizing I needed to do a book report on the 800-page book War and Peace and I didn�t even have the book yet. I instantly ran to the University bookstore and picked up one of those yellow and black 80-page books known as Cliff notes. These are summaries, a compendium of literature. Psalm 23 is like the Cliff notes of Christian life because in 6 short verses, it contains all the lessons to be learned as a Christian. � I love to quote Yogi Beara who, though very much is like a theologian, was actually a catcher for the New York Giants.

He coined such famous sayings as, �It ain�t over �till it�s over,� and �If you come to a fork in the road, take it.� There�s even a story about him ordering pizza one day and when he was asked, �Do you want it cut into 6 or 12 slices?� His answer was, �You better make it 6 because I don�t think I can eat 12.� � �The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want� � Notice that David though David is a shepherd, he is writing this from the perspective of a sheep, not the shepherd. In his youth, he took care of his father�s sheep. He fought off lions and bears to defend his father�s flock. He knows what it means to be a shepherd but he doesn�t write it from the perspective of a shepherd; instead he writes it from the viewpoint of a sheep. He writes, �The Lord is my Shepherd.� � Everyone has a shepherd no matter who you are. The shepherd of your life is the thing that is most important to you. It is that which you are pursuing with your heart. For some people, their shepherd is wealth. For others, their shepherd is popularity.

For a lot of people, their shepherd is control. But David says, �The Lord is my Shepherd.� � � John 10:27 describes Jesus as the Great Shepherd of sheep.� It says, �My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give eternal life to them and they shall never perish, no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father�s hand.� � Living in the South, a lot of the people say they know Christ but what is really happening is that they know ABOUT Christ. In reality, they don�t really KNOW Him. � John 17:3, �This is eternal life that they may know Thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent.� � It�s not about just knowing Him but about knowing Him. � In Israel, water and rainfall are very scarce except up north near Mt. Herman. There is snow up there and when the snow melts, it feeds into the Sea of Galilee and funnels down the Jordan River into the Dead Sea.

There is not a lot of rainfall so there are times when the shepherds gather at the wells to water their sheep. Sometimes there would be 4 or 5 different flocks at a well but the sheep aren�t tagged in any way to identify which sheep belong to which shepherd. What happens is that the shepherd will simply call to his sheep and his sheep will know his voice and follow him. Jesus says, �My sheep hear my voice and they follow Me.� That is how you know who (or what) is the shepherd of your life. Whose voice do you follow? �Who is number 1? � Years ago while in Seminary, I was asked to do a series on the Psalms. I wasn�t going to do all 150 Psalms but I also wasn�t going to do Psalm 23 because it was so familiar. Everyone was asking me to do Psalm 23. I didn�t really want to do it but I will admit that it was singularly the most significant week of study up until that point of my life. Did you know that there are 200 verses in the Bible in which God calls us sheep?

Through my studies, I discovered three characteristics about sheep that I�d like to share with you. � 1) Sheep are stupid. When we lived in Southern California we would take our family and visit the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus. We�d see trained lions, tigers, bears, elephants, poodles, and seals, but not once did we see trained sheep. Why? Because sheep are stupid and 200 times in the Bible God calls me a sheep! And it�s true. I am stupid. So often I ask myself, �Why did I say that?� or �Why did I do that, again?� Why? Because I�m stupid. And I�m not the only one either, right? We all have regrets, and it�s painful to look back. As Paul writes, �forgetting what was left behind I press forward towards the high quality of Jesus.� Fix your eyes upon Jesus because Jesus died for our sins and He died for the �stupid.�� Jesus says, �What the locusts have eaten I will restore.� Because He is the Great Restorer, He is the Great Shepherd.

Because we are a people who are stupid, we really need a Shepherd who knows what He is doing. � 2) Sheep are dirty. Sheep are very dirty creatures. �In Israel where rainfall is very scarce, it gets very dusty especially as the fields gets over-grazed and the sheep will get so filthy. All that dust and dirt gets embedded in their fluffy, wooly fur and since they are stupid, they don�t know how to clean themselves. We had a kitten who would sit there for hours grooming and cleaning itself. It is an inbred instinct for cats to clean themselves, but sheep won�t. As the filth stays tangled in the thick wooly coats of the sheep, they become diseased as maggots start to develop. And God calls me a sheep. I find myself living a dirty life. I have dirty thoughts. I sometimes completely misunderstand things and things get out of hand. I�m dirty, I�m sinful, and I can�t make myself clean.

� �1 John 1:9 says, �If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all our unrighteousness.� Notice that it says �all,� not �most.� � Martin Luther was a Catholic Priest in Germany who was constantly in prayer, asking forgiveness for all the sins he ever committed. He would perform all kinds of good works in order for God to forgive him; however, he became a tormented man when he realized that there were just simply too many sins to be forgiven of. However, Jesus died on the cross for those sins. � � Jesus died for all our sins, not just most, but ALL. He who was sinless took on all of the wrath of God by dying on the cross for us. And when Martin Luther realized that Jesus paid it all, he was set free. � �John Newton is the great hymn writer who wrote Amazing Grace. John Newton was once a slave trader he would rape women on the boats from Africa to the West Indies.� He was a horrific blasphemer, most cruel man, but he wrote one of the greatest hymns in Christian history.

To get his attention, God actually had him enslaved for a while on a Caribbean island to a black woman and a white man. �Other slaves would feel sorry for him and, with rattled chains, they would bring him food out of pity for the way he was treated. Even then he did not believe until he was caught on a ship in a storm.� It was then that he realized how great God was. Even he could not believe how God would save such a wretch like him. At first, John Newton could not believe that Jesus died for him but he soon believed and wrote, �I am a great sinner, but Jesus is a Great Savior.� � You may still say to me, �But I still sin. The things I know I shouldn�t do, I do.� Well, so do I. �Romans 7 says, �We all fall short,� but Romans 8:1 says, �There is now NO condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,� because of what Jesus did. He died for our sins. ��Whom the Son has set free is free indeed.� That�s the Gospel. � 3) Sheep are defenseless.

Every other animal has some way to defend themselves but sheep are totally defenseless. After all, what can they do? They can�t bark or claw anyone, nor can they emit an obnoxious odor to chase their enemy away. Sheep are totally and utterly defenseless, and God calls us sheep. Why? Because like sheep, we are also totally and utterly defenseless. Oh we like to think we can defend ourselves but in reality, we can�t. When 9/11 happened, we started something called Homeland Security, but terrorists still penetrate us. In Texas, when you buy a home, it comes with an alarm system. Face it, when you key in your alarm 4-digit code, it�s usually your year of birth which is so common. Can you be with your children 24/7? Can you be there for someone every day, every hour of your life? No. David says the Lord is our defense of whom shall I fear? Jesus is our Great Shepherd; He is our defender.� So why would you want any other Shepherd than Jesus? � �The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.� What does this mean?

This verse doesn�t mean that we don�t want Him, it means that Jesus has every aspect of our life covered because He is the sovereign God. He is in absolute control of all things including our lives. � Psalm 103:19, �His throne is in the heavens and His Sovereignty rules over all.� � Isaiah 40:18 says, �To whom will you liken me?� � Any of these great nations like Iraq, God can blow dust on them and they will wither. Remember Nebuchadnezzar? He thought he was the most sovereign king, but what did God do? God put him in the fields to slobber with the cows for seven years but after 7 years, God restored him and gave him his mind back, then Nebuchadnezzar gave all the glory to God. God is in control of all things even though it looks like things are out of control. He IS in control of all things right down to the nanosecond. He is always right on-time. � After Verse 1 where he declares that the Lord is our Shepherd, David writes about all the things that God will do for us. What follows is a whole list of benefits.

You know when we take on new jobs, we want to know what the benefits are. Well here in Psalm 23 is a list of benefits upon knowing that the Lord is your Shepherd. � �He makes me lie down in green pastures� � Right here is the benefit of REST. There is an American pace of life. We are constantly in a hurry, or we constantly stay busy and become exhausted. We have a name for our pace of life, we term it �24/7.� It means we never stop. We just keep up the ragged pace and we become so fatigued. � I remember when my son was young and my wife and daughter were out together. When it was time for his nap, he didn�t want to go to sleep. I fed him, dressed him, put him in his crib, and closed the door. I waited for about 90 seconds because I knew what was going to happen. He would rattle his crib because he didn�t want to take his nap. Then I would go back into his room and he would be there rattling his crib, then I would put him back down in his crib, on his tummy with my hand on his back.

At first he would fight it but I press on his back a little harder and in 90 seconds he was out like a light. � We are so much like that because we are always so much in a hurry. We don�t even have time to have dinner with each other anymore. But, every once in a while, in His goodness, that Shepherd will interrupt our plans and He will make us lie down. If you have ever lost a job, He has made you lie down. It�s not that your employer fired you because God is sovereign over him and that situation. � Proverbs 21:1, �The kings heart is like channels of water, in the hands of the Lord He turns it whatever way He wishes� � God is most high; He is sovereign over all things. Some have said after losing their jobs that it was the best thing that ever happened to them.� Why? Because God made them lie down. He probably even extended their lives by taking them out of that stressful situation. He gave them rest. � He knows all things about our lives, He knows our every need, He has appointed a time for us, and He will see us through it because He has a plan for us.

It�s all under the sovereignty of God. � Now the last point for this lesson is Verse 3 �He leads me beside still waters� � He leads us. There are two ways that shepherds tend their sheep. In the western Hemisphere, that�s in the US, Australia and New Zealand, the shepherd walks behind their flock, they drive their sheep like a cattle drive. They push their sheep along.� In Israel, however, the shepherd walks in front. They LEAD their sheep. In John 10 we read that Jesus leads them from the front. He leads us. He doesn�t push us or drive us.� He goes ahead of us. � Think about it, when we go to the doctors and we go through a series of tests, and we are told we have to wait for 10 days, what happens?� We worry about it for 10 days. Or we hear that there will be layoffs in 30 days, we fester through those 30 days wondering what will happen. But let me tell you about Jesus, if something is going to happen in 10 days, He is already out in front of you 10 days ahead. He is already there.

He already has that solution 10 or 30 days ahead of you. He is the Great Shepherd. He restores us. He knows what we need. � Every night at twilight in Israel, the shepherd does the same thing, he counts his sheep. If one is missing, he goes out and finds it. It is usually a yearling. Like Isaiah says, �we like sheep go astray we have turned to our own ways.� So the shepherd goes and finds it, and carries it back on his shoulder. Every night the same thing, He counts and goes out to find the missing sheep and carries it back on his shoulder. If this continues to happen, he will actually take the sheep and fracture its leg. He doesn�t do it to be cruel but to teach it a lesson, because if it continues to wander, it could be killed by a bear or fall off a cliff. So the shepherd fractures the leg so the sheep will learn to stay with the shepherd. He then carries it on his shoulder until the leg heals. It may still have a limp, but, at least it won�t wander anymore.

So like that little sheep, we must be taught not to wander.� We must learn to stay close to the Shepherd; we must learn to stay close to Jesus. � There are probably some of us who wandered in here today with a limp because we have had our heart broken by God. Oftentimes that is what He has to do to get our attention because we are so strong-willed. Then in desperation we cry out to Him. Then for the rest of our lives we walk with a limp. � For me, I know right here in my heart I always have a tendency to try to get ahead of Him, but I have had to learn to submit and get under His authority.� And I have to remind myself of it every day of my life, because it is the safest place in the world to be. What a Savior. What a Shepherd. What a Lord. What a God. What a Redeemer.� �The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.� � The Shepherd Psalm | Psalm 23 | RayStedman.org The Shepherd Psalm Read the Scripture: Psalm 23 Psalm 23 1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in 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 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 love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. New International Version I memorized the twenty-third psalm when I was a small child, but I have never had an opportunity to study it in detail. It has been a wonderful experience for me this past week to look through this familiar psalm and to have the Lord speak to me again out of this passage. It is a great psalm, one I am sure you have turned to many times in periods of trial. It ministers to our deepest spiritual needs. This, of course, is a psalm of David. We know something of the circumstances of its composition.

In the fifteenth chapter of Second Samuel there is recorded the instance in David's life when his own son rebelled against him and toppled him from the throne. David was forced to flee into the Judean wilderness with his family and servants, and for a period of time he was unable to reclaim his throne. His life was in jeopardy and he was hunted and hounded for a number of months. Perhaps, because so much of his early life had been spent as a shepherd in that same wilderness, the circumstances recalled his shepherd life. The images in this psalm are drawn right out of his experience as a young shepherd. This is a psalm for people who, like David, are experiencing a major upheaval in their life. Perhaps you too have children who are rebelling, or your home is in turmoil, or some long-standing relationship in your life is breaking up. This psalm is written for you. It is a psalm for people who are shaken and in turmoil. David begins with a statement of the theme of the entire passage: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; (Psalms 23:1 RSV) Because the Lord is my shepherd, I do not lack anything. He satisfies my needs.

That is the place to which God wants to bring us. He wants us to be independently dependent upon him, to need him alone. It struck me as I was studying this psalm that there are really only two options in life. If the Lord is my shepherd, then I shall not want; but if I am in want, then it is obvious that the Lord is not my shepherd. It is that simple. If there is emptiness and loneliness and despair and frustration in our lives, then the Lord is not our shepherd. Or, if anyone or anything else is shepherding us, we are never satisfied. If our vocation shepherds us, then there is restlessness and feverish activity and frustration. If education is our shepherd, then we are constantly being disillusioned. If another person is our shepherd, we are always disappointed and ultimately we are left empty. If dope is our shepherd, as one rock artist said recently, then "we are wasted". But if the Lord is our shepherd, David says, we shall not want. It occurs to me that if Jehovah is to be our shepherd, then we have to begin by recognizing that we are sheep. I don't like that analogy, frankly, because I don't like sheep.

I come by my dislike honestly. I used to raise sheep. In high school I was in the 4-H club, and I had a herd of sheep and goats. Now goats I can abide, because they may be obnoxious, but at least they're smart. Sheep are, beyond question, the most stupid animals on the face of the earth. They are dumb and they are dirty and they are timid and defenseless and helpless. Mine were always getting lost and hurt and snake-bitten. They literally do not know enough to come in out of the rain. I look back on my shepherding days with a great deal of disgust. Sheep are miserable creatures. And then to have God tell me that I am one! That hurts my feelings. But if I am really honest with myself I know it is true. I know that I lack wisdom and strength. I'm inclined to be self-destructive. As the song says, "I'm prone to wander." Isaiah said it best: "We are all like sheep who have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way," Isaiah 53:6). I know my tendency toward self-indulgent individualism, going my own way and doing my own thing.

That's me. I'm a sheep. And if Jesus Christ is to be my shepherd, I have to admit that I need one. It is difficult, but that is where we must start. Once we admit that need we discover the truth of what David is saying. We shall not want. In this psalm David enumerates the ways in which the Good Shepherd meets our needs. The first is found in Verse 2 and part of Verse 3: he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. (Psalms 23:2-3a RSV) The first thing he does is to meet the needs of the inner man, the basic needs that we have for nourishment within. The basic needs of a flock of sheep are grass and water. Here is the very picturesque scene of sheep bedded down in grassy meadows, having eaten their fill and now totally satisfied, and then being led by still waters. Sheep are afraid of running water; they will drink only from a quiet pool. A good shepherd, particularly in a semi-arid region such as Palestine, knows where the watering holes are. He knows where the grassy meadows are.

And so he leads the sheep into places where they can rest and feed, and where they can drink. The picture is one of calm and tranquility, because the basic needs of the sheep are met. The counterpart in our lives is obvious. It is God who restores the inner man through his word. As we feed upon the word of God we see the Lord Jesus there. We draw upon him and our inner man is satisfied. Jesus uses the same figure in John 6: "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform?

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Lord, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst." (John 6:27-35 RSV) The Word of God does this for us. It brings us, first, to the person of Christ. "Beyond the sacred page," the hymn says, "we see thee, Lord." We see him, and we eat and drink of him, and we discover him to be the resource that we need. As Paul says, "Though the outward man perishes, the inward man is renewed day by day," (2 Corinthians 4:15 KJV). Our souls are restored. How? As we feed upon him.

As we come to know him, believe what he says, and act on his word, we discover that the inner man is fed. I have a Bible study Wednesday nights in a fraternity house at Stanford. Our basic assumption there is that the Bible is the authority. No one really teaches the class; we simply open up the Word and the men in the group make observations. Last Wednesday night a student from Austria sat in with us, a fine young law student who is traveling in this country and is visiting Stanford for a few weeks. He shared some of his thinking with us and made a real contribution to the group. Afterward, as we were leaving, he made this comment: "I'm so thankful I could be here tonight, because I discovered that you men have found direct access to God through this book." Have you discovered that access? In times of deep, dire need, when we cast about for help, it is no farther away than God's word. Everything we need to nourish the inner man is right there. As Peter says, "In Christ all things are given unto us that pertain to life and godliness," (2 Peter 1:3).

Everything we need which relates to life and to living godly lives in the world is available in him. I wonder if we are employing that resource. The second thing the Good Shepherd does is to give direction in life: He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (Psalms 23:3b RSV) Or, as the margin indicates, "he leads me in right paths." The Hebrew word translated "paths" means "a well-defined, well-worn trail." That indicates again how stupid sheep are, because even when the trail is well laid out, they still need a shepherd. They are still inclined to wander away, no matter how obvious the path may be. The shepherd knows the trails. He has been there before, and the sheep trust him. I think the most anxiety-producing factor in the world today is uncertainty about the future. What is going to happen tomorrow, and the next day? There are decisions we must make which bear, not only upon our own lives, but upon the lives of everyone with whom we are associated. My life touches my family and my neighbors and my business associates; so does yours. We are constantly making decisions. How do we know that we are making the right ones?

Decisions can be crucial, and frustrating! There is the classic story about a man undergoing basic training in the army. He was pulling KP and was given the assignment of sorting potatoes. There was a huge mound of them and the mess sergeant told him to put all the bad ones in one bin, and all the good ones in the other bin. He came back about two hours later to find the man just looking at one potato. There was nothing in the bins. The sergeant said, "What's the matter, don't you like the work?" The soldier said, "It's not the work; it's the decisions that are killing me." I often feel that way and I know you do too. We have to make countless decisions, day after day, which touch the lives of our children and our wives and husbands. We need wisdom. We need a shepherd. We need someone who knows the trails, someone whom we can trust. There is a young man who left Stanford this quarter, and who is on his way to Tibet to live in a monastery for a year, because of a small decision that he made last quarter. It has affected his whole life. None of us know if he will ever come back to Christ.

He made a wrong decision and it affected his life dramatically. We all need a decisive word from someone who knows the way. Now, the Lord knows the way. But the question arises -- "How can I discover his will for my life?" May I suggest these steps: First, submit wholeheartedly to the leadership of the shepherd. That is the basic attitude we must maintain. Unless we are willing to admit that we don't know the way through the wilderness, and to submit to his leadership, we will never find the way. Jesus said, "If the eye is single, then the whole body will be full of light. If the eye is dual (or evil), how great is that darkness," Luke 11:34). He is saying, in a very picturesque way, that if our eye is fastened on Jesus Christ, if our eye is single, then our whole body will be full of light. We will know what to do. We will know the truth, and we'll act on it. We'll have understanding and wisdom. But if we have one eye on Christ, and the other on the world or on our circumstances or our boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever, if the eye is dual, how great is that darkness!

We never know where we are to go. We will have no sense of direction, and will wander in darkness. We have to be willing to submit wholeheartedly to the leadership of the shepherd. We must be willing to say, "I'll go anywhere. I'll do anything. I'll be anything. I'll carry any load, live anyplace you want me to live, do anything you want me to do." Once we're willing to say that, then God can reveal his will. Paul said it another way: "...present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship...and you will know what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God," (Romans 12:1b-2 RSV). The second thing we must do is to obey what we know now to be God's will for us. Probably 95% of God's will is already revealed in his Word. We have to begin by obeying the truth that we have. If we are disobedient to our parents, we cannot expect God to give us wisdom concerning our next step.

If we are not raising our children in the nurture and admonition of Christ, we cannot expect God to direct us. If we as men are not loving our wives as Christ loved the church, the Lord will not reveal more of his will. If you wives are not in submission to your husbands, God's leadership will not come to you. But when we obey the 95% of the truth that we have, then the 5% that is indefinite simply follows along as a matter of course. Now, that does not mean that we have to be sinless, because who of us is? But it does mean we have to be willing to face and put away sin as God points it out to us. If we are willing to be brought into conformity to Jesus Christ in every area of our life, and we are allowing him freedom to work, then he will reveal more truth to us. But he won't if we are consciously holding out, and defending sin. He reveals additional truth only to men and women with open, obedient hearts. But what about other areas of life where the Scriptures do not give specific information? There we are led through the peace of God.

As we spend time in prayer and waiting upon God there comes the sense of peace, an inner conviction, about the correctness of a certain direction. The peace of God will umpire in our life and will let us know what to do. I have discovered that we can trust that peace. When we move out on the basis of it we discover that God supports and undergirds our actions and, through confirming circumstances, further strengthens our sense of peace. Now, having stepped out in faith, we sometimes discover that things don't work out as we had anticipated. But even at that point we can't second-guess God. We cannot say that he did not give us wisdom. James says, "If anyone lacks wisdom let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally." We can believe that his wisdom will be given. There is often a tendency to second-guess ourselves and to think that perhaps we missed God's will if things don't go as we had planned. But God wants us to know his will even more than we do. He is not trying to play games with us. He is not trying to be obscure and to hide the truth from us. He wants us to know!

And as we step out on the basis of his peace, we can believe that this is the direction God wants us to go. In a small way I have been tempted to second-guess myself in a decision I had to make a few weeks back. My Volkswagen was totally wrecked in an accident and I had to replace it. The insurance company gave me a generous settlement and I went out to purchase another car. I didn't want to spend much time because I didn't have any. In the newspapers about 40 Volkswagens were advertised for sale. I knew that I couldn't look at every one, and so my wife, Carolyn, and I prayed together, "Lord, we've got to find a car. It's your car, and so we're not going to worry about it; please lead us to the right situation." After looking at half-a-dozen or so, we finally settled on one. It seemed good. I'm not much of a mechanic but I kicked the tires and slammed the doors and it seemed all right to me. I talked to the owner. He seemed ethical and claimed he'd just rebuilt the engine. So I bought the car and brought it home. Now we've discovered that it has a lot of problems.

It's using oil, and a number of other things are wrong. It's going to cost money to fix it up. My first thought was, "Oops, the Lord led me astray." But then I had to remember that we prayed for wisdom, and James says if we pray for wisdom we'll receive it. We acted on that promise when we bought the car. I don't know what God has in store for me in this matter, but I know that car is God's will for my life, right now. That is what I mean by confidence in God's ability to lead us. David says that he will lead us in the right path. That is a promise! And he does this for his name's sake. It isn't our name which is at stake, it is his name. It's his character, his reputation that is at stake. He has promised to give us wisdom. I believe that; I act. You believe it; you act. And it has to be true. God must fulfill his promise, otherwise his own reputation is impugned. His name is Faithful, and he has promised that he will lead us in the right paths. To me that is a tremendous source of encouragement.

I know that the decisions I make today and tomorrow, as I walk under his shepherding, will be correct. Even though the events which follow may not necessarily be all that I expect, the decisions will be right. That is his promise, and we can count on it. The third thing David says that a good shepherd does is to provide protection: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. (Psalms 23:4 RSV) This again is a very picturesque scene. The shepherd is leading the sheep back home at evening. As they go down through a narrow gorge the long shadows lie across the trail. In the Hebrew this is a "valley of deep shadows". The sheep, because they are so timid and defenseless, are frightened by their experience. But they trust the shepherd, and therefore they are comforted. They will fear no evil, because the shepherd is with them. We are reminded of the Lord's words quoted in the book of Hebrews "I will never leave you nor forsake you," Hebrews13:5).

Hence we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what man can do to me," Hebrews13:6). I do not know what your experience has been, but whenever I'm in a situation like this, when there is a great deal of pressure, I begin to wonder if the Lord hasn't abandoned me. But he says he never leaves us, never forsakes us. He is always there. Therefore we have no reason to fear. That is a great comfort. And then David writes, "Your rod and staff comfort me." The rod was a club which was used to drive off wild animals. It was never used on the sheep but was a heavy instrument used to protect the sheep from marauding predators. The staff was a slender pole with a little crook on the end. It was used to aid the sheep. The crook could be hooked around the leg of a sheep to pull him from harm. Or it could be used as an instrument to direct, and occasionally to discipline the sheep, with taps on the side of the body. Understanding how the shepherd tends his sheep has helped me so much in understanding the character of God.

When I go wandering away he doesn't say, "There goes that stupid sheep, Dave Roper!" and -- WHAP! down comes that big club! No. His attitude is, "Well, there's Dave, wandering away again. How can I help him? How can I move in to bring him back into line? How can I comfort him, and supply what he needs?" He may have to discipline, but he always does it in love. He reproves, corrects, encourages, and instructs in righteousness, dealing with us firmly and gently. The rod and staff are also used against the two greatest enemies we have to face. The rod is for the enemy without, Satan, who is working through the world system to destroy us. Jesus said, "He is a liar and a murderer." He's out to devour us, and so the Lord uses the club on him. But the other enemy is me, the enemy within. In the immortal words of Pogo, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." I know that. The shepherd's staff is used to chasten, and to subdue the enemy within.

But the confidence he gives is that I have nothing to fear, either from the enemy without, or from the enemy within. In Verses 5 and 6 David changes the metaphor a bit -- from the good shepherd to the gracious host: Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. (Psalms 23:5-6 RSV) Jehovah spreads a sumptuous meal before him, a great banquet, in the presence of his enemies. This figure encompasses all the figures David has used before. That God feeds and provides, leads and protects, is all bound up in this symbol of a gracious host. Interestingly enough, this figure grows right out of the historical situation in which David wrote. When David was driven into the wilderness by his son's rebellion he found himself out in the desert, hungry and weary, his army in disarray.

As recorded in Second Samuel 17, three men who were not even Israelites, Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai, ...brought beds, basins[so they could wash and refresh themselves], and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grain, beans and lentils, honey and curds and sheep and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat; for they said, "The people are hungry and thirsty in the wilderness." (2 Sam 17:28-29) David saw in this that God, as a gracious host, was preparing a table before him in the presence of his enemies. Paul said it this way: "My God will supply all of your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus," (Philippians 4:19 RSV). A final note is that the word "follow," in Verse 6, literally means "pursue". David says that God's goodness and mercy shall pursue him, in contrast to the pursuit of his enemies who are out to dethrone and destroy him. David's desire was to go back to the tabernacle and to worship there.

God's mercy and kindness ought to evoke the same response from us. We worship, not in a tabernacle, but, as Jesus said, "in spirit and in truth," (John 4:24). We worship in the inner man, where God dwells. When we see that the Good Shepherd does feed us and does lead us and does protect us, our response ought to be worship -- a recognition of all that Jehovah is, a word of thanks for what he has done, and the statement, "Here is more of myself for you to put to your intended purpose." That is true worship. Prayer: Our Father, we realize that the only reasonable act of worship is for us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. It is the only response we can make to your goodness. You are the Good Shepherd. You are utterly trustworthy. We discover that you do feed us continually, you do lead us, you do guard us and protect us, and we want to say thank you this morning for that. We want to say again that our bodies are yours to fill and use. This is the only reasonable thing that we can do. We thank you for all that you are to us, in Jesus' name, Amen. Title:

Question: """The Lord is My Shepherd..."" psalm number?"
Answer: 23