My text today comes
once again from the 23rd Psalm: 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.”
We’ve already tried to
unpack that first clause, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” and we’ve seen how
Scripture describes this Shepherd as the One through whom everything that has
been made was made. We know this Shepherd as holy, as merciful, and as deeply
in love with you and me as individuals. Finally, Scripture wants us to know Him
as our personal protector.
Which brings us to that
next clause, “I shall not want.” It’s
important that we inseparably link those two clauses of this first verse – The
LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want. Thus, the REASON we shall not be in want
is BECAUSE of Who our Shepherd is.
First, let me say at
the outset that it is most unlikely that David meant – or even thought – that the
child of God would never be hungry or cold or sick or sad or lonely. We learn
from reading 1 and 2 Samuel and his many Psalms that David often suffered various
deprivations – not only while King Saul was forever trying to kill him, but
also when his own son, Absalom, tried to kill him as well.
So, what did David mean
when he wrote, “I shall not want”? Another translation renders it, “I shall not
lack anything I need.” I think it’s most likely that because David knew His
Shepherd passionately loved him, he could therefore have the confidence that
his Shepherd would tend to his needs just as – even better than – when
David, while a shepherd, tended his own sheep.
I don’t want to move
any further than this point for a moment because you need to ask yourself, as I
need to ask myself – since the Almighty Creator is our Shepherd – do we now, as
we sit in this sanctuary – do we have the same confidence as David had? And if not – WHY not? Do we hold in the back
of our minds the thought that goes like this: Yes, I know God cares for OTHERS
. . . but sometimes I am unsure that He
care in the same way for me?
If that is the case –
even if you are reluctant to admit it either out loud or quietly in your own
heart – if you think your heavenly Father places some of His children into
different ‘Care’ and ‘Love’ categories, let me remind every Christian in this sanctuary
that Jesus Himself said that the Father loves YOU with the SAME love with which
the He loves Jesus. (John17:23)
That means every
Christian is in the SAME category of love and care as is Jesus Himself. And it
is a lie straight from the tongue of Satan when the devil whispers that our
Good Shepherd has placed ANY of His sheep in separate ‘love’ or ‘care’
categories. Listen, please, when doubts arise in your heart – go back to the
Bible. What does it say about God's individual love for each individual child
of His through faith in Christ?
Our Good Shepherd said
it quite clearly in John 16:27 ‘The Father Himself loves you, because you
have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.”
So, back to the 23rd
Psalm and that clause, “I shall not want” – or, “I shall not lack anything I
need” and be reminded that it is the Almighty Lord who is our Shepherd.
The apostle Paul might
have had this text in the back of his mind when he wrote to the Christians at
Philippi: (Philippians 4:19) “And my
God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in
Christ Jesus.”
And perhaps Isaiah had this psalm in mind when he wrote of the Great
Shepherd who tends to EACH INDIVIDUAL sheep: (Isaiah 40:11) “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the
lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those
that have young.”
During our Friday Bible study several weeks ago, we looked at the Lord’s
parable of the Lost Sheep. Most of you know the Parable; only one sheep out of
100 sheep was lost. Only one out of 100 had wandered off. It was lost. And
frightened. And in danger from predators. It was in great need of being found,
of being protected, of being taken care of.
The point of the Lord’s parable should be obvious: The Good Shepherd leaves
the 99 safely in the fold to look for the one who is lost. And isn’t that story
like the story of parents even today? When they were toddles, didn’t we rush to
bend down, take our hurting or frightened child into our arms and soothe away
their tears? They didn’t need a lollipop from us at that moment. They needed
our snuggles, our comfort, and our protection.
Listen to Lord’s comment along this thought: “What man is there among
you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a
stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will
he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is
good to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:9-11)
I hope you see why it is so very important that we inseparably link
those two clauses in this first verse of Psalm 23. The Omnipotent Creator God is
our Shepherd. Therefore, it is no wonder we shall not be in need of anything
that is good for us – physical things, surely. But also – and really, more
importantly – the intangible things as His great and superabundant love, care,
mercy, forgiveness, and grace.
Our Shepherd WILL provide His sheep with everything they NEED. But there
are times – and we have all experience with this – there are those times when
what WE think we need is not the same as what the Shepherd KNOWS we need.
So, how then should we proceed with Christ under those circumstances?
Well, the apostle Paul can be an example. Notice what he wrote to the
Christians in Philippi: (Philippians 4:11-13) “[It is not] that I speak from want, for I have
learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get
along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and
every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and
going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Paul did not write this from religious theory. He
wrote it from hard experience. Notice also what he wrote to the Corinthians
some five years earlier:” (2 Corinthians 11:24-28): “Five times I
received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I
was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent
in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in
dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers
from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in
the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers
among false brethren; I have
been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights,
in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart
from such external things, there is the daily pressure on
me of concern for all the churches.”
Talk about deprivation – THAT was deprivation.
Yet he wrote to the Philippians that he learned from EXPERIENCE how to get
along in all kinds of deprivations. He learned from experience that the Good
Shepherd will always supply his NEEDS – not necessarily his ‘wants.’
What’s been your experience with the Good
Shepherd during your life? That’s a serious and important question for your
spiritual welfare and your ability to grow in faith. And please hear this:
Perhaps it is BECAUSE so many of God's sheep in
the pews live Monday through Sunday on their own that they scoff at the apostle
Paul’s promise to the Christians at Corinth: “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is
faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing
he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13, NRSVA)
They scoff because they believe the Shepherd HAS given them more than
they can endure. But guess what? They are correct to say such things. Why,
because the Good Shepherd never intended for His sheep to go
through life on their own, with hardly any thought about their Creator. He
never intended us to make important decisions without so much as a glance
toward the Shepherd for guidance. Our Creator Shepherd never intended for His
sheep to face on their own the trials all humanity is subject to. “My sheep
hear My voice,” Jesus said, “and they follow Me.”
Listen again to Paul, who learned the lessons
that I just spoke of: “I can do all things through Him
who strengthens me.”
The Lord’s sheep hear His voice, and they follow
Him. If you know your Bible, you know one of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to
guide His sheep into truth. (John 16:13) “But
when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the
truth.” And St James wrote: (James
1:5) “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who
gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
And God urges His sheep through Jeremiah: ‘Call to Me and I will
answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do
not know.’ (Jeremiah 33:3)
And finally to this point, Jesus told His disciples: (Matthew 11:28-30) “Come
to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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 Lord is our Shepherd. We shall not be in need of anything He deems
necessary to us for life, health, and well-being. But like wayward sheep in a
flock of real sheep, so it is that you and I, God's sheep, can go astray. And
it is that troubling reality that we should diligently guard against.
Listen to the Good Shepherd speak through David in one of his other
psalms: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should
go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse
or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and
bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near to you.”
(Psalm 32:8-9)
The Lord is our Shepherd. And it is precisely because David knew of the
Shepherd’s desire and intent to guide His sheep, to protect them, to nurture
them, that he wrote those next lines that remain exquisitely relevant to His
sheep in 2025: “He
makes me
lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet
waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of
righteousness for His name’s sake.”
I draw your attention
to those verbs: He Makes; He Leads; He Restores; He Leads.
You see, it’s all HIM; It’s all what HE does for us. Then do we so often resist
Him? Like the wayward sheep in the Lord’s parable I mentioned a little while
ago, we think we know better than our Creator Shepherd. We give lip service to
prayer, hardly thinking about asking God for direction in our daily decisions.
I am not talking about asking Him if we should have eggs or cereal for
breakfast – although there would be nothing wrong with that – but about guiding
us especially about decisions that are of much greater consequence. You can
fill in the blanks with that one because only you can know what decisions you
face, perhaps even today, that can have far-reaching consequences.
It’s all Him and what
He does for us. But then the question arises: WHY does He ‘make me’ and ‘lead
me’ and ‘restore me’? Because it’s also all about us.
As many of you know, I
minister each week at a Memory Care center where the residents are in varying
degrees of memory loss. I meet with them each week to encourage them in God's
love.
A few weeks ago, I
asked them a question I’ve asked them before: “Why do you think God loves us?” And
immediately one of the women piped up: “He loves us because He created us in
His image.”
I don’t think I’ve ever
heard a more succinct and truthful answer – even from those without dementia.
Why does our Good
Shepherd make us and lead us and guide us? Because He loves us. He loves us
with a love that can only be described as totally incomprehensible to sinners
such as you and I. But while His love is incomprehensible, the Holy
Spirit helps the penitent to snuggle down into His love because the faith He
gives us assures us that what He says of Himself and of His relationship with us
is true – because God is always true.
I need to say that
again: While the Good Shepherd’s love is incomprehensible, the Holy
Spirit helps us to snuggle down into His love because what God says both of
Himself and of the penitent is always true.
And because of the
Shepherd’s love for His sheep, David continues: He leads me in
the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
There is too much in
this short sentence to properly speak of today, so we will leave it for next
time. But let me close today’s message by saying this as it relates to being
led in the paths of righteousness:
Sheep like to wander.
That’s just what they do. And one of the shepherd’s roles is to lead them along
safe paths. You and I also like to wander. That’s just what our sin nature
causes us to do. And that’s why the Church hymn makes sense to the honest
Christian: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart; O take and seal it; Seal it for thy courts above.”
The Good Shepherd leads
us along paths of righteousness for the sake of His name, for the sake of His
glory. But there is also another reason He leads us along those paths – and
when we let Scripture interpret Scripture, we learn that reason has everything
to do with our safety and protection. I know I spoke about this theme last
week, but I purposely and purposefully address it again because repetition is
good and necessary for sheep like you and I to finally ‘get it.’
And keep it.
The Lord Creation is
our Shepherd. His sheep hear His voice, and they follow Him. So, do you routinely
listen for His voice? Do you routinely listen TO His voice when He tells you, “This
is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the
left”? (Isaiah 30:21)
Those are important
questions every person in this sanctuary must answer every day, day after day,
throughout our lives.
We’ll spend a lot more time with ‘the paths of righteousness’ when we come back to this psalm next week.
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