23rd Psalm1

The 23rd Psalm undoubtedly is the most universal Scripture known, and loved in all lands. Author Erling Olsen writes, “Strictly speaking, the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th Psalms form an inseparable trinity. These three Psalms present our Lord Jesus in striking manner.

In the 22nd Psalm He is the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep; in the 23rd Psalm He is the Great Shepherd, who in resurrection glory leads His sheep; in the 24th Psalm he is the Chief Shepherd who is to return in glory.”

Most of us can testify that we have known the 23rd Psalm from early childhood. Philip Keller, in his masterpiece A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm, says “It is the universal Psalm, the pearl of Psalms, the chief Psalm; in fact, one can go on exhausting adjectives in an attempt to express its great message, and still he would only have touched the fringe of its contents.” Yet, it is a Psalm of only six verses!

As we will see, the 23rd Psalm is not just a Psalm to die by; it is a Psalm to live by. It lays out perfectly the care of the Chief Shepherd of the sheep—the Lord Jesus Christ—as we journey with Him through life.

The 23rd Psalm is thought to have been written by David near the end of his life, though this cannot be proven. No doubt, much of the striking sheep/shepherd imagery comes from David’s own intimate knowledge of caring for sheep, which was his task as a young man.

F.B. Meyer in his classic book The Shepherd Psalm, writes “Come hither, weary ones, restless ones, heavy-laden ones; sit down in this cool and calm resort, while the music of its rhythm charms away the thoughts that break your peace. How safe and blessed are you to whom the Lord is Shepherd!”

So, blessed children of God, let’s begin our journey with the Chief Shepherd, the Lord Jesus!

Vs. 1 “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”

Who is the Shepherd? David says, our Shepherd is the Lord. Not everyone has a shepherd. In fact, unless the Lord God is invited into our life in the Person of Jesus Christ, we are “shepherd-less.” One day Jesus looked at a crowd of people following Him and his heart was moved with compassion for them. Why?

Matt. 9: 36 “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Jesus saw every person as a sheep, but the crowd he hurt for had no shepherd. Only those that belong to Him are sheep having a Shepherd. David almost seems to brag that the Shepherd to which he refers is HIS Shepherd.

One day Jesus described Himself as the Good Shepherd. John 10: 11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” But how much do we really know about Him? The fact that so many want nothing to do with allowing Him leadership and authority in their lives is because we don’t really understand Who it is we’re dealing with—or who is dealing with us!

The Bible says that Jesus Christ was directly responsible for the creation of all things both natural and supernatural. “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”—Col. 1:19

John opens his gospel in agreement: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”—1:3

God the Father is God the author—the originator of all that exists. It was in His mind, first, that all took shape. God the Son, our Savior, is God the artisan—the artist, the Creator of all that exists. He brought into being all that had been originally formulated in His Father’s mind.

God the Holy Spirit is God the agent who presents these facts to both my mind and my spiritual understanding so that they become both real and relative to me as an individual. Jesus said of the coming of the Holy Spirit, “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.”—John 15:26

The beautiful, incredible relationships given to us repeatedly in Scripture between God and man are those of a father to his children and a shepherd to his sheep. So when the striking, comforting statement is made that “The Lord is my Shepherd,” it immediately implies a profound yet practical relationship between a human being and his Maker.

The very thought of the Lord as our Shepherd informs us of how important we are to Him as individuals. Remember, Jesus once talked of a flock of one-hundred sheep where one strays away. The Shepherd hastily leaves them all in search of that one (see Matt. 12:11-12). One individual straying sheep brought on a Divine search party!

David knew from firsthand experience that the lot in life of any particular sheep depended on the type of man who owned it. Some men were gentle, kind, intelligent, brave and selfless in their devotion to their flock. But under another man the sheep would struggle, starve, and suffer endless hardship.

Hence, Jesus identified Himself as the “Good” Shepherd who laid down his very life for the good of the sheep. Yet it is abundantly clear that most people refuse to acknowledge this fact. They deliberately attempt to deny that such a relationship even exists or could exist between a man and his Maker. They are repulsed by the very idea that anyone really could claim ownership or authority over them.

Yet the Shepherd, through and by His amazing grace, has taken the step of attempting to restore our relationship with Him through the “laying down” of His life on the cross.

At Calvary He absorbed the penalty for our perverseness, rebellion and stubbornness. Using shepherd/sheep pictures, the Prophet Isaiah wrote,

“All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6).

One real shepherd writes of his experience with sheep, “The day I bought my first thirty sheep, my neighbor and sat on the dusty corral rails that enclosed the sheep pens and admired the choice, strong, well-bred lambs that had become mine.

Turning to me he handed me a large, sharp, killing knife and remarked tersely, ‘Well, Phillip, they’re yours. Now you’ll have to put your mark on them.’”

“I knew exactly what he meant. Each sheep-man has his own distinctive earmark which he cuts into one or other of the ears of his sheep. In this way, even at a distance, it is easy to determine to whom the sheep belongs.”

In the same way, our Shepherd has placed His mark on us. The Bible says, “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.”—Eph. 1:13

Not only did our Good Shepherd mark us with the seal of the Holy Spirit, we are also marked by the cross. “If any man would be my disciple let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”—Luke 9:23

This basically amounts to a person exchanging the irresponsible life of living by sheer whimsy for the more productive and satisfying adventure of being guided by God. A good question to ask at this point it:

Do I really belong to Him?

Do I really recognize His right to me?

Do I respond to His authority and acknowledge His ownership?

Do I sense a purpose and deep contentment because I am under His direction?

Next, David proudly exclaims:

“I shall not want.”

The word “want” has a broader meaning than one might think at first glance. No doubt, it does refer to the concept of not lacking, of having enough in terms of proper care and management.

But a second meaning is that of being utterly content in the Good Shepherd’s care; hence, there is a lack of craving or of desiring anything more.

This passage is certainly not telling us that the child of God will never have a want, will never lack or need. David himself had been taunted, stalked and hounded for an entire decade by the insane King Saul. During that time he experienced deep personal poverty, acute hardship, and anguish of spirit.

When Jesus was among us, He warned that we would “have tribulation” in this world. One of the unfortunate Christian myths floating around the body of Christ today is that if ones faith is at a certain level, he or she will never experience lack. This is simply not true, and scripture abundantly testifies such.

“Hebrew 11, the famous faith chapter, focuses half of its content on mighty men and women of faith who, “…were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.”

Then it goes on to say, “These were all commended for their faith…”

Having faith does not exempt one from suffering, times of lack and need, or tribulation. Then what does David mean when he says, “I shall not want?”

He was stating that, even in a difficult world filled with temptation, problems, challenges, tears and troubles, my Shepherd’s care for me will be so sufficient, His love so rich, His peace so great, that He will be enough!

In the world of real shepherding and sheep, it all comes down to the quality of the shepherd. One lifelong shepherd wrote that the sheepman on the farm next to him was totally indifferent toward his sheep.

He cared not for the condition of his flock. His land was neglected. His poor sheep foraged for themselves as best they could, summer and winter. They fell prey to dogs, cougars and rustlers.

Every year these poor creatures were forced to gnaw away at bard brown fields and impoverished pastures. Shelter to safeguard and protect the suffering sheep from storms and blizzards was scanty and inadequate.

They had only muddy and polluted water to drink. In their thin, weak and diseased condition these poor sheep were a pathetic sight. This shepherd writes that he could still remember seeing them standing at the fence, huddled sadly in little knots, staring wistfully through the wires at the rich pastures on the other side.

Meanwhile, their heartless shepherd seemed callous and indifferent. He ignored their needs—he couldn’t have cared less.

This cruel sheepman perfectly pictures the hard taskmasters, Sin and Satan. No wonder Jesus said,

“Open your eyes and look at the fields! That they are ready for harvest”—Jn 4:35

When we look, this is what we see—hungry, weak, diseased and desperate sheep looking for a true shepherd. David is simply echoing what the Lord Jesus said of Himself,

John 10: 11-15 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. I am completely satisfied with His management of my life. He is the true Shepherd for whom no trouble is too great as He cares for His flock.

He will, if necessary, be on the job twenty-four hours a day to see that I am properly cared for. He will feed me, water me, and lead to green pastures of tender grass. No matter what I experience on this earth, he is sufficient for me!