Our Great Shepherd

The Lord is my Shepherd.

It is the LORD. YHWH. The unchanging, eternal, independant God who is your Shepherd. It is the same God who wiped out Pharoah and his army, that delivered Israel from slavery. The same God who has mercy and grace upon whom he will. The all-powerful God is your Shepherd.

He is the covenant keeping God. The God of our Fathers. The one whose lovingkindness is everlasting. Who’s promise is as stable and unchangeable as His being. This Lord is your Shepherd. He watches you, protects you, provides for you. His watchful eye is upon you to keep you from harm by day and by night. What great many evils attend to both. Protects you from all sorts of enemies, dangers, toils, and snares. The devil our adversary, lurks around like a lion, seeking a lost sheep to devour, but the Lord is your shepherd.

Dear Christian, if you only knew how many dangers, how many evils, our Lord, our Good shepherd keeps us from, we would never have any reason to fear. He does this every hour of every day. Keeping us from the desires of our flesh. Keeping us from the firey darts of the devil. Protecting us from the many snares the cares and lusts of the world present us with. Embrace this today dear believer. Go ahead in great strength this week knowing what a great Shepherd we have over us.

“I will lack nothing”

I will in nothing lack, because of who my Shepherd is. My shepherd, is all-knowing, nothing takes the Lord by surprise. My Shepherd is all powerful, and his power is independant of all possible threats to my Spiritual well being. Our Shepherd is all-wise, working both his knowledge and power toward the best possible outcomes for the glory of himself and the good of His sheep. When it seems as if things are going wrong, out of control, when the world and our flesh begin to overcome us, we know that there is still nothing we lack, no good is being withheld from us. It’s all because of who our shepherd is. He has all of history and all of the future is his hands, everything and everyone is operating at his bidding like it or not. If YHWH, be your shepherd, what could you lack?

Verse 2.

We note first that it is the Lord who leads. He makes, He makes, He makes.

Spiritual rest, nourishment, peace, and renewal are all brought to the sheep by the shepherds own hand.

Lying down implies safety.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, because we don’t find them on our own. We are like sheep. And our tendency is always to go astray and away from safety and good nourishment. You’ve all probably seen the video of this sheep being pulled out of a trench on the side of the road only to pounce right back into the same trench. That is our natural bent. We are prone to that.

But the Lord leads us.

The Shepherd has the sheep lie down when there is no harm, nothing to fear, no predators at bay. And the lying down in green pastures is not just rest but make that a cool and calm place to rest. Lying down on the desert floor doesn’t have the same appeal to it.

The Lord gives rest. He brings us to the place we can rest and be fed, be nourished. Again free from all that might bring harm, unrest, what might not be the best nourishment. Maybe you’re already getting a hint at where the Psalmist is going….

The sheep are lead beside quiet waters. Now the idea of peace and tranquility. Peace and safety are in the walls and towers of jerusalem. Peace and refreshment. The running streams in the city of God, make his people glad, renewed in strength and vigor.

And the soul is restored.

Now when we put all of these things together, it kind of sounds like the Lords day. The market day for the soul. The Christian Sabbath. This is the picture. The Lord draws his people out of the world into his protective, prosperous, and peaceful care. He does this every week. He calls his people in and sets up the ramparts. No enemy, no distraction, nothing to bring unrest. There is a raging war with the church and the Christian. The Lord provides a cease fire for us. The conflict and battle will rage, but not here.

“For his name sake”

Is the Lord jealous for His name, is he jealous for the glory of His name. Then I that’s an exhortation for us to do all things to and for the glory of God. And it’s also a comfort. The Lord will not allow his name to not be hallowed, if he does all this for His own name sake, then you are in the surest hands. He is doing something glorious in his church for the glory of himself. He doesn’t share his glory with another. He will do it, and marvelously and bountifully at that.

You lack nothing in your current circumstance because the Lord isn’t withholding anything that is needful for you. Your vocation, your house, your car, your financial situation, your job, your spiritual progress, everything is right where it ought to be. If you are prosperous, the Lord has provided and brought you there. Be thankful. If you are backslidden, in a spiritual rut, going through the valley of the shadow of death, you lack nothing.