The Good Shepherd

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 paths of righteousness for His Names 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 over flows. Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

As I read this beautiful Psalm, right away I sense David is making a declaration, first and foremost to himself and then to all who would have opportunity to read or hear the soothing melody of this comforting Psalm. is probably the most recited and memorized passage of the Bible. It’s been used countless times to soothe the pangs of the distressed and grieving uttered by both rich and poor alike.

David starts his declaration establishing right off that it is the “LORD” who is his Shepherd. The spelling of LORD here is significant in that, when we see LORD spelled out using all upper case letters it indicates the “I AM” God, Yahweh/Jehovah. The root, HWY in Hebrew means “To Be”. This name suggests that God, simply IS. He has an underived existence; He is eternal, meaning “He is, has always been and will always be”. He is the “uncreated” one and creator of all things.

Some versions or translations of the Bible use “Lord”. Here only the L is capitalized, which translates Adonai literally meaning my Lord, sovereign, strength and power. to keep from transgressing () “ Though shall not take the LORDS name in vain...” the Israelites took the vowel sounds from Adonai and combined them with YHWH (the most sacred name of God) which translates Jehovah. I believe either rendering here equates the same intent David had, that it is The All Powerful One, who created all things and is sovereign and in control of all, that is his Shepherd.

In picturing the LORD, The Almighty, as a shepherd David is letting us know that The Great and All Powerful God is intimately concerned with our lives and will be personally involved with our care. Being a shepherd in his younger days David understood well the commitment and personal involvement needed in caring for his sheep. It was his and his alone’s responsibility to lead his sheep to green meadows and quiet waters where they could find rest. To use his rod and staff to cause them to walk the right paths when traversing thru the dark and shadowy valleys from one pasture to the next. To comfort them with his presence knowing he is always there to protect them and rescue them from danger. Yes, David knew full well the comparison he was making calling the LORD his Shepherd. In our lives it’s the word of God that is the Lords rod and staff that guides, disciplines and comforts us in those dark valleys and treacherous rocky trails we find ourselves traversing thru this life.

Lets look at (11) For thus says the Lord God, Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. (12) As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. (13) I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.

Sound familiar?

No doubt David was very familiar with this passage and drew much inspiration, strength and comfort from it as he penned his wouldn’t be, at all surprised if he had recited it over and over to himself on those long nights alone tending his fathers sheep, his faith in his LORD growing stronger and stronger with each verse. That is why he states with great confidence “…I shall not want.” The word Shall can also be translated “DO” meaning, as long as I have the LORD as my Shepherd “I do not want for anything”.

So, I find great comfort in David’s Psalm for, if the Lord is no one else’s Shepherd I know that He is mine. I do not need another. For it is the LORD who supplies all my needs “…according to His riches in glory.” (Philp. 4:19) It is HE who causes me to lie down and rise up. It is HE who leads me from worry and stress to quiet waters of peace in His Holy Spirit. It is HE who restores my soul and guides me in paths of righteousness for His Names sake.

While studying I noticed another word for “paths” is “tracks”. He guides me in tracks of righteousness for His names sake. I don’t know that anyone else sees it the way I do but, I believe the LORD is showing me that, He has already gone before me and if I will follow closely in His tracks He will guide me through the mine fields of this life. Much like the one who has the map to where all the land mines are planted, if we step precisely where he does as he leads us through the mine field we will make it through with out being blown to pieces. The great benefit of having the LORD going before us and guiding us through the mine fields of life is, when we do misstep HE is there to restore us as we confess, repent and seek His face again.

Therefore, as I walk through this life, this “…valley of the shadow..” I don’t have to fear evil or harm, they may (and probably will) come but, I don’t have to fear them. For I know HE is with me, in fact HE has gone before me. His rod of discipline that proves I am His (&6) and His staff of steadfast faithfulness that I lean and depend on, they comfort and protect me. Through His Son Jesus HE has prepared a “… table before me in the presence of my enemies. He has anointed my head with oil...” and sealed me for eternity with His Holy Spirit, filling me until “…my cup overflows...” with rivers of living water. His goodness and loving kindness will forever follow me, because He has gone to prepare a place for me and if i die in this shadowy valley or live until HE returns I know I will Dwell in HIS house forever.

It’s not a coincidence David equates the Lord as his Shepherd. I fully believe is prophetic of our Lord Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection and the outpouring of His Holy Spirit. It is the Lords communion table he speaks of that the Lord Himself prepared for us at the cross “…in the presence of our enemies” the devil and his evil horde. With His rod and staff HE broke open wide the gates of hell and the grave forever removing the sting of death. If that isn’t enough HE rose from the grave and after ascending back to the Father He sent His Holy Spirit to indwell all who receive Him as Savior and Lord overflowing through us and anointing us to to preach the Gospel the Good News of what He has done, to heal the sick and set the captive free!

Yes David saw all of it as he declared it in another () “The LORD say’s to my Lord: Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a foot stool for Your feet.”

Jesus confirms and establishes Himself as the Good Shepherd in the Gospel of John chap. 10: 11-18 (11) “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. (12) He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd,who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. (13) He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. (14) I am the good shepherd and I know My own and My own know Me, (15) even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. (16) I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. (17) For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again. (18) No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

Jesus is our GOOD SHEPHERD! The word “good” here is key to me. Why put the word “good” to describe the shepherd? wouldn’t it be enough for Jesus to say “ I am the Shepherd”? I believe Jesus, by calling Himself the “good” shepherd is establishing His position of divinity and deity as being one with the Father. Not just another shepherd but the Good Shepherd, the Son of God. He states it plainly in verses 15, 17 & 18.

Let’s look at . This is the story of the rich young ruler who asks Jesus “…Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. (20) “…You know the commandments...” Jesus knew his heart and I think the rich young ruler thought he could flatter Jesus by proclaiming Him good before all the crowd equating Him with God and that Jesus would be so honored that this kid would recognize Him as equal with God that Jesus would bless him with eternal life and he could live forever in the luxuries he was accustomed to. But, as always Jesus confronts us with the Truth laying bare our true intentions and motives. To do less would be unrighteous and make Himself a liar because He could not say truly, that He loves us.

Jesus knew his heart you see

We find this story also in and . In these accounts Jesus establishes His deity not only before this rich young ruler but, to all who are gathered around. With a question and a single statement He shows that “if” He is recognized as “good” (which, He is having demonstrated it with countless miracles of healing, provision and deliverance) and that, if there is “none good but God alone” then, you MUST recognize Him as God and heed His commandments and instruction as well. Unfortunately the rich young ruler could not. Can we? Sure we recognize Jesus as a good man, a good teacher even a good savior full of love and compassion but, do we recognize Him as the LORD our God, The Almighty who purchased our lives with His very Blood, taking the punishment we deserved, His flesh being ripped from His bones, His body bruised and battered and then nailed to a cross. Forsaken by God if only for a moment but forsaken none the less so that we would never have to experience that complete and utter abandonment, not just for a moment but for all eternity. Do we recognize Him for that God? Do we recognize Him for the God who is coming again to receive His own that will judge our lives and our souls. Will you be ready to stand before Him on that day and give an account for your life? (will I?) You see, we don’t just recognize Him in our thoughts and with our lips but with our lives and in our actions, in the way that we treat one another, love one another and care for one another. We are one body in Christ nit together in His love. If we never uttered another word, could anyone that didn’t know us see that? Do you know the Good Shepherd and does He know you? Will you hear His voice today and be gathered into His flock? Can you, can I truly say as David did “The LORD is MY Shepherd I shall not want”?