THE GREAT SHEPARD
Have we ever considered the responsibilities of a Shepherd?
PSALMS 23:1-6 A Psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4Yea, 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.
5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Most people the world over either have some form of religion, or they are always wondering about the here after when people die.
And these with their religion don’t really feel safe with what the call their belief.
Many of them might say that their happy and content just the way things are, but deep inside their not really in a peaceful frame of mind, and when you think about it, how can they be.
They may have some kind of religion, but they have not found the God who made them and the world in which they live. No one can find peace while living away from the God who formed him or her.
And you cannot have peace living against the laws of the True & Living God.
Isaiah 48:22 22There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.
Peace is found in knowing God and living for him.
The 23rd Psalm is talking about the Great Shepherd of our souls, and how he cares for us. The first thing that the psalm says about the Great Shepherd is that:
He provides. David is saying that God is the Great Shepherd. And because the Lord is his Shepherd, he will not be in want.
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
David has the sense that God is watching over him and providing for him. The Lord is always beside him and looking after his needs. There is great peace that has come into David’s life, in spite of his many problems, because he has this overwhelming sense that God loves him and cares about him.
David knows that God wants the best for him and leads his life in ways so that he will find God’s best. 1 John 4:16 16And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
Brothers & sisters can you imagine what it would be like to live and not be aware everyday that God loves us and wants the best for us?
David had that assurance, and that was what kept him going through all the problems he faced in life.
David said that God was like a good shepherd that took his sheep to green pastures and led them to quiet waters.
2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Human shepherds may be quite different because people are different, they all have different personalities.
There are those who don’t really care for the sheep and are rough with them. They don’t care for the sheep, they only care about themselves. They don’t make life pleasant for the sheep; they only make life easy for themselves.
From the things I’ve read about sheep they are not really smart creatures. They wander off and get lost. They are in need of constant care; they cannot take care of themselves.
If they walk head first into the corner of a fence, they are not smart enough to back up. The shepherd has to come and lead them out.
So it is, that if they were left alone they would surely die of some mishap.
Jesus told about the lost sheep? He said in Matthew 18:12 –14 12How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? 13And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. 14Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
Jesus knew that this was a real life situation as there were shepherds there at that time that faced such as this on a daily basis.
Sheep, like us, are dependent creatures and need constant care, they are always running into trouble.
We, who are Gods sheep, need our Great Shepherd to come after us and rescue us from time to time.. But we have the assurance that we are being watched and cared for by the Great Shepherd.
Jesus said in John 10:11-14 11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Even at night the shepherd guards the sheep at great personal danger.
Back in biblical times the sheep were sometime placed in a cave at night, or inside a fence, sometimes made of some sort of dense hedge with a single entrance.
There was no gate to keep the predators out, so the shepherd became the gate as he laid down at the opening of the cave or hedge.
This is the meaning behind the statement of Jesus when he said, in John 10:7-10
Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
It’s wonderful to be in the protecting care of our Great Shepherd.
A shepherd does not take the sheep into barren places, but pastures that have sufficient supply.
2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures--
This often means that the flock will have to stay on the move, and as the grass is eaten in one place, the sheep are led to another and then another.
And when the sheep are thirsty, the good shepherd don’t take the sheep to streams that are swift with rapids and rushing white water, because the sheep could be swept downstream. –v. 2-- he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He takes them to the quiet waters where they can wade in and drink all they want without fear or danger.
Our Shepherd says to us: John 7:37-38 If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
And as we drink from him, he restores our soul.
3He restoreth my soul: --
Another thing that this psalm tells us about the Great Shepherd is that he not only provides: He also guides. -- V3 : he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
The good shepherd guides, he never drives. Cattle are driven, but sheep must be led.
The reputation of the shepherd is at stake here. He does this for “his name’s sake.” If he is not a good shepherd to his own sheep, there will not be many others who want to be a part of his flock. The reputation of God is at stake, because he has promised to care for his flock and pledged himself to their welfare.
He is the all-wise Guide who takes the sheep where they need to go rather than where they want to go.
If he did not guide them they would wander throughout the countryside and get themselves into all kinds of danger. But he guides them in the paths of righteousness, or the way of rightness.
He shows them the right way. And because he is leading, there is no fear of the future. Even if he takes them through the valley of the shadow of death, they will fear no evil, simply because he is with them.
4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;--
In the Spring and most of the Summer, the flock did not have to move about much, because the grass was plentiful. But when Fall and Winter came, the flock was constantly on the move.
Often, as the shepherd took the flock from one grazing area to another, the way would lead through a valley.
These were sometimes referred to as “the valley of the shadow of death,” because predators followed the flock and waited for one of the flock to stray. But the shepherd carried a rod, or club, to beat off any predator that would attack the sheep.
4Yea, 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.
If a sheep would begin to wander away from the fold, the shepherd would take his staff and move them back into the sheepfold.
That’s why the staff would have a crook in it, so the shepherd could place the crook around the sheep’s neck and pull it back to safety.
What a comfort the sight of the rod and staff were to the sheep. As the sheep would feed in those valleys, it was literally a table spread before them in the presence of their enemies.
5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies
We in a sense are all living in the valley of the shadow of death.
We are a part of the land of the dying, until we enter the land of the living.
Psalm 116:7-9 7Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee. 8For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. 9I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
Notice in vs.5 it is called the valley of the shadow of death.
Death is only a shadow. It is a valley we pass through in order to get to the land of the living — where we that are the sheep of The Great Shepherd live forever in His Heaven.
And then another thing that the Great shepherd does is: He protects.
Even though enemies surround the sheep, he protects them. He becomes the gate through which no enemy of the sheep can pass. He guards them from their enemies and from the greatest enemy of all, other than the devil, — themselves.
We are often our own worst enemy. But when we wander, God comes after us to bring us home. We are the lost sheep, Isaiah 53:6 6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
Peter says in 1 Peter 2:25 25For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
There is always a foolish sheep that wanders off. And when they wander they get caught in the briars. They fall from a rocky cleft and cut themselves. But the shepherd is always prepared.
He searches for them and brings them home. He carries oil to pour in the wounds of the sheep and anoints their head.
5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
He ministers to their every need. He gives them a drink from a cup that is overflowing. His supply is endless, and he is always happy to give what he has to those he loves.
There are people who say that living for God is hard. But when you feel that way, look at the people who are not living for God. Look beneath the surface and see if living for the devil is not much harder. If you think it is hard living for the Lord, try living for the devil. He will use you and abuse you. He will fill your life with shame and destruction. He will get you to do things that you will regret for the rest of your life.
Living for the devil is much harder — it is the beginning of living in hell.
