Isaac Watts was born in Southampton, England, on July 17, 1674. His parents were Dissenters - that is, they were not members of the Church of England. They adhered to the Congregational faith. That was a serious matter at the time; Dissenters, depending on the tolerance of the monarch on the English throne, might be allowed to worship freely but were always denied some measure of civil rights and suffered frequent harassment. Watts, the oldest of nine children, was born while his father, also named Isaac, was in prison. His mother nursed him while sitting on a large stone outside the prison gate, carrying on a silent protest against the unjust treatment towards her husband.
Watts showed obvious verbal ability as a child. He was often in poor health and would continue to be troubled by frequent illness throughout his life. In spite of this handicap, he began learning Latin when he was four years old and mastered that language along with ancient Greek, French, and Hebrew by the time he was 13. At seven he was writing poetry, improvising clever rhymed retorts to his family when they scolded him for laughing during prayers, and even writing an elaborate ten-line religious acrostic poem, the first letters of each line combining to spell out his own name. His education began with his father and continued at the Free School of Southampton.
By the time he was 16, Watts had impressed a local physician enough to be offered financial support should he decide to attend Oxford University, one of two universities in England at the time. But both Oxford and its counterpart Cambridge were affiliated with the Church of England, and attending would have meant converting to that church - to "conform," in the language of the day. Watts remained true to his religion, choosing instead to attend the Newington Green Academy, a Dissenting institution in London operated by the learned Thomas Rowe.
Watts became a pastor in 1702. Just five feet tall, he was an unprepossessing figure in the pulpit. Health problems continued to plague him, and an assistant had to be appointed to fill in for him after a severe bout with illness in 1703. Despite these problems, Watts was a powerful preacher. The Mark Lane congregation outgrew its quarters and twice had to move to larger facilities, and Watts’s sermons began to be collected and printed. Part of his success was due to his emphasis on the role of music in worship. A minister, he felt, should not only write sermons but should seek to involve his congregation in worship through music.
The most immediate impact of Watts’s new hymnody was felt among the Dissenting sects, whose members felt new tensions every time the British monarchy changed hands. A Watts hymn such as "O, God, our help in ages past" was heard by Dissenters in literal terms after the death of Queen Anne, who had championed harsher restrictions on them; Watts’s image of "shelter from a stormy blast" was a direct way of expressing the emotions they felt at the time, and it continued to serve that purpose in times of crisis for many Britons. It was played on British Broadcasting Corporation radio as World War II broke out.
His most famous hymn, “My Shepherd will Supply My Need”, is a favorite written from Psalms 23 his poetic hymnology comforts the hearts of many.
My Shepherd will supply my need:
Jehovah is His name
In pastures fresh He makes me feed,
Beside the living stream.
He brings my wandering spirit back
When I forsake His ways,
And leads me, for His mercy’s sake,
In paths of truth and grace
When I walk thru the shades of death
Thy presence is my stay;
One word of Thy supporting breath
Drives all my fears away.
The hand, in sight of all my foes,
Doth still my table spread;
My cup with blessing overflows,
Thine oil anoints my head.
The sure provisions of my God
Attend me all my days;
O may Thy house be my abode,
And all my work be praise.
There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come;
No more a stranger, nor a guest
But like a child at home.
Written in poetic fashion Psalms 23 is a song for the ages of worship, truth, trust, dependence, and comfort.
It’s not certain as to why David wrote such a Psalm. As in all other revelations of God’s character through His name of Jehovah-Jireh: Lord, My provider, Jehovah-Mekeddedhem: The Lord Who Sanctifies, Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord is peace, Jehovah-Sabaoth: The Lord of Hosts, and many others we’ve studied thus far have all been revealed during difficult situations in the life of Israel. But Psalms 23 takes a different approach in revealing the caring nature of God as Shepherd not from a tragedy but from a testimony.
This says a lot about God revealing Himself to us, It doesn’t always take a tragedy for you and I to know God better. Sometimes, reflecting on your life moves you to burst out in jubilant praise as well as a deeper trust in the Shepherd who cares for you.
David was no stranger to experiencing difficulties in his life. He was picked last to be the anointed choosing one. While guarding his father’s sheep, he fought off a bear and a lion. When the army of Israel was afraid to fight Goliath, it was David who fought the giant. It was David who committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed her husband Uriah. Saul and Absalom sought to kill David. And in Psalms 22, David seems to have feelings of being forsaken by God as he was surrounded by enemies scornful persecution.
And in the midst of all of that David open Psalms 23: “The Lord is my Shepherd”.
The major theme of Psalms 23 is dependence on God. We depend on a lot of things, like, people, money, careers, relationships, pastors, children, our fathers/mothers, the church, houses, cars, and list grows on and on. But today, I believe God is calling us to shift our dependence towards him. Psalms 23 is an exposition of our proper dependency on the living Lord for this one powerful reason:
He knows how to keep me because I don’t know how to keep myself.
The opening statement of this Psalms guides our dependence and sets the tone for the rest of the Psalms; “The Lord Is My Shepherd…”
Undoubtedly, David is the best person to describe the nature of a shepherd because he was a shepherd. So he uses his profession as a shepherd to provide for us a better understanding of God
Here are four (4) facts about God, our Shepherd that will help to increase our level of dependency on Him.
I. The Importance of the Sheep to the Shepherd
To understand why sheep are so important to the shepherd we must first understand the nature of sheep. Sheep were important possessions of the ancient Hebrew and eastern nations. They were used sacrificially, as we’ve seen in the story of Abraham and Isaac when God provided for them a ram in the bush in place of Isaac. They were good for food, clothing, and in some cases were used as payment for a purchase. This small creature that generally gets a bad wrap has much more use than we give them credit for.
However, while sheep are very useful, sheep are also timid, dumb defenseless creatures. They don’t know how to care for themselves. With poorly developed instincts to warn them of potential danger, often a sheep will wander in a briar patch or fall over a cliff in the rugged Palestinian hills.
Understand that this word picture for sheep is a description of you and I. No, we’re not sheep in a literal sense but we do have sheep like tendencies. When it comes to our spiritual nature and development, we’re timid and defenseless in need of The Shepherd.
Isaiah 53:6 says: “All men are like sheep and have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.”
1Pe 2:25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer* of your souls.
Just like sheep, we nibble on the wrong stuff which leads us to places we really don’t want to go.
You may remember this from October, 1983, Korean Air, flight #007 departed Anchorage, Alaska for a direct flight to Seoul, Korea. Unknown to the pilot and the crew, the computer engaging the flight navigation system contained a 1-1/2 degree routing error. At the point of departure, the mistake was unnoticeable. 100 miles out, the deviation was still so small as to be undetectable. But as the giant 747 continued on its journey through the Aleutians and out over the Pacific, the error was picked up by Soviet radar. Jets were scrambled for the intercept, and over Mainland Russia, hundreds of miles off course, #007 was shot out of the sky, and all aboard were lost. A small error made at the departure point resulted in a tragic route and a destructive finish (George Wood).
The tragedy of many people is that straying away from leads to a route of no return. We are like sheep who go astray and unlike dogs who can find they way home, it’s not true for sheep.
Luke 15:1-3 makes a marvelous illustration of the shepherd leaving 99 sheep in search of one who is lost. The beauty of the parable is that Jesus tells us in wonderful fashion how important His sheep is to Him when He says that the shepherd searches for the sheep; “until He finds it”. Here’s the point; You are so more important to God that you can never stray so far that God can’t find you.
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.
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God,
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed his precious blood
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee
II. The Intentional Caring for the Sheep from the Shepherd
Charles Haddon Spurgeon says: What condescension is this, that the infinite Lord assumes towards his people the office and character of a Shepherd! It should be the subject of grateful admiration that the great God allows himself to be compared to anything which will set forth his great love and care for his own people. David had himself been a keeper of sheep, and understood both the needs of the sheep and the many cares of a shepherd. He compares himself to a creature weak, defenseless & foolish & he takes God to be his Provider, Preserver, Director, &, indeed, his everything.
We don’t have to go far to see God, the Shepherd’s intentional caring for the sheep because David describes the intentional caring of the shepherd in our text:
Psalms 23:1-3 – Provisional Care
Psalms 23:4-5 – Protective Care
Psalms 23:6 – Preserving Care
Point: God knows how to take care of you
III. The Intimate Relationship between the Sheep and Shepherd
This text is very personal to David. Listen to what he says; “The Lord is my shepherd…”
D. Followwill writes:
To better capture what this divine name means here, we could translate it literally "He Who Is Here. Thus, this first clause says literally, "He Who Is Here is my shepherd." This God is not elsewhere and otherwise engaged in bigger things. This Lord who is here, he is my Shepherd.... So much of true Christian faith has to do with the personal pronouns. Doubting Thomas, after poking his fingers into Jesus’ wounds, finally believed in the resurrected Christ and said, "My Lord and My God! (Jn 20:28)...David is speaking of an intimate one-to-one relationship with God" (Ref)
John 10 shows the intimacy between the shepherd and the sheep. I don’t have time to go through all of what John teaches but allow me to highlight a few things as quickly as I possibly can.
• He Calls Us - To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out - John 10:3 (NKJV).
Jesus is not interested in stealing sheep. Jesus is interested in bringing sheep into the fold so they can find rest in salvation.
• He knows us and we know Him - I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. - John 10:14 (NKJV)
Jesus knows His sheep, and they know Him. There is an intimate knowledge between Jesus and His sheep.
He knows them, their lives, their being, their all. He knows them...
• by name, individually and personally.
• in all their joy and blessings.
• in all their trials and sorrows.
• in all their wanderings and stumblings.
• in all their need and lack.
He keeps His mind upon them, looking after them by His Spirit and caring for them through intercession as well as by companionship. This is proof that He is the “Good Shepherd” of the sheep.
The sheep know Him, His life, His being, His all. They know Him, believing and trusting...
• His love and care.
• His mind and Word.
• His companionship and leadership.
• His experience and knowledge.
• His destiny and pasture (heaven).
The fact that the sheep knows Him so well is clear proof that Jesus is the “Good Shepherd” of their lives.
• He died for Us - John 10:15-18 (NKJV) - As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. [16] And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. [17] Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. [18] No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."
Let me remind you that Jesus only states that He would lay down His life for the sheep in John chapter. But a few verse later we’ll Him actually go the cross in an effort to prove his love for the sheep.
Here’s the point: God is in love with you
IV. The Irrevocable Nature of the Shepherd
George Thomas, a pastor in a small New England town, came to church one Easter Sunday morning carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak.
"I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the boy and asked, "What do you have there, son?"
"Just some old birds," came the reply.
"What are you going to do with them?" I asked.
"Take ’em home and have fun with ’em," he answered. "I’m gonna tease ’em and pull out their feathers to make ’em fight. I’m gonna have a real good time."
"But you’ll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"
"Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds. I’ll let the cats have them."
The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"
"Huh? Why, you don’t want those birds, mister. They’re just plain old field birds. They don’t sing and they ain’t even pretty!"
"How much?" the pastor asked again.
The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "I’ll take ten dollars!"
The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill and placed it in the boy’s hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.
Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story. One day, Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap by using bait I knew they couldn’t resist. Got them all!"
"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.
Satan replied, "Oh, I’m going to have fun! I’ll teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I’ll teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I’m really going to have fun!"
"And what will you do when you get done with them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, I’ll kill ’em," Satan glared proudly.
"How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, you don’t want those people. They are no good. Why, you’ll take them and they’ll just hate you. They’ll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don’t want those people!"
"How much?" Jesus asked again. Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, tears and your life." Jesus said, "DONE!" Then He paid the price.
The pastor then picked up the cage, opened the door and walked from the pulpit.
Take this home with you today, God will not mistreat you!
Today, my friend, consider the price Jesus Christ paid for you. Go back to the Cross - to Calvary and the darkness that once filled your world. Remember what it was like before Jesus Christ came into your life with His presence and power. We forget. We lose sight of where we were when He came and just how far He has brought us.
Today is a good day to go back over the books and celebrate! Celebrate an undeserved and stubborn love that has radically changed our lives for eternity. Celebrate a forgiveness that covers every sin and shame. Celebrate a hope that is found only in a crucified and risen Lord!
