The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yes, 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Psalms 23 : 1 - 6
David wrote this Psalm out of great distress and disillusion. Distress because King Saul was chasing him and trying to kill him. Disillusion because this cruelty of King Saul was not what David expected from his king and the king’s army. "Is this part of being anointed king of Israel", he might have muttered. King David was telling us that God is ever present on the long and winding road called weariness. David was convincing us that God is powerful to remove the road blocks while we are traveling the torturous avenue called worry. He is also assuring us that God has a place and a peace for us who are tired of wandering through the streets of vain life. The imagery of Psalms 23, one of the most poetic chapters (if not the most poetic of all) that David wrote in the book of Psalms, captures the imagination of every age, comforts the commotion of every heart and confirms the expectations of everyone who believes in the Lord as the Good Shepherd.
Let’s look at how King David masterfully relates the Lord as his Shepherd to himself as a sheep. The first verse paints a vivid picture of how this Shepherd relates to all who would, in faith and surrender, come to His fold to take refuge in times of distress and disillusion.
The Good Shepherd is Permanently Reliable for His Sheep! The name of the Lord, "Yehovah" or "Yahweh" is eternally meaningful as it embodies the very nature and character of God. It is the most sacred name of God and it is used over 1000 times in the bible. It is amazingly significant because it is made up of the three tenses of the Hebrew verb, "to be". "Hiwa" is in the past tense, which can be translated, "He was". "Hove" is in the present tense, which can be translated, "He is". And "Yae" is in the future tense, which can be translated, "He will be". The Good Shepherd’s name is "Yahweh" or "Yehovah" and that is more than enough to declare what He can do, and is doing to all who comes to Him in faith. He forgives your past. He fosters your present. And He fixes your future. My friend, have you trusted Him for your salvation?
In a VBS class, the teacher required all children in her class to recite the whole chapter of Psalms 23. Each one would have to recite the whole chapter on the day of their graduation. All the kids were so excited but one, Robert, a kid who was born premature and had real struggles in memorizing. Graduation day came and every child was wearing a robe and a corsage. One by one, the children recited Psalms 23 with much enthusiasm. Robert was to recite last. As he watched the other kids recite the chapter, he ducked on his seat fidgeting alternately the tassel of his cap and the buttons of his robe. He’s really feeling nervous. When it was his turn, he jumped off his seat, grabbed the microphone, chuckled to clear his throat and with much gusto he declared, "The Lord is my Shepherd"…. and there was a pause for several seconds. Then with a louder voice he continued, "That’s all I need to know".
The Good Shepherd is Personally Related to His Sheep! Traditional sheep owners had their own distinctive earmark, which is cut into one of the ears of the sheep. In a way, even at a distance, it is easy to determine to whom the sheep belong. Modern day owners of sheep herds, too, have their own distinctive marks on the ears of their sheep. Often, they fasten an ear tag on each sheep, as mark of ownership. There is a striking parallel to this in the O.T. When a slave in a Hebrew household decided on his own free-will to become a member of that family, he subjected himself to a certain ritual. On the year of jubilee when all slaves are freed, the master would offer the slave a place in the family. This is an offer of grace to the slave. In turn, the slave who would prefer to remain in the family of his master would receive that offer by submitting to undergo a ritual. His master would take him over to a door, put his earlobe against the doorpost and puncture a hole through the slave’s ear. From that time on, that slave was marked for life as belonging to this family. The slave would be placed into an irrevocable relationship with his master. That relationship would even give the former slave rights of inheritance – a son. My friend, are you personally related to the Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd? Receive Him in faith, as your Lord and Savior and you would be placed into a position of a son – an heir of the heavenly riches in Christ.
Charlton Heston, John Charles Carter in his real name, was a popular actor in the second half of 20th century. He is the lead actor in several award-winning films – The Ten Commandments, El Cid, Ben Hur, and others. During his prime in Hollywood, the Rev. Billy Graham also became a well-known preacher-evangelist honored by all evangelical church denominations. There was one event in Washington where they were invited. Most probably, their names were in the list of special guests. During the event, Charlton Heston was asked to recite Psalms 23. He agreed, on one condition that the Rev. Billy Graham would recite it too, after him. Rev. Billy Graham agreed. With his award-winning voice that earned him millions of dollars, Charlton Heston recited Psalms 23 with emotion and enthusiasm. The applauding crowd roared in standing ovation. Then it was Rev. Billy Graham’s turn to recite. With his convincing voice that God used to earn millions of souls into the kingdom of Christ, he recited Pslams 23 in the same manner as Charlton Heston did. The crowd did not applaud, the hall did not roar, and there was no standing ovation. But almost everyone had tears rolling down their cheeks. At the end of the event a journalist approached Charlton Heston and asked what could have made the difference. He politely answered, "Sir, I know Psalms 23 by heart but my friend, the Rev. Billy Graham; he knows the Shepherd by heart".
The Good Shepherd is Practically Responsible for His Sheep! Sometimes the gauge of poverty and prosperity can be relative to the law of economics - the law of supply and demand. If demand is high and supply is low, prices soar - life is tough. But if supply is high and demand is low, prices slip - life is easy. In the biblical perspective, what are the determining factors to appraise poverty and prosperity?
One sunny Saturday afternoon during harvest season in a remote barrio in a northern province of the Philippines, a Chinese rice trader in town, Mr. Ong, came. He came with his driver and two laborers in a half lorry purposely to buy freshly sun-dried grains. They parked their truck beside the barrio hall just across the plaza. Mr. Ong’s laborers worked together to offload the "Baskula", an old-fashioned rusty weighing scale, which the driver claims it is newly calibrated. Mang Minong, a father of five has just finished re-bagging his fifty sacks of freshly sun-dried un-milled rice. His two sons were with him, helping him. They were drinking ice-cold "Pop" cola and each one munching a packet of "Boy Bawang" under a shaded concrete bench when Mr. Ong approached them. Mang Minong and Mr. Ong bargained. They agreed at a price, Php. 5.35 per kilo, provided that Mang Minong would sell twenty-five sacks of his freshly dried commodity. Twenty-five sacks were weighed on the rusty "baskula" – 1,250 kilograms. At first, Mang Minong had a bit of doubt on the total weight. He was almost sure based on his previous transactions that each bag weighs more than fifty kilos. But when Mr. Ong brought out a bunch of 100 peso bills (the highest peso denomination at that time) and a few smaller bills, all of Mang Minong’s doubts were obliterated. Mang Minong and his two sons were all smile counting the Php. 6,687.50 handed to them by Mr. Ong. The Chinese trader looked to the eyes of the farmer and asked, "What are you going to do with your money?". The farmer answered, "I’ll go home to my wife and discuss what we need to buy". "How about you, where are you going after loading my twenty-five sacks?", the farmer asked the Chinese. "I’ll go to the next barrio and try to buy some more rice", he answered. Mang Minong laughed mockingly and said to the Chinese, "Mr. Ong, now I am richer than you". Confused at what the farmer said, Mr. Ong asked, "How can you say that when you only got nothing comparing to how much I have?". Mang Minong answered in great delight, "Now, I have more than what I want, but you, you still want more than what you have."
One sign of poverty: "What you want in your Heart is more than what you have in your Hands!" One sign of prosperity: "What you have in your Hands is more than what you want in your Heart!" We will not be in want. First; our Shepherd preconditions our satisfaction. He works within the desires of our hearts and in there embed yearnings that would only fall within the will of our heavenly father. Second; the Good Shepherd provides our supply. He meets our needs not our wants. And it is Him who determines what our needs are. Our needs are not based on how we see them. Our sole need is the Shepherd, and to know how we can submit our lives into His care. Then, we shall not be in want.
If you believe in your heart that the Good Shepherd is Permanently Reliable for His sheep, you will experience in your life that the Good Shepherd is Personally Related to His sheep, so that you can trust the Good Shepherd who is Practically Responsible for anyone who truly comes to the fold of His herd. Is the Lord your Shepherd? Are you willing to come to His fold?
