Psalm 23

Of all the psalms, Psalm 23 is the best-known and most frequently sung Psalm. But with familiarity comes the danger of misunderstanding. Specifically, the misunderstanding is that Psalm 23 is good news for everyone. A close analysis of this psalm will show that it is a mediation on all that the LORD does for the one who trusts in Him.
This Psalm includes three pictures.
– Verses 1 to 3, a picture of the sheep and the shepherd.
– Verse 4 a picture of the traveller and the companion and
– Verse 5 and 6 a picture of the guest and the host.
This morning, I want to focus on the picture of the sheep and shepherd in verses 1 to 3.

Let us begin with
Who is this shepherd
When we read this psalm it is easy to quickly move to the main imagery—sheep and shepherd, green pastures, still waters, paths of righteousness and so on without maying much attention to the identity of the shepherd. David is claiming ‘The LORD is my shepherd’. When the word LORD appears in all capital letters it indicates that the word ‘Yahweh’ is used in the Hebrew Old Testament. This is the sacred name of God, the name God revealed to Moses in the burning bush. ” The name that God gives to Moses—which means “I AM WHO I AM”—is a revelation of God’s utter and complete self-sufficiency, self-existence and immediate presence. God’s existence is not contingent upon anyone else. His plans are not contingent upon any circumstances. He stands, ever-present and unchangeable, completely sufficient in Himself to do what He wills to do and to accomplish what He wills to accomplish.
That this God Yahweh would condescend to be a shepherd is a wonderful truth.
David thought about his relationship with God, and he came up with the analogy of a shepherd and his sheep. God was like a shepherd to David, and David was like a sheep to God.
In Israel, as in other ancient societies, a shepherd’s work was considered the lowest of all works. If a family needed a shepherd, it was always the youngest son, like David, who got this unpleasant assignment. When David says Yahweh has chosen to be my shepherd, David says, Yahweh the great God of the universe, the unchangeable, completely sufficient and ever-present God, has stooped down to be my shepherd.
David does not say, ‘The LORD is the shepherd of the world at large, but ‘The Lord is my shepherd’. David knew this relationship in a personal sense. He could say, “my shepherd.” God was not a shepherd in a theoretical sense; He was a real, personal shepherd for David himself.
So who is this MY shepherd in Psalm 23? He is the LORD. He is Yahweh, the Creator God, God Almighty, God Most High, the One True and Living God who makes and keeps His covenant with His people.
The Christian cannot read or sing this psalm without thinking of Jesus Christ.
In John’s Gospel, the Lord Jesus declares, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11).
Jesus also declared a few chapters earlier in John: “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am’” (John 8:58). This is an astonishing claim. Jesus took the divine name that God revealed to Moses in the burning bush and He effectively applied it to Himself. The Lord Jesus, our good shepherd, is Yahweh himself, which means He is our sufficient shepherd. The fact that Jesus is a shepherd is wonderful, but the fact that He can be my shepherd is based on Him being in a covenant relationship with me.

What does this shepherd provide
“I shall not want” actually means “I shall not lack.”
The LORD is my Shepherd; I will lack nothing. Really?
I lack all the time, don’t you? Lack and wanting is all around us; We lack wealth and health. We want better houses, better cars, better grades, better jobs, with better salaries. We want better relationships, better holidays, better rest and this list is endless.
So how are we to understand David’s confident assertion I shall not want—I shall not lack anything? He was a man who knew acute hardship, anguish of spirit and deep poverty. Based on the teachings of the Bible we can only conclude that David was not referring to material or physical poverty when he made the statement, “I shall not want.” When David says I shall not want, he uses the same phrase found in Deuteronomy 2:7: These forty years the LORD your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.
As believers, if we look back and remember the faithfulness of the LORD, we too can say with David: because the LORD is my shepherd, I lack for nothing. If I have Him, I have everything. If I have Him what more do I need!
David then goes on to expand this idea of I shall not want and he says “He makes me lie down in green pastures.”
Any green pasture in Judea is the work of some shepherd. It is he who has cleared the rough, rocky land, thrown the stumps out and burnt the thorny bushes.
Jesus says in John 10,”I am the good shepherd,” and in saying so, Jesus is saying: David was talking about Me in Psalm 23. Jesus has created a green pasture for our souls. He has pulled out the thorny bush of condemnation. He has pried loose the huge boulders of sin. Even in green pastures, sheep will not lie down easily. Sheep are timid creatures. They will not lie down unless they are free of all fear and free from hunger. It is only the shepherd who can provide them relief from their anxieties. It is He who can make them lie down, to rest, to relax, to be content and quiet and flourishing. Jesus who has created the green pastures for our soul makes us lie down when we are troubled.
As the shepherd feeds the sheep, so the LORD, provides spiritual food for the spiritual growth of His people through His servants. In the New Testament, Peter is instructed by Jesus, Feed my sheep (John 21:17). Peter then under the authority of Jesus instructs the elders to shepherd and take care of the flock. This is where we get the term Pastor from. Those elders were asked to “pastor” the sheep.
While feeding could be done through personal meditation we should take note that the responsibility of the feeding of the flock regularly has been entrusted to God’s under-shepherds, to Pastors and Elders. When do pastors provide this food? Whenever and wherever the church gathers. In South City, it would be during the Sunday worship, the Bible Studies, the midweek prayer meetings, the men’s breakfast, the women fellowship, the Friday Youth, Sunday School, and even during camp. Whenever the church gathers, it is a great opportunity for partaking in spiritual food. Therefore, do not take the gathering of God’s people lightly.
Where does this shepherd lead
We read
Animals and man both need water. Thirst is a warning signal that indicates that the body needs to have its water supply replenished from a source outside itself. The human soul has a need for spiritual water from the eternal God.
Jesus our Good Shepherd, made it clear that the thirst of souls for spiritual water can be fully quenched only if they draw on Himself. Jesus is the fountain of life. Jesus is the well of salvation. When thirsty men and women draw from Him, their thirst is quenched and they are fully satisfied.
In Matthew 5:6 Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled [satisfied].” At the great feast in Jerusalem, He declared boldly, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”
David says, He leads me beside still waters. The sheep are not taken by the shepherd to a rushing stream but to a place where the water is calm. The sheep doesn’t need to go searching for water. It can all be obtained from the place where the shepherd has led the sheep. The sheep only has to be where the shepherd is.
Sheep are prone to stray. When a sheep is thirsty it will become restless and will set out in search of water. If not led to good supplies of clean pure water, it will often end up drinking from the polluted potholes where it picks up diseases.
Like sheep, we prefer to follow our own ways. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). Broken homes, broken hearts, and twisted personalities point out to us that men and women everywhere have gone their own way. In the midst all this chaos and confusion, Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). Jesus never made light of the cost involved in following Him. There are many who would claim to be Christians but don’t want to follow; don’t want to be led in the paths of righteousness. (Matt 7:13,14)
But Christians also can get lost for a time. Lost sheep don’t bring themselves home; their shepherd does. In Psalm 23, the Lord is the shepherd who goes after us when we stray and brings us back. He restores us, causes us to return, and brings us back to the fold. We thank God that He does not leave the lost child of God in the lost condition but goes after the child until He finds the lost child, puts the child on His shoulders with great joy, and brings the child home and calls for a celebration.
In closing, I would like to ask you
Who is your shepherd? Who is guiding you through life? Who are you following?
There is no shepherd like the Lord Jesus. He is the good shepherd who laid down His life for you that you might have life. Are you following Him?