Meditation on Psalm 23

Psalm 23: 1-2 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.”

Psalms in the Bible record God’s answers to man’s questions and complaints. Psalms are poetry therefore they awaken the undeveloped spiritual poet in every man. As a result Psalms captures each of us differently because we imagine things differently, however the central truths in Psalms remain the same throughout generations.

Unlike Psalm 22, which is filled with complaints, Psalm 23 is refreshingly different. There are no complaints, but only the compliments of God’s loving care and confident expectation of a believer. In the course of the centuries Psalm 23 has won for itself a supreme place in the religious literature of the world. All who read it, whatever their age, race, or circumstances, find spiritual confidence that both satisfy and captivate their souls. It belongs to that class of psalms that breathe confidence and trust in the Lord. Psalm 23 has been listed as one of the top 25 famous Psalms.

Certainly Psalm 23 has been one of my favorite Psalms to which I have turned again and again. Especially when I was afraid, needed security, ran out of finances, needed provision, faced challenges of life, needed to hold on to something, lost perspective of life not knowing where I was going, I turned to Psalm 23. Every time I read Psalm 23 it never failed to give me comfort and reassurance of my faith in God.

I see the over arching theme in Psalm 23 passage is “Journey.” This is about the Journey of life. When you are on a journey you are not going to stop until you reach your destiny. Similarly for a believer life in many ways is like a Journey. A Journey that is supposed to be led by the great shepherd of all. But the irony is that many of us including sincere believers do not come under the Lordship of Jesus, we would rather run our own lives.

The LORD is my shepherd:(Vs 1)

In the Bible often people were compared to sheep and God to a shepherd. The metaphor of a shepherd was widely used for Kings and leaders both in Israel and elsewhere in the ancient Near East. I wonder why people are compared to sheep why not some other animal? Sheep are best known for their strong flocking (herding) and following instinct. They will run from what frightens them and band together in large groups for protection. There is safety in numbers.

Even from birth, lambs are taught to follow the older members of the flock. The dominant members of the flock usually lead followed by the submissive ones. If there is a ram in the flock, he usually leads. Sheep are a very social animal. In a grazing situation, they need to see other sheep. According to animal behaviorists, a group of five sheep is usually necessary for sheep to display their normal flocking behavior. A sheep will become highly agitated if it is separated from the rest of the flock. (Animal Behavior researcher Susan Schoenian) Sheep have an incredible sense of smell, sight, hearing, touch, and taste. There are many similarities between man and sheep.

God’s Shepherds heart in the Bible:
Abraham acknowledged God as His shepherd (Gen 48:15)
The Prophet Jeremiah acknowledged his role as a shepherd over Israel (Jer 17:16)
Jeremiah declares that God will watch over Israel as a shepherd will watch over his flock (Jer 31:10)
Jeremiah promises God’s shepherd’s care over Israel (Jer 50:19)
David addressed God as the Shepherd of Israel. (Psalm 80:1)
David wanted God to be Israel’s strength, salvation, and their shepherd to carry them forever. Psalm 28:8-9
David hoped that God’s people the sheep of his pasture will praise Him forever and ever. (Psalm 79:13)

David began his journey as a shepherd boy that eventually led him to become the King over Israel. His experience had taught him some valuable lessons about shepherding. David understands better than any one else the role of a shepherd. As a King he too needed to provide, protect, teach, save, and lead the people that God had entrusted to him. But who would be that Shepherd in his life? He couldn’t trust any one so he entrusted himself to the shepherd of all shepherds, God the chief Shepherd. God’s original intention was to be King over Israel and lead them, but the sad part was that they wanted an earthly King to rule them just like other nations. That led to the introduction of Saul.

When David says “The Lord is my Shepherd in one way he is saying Lord you are my personal King but he is also saying that God is the King of all of Israel and the whole world. You might be wondering who is this Shepherd King? No one else can fit this description other than our Lord Jesus Christ who said “I am the good shepherd.” In John 10 Jesus uses the same analogy of a sheep and a shepherd in order to explain that, he was the true shepherd and our part is to listen to his voice and follow him only. Sheep have an incredible ability to listen and recognize the voice of their shepherd.

In the east shepherds often travel together taking their flock in search of food. Various flocks may be sheltering in a common fold. When a particular shepherd comes to the gate and calls, a shivering movement can be seen among the sheep; in little groups of two or three they run toward the gate. No sheep of another flock will move.

Jesus said in John 10: “the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought all of them out he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.

Jesus used this figure of speech to explain to his listeners that He is the good shepherd and he knows each of them by their name and He wants to go ahead of them and lead them. What would happen to people when there is no shepherd to lead them? They will be harassed and become helpless (Matt 9:36). Jesus sees your helplessness and mine; out of compassion He is calling us by our names. So what are we supposed to do? Taking the example of sheep we are to learn to listen, and recognize the voice of Jesus and follow him only.

How do you relate to the imagery of the Shepherd and the sheep? Do you say, wait a minute we are living in modern times I don’t need a shepherd. I don’t need any one to lead me; I am capable of leading myself! The Bible says about us that before Christ we gentiles were without hope and without God in the world. We were all like sheep going astray. Have you yet returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls? (1 Peter 2:25) He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. I will surrender my life to you, please take the lead. Let's Surrender all to our gentle shepherd King.