Dear Ones:
What was the purpose of the Lord giving to David the 23rd Psalm? Was it not to reveal to us through the insight and experience of David how we can KNOW God? Throughout Scripture, the Lord in His goodness reveals to us pictures of what it means to know Him, to experience Him. If there is one thing that true Christianity is NOT, it is not a piece of paper on which is written just truth. Christianity is an experience of life, Eternal Life, that of Christ. In giving the 23rd Psalm to us, and accompanied by the teaching by Jesus on “Good Shepherd,” and His relationship with His sheep (John 10), we are brought face to face with HOW the Lord Jesus desires to reveal Himself to our hearts, and through our lives.
As is the case in all of God’s dealings with us, He begins by telling us truth. He always lays out the basis for our relationship with Him, and then reveals to us what the out working of that fellowship looks like. In Psalm 23, He begins with a declaration. Or rather, David begins by the declaration of the discovery concerning a FACT. “The Lord IS my Shepherd; I shall not want.” (Ps. 23:1) He begins with “the Lord,” Maker of heaven and earth, the first and the last, beginning and the end…Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God…Everlasting Father…Prince of Peace. This is the One who is dealing with us, and with whom “…we have to do.” Then, marvel of marvels, this Lord, …Almighty God, has chosen, even willed, that we could, and should, know Him as our Shepherd. What does this mean? First, we have to look at the issue of comparison. What is a sheep compared to a shepherd? What are the capacities of the sheep in comparison with the shepherd? The answer is simply that the difference between the two is so great, that it cannot be measured. Can we measure the difference between the Creator and the Created? No.
The second thing we learn about this relationship with respect to how it reveals itself, is that Shepherd is committed to the care of His sheep. David writes that it is the Shepherd who makes the sheep to lie down in green pastures, and who leads them beside still waters. “He restores my soul…He leadeth me.” (v.2-3) The Lord Jesus tells us in John 10 that He, as the Good Shepherd, speaks to His sheep, calls them by name, and leads them forth. The ultimate goal of the Shepherd is to give Life to the sheep, and this, in abundance. (v.10) He knows His sheep and His sheep know Him. He gives His life for the sheep. (v.11) Now, what do we see here? We see that the Lord Jesus, as the great Shepherd of the sheep, is totally committed in His power and authority, to the care and eternal provision for His sheep. We find that this relationship with God is so very basic, and yet, profound, that He speaks to His sheep, calling them by name, and then leads them forth. How it is that the Eternal God would bend down so low as to commit Himself to care for “sheep,” cannot be understood, unless…we see, and know, that He IS love. Desiring the highest good and blessing for His sheep, He does not spare Himself in giving His life for the sheep. The “giving of His life” did not stop, or end on the cross. He ever LIVES to make intercession for them. He is constantly GIVING, being committed to the sheep. He is ever there to make them lie down, be still, and know that He is God. He is ever there to lead, keep, protect…and provide. Why? Because, as David writes at the end of Psalm 23, “…SURELY goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Dear Lord, wonderful Shepherd, give us, with all of our limitations and weakness, to understand Who Thou art, and grasp something of this relationship to which we are called. We thank Thee for the pictures in Thy word which reveal to us the wonderful possibilities of knowing Thee. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Love, Dad