© 2008

by Striving Together Publications. All Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version.

First published in 2008 by Striving Together Publications, a ministry of Lancaster Baptist Church, Lancaster, CA 93535. Striving Together Publications is committed to providing tried, trusted, and proven books that will further equip local churches to carry out the Great Commission. Your comments and suggestions are valued.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations in printed reviews.

Striving Together Publications

4020 E. Lancaster Blvd.

Lancaster, CA 93535

800.201.7748

www.strivingtogether.com

Cover design by Andrew Jones

Layout by Craig Parker

Edited by Cary Schmidt, Danielle Mordh, and Sarah Michael Special thanks to our proofreaders.

ISBN 978-1-59894-050-3

eISBN 978-1-59894-138-8

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

This is lovingly dedicated to the flock of God at Coastline Baptist Church. For ten years it has been my privilege to serve as your “under-shepherd.” It has been a joy beyond belief. May God continue to bless as we seek to follow Him.

Contents

INTRODUCTION

ONE—The Shepherd Revealed

TWO—The Satisfying Response

THREE—The Soul’s Restoration

FOUR—The Shielding Relationship

FIVE—The Supportive Resource

SIX—The Superior Result

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, 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. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth 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.

Introduction

There is not a more well-known or loved psalm than the twenty-third Psalm. It is ironic that this psalm is among the first passages children learn in Sunday school, and yet it is often the passage that these same children, as adults, turn to for comfort in times of loss.

The twenty-third Psalm is a text which can guide us through life, and it provides much peace and comfort to our hearts to know that we have a Shepherd in Jesus Christ. If we are willing to accept that we have a Shepherd, then we must also be willing to accept that we are His sheep. This reality does not appear to be the greatest of all compliments, for sheep have never been known for their strength or intellect. Sheep are helpless creatures that need constant care and supervision.

God likens us to these helpless animals in Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” If indeed we are sheep, then there is no greater undertaking to accomplish than to know our Shepherd.

Within the sheepfold of humanity, there are only two kinds of sheep: those who are saved and those who are lost.

Within the realm of the sheep who have been saved, there are those who stay close to the Shepherd and those who stray from His protection. As you begin this study, ask the Lord to help you understand His heart and to help you draw closer to Him in your daily life.

CHAPTER ONE

The Shepherd Revealed

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”—Psalm 23:1

What a wonderful thought—the Lord is my Shepherd! David chose this analogy through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but there is no doubt that the Spirit of God drew from David’s experiences because he spent much time shepherding the sheep of his father’s pastures.

The twenty-third Psalm is found in the midst of three psalms dedicated to portraying the shepherding qualities of our Lord. These psalms consist of Psalms 22, 23, and 24. The Holy Spirit placed these three psalms together for a purpose. Each psalm shares a special message about the Shepherd. And each psalm reveals our Shepherd in a unique way.

The Protection of the Shepherd

One of the primary responsibilities of a shepherd is to guard and tend to the well-being of the flock. He is to protect the sheep from themselves and from outside assailants. Charles Spurgeon wrote that these psalms give three distinct descriptions of Jesus.

First, we see the Good Shepherd. Psalm 22 shows Jesus as the Good Shepherd who gave His life for His sheep. This truth is elaborated in the book of John.

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”—John 10:10–11

We know that Jesus, in His great love, came to pay the price for our sins. Only the Good Shepherd can save us from the penalty of sin. He gave His life so that those who believe can enter into His fold by faith. Psalm 22 has been called the “psalm of the cross,” and it portrays the great work of the Good Shepherd in providing salvation for anyone who will call upon Him.

Next, we see the Great Shepherd. Psalm 23 pictures Jesus as the Great Shepherd. Just as the Good Shepherd saves us from the penalty of sin, so the Great Shepherd can save us from the power of sin.

“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”—Hebrews 13:20–21

The picture of Christ on the Cross in Psalm 22 gives way to the risen Saviour in Psalm 23. We know that Jesus did not stay in the grave; on the third day He arose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God the Father. Mark 16:19 says, “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.”

It is this Christ, the Great Shepherd, who shepherds us on a daily basis through the blessings and burdens of life. He helps us to overcome the power of the world, the flesh, and the devil. He strengthens us and shields us from the wiles of the devil. In Ephesians 6:10–11 we find this truth reiterated, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Jesus Christ is the Great Shepherd!

Finally, we see the Guiding Shepherd. Psalm 24 speaks of the King and His kingdom. This psalm deals with the day in which Jesus Christ will return to catch His bride away. This wonderful Shepherd who saves us from the penalty and power of sin will one day save us from the very presence of sin! First Peter 5:4 says, “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” Praise God for this wonderful promise!

No matter what you are facing at this moment, you can trust His protection for today, and you can anticipate the day when your protecting Shepherd will return to take you home. In that moment, you will be safe from the power of sin for all of eternity!

The Possession of the Shepherd

Not only is Jesus our protecting Shepherd, but He also claims us as His very own! He is mine, and I am His. It is amazing that David could say, “The Lord is my Shepherd.”

C.H. Spurgeon once observed, “What condescension is this, that the infinite Lord assumes toward 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.”

It is hard to comprehend why God would desire to shepherd a sheep like me; nevertheless, I thank Him that He has chosen to do so! As the psalmist exclaimed with delighted wonder, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Psalm 8:4). My heart is overwhelmed that God would value me, love me, and desire to call me His sheep! He delights to be my Shepherd!

Understanding this powerful truth brings joy and confidence to our lives. We can rest with great assurance in the fact that we belong to Him—we are under His watch-care. We know that He will take good care of His own.

“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”—John 10:28–29

I am His, and He is mine! The security of this relationship brings true peace to the heart of man. This unconditional love and acceptance is truly the innermost longing of our hearts! This personal, intimate relationship is what we seek and crave. It is what mere religion tries in vain to fulfill.

I have heard people say that “if we had a little more religion in the world, things would improve.” Nothing could be further from the truth! In fact, many of the world’s problems are the result of religion. So many wars and much confusion are based upon religion. After all, it was the religious crowd that crucified our Saviour. Religion is not the answer! Religion can never fulfill our longing to have a close relationship with our Shepherd.

Do you know Him personally? Do you know the Shepherd, and are you confident that you belong to Him? You cannot truly speak of the Shepherd in the possessive sense until you have a genuine relationship with Him—and mere religion or systems of behavior cannot bring you to God.

Titus 3:5 says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” And John 14:6 states, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

When you speak of the Lord, can you refer to Him as “my Shepherd”? Do you have a certainty about your relationship with God? Do you remember the moment that you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour—the moment you invited Him into your life and claimed His promise of salvation? You see, feelings alone cannot settle your salvation. Even a head knowledge that God desires to save you cannot settle this question. Only when you personally place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ can you know for certain that you have been born into His sheepfold! Only then can you know for certain that your relationship with God is real!

A man once came to D. L. Moody and said that he was worried because he did not feel saved. Moody asked, “Was Noah safe in the ark?”

“Certainly he was,” the man replied.

“Well, what made him safe—his feeling or the ark?”

The inquirer got the point. “How foolish I’ve been!” he said. “It is not my feeling; it is Christ who saves!”

It is hard to describe the inner joy and peace that comes from knowing you belong to Jesus, and the basis of your assurance is the Word of God. Jesus said in John 6:37, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

If you cannot remember a time when you personally invited Jesus Christ to be your Saviour, why not take a moment before you read on and make this simple decision. Perhaps you have been wrestling with inner doubts and struggling with the nagging knowledge that He isn’t truly “your Shepherd”! He desires to become your Shepherd right now if you will call upon Him and accept His gift of eternal life! “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

The Product of the Shepherd

Our Shepherd has been revealed as we have considered His protection and His possession—He cares for His own and He calls us His own.

Finally, Psalm 23 gives the product of truly knowing the Shepherd. The psalmist wrote, “I shall not want.” The product of knowing the Lord personally as your Shepherd is contentment—the realization that God alone is enough.

One night while conducting an evangelistic meeting in the Salvation Army Citadel in Chicago, Booth Tucker preached on the sympathy of Jesus. After his message a man approached him and said, “If your wife had just died, like mine has, and your babies were crying for their mother, who would never come back, you wouldn’t be saying what you’re saying.”

Tragically, a few days later, Tucker’s wife was killed in a train wreck. Her body was brought to Chicago and carried to the same Citadel for the funeral. After the service, the bereaved preacher looked down into the silent face of his wife and then turned to those attending and said, “The other day a man told me I wouldn’t speak of the sympathy of Jesus if my wife had just died. If that man is here, I want to tell him that Christ is sufficient. My heart is broken, but it has a song put there by Jesus. I want that man to know that Jesus Christ speaks comfort to me today.”[1]

Knowing Jesus Christ—knowing that you belong to Him—truly does bring a deep contentment, strength, and peace to the heart!

What in your life have you put above God? Upon what do you rely for support, security, strength, or sufficiency? I suppose we all desire “things”—perhaps a new job or even a new car. We all “want” in that sense, but at the same time we can say, “I want for nothing. I am not lacking anything because of Jesus! My needs are met.”

Have you noticed how easily we find the strength to worry? We often fret about impending possibilities. This is a needless waste of energy to one who belongs to the Good Shepherd. A wise lamb knows that all his needs will be met through the Shepherd.

Oftentimes, God allows trials or burdens to reveal our dependence upon ourselves when we should have been resting in Him. The truth is, whether or not our flesh craves something, in Jesus Christ we “shall not want”! Our needs are met through His great love and care. In Him we can find true and lasting contentment.

I once read the story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat: “Why aren’t you out there fishing?” the industrialist asked.

“Because I’ve caught enough fish for today,” said the fisherman.

“Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?” the rich man asked.

“What would I do with them?”

The frustrated industrialist supposed, “You could earn more money and buy a better boat so that you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make even more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and be rich like me.”

“Then what would I do?”

“You could sit down and enjoy life,” said the industrialist.

“That’s what I’m doing right now!” the fisherman replied as he looked placidly out to sea.[2]

First Timothy 6:6 says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” David said that he did not want; that is not to say that he never desired anything, but rather that he never lacked any needed thing! God never failed to meet His needs.

Years ago, Russell Conwell told of an ancient Persian, Ali Hafed, who owned a very large farm that had orchards, grain fields, and gardens; and was a wealthy, contented man. One day, a wise man from the East told the farmer all about diamonds and how wealthy he would be if he owned a diamond mine. Ali Hafed went to bed that night a poor man—poor because he was discontented. Craving a mine of diamonds, he sold his farm to search for the rare stones. He traveled the world over, finally becoming so poor, broken, and defeated that he committed suicide. One day, the man who purchased Ali Hafed’s farm led his camel into the garden to drink. As his camel put its nose into the brook, the man saw a flash of light from the sands of the stream. He pulled out a stone that reflected all the hues of a rainbow. The man had discovered the diamond mine of Golcanda, the most magnificent mine in all history.

Had Ali Hafed remained at home and dug in his own garden, he would have had acres of diamonds instead of experiencing death in a strange land.[3] The more we want from a human perspective, the less we have.

In the fifth century, a man named Arsenius determined to live a holy life and abandoned the traditions of an Egyptian society to follow an austere lifestyle in the desert. Yet, whenever he visited the great city of Alexandria, he spent time wandering through its bazaars. When asked why, he explained that his heart rejoiced at the sight of all the things he did not need.

We live in a society flooded with materialism! May God grant us the same spirit of contentment, and may we ponder the example of that desert dweller.

In 1976, a typical supermarket in the United States stocked 9,000 articles; today it carries 30,000. How many of these items are absolutely essential and how many are superfluous?

I heard of a child who was memorizing Psalm 23 for a church program. This child’s responsibility was to say the first verse. He practiced and practiced, and finally the night of the performance arrived. When it was his turn to speak, he did not get the words quite right, but he got the meaning right. He said, “The Lord is my Shepherd, what more shall I want?”[4] We can be content in the Lord, our Shepherd.

As we have seen the Shepherd revealed, may our hearts be challenged by how wonderful He is. The very God of Heaven is a protective Shepherd who can save us from the penalty, the power, and the presence of sin. He also claims us as His own, and we can possess Him as our very own Shepherd—He has us, and we have Him. When we come to realize a true relationship with Him, we find the product—contentment—the realization that God is enough. Though in this life there are many things—good things—that we desire, we can be content in knowing that our Shepherd will never fail to meet our needs. He truly is an awesome God!

CHAPTER TWO

The Satisfying Response

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.”—Psalm 23:2

I’ve always loved attending church. As a child, I recall counting the days down to the midweek children’s program. I couldn’t wait for Sunday school, and I always enjoyed junior church. You can understand how I would have been concerned to hear that our church had been sued by a denomination and that they sought our church property in the suit! From my perspective as a child, this was earth shattering.

For some time, our church had a voluntary association with a denomination. As all groups do in time, this denomination began to drift from their once solid stand on the Bible. Their attempt to seize the property of our church would prove in the course of time to be vain, but the stress that came upon our church family during that time—including me as a child—was immense.

It was during this season that I was introduced to an organization, called the Christian Law Association, and its founder, Dr. David Gibbs, Jr. I will never forget the evening in which he spoke to our church family and assured us that everything would be just fine. I had no good reason to value the comfort that came by way of his words, but I did. He assured us that God’s grace would be sufficient and that the claims asserted in the law suit would be exposed as frivolous. To this day, that church is still propagating the Gospel message and making a difference, but that encounter with Dr. Gibbs forever changed my perspective and emerged as a significant moment in my life.

In chapter one we saw “The Shepherd Revealed,” and we were introduced to the Great Shepherd. We saw the protection He affords us. We pondered the joy of possession, and we delighted in the security we have in Jesus Christ. We learned the product of this relationship is contentment—“I shall not want.” What a wonderful Shepherd He is!

But an encounter with this Shepherd leaves us forever changed. Just as an encounter with Dr. Gibbs brought comfort to the heart of a frightened young man, the truth of this Great Shepherd should bring the same wonderful response.

Think with me for a moment about this wonderful verse: “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters” (Psalm 23:2).

I must confess that I cannot relate to the opening words of this verse, “He maketh me to lie down.” While I do have to discipline myself to take appropriate breaks from the rigors of life and ministry, when the time comes, I am generally pretty good at lying down. The first part of Ecclesiastes 5:12 says, “The sleep of a labouring man is sweet.” I enjoy that sweetness, but did you know that lambs are not that way? Sheep are worrisome animals! They will toil and stew literally to the point of neglecting needed rest. They often will not “lie down.” In fact, a nervous lamb loses weight and produces less wool than a well-rested lamb. Sheep need a shepherd to make them lie down. Let’s think about this more closely.

The Perception of the Shepherd

The Shepherd knows exactly what our needs are. It is not uncommon for lambs to gain a pound a day during their early lives, but a nervous, fearful lamb will be anemic and fatigued. It often takes a loving shepherd to bring about relief from worry and to create a safe environment where sheep can “lie down.” Restful lambs always have a shepherd who makes them restful!

Phillip Keller, a former shepherd and author of A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, shared that he learned of four factors that prevent sheep from resting. He spoke of timidity, social behavior or friction in the flock, flies or parasites, and hunger. In response to these factors, let’s see the Shepherd’s intervention.

The Shepherd removes fear. If there are predators lurking around the pastures, the flock will be unsettled; they will sense the danger. In these settings, sheep are physically unable to rest because worry consumes them. It is in these moments that the shepherd’s presence reassures them and calms them.

Is this not true in our lives? We are prone to anxiety and restlessness. So many people struggle with the inability to find rest—both for the body and the soul! So many live lives of perpetual paranoia and anxiety.

If you can identify with this inner restlessness, then I have good news! God does not intend for you to lose sleep over the cares of this life! He desires to bring a confidence and a love that casts out all fear! He desires that you would find spiritual, emotional, and physical rest in His loving arms. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

For about a decade, a woman had trouble falling asleep at night because she feared intruders. One night, her husband heard a noise in the house. When he went downstairs to investigate, he found a burglar.

“Good evening,” said the man of the house, “I am pleased to see you. Come upstairs and meet my wife. She has been waiting ten years to meet you.”

How often the smallest of concerns can destroy the peace of God within our hearts!

If a dense fog covered a seven-block area one-hundred feet deep, it would be composed of less than one full glass of water divided into sixty million tiny drops. Yet, that one glass of water could cripple an entire city!

Worry is faith in the negative form, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster, and belief in defeat. Worry is wasting today’s time to clutter up tomorrow’s opportunities with yesterday’s troubles. Only when we draw close to the side of the Shepherd are those fears relieved.

The Shepherd resolves friction. Sheep, much like people, are disposed to power struggles. We are familiar with the pecking order of the henhouse; but sheep have their own type of pecking order, and usually the head of the pecking order is the oldest, largest, female sheep. (You could not pay me enough to draw an application from that observation!)

Nevertheless, during these power struggles or times of friction, the weaker sheep are often overtaken and wounded. It is impossible to rest during these times of hostility in the flock. Amazingly, when the shepherd is present, hostilities cease! Power struggles are settled. Friction is resolved in the presence of the shepherd. No sheep would dare question or challenge the authority of the shepherd. As long as the flock senses the shepherd’s presence, power struggles will not arise.

Are you experiencing friction in your life? Is there some power struggle—either in your own heart or with another person? Most likely that power struggle is simply a product of pride—an inflated sense of self that happens when we lose sight of our Shepherd. In His presence and in the light of His power and grace, the friction will surely be resolved.

So often, entire church families are caught up in carnal agendas, selfish conflicts, and internal power struggles. Not only are these flocks forgetting the heart of the true authority—the Shepherd—but they also are acknowledging that perhaps the Shepherd has been “locked” out of the fold altogether! For where the Shepherd is, here the sheep don’t fight for power—it all belongs to Him.

The Shepherd remembers food. Interestingly, sheep cannot sleep if they are hungry. There is something within them that will not allow rest if they have the “munchies.”

Perhaps I am more “sheep” than I realize—I believe I have some of that instinct myself! When I go to bed hungry, nature takes its course, and eventually I’m standing before an open refrigerator in the middle of the night. Instinct is a wonderful thing.

When it comes to a flock, the feeding of the sheep is the shepherd’s responsibility. He provides the necessary food for their sustenance. And it is the provision of that food that allows the sheep to “lie down in green pastures.”

Even so, our Good Shepherd has given us His Word upon which we can feast. He provides the riches of His written promises to provide the strength that we need.

First Peter 2:2 says, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” The Word of God gives us spiritual sustenance and growth.

Job 23:12 also says, “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” Without a steady diet of God’s Word, we cannot find the rest we so desperately need.

The Shepherd repels flies. If you are around sheep for any length of time, you will notice they are not too fond of flies. Flies literally drive sheep crazy and actually pose danger to their health and well-being. They pester them, annoy them, and sometimes even invade the nasal cavities to lay their eggs, corrupting the animal from the inside out.

In much the same way, sin poses a constant threat of danger in the life of the believer. In Romans 7:13, Paul tells us that sin works death in our flesh. We know sin makes us dirty according to John 13:10, “Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.”

When a person is saved, he or she is washed clean by the blood of the Lamb; but as we go through life, our feet (as in John 13) become dirty.

In answer to the threat of flies, a shepherd will often apply ointments and medicines to his sheep so they will not be consumed by pesky insects. This tender care and nurture protects the sheep and brings the ability to stay rested and healthy.

Even so, our Great Shepherd desires to keep us unspotted from the world. He offers the ointment of His grace, the tender care of His promises, and the mercy of His shed blood to cleanse us, purify us, and establish us in righteousness.

First John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” David, the writer of the twenty-third Psalm, said in Psalm 139:23, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.”

David asked God to thoroughly examine him to make sure there was no sin found in him—and in writing this request, he used a shepherding expression. The Hebrew word used for “search” was a word shepherds would use. It meant more than merely looking over a lamb; it meant taking your fingers and parting the wool—looking carefully for any wound or parasite that could potentially cause a problem. David asked God to apply His shepherding skills to the heart—to diligently pull back the surface and see what parasites might be threatening his life.

Like David, we need God to “search” our lives. We need Him to pull back the wool and see beneath the surface. We need His grace and mercy to repel the sin from our lives so we can truly rest in Him.

The perception of the Shepherd is that He knows what we need—spiritual rest—and He meets that need by removing fear, resolving friction, remembering food, and repelling flies. May we thank God for His perceptivity to our needs, and may we allow Him to meet those needs so we may truly find rest in Him.

The Place of the Shepherd

Our Shepherd is perceptive—He knows that we need rest—but He also provides a place for that rest. A sheep who follows the Great Shepherd enjoys the “green pastures.”

There are some beautiful places in the Bible lands, but from what I have studied, lush green pastures were not the result of nature alone. They were the product of hard work on the part of the shepherd. The kind of pasture described in this verse was found in a low place where a river could be diverted or dammed; it was a piece of land managed exclusively for the benefit of the sheep. There were great advantages to being close to the shepherd because only he knew where the green pastures were located. He created them. He carefully manicured them for the blessing of his flock.

Similarly, the green pastures that our Shepherd provides are often randomly placed. We will not find them alone! Without His leadership, we will find ourselves in a barren land, lacking the sustenance necessary for victorious living. Only the Shepherd makes the green pastures, and only the Shepherd can lead us to them.

This may sound strange, but my idea of lying down in a green pasture is like falling asleep in an ice cream factory! I will admit, after having had my fill of ice cream I would be ready for rest. If you are a big ice cream connoisseur as I am, then you know that an ice cream factory would be one wonderful dream come true!

Yet, far better than our human delights are the green pastures of God’s absolute provision and care.

The Peace of the Shepherd

Psalm 23:2 continues, “beside the still waters.” This phrase is a word picture of the peace that the Shepherd longs to create for his flock. It is important because sheep will not drink from rapidly moving water—they are frightened by the sight and sound of rushing rapids. The moving waters pose great danger to the sheep. If a sheep were to slip in, it would be swept away. Sheep will only drink from peaceful, still-water settings.

A small ocean creature called a whelk has been known to ruin an oyster’s day. The whelk has an appendage with which it can bore a small hole into the top of an oyster’s shell. Through this very small hole, a whelk can devour an entire oyster, sucking it out of its shell little by little.

A lack of peace does this same thing in our lives—it bores through the surface into the heart and gradually sucks away our faith, our joy, our power, and our hope. It depletes us. It renders us incapable of going forward for God.

Apart from the loving leadership of the Shepherd and a willing heart to follow, there is no peace in the life of a sheep. It has been said, “Safety consists not in the absence of danger but in the presence of God.”

Has it ever occurred to you that we cannot manufacture peace? Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Colossians 3:15 continues, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”

How desperately we need God’s peace, but it only comes by His means. Apart from our Shepherd, all of our feeble attempts to find peace result only in greater threat and discord in our lives.

Recently I attended a funeral service where numbers of people were truly grieving the loss of a loved one. Of the two sides of the family represented, half were believers and the other half were not. As was the custom, at this Midwestern funeral, a wake was held one day prior to the service. It was an emotionally and spiritually draining time to say the least.

Following the wake, the family and friends still present decided to go out and get a bite to eat together. An establishment was chosen with a bar on one side of the restaurant and food service on the other side. As you can imagine, the believers grouped together in the restaurant apart from the bar, and those who did not know the Lord took up residence in the bar.

There were several pleasant exchanges as the groups mingled to the degree that each was comfortable, but it was clear that the group at the bar was searching for peace their own way.

The believers prayed and reminisced about the faith of the deceased, and within a relatively short period of time, the unbelievers were intoxicated. The next day, those who had rested in God were certainly grieving, but composed and comforted by the thought that their loved one was in the presence of Jesus. The other group was not only without hope, but was also nursing hangovers and regret.

The purpose of this story is to highlight the difference in how humanity finds peace. Man’s peace does not last. It soon crumbles at the feet of regret and pain. Yet, God’s peace passes all understanding, and it keeps our hearts and minds. It causes the human heart to find security, rest, and strength in the most desperate of circumstances.

Henry Luce, founder of Time-Life, Inc., probably influenced world opinion more than any other publisher in history. Luce frequently reminisced about his boyhood years as a missionary’s son in the Shantung province of China. In the evenings, he and his father went for long walks outside the compound, and his father would talk to him as if he were an adult. The problems of administering a school and some of the philosophical questions occupying Henry’s mind were all open topics for their conversations. Henry Luce was forever changed because he spent time getting to know his father. His view on life and his philosophies were shaped from these times.[1]

In a similar way, we are forever changed when we abide with the Shepherd. We find provision as He leads us to the green pastures He has prepared. We find strength as we draw from the still waters of His grace.

When we walk with Him and rest in His provision, we grow. And the blessing of this intimate relationship is the most satisfying peace that our hearts will ever enjoy!

CHAPTER THREE

The Soul’s Restoration

“He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”—Psalm 23:3

There is no doubt that David was a great shepherd and that his knowledge of caring for sheep was used by the Lord in the writing of this psalm. Second Peter 1:21 says, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

When God moved through the life of David, He used the experiences David had gained through caring for his father’s sheep. David knew much about the art of shepherding, and he was entirely familiar with the fearful, ignorant, stubborn, insufficient nature of sheep. And as he meditated upon his own humanity in the light of God’s power, he related to a sheep’s need for constant care and attention from the shepherd. In much the same way, when we look through honest eyes, we will see ourselves correctly represented by sheep—we will see the deep needs, the inner longings, and the spiritual weaknesses that cause us to depend fully upon the Shepherd.

It was David’s knowledge of shepherding that drew him to use this analogy, and it was his knowledge of sheep that led him to use the expression, “He restoreth my soul.” David knew there were times when restoration was necessary in his life. He knew what it meant to “need his soul restored.” Consider these verses in Psalms:

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.”—Psalm 42:5

“O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.”—Psalm 42:6

“Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.”—Psalm 43:1

David asserted that there were times when his soul was “cast down.” This is a shepherding expression which means “fallen over.” Occasionally, a sheep would fall onto its back and would, due to a variety of circumstances, be unable to get back up. In these moments, the shepherd would come alongside the lamb and do a work of restoration—a work of “up-righting” what had been cast down. Perhaps you can relate to a time when restoration was necessary in your life. Christ, the Great Shepherd, is eager to restore you when you have “fallen over” spiritually. Let’s take a closer look at the Shepherd who “restores our souls.”

The Prudence of the Shepherd

A good shepherd is always on the lookout for sheep that are cast down. He knows that sheep are prone to fall, and He understands that his responsibility is to pick them up and set them back on their feet.

There are primarily three hindrances that cause sheep to fall—three times when a good shepherd must be there to bring restoration and healing.

The first cause is the mind—this deals with comfort. Many times a sheep will lie down in a place that is filled with deep, rich grass. Unbeknownst to the sheep, the grass hides a hole or furrow in the ground. The grass, in concert with the low place, causes the sheep to roll over onto its back into a fixed position from which it cannot recover.

Likewise, there are times in our Christian walk when we step into a comfort zone—times when we slip into a lackadaisical attitude toward the things of God. We become cast down—in need of revival and restoration because of spiritual apathy.

Vance Havner, a Baptist preacher of years gone by, used to say, “Preaching is supposed to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” There is nothing wrong with a comfortable lifestyle unless it prevents us from forging ahead with a life of faith.

Washington Irving once said, “There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse; as I have found in traveling in a stage-coach, it is often a comfort to shift one’s position and be bruised in a new place.”

When comfort becomes our condition, the Shepherd recognizes and knows we need to be introduced to a place that will provide enough hardship to compel us to walk circumspectly once again. The Shepherd knows when comfort becomes our downfall—when ease leads us to spiritual dullness and complacency.

Unless a mother eagle breaks up her nest, the eaglets will become accustomed to comfort, limiting their ability to fly. Likewise, many believers do not “fly” for God because their goal in life has become comfort.

Just as a loving shepherd “restores” the sheep, even so, God will use His Word, the preaching of our pastors, the circumstances of our lives, or even the admonishment of a good friend to awaken us out of our comfort zones—to restore us into growing relationships with Him.

The second cause is the material—this deals with the wool that sheep carry. Sometimes the wool becomes so thick that its weight hinders a sheep. The wool catches on thorns, nettles, and other harmful things, causing the sheep to become cast down.

In the same way, we too at times become so interested in holding onto material things that we become cast down. We become materialistic in our mindsets and the things of this life become weights to our forward journeys for Christ. He instructs us, “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

God is not against material items. We need material things to some degree; however, holding onto or grasping for things in the wrong way leads to our downfall. Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” And 2 Timothy 2:4 states, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”

Many times we place our affection on possessions that should be let go, or we entangle ourselves with the thorns and nettles of this life to the point that we become “cast down.”

The story is told of Rose Greenhow, a Confederate spy during the Civil War, who tried to evade capture. She hid her fortune by sewing the gold she had gained into the seams of her dress, but when the ship she boarded sank, the weight of the gold made it impossible for the life preserver to support her. She sank to the bottom of the ocean with all her wealth. Death did to her what it does to all of us—it took her from her wealth. We cannot take our possessions with us when we die. Conversely, we might add that sometimes wealth takes us with it! Many times our misplaced affections on “the things of earth” lead us directly into a miserable cast-down condition of the soul.

The third and final cause is the motive—this cause deals with an intention that is driven by selfishness and laziness. There are times when a sheep can become so fat that it simply cannot rise from its position of rest. It will lie helplessly until the shepherd comes to pick it up.

Unhealthy living is something with which we all battle. We consume more than is healthy for us. We tend toward lives filled with the “fat” of the world—the trappings of culture. We become obsessed and possessed of ourselves, and in the process, we do great harm to our spiritual lives.

The prime example of this spiritual analogy is our physical lives. Why do we overeat? We overeat to fulfill our selfish desires. I realize that food tastes good and eating is enjoyable, but ultimately we know the harm that overeating causes to our health.

We also bring harm to our spiritual lives as we overindulge in earthly pleasures. The Shepherd knows this, and He is prudent in His approach to His sheep.

In our fatness, spiritually and emotionally, we begin to believe in our own self-sufficiency. We begin to think that we don’t need the Shepherd. We become so filled with our own wants and comforts that we forget our dependence upon the Shepherd.

We see this mindset represented in the Laodicean church in Revelation. Revelation 3:17 says, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”

Agendas and desires that are driven by selfishness and personal gain will always result in a cast-down soul. We are all “prone to wander” and prone to think ourselves self sufficient.

Thank the Lord for a prudent Shepherd who stands ready to pick us back up when we have become too full of ourselves!

The Plan of the Shepherd

What does the prudent shepherd do about a cast-down sheep? He formulates a plan of restoration.

Because the shepherd cares for his sheep, he cannot allow them to remain cast down. He has a remedy.

The first step is a loving and merciful correction that simply picks up the cast-down sheep from its position of disheartenment. Beyond that, wool may be trimmed, the pace may be quickened to allow muscles to overtake fat, or a new area may be provided where the sheep can lie safely. The shepherd will do whatever is necessary to strengthen his sheep.

Repeated falls will undoubtedly call for more severe displays of love and mercy. It was not uncommon for a shepherd to lovingly break the leg of one such sheep. While this may not seem loving, we must remember that if the sheep is not cared for, it will certainly die. The broken limb would then be carefully set and splinted, which would motivate the lamb to stay close to the shepherd for the constant help that would be needed.

Whatever the plan of the shepherd, it is always carried out with great care and love, and it always reflects what is absolutely best for the sheep.

Proverbs 3:12 says, “For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”

For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”—Hebrews 12:6–8

Discipline differs from punishment in that punishment deals with paying for a crime. As the saying goes, “You do the crime, you do the time.” But discipline deals with teaching life lessons that help us grow and develop into sheep who follow the Shepherd more closely.

God uses hardships in our lives to draw us back to Him. For some it may be a car accident, a loss of health, or some other form of a trial. While these are not always the results of the chastening hand of God, sometimes they most certainly are. A wise sheep will learn from the loving discipline of the Shepherd so that he does not have to take the same course over and over again.

In 1827, Robert Murray McCheyne graduated from Edinburgh University at age fourteen. At age twenty-three, he began leading a Presbyterian congregation of over one thousand. He worked so hard that his health finally failed him. Before dying at age twenty-nine he wrote, “God gave me a message to deliver and a horse to ride. Alas, I have killed the horse and now I cannot deliver the message.”

In Something More, Catherine Marshall said of Peter Marshall, a former chaplain of the U.S. Senate, “In Peter’s case, I am certain that it was not God’s ideal will that he die of coronary occlusion at forty-six.” The book goes on to relate that after his first heart attack, a friend asked, “I’m curious to know something. What did you learn during your illness?”

“Do you really want to know?” Peter answered promptly. “I learned that the Kingdom of God goes on without Peter Marshall.”

In both of these instances, we see the importance of staying close to the Shepherd in order to hear His plan and apply His kind discipline and helpful instruction to our lives.

A prudent shepherd knows when his sheep have fallen. A good shepherd always has a plan for restoration. And once restoration has taken place, a good shepherd continues to lead his sheep on the path of health and safety.

The Path of the Shepherd

If a flock of sheep is left in one place for too long, the sheep will not only eat all of the grass, they will also eat the roots and totally ruin the entire pasture. Sheep must continually be led to the next pasture, or they will destroy a countryside. A good shepherd always knows the location of the next pasture and when to lead the flock in that direction.

In much the same way, God’s plan for our lives involves a journey—a forward moving process of growth and discovery. God doesn’t intend to let us stay in one place spiritually for very long. He has new pastures, fresh vision, and more growth just over the next hill!

It’s called “the path of righteousness,” and He desires to lead us in it! If we fail to follow God in that path, we will undoubtedly place others and ourselves in harm’s way. We will surely miss out on the great blessings He has planned in future “green pastures.”

The word path means “a way that is clearly marked by traffic.” God does not send us on a rabbit trail that leads to insignificance, but rather, He leads us on a very specific path.

I have asked myself, and many others have asked me, “How can I know which way to go?” Well, the path is clearly marked, and the more you know the Shepherd, the more acquainted you will become with His voice and the way in which He is leading.

John 10:27 says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” God will always lead us in the right direction if we will learn of Him and listen to Him. His path will become clearer with every step we take and every moment we spend in His presence.

Proverbs 3:17 says, “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” There is a way we should go, and it is not always our way! Proverbs 14:12 reads, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” We must follow God.

Statistics say only three out of five Christians can recall the names of the first four books of the New Testament, and only half of the Christians interviewed correctly identified Jesus as the Person who delivered the Sermon on the Mount. A full forty-two percent of Christians interviewed said that without government laws, there would be no real guidelines for people to follow in daily life.[1] This is an indication of how poorly we follow God’s leading.

We often seek carnal advice such as, “follow your conscience.” The trouble with this advice is that most people follow their conscience as if it were a wheelbarrow—they direct it wherever they want it to go, and then follow behind.

First Timothy 6:11 says, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness….” Listen for the voice of the Shepherd. He will not leave you without direction. If there is no clear direction, do not make a move. Consider His path and trust only His leading.

The Purpose of the Shepherd

The last part of Psalm 23:3 simply says, “…for his name’s sake.”

God has a wonderful and eternal purpose for restoring, caring for, and leading His sheep—to glorify His name.

A bad shepherd is easily spotted because his sheep are ill cared-for and his pastures are ruined. A bad shepherd can’t hide his bad name. And everyone can judge a shepherd very easily—by the condition of his sheep. Quite simply, a shepherd is known by his sheep.

Even so, God’s name is on the line when we claim to be His children. He gave you His name when He welcomed you into the family of Christ. He is known by you!

What kind of name does God have when people look at you? Are you following the Shepherd closely, trusting His provision, and submitting to His leadership? If so, then His name is glorified, and others will desire to become a part of His flock!

I saw a T-shirt the other day that said, “It’s all about me.” For a child of God, nothing could be further from the truth. It is all about Christ and His glory, and God is concerned about His name. Leviticus 19:12 says, “And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.”

For whom are you living? What is your purpose in life? We have seen God’s purpose, but is it yours as well? In Matthew 16:24 we read, “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” We must follow God and live for His purpose. We must walk in His path for His name’s sake. Psalm 106:8 reads, “Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power known.” And 1 John 2:12 says, “I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.”

J. Vernon McGee told the story of a time in his life when he needed correction from his father. He knew a spanking was coming for the wrong that he had done. He had learned that the further away he was from the paddle, the more momentum his dad could create. And so he determined to step closer to his father with each passing blow.

During times of correction or restoration, when we are cast down and our gracious Lord disciplines us, may we determine to get as close to Him as possible. May we allow Him to restore our souls and then lead us in the path of righteousness that His name might be glorified.

CHAPTER FOUR

The Shielding Relationship

“Yea, 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.”—Psalm 23:4

If there is one attribute that a healthy flock needs, it is comfort. While we have seen that living for comfort ultimately leads to distress, we can also rest assured that our Saviour intends for us to have comfort provided through the power and presence of His Holy Spirit.

John 14:26 says, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 16:7 also says, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” This passage makes it clear that we will only find the comfort we need from the Spirit of God.

I recently read about a woman who was heartbroken when her dog disappeared. She put an advertisement in the paper offering a reward for the safe return of her precious animal. The next morning she received a phone call from a woman saying, “I’m calling about your dog.” The woman calling began to cough and explained she was not feeling too well; in fact, she had not felt well in the three years since her husband had died. She went on to relate that her mother and father had passed away, and her sister had recently been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing painful treatments. Then she said that her friends were not doing well either. She gave details of their various illnesses and went on to describe several of their funerals. After thirty minutes of this, the woman who had lost the dog tried to get the caller back on the subject, “But what about my dog?”

The other woman replied, “Oh, I don’t have it. But I thought you might be feeling badly about losing it, so I thought I’d just call to cheer you up!”

The only place you will truly find the comfort that your heart craves is through a close relationship with your Shepherd. Notice the shielding role of our Shepherd as seen in Psalm 23:4: “Yea, 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.”

By nature, sheep are filled with fear. They are very defenseless, vulnerable creatures. Apart from the protection and provision of the shepherd, they are helpless! They live in constant fear unless they sense the shepherd’s presence. Fear disappears and peace comes to the heart of a sheep when the shepherd is near.

Likewise, as we journey through this life, we will either stay close to our Shepherd—abiding in Him and dwelling in His shadow—or we will be filled with fear and uncertainty. Let’s take a closer look at the amazing shielding nature of our Shepherd.

The Peril of the Sheep

There are many potentially perilous moments in the life of a sheep. Often those moments show up in valleys. Valleys present their own dangers for the flock. Oftentimes, a shepherd will lead his flock on valley trails which lead to summer pasture lands. Often in these valleys are predators, severe summer storms, flash flooding, and occasionally even poisonous weeds. These challenges do not stop the journey, but it does mean that the sheep will endure some hardness between their seasons in green pastures.

By application, as sheep in God’s flock, we must endure times of peril. This verse speaks about “the valley of the shadow of death.” Seasons in the valleys of life are not enjoyable. They are dangerous, scary, and emotionally trying! They are often painful, unexpected, and sorrowful. Yet, they are a necessary part of our journey in following the Shepherd.

Not too long after the tragic events of September 11, my wife Lisa and I had an opportunity to travel to Hawaii. The fares were at an all-time low, and the islands were basically void of tourists. I was not seeking to be an opportunist in a negative way, but I felt it my patriotic duty to do my part in restoring the economy!

When we arrived at the airport in Los Angeles, there were National Guardsmen carrying weapons. My fingernail clippers were discovered, and I was chastised by security. With all the national tension, there was definitely some fear associated with this trip, but we both knew the trip was worth the fear. I knew that sitting on an empty Oahu beach would provide the restoration of soul that I needed.

The same is true with our journeys in life. As our Shepherd leads us through valleys, we must remember that the journey will be worth the endurance. We must embrace the journey and remember that He is leading us to greener pastures and greater blessings.

The valleys provide blessings that nothing else can provide.

Valleys provide a way. It is in the valleys that we find the way to higher ground. You cannot climb a mountain without going through a valley first. Some of the best life-direction that I have ever received from God has come during a valley experience. It is during those trials that our hearts listen more closely to God’s voice and our lives are more sensitive to His presence and guidance. If you are journeying through a valley right now, you can rest assured that God is leading you—providing a way—to higher ground and greener pasture. Now is the time to listen very carefully and follow very closely to His shielding presence.

Valleys provide water. Valleys are usually the product of streams and rivers that have flowed for years, gradually cutting away at the land. In the valley, provision is found to strengthen us for the climb to higher ground.

I can recall many times in recent years when our church was in great need of God’s provision. Our struggles have primarily come in the form of insufficient meeting places. We have always filled up every meeting place rather quickly—starting with our living room. This is a good problem to have as a church, but it presented a great challenge. It was during these valleys that God allowed us to plan, to prepare, and to begin the climb toward better facilities and larger meeting places.

The valleys of life represent an important principle that is easy to miss. It is simply this: we cannot sustain non-stop ascent. No person can. No church can. You cannot climb endlessly. And God doesn’t expect you to! God leads us into valleys often for the express purpose of finding the supplies we will need for the climb ahead. We need valleys for the spiritual water we can find there.

Valleys provide wisdom. Valley seasons are usually filled with unforgettable life lessons and times of great learning.

I believe the Lord gives His under-shepherds (pastors) a great love for His sheep. I fully understand that my flock belongs to God, but as His under-shepherd, I sense a responsibility to love and care for His flock at our church.

For instance, I have done my best to care for people who have lost loved ones. Being a relatively young pastor, I have not lost many loved ones personally, and yet God took me through a valley that allowed me to grow in the grace of caring for those who sorrow. During the passing of my grandmother, I learned some things that God could have only given me in a valley. These are things that will forever play a part in my life as I live to help people through difficult seasons.

If you are going through a valley, you can be sure that God is trying to give you something, teach you something, and help you grow in ways that only happen in the valley! Yes, there is peril in the valley, but the good far outweighs the bad. As long as the Shepherd is leading your steps, you can know that the peril will not overtake you. You can rest in knowing that He is nurturing you. You can find courage and comfort in the fact that He is giving you the kind of wisdom that only valleys can provide.

Valleys are a part of God’s plan for our journeys through life. But notice the heart of our Shepherd as He leads us through the valleys.

The Poise of the Shepherd

Psalm 23:4 says, “…I will fear no evil: for thou art with me….” The poise of the Shepherd settles the sheep and gives security and confidence.

The Shepherd does not fear the valleys. He knows the necessity of traveling through such places, and He demonstrates great poise in caring for His sheep. He knows what lies in the valleys and beyond.

I am not sure how well I handle stress, but I am sure that many times I fail terribly. I have had seasons when I lost both weight and hair due to stress. However, it is amazing how calm I can be during an emergency that involves one of my children. Something kicks into place. I just can’t fall to pieces when people that I love are in harm’s way.

I recall one day when Jessica, my oldest daughter, was playing with some other children. She was just learning to run and she fell, hitting her head on a door hinge. It was terrible! She did not cry at first, which made me even more concerned, but in minutes her head developed a large and growing knot. Within a matter of seconds, she was in my arms with ice on her wound. I responded immediately because it was my duty as her dad. I knew exactly what to do, both for her head and for her heart! I was instinctively responsive. That’s poise!

You might say that Jessica didn’t fear because I was with her—“thou art with me!” Just my presence and poise brought comfort to her heart.

Should we expect any less from our Great Shepherd? During a valley journey, the Shepherd is as vigilant as necessary. He knows where He is, where He is leading the flock, and exactly what each sheep needs. Psalm 121:3–4 says, “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” No matter how steep the valley is, the Lord will be there with great care to meet our needs and remove our fears.

The Provision of the Shepherd

Notice that this verse says “thou art with me.” Think about that word “thou.” It simply says, “I will not fear because of who I am with.” We do not have to fear evil if we are close to the Shepherd.

Our provision comes from God. Our sufficiency is from Him. Second Corinthians 3:5 says, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.” Then, in 2 Corinthians 9:8 we see, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”

What we need during a crisis hour is not relief; we need Christ. We do not need a raise in income; we need Christ. We do not need a miracle; we need the God of miracles. We do not need to be removed from the trial; we need to take refuge in His presence. It is the presence of Christ that changes everything.

So often we are looking for the “what” instead of the “Whom.” First Timothy 6:17 says, “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” And 1 Corinthians 15:57 says, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Hebrews 12:2 reads, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith….”

You must never travel through a valley alone! Valleys are dangerous places for sheep, unless the sheep are with the Shepherd. And rather than running from the valley, run to the Shepherd and find rest and strength in knowing that He is near. No matter the valley, Christ is all you need!

The Protection of the Shepherd

We have established the truth that valleys are perilous places. We have seen the poise of the Shepherd and the provision found in His presence. Finally, let’s consider the protection He gives. Notice that the verse says, “thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

There is no single instrument that identifies a shepherd like a staff. In Bible times, a shepherd was usually armed with nothing but his staff. He would choose it with care and shape it to fit his hand perfectly. This rod provided protection to the flock in several important ways.

The protection of defense. The rod was commonly used to ward off predators. David spoke of a lion and a bear that threatened his flock, but he rose to the flock’s defense. The rod protected the flock.

When Moses went to retrieve God’s people from the oppressive regime of Egypt, God sent Moses with a staff, and in many ways, God used the staff to do the talking. In Exodus 4:3 the Bible says, “And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.” The rod also represented God’s power and protection in Exodus 14:10–16.

The protection of discipline. The rod was also used to correct the sheep if they wandered away or stepped in the wrong direction. Whenever sheep were headed for an unsafe place, the shepherd used his rod to redirect them back toward safety.

He used it many times to chasten them and prod them so that they would stay safe. If dangers such as poisonous or unhealthy grass were near, he used his rod to keep them from eating it. The rod of the shepherd was a good thing for the sheep. It was a source of correction and protection from error.

We should be thankful when our Shepherd applies the rod of loving discipline or correction in our lives. God’s chastening always flows from a loving heart of protection. He desires only what is best for us, and He intervenes with His corrective rod whenever something threatens our health or safety. He is quick to redirect us when we stray from His principles.

The protection of discovery. There was a time in every flock when the shepherd had the sheep pass before him. During this examination, He used his rod as an extension of his hand to look closely at the sheep. He wanted to discover any hidden areas that needed attention or care. He looked for deep wounds, parasites, or other hard-to-see things that threatened the health or safety of the lamb.

Ezekiel 20:37 says, “And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.” Passing under the rod was a figure of speech well known to those who lived in times when shepherding was common. It was the process that the shepherd used to discover ailments in the flock. It was an act of loving intervention and oversight. It was the first-hand nurture and care that every sheep needed.

What a loving God we serve! To think that He would show such protection over our lives. He desires to search our hearts, know our minds, and examine our lives from the inside out—all for our good and safety.

God will protect you! First Corinthians 10:13 says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” There is nothing you will go through that has not been filtered past the loving rod of the Shepherd.

A British express train carrying Queen Victoria raced through the night, its powerful head lamp spearing the black darkness ahead. Suddenly the engineer saw a startling sight. Revealed in the beam of the engine’s headlights was a strange figure in a black cloak, standing in the middle of the tracks and waving its arms.

The engineer grabbed for the brakes and brought the train to a grinding halt. He and his fellow trainmen climbed out to see what had stopped them, but they could find no trace of the strange figure. On a hunch, the engineer walked a few yards further up the tracks, and then he stopped and peered through the fog in horror. The bridge ahead had been washed out and had fallen into a swollen stream. If he had not heeded the ghostly figure, the train would have plunged into the stream.

While the bridge and tracks were being repaired, the crew made a more intensive search for the strange flagman. Not until they got to London did they solve the mystery. At the base of the engine’s head lamp was a huge moth. The engineer looked at it for a moment, then on impulse, wet its wings, and pasted it to the glass of the lamp. Climbing back into his cab, he switched on the lamp and saw the phantom flagman in the beam. He knew what had happened. The moth had flown into the beam seconds before the train reached the washed-out bridge. In the fog, it appeared to be a phantom figure waving its arms.

When Queen Victoria was told of the strange happening, she said, “I’m sure it was no accident. It was God’s way of protecting us.”

God may use a moth or He may use something else, but He will protect you! He is the Great Shepherd.

Sometimes we consider death to be the exception to this shielding relationship. Many consider death to be the final resting point, the point where it all ends. Truly it could be said for the believer, that death is where it all begins! The ultimate high ground of protection is found in Heaven, in the very presence of the One whom we are studying.

Don’t ever forget the shielding relationship found in Jesus Christ. He is truly worthy of our trust and obedience as we travel through the valleys of this life.

CHAPTER FIVE

The Supportive Resource

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”—Psalm 23:5

I recall a time when my dad, my granddad, and I traveled to the Cheuit River in Alaska to fish for King Salmon. We had all fished quite a bit prior to that trip, but fishing in Alaska brings its own intricacies!

A pilot, who also served as our guide, awaited us at the local airport. He knew the area in which we would be staying and the streams where we might find the best catch.

It was quite a trip! About three o’clock in the morning we arrived at our cabin for the first night. Because it was mid-summer, the sky was still bright with sunlight. The cabin had been prepared; everything we needed was in its place, including a truck filled with gas. We had brought fishing supplies, but there were ample supplies awaiting our use as well. Every conceivable need had been met by this thorough guide. It was the trip of a lifetime, and I will never forget it.

You may not have thought of it this way, but right now, you are on your very own “trip of a lifetime”! You are journeying through a season of life to which you will never return and from which you will never be the same. You will only take this trip once, and it has been planned by your Shepherd with infinite detail and grace.

It is on this journey that your Good Shepherd desires to function as your sole provider as well as your guide—much like the pilot on my Alaskan fishing adventure.

As we study this “trip of a lifetime,” let’s consider this fifth verse together, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over” (Psalm 23:5).

As the psalmist continues to speak of his Shepherd, we learn that He has prepared a table for us. I used to love this verse because to me, a table represents food, and food can make anyone happy! I have come to learn that his reference to a “table” is not dealing with a kitchen table, but is referring to the tablelands, or the highlands.

My family is from Southwest Colorado. In that part of the country you will hear ranchers speak of the “mesa,” which is Spanish for “table” and refers to the highlands. This verse is teaching that God provides us with the resources necessary for our nourishment during our trips. First consider with me that your Shepherd has actually “prepared” something for you.

The Preparation of the Shepherd

The Bible tells us that our Shepherd prepares a table for us. He conscientiously and premeditatedly makes a way for us. He knows what we will face and provides an avenue through which we can pass in the most difficult of circumstances. He has gone ahead of us, planned the journey, and prepared the resources that we will need. He is truly our pilot, our guide, and our sole provider.

Christ foretold of persecution that would come upon the church. He did not seek to remove all adversity, but we discover that the first century church found strength through Christ to triumph nonetheless. In Acts 4:29, we read, “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word.”

I recall the time in my life when God led me from the business industry to the ministry. Although I enjoyed my career, I felt I had somehow wasted that time in my life. I figured that God had called me into the ministry and I had missed several years by serving in the business arena, but the truth is, God used that experience to help me develop the strategic thinking necessary to start a church and acquire property in one of the most difficult real estate markets in America. What I viewed as wasted time, God viewed as valuable preparation. What I looked back upon with regret, God viewed as essential. I now see that God was exceedingly gracious to prepare me for the journey ahead.

Before leading a flock to the tableland, a shepherd had to prepare. His preparation required him to make several trips to the tablelands to determine where camps could be established. He learned the terrain and vegetation, and determined if hostile animals lived in or traveled through the region. The shepherd did his best to determine every difficulty the sheep might encounter. He knew the way and prepared the destination.

We have learned that sheep are not able or responsible enough to find their own food; it is up to the shepherd to locate the good grazing grounds and to make sure the sheep are well fed and cared for each and every moment. This is part of the preparation process.

Our Great Shepherd has not only prepared a table for us, but He has given us His Word to strengthen and sustain as we journey to higher ground. First Peter 2:2 says, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” It is the milk of the Word that allows baby believers to gain strength and develop spiritually.

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat…But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”—Hebrews 5:12, 14

Meat allows the believer to continue growing and developing. God’s Word is a part of the “table” that He has prepared for us in this life. It is our strength, our guidance, our sustenance, and our light.

Several years ago, a reader of the British Weekly wrote a letter to the editor as follows:

Dear Sir,

I notice that ministers seem to set a great deal of importance on their sermons and spend a great deal of time in preparing them. I have been attending services quite regularly for the past thirty years and during that time, if I estimate correctly, I have listened to no less than three thousand sermons. But, to my consternation, I discover I cannot remember a single one of them. I wonder if a minister’s time might be more profitably spent on something else.

Sincerely,

For weeks the letter kicked up quite an editorial storm of angry responses. The pros and cons of sermons were tossed back and forth until finally, one letter ended the debate. This letter read,

My Dear Sir:

I have been married for thirty years. During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals—mostly of my wife’s cooking. Suddenly I have discovered that I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet, I received nourishment from every one of them. I have the distinct impression that without them I would have starved to death long ago.

Sincerely,

Reading the written Word points to the Living Word and says to us, “Go to Jesus.” If we do not go to the Jesus to whom the Word points, we miss the whole purpose of Bible reading.

Evangelical Christians are not, or ought not to be, what we are sometimes accused of being—“bibliolaters,” or worshippers of the Bible. We do not worship the Bible. We worship the Christ of the Bible.

For example, take a young husband who is in love. He has a wife who has captured his heart. As a result, he carries a photograph of his beloved in his wallet because it reminds him of her when she is far away. Sometimes, when nobody is looking, he might even take the photograph out and embrace it. But hugging the photograph is a poor substitute for the real thing.

So it is with the Bible. We love the Bible only because we love the Shepherd of whom it speaks. The Word of God leads us closer to the Saviour. We must be people of the Bible if we are to grow in our relationship with the Shepherd.

Jesus said in John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.”

There is no single event in our lives that catches God by surprise. He sees everything, and He is ready, willing, and able to give the resources necessary for our advancement and growth. He has prepared a table.

The Precaution of the Shepherd

We find a note of warning in verse five—the table was prepared in the presence of enemies. For a sheep in Bible lands, these enemies consisted of wild animals that would seek to devour them.

David spoke of a lion and a bear in 1 Samuel 17:34: “And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock.” These were examples of enemies to the flock.

When you hear the word lion, you may think of a number of things. Perhaps you think of the king of the jungle or a ferocious beast, but the analogy in Scripture is that of the devil. First Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” We have an enemy. We may belittle that enemy, and appropriately so, when we compare him to our wonderful Shepherd. However, make no mistake about it—we have an enemy, and he wants to devour us!

The word devour means to “make to disappear.” This is the picture seen when the great fish swallowed Jonah. Jonah was still alive, but in reality, he had disappeared. This is what the devil does to believers. Through three enemies—the world, the flesh, and the devil—people who once walked with God have been “devoured.” They might still have an earthly address, but as far as God’s will is concerned, they are long gone.

We must realize we have an enemy who would love to tear us apart, devour our homes, disrupt our service to God, and utterly consume our lives. Though our Shepherd is superior in every way, the devil is no one to “mess with.”

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to spend some time with our assistant pastor in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. At one point on the trip, we had driven some quads into the mountains and had paused in a beautiful canyon looking down at a rushing river. It was a gorgeous day, and we were enjoying it immensely—that is, until we saw some huge mountain lion tracks. We immediately got back on our quads and drove full speed out of that area. We didn’t even take the time to pray about it.

The devil, as a roaring lion, is not someone we are equipped to battle alone. We are just sheep. In 1 Peter 5:8, the warning does not tell us to stay and fight alone; it is a warning to stay close to the Lord and to resist steadfast in faith. Why do we insist on fighting our enemies in our own flesh? Sheep do not have claws for fighting, and they are not equipped with strong jaws or sharp teeth. Sheep must rely on the Shepherd for protection.

In Matthew 17:14–21, the disciples handled spiritual warfare only through prayer and fasting. Prayer and fasting work together to bring us into God’s spiritual protection. These are the weapons of spiritual warfare, and our enemy is no match for our Shepherd.

We also read in verse five that He anoints our heads with oil. As rams violently butt heads with one another to establish their dominance, there can be devastating injuries. The shepherd’s oil can provide a buffer by allowing the sheep to slide off one another. It softens the impact and deflects the force of the conflict so that deep and lasting wounds are not the result.

In much the same way, many believers are hurt by other believers. Many churches are filled with infighting and conflict. Every church is made up of imperfect people who are bound to wound and offend one another even if unintentionally.

Perhaps even as you are reading this you are recalling a wound or a pain inflicted by some other member of the flock. Perhaps you have been hurt, and you find that the body of Christ has disappointed you in some way. You need the Shepherd’s oil.

We need the oil—the Holy Spirit—to help sustain us during such times and to teach us how to respond. We need His tenderness and control to fill our lives, to deflect the wounds of others, and to minister healing and nurture through us. God’s Holy Spirit can take those hurts and use them for good. He can prevent them in the future. He can anoint your head—your mind and heart—with a right spirit and a right response to the inevitable times of conflict as you grow in Christ with other believers.

The Prospering of the Sheep

The Shepherd provides everything we need to prosper along our journey. Psalm 23:5 concludes with the psalmist telling us that his cup “runneth over.” In other words, he has lived a life of super-abundance.

Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” God’s grace does not just meet our needs, it exceeds our needs.

Isaiah 51:22 reads, “Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again.” As believers, God has removed the cup of judgment and has replaced it with the cup of His blessing. He wants us to super-abound. Many times we are content with just a mere taste of His blessing when He wants our cups to overflow.

A pastor in Tennessee once used the illustration of doing all he could to meet the needs of his children and grandchildren. I can relate to the part about children. I want my children to have nice clothes. I want their shoes to fit. I want them to have every opportunity to learn and grow. I want them in Sunday school and church so they can hear God’s Word preached and taught. I read the Bible to them every morning before school so they can start the day right.

I am not a perfect dad, but our heavenly Father is perfect. He wants to meet our needs more than I could ever desire to meet my children’s needs. Stay close to the Shepherd and enter into the joy of a cup that runs over.

The metaphor of oil—“thou anointest my head with oil”—refers to the Holy Spirit of God. As this metaphor is more fully developed we see the joy that comes to a life that is filled to overflowing with the Spirit of God. We can go through life overflowing with the goodness of God. I think of the words of the song “He Giveth More Grace:”

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure;

His power has no boundary known unto men.

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

—Annie Johnson Flint

You may be feeling empty today, but God’s preparation and precaution make prospering a possibility for every blood-bought child of God. He is not only interested in meeting your needs—He desires to exceed your greatest expectations and imaginations!

I once heard a fictitious story of a man who went to Heaven. When he arrived, he began to look around and explore everything. As he ventured into a large hall, he found to his surprise that it was completely filled with beautifully wrapped gifts. He inquired of the Lord, “What are these?” The Lord said, “Those were blessings that I prepared for you, but you never made yourself available to receive them.”

I don’t know about you, but I want all that God has for me. I want to prosper spiritually as I travel past the tablelands to the greatest of all tablelands—Heaven! And prospering is possible through the preparations and precautions of the wonderful Shepherd—Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER SIX

The Superior Result

“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.”—Psalm 23:6

There was a time in my schooling when I studied economics. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed it! I recall the occasion in our course when we took a comparative look at communism versus capitalism. I tried to do my best to consider the facts and develop my own opinion. In the end, the evidence was so overwhelming that I could not understand why anyone would ever lean toward socialism, much less communism. In my opinion, capitalism wins on paper, but the greatest evidence is seen in history. Communism has failed and capitalism has been a huge success. It all boils down to a superior result.

In these pages, we have studied the twenty-third Psalm in great detail. We have seen the wonderful heart and the careful love of our Great Shepherd. If these verses alone could not convince someone to follow Christ, then perhaps the results can speak for themselves. Let’s consider the superior result of knowing the Great Shepherd.

God’s way really works! This is not theory or “pie in the sky” philosophy. When we can say “the Lord is my Shepherd,” and when we follow close to His side, there is joy unspeakable. Problems? Yes. Predators? Yes. Pitfalls? Oh, yes. But our joy and fulfillment in life are determined by our proximity to the Saviour. This is A+ living. Life cannot get any better, any more abundant, or any more fulfilling than this kind of life. The very Creator of life designed it to be lived this way.

A life of obedience—a life of willing submission to the Shepherd—is truly a life of goodness and mercy! Let’s take a closer look.

The Promise of the Shepherd

The promise is in those familiar words, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:6).

A story is told of a paranoid lady who came into a pastor’s office. The lady was sure that she was being followed. The pastor knew that it was only her imagination, but telling her she was crazy would not help anything. He assured her that she was only being followed by goodness and mercy. Instantly her once terrified heart was filled with comfort.

In much the same way may you find great joy and delight in knowing that goodness and mercy are following you!

It is a promise of certainty. The psalmist wrote, “surely,” which is to say, “No doubt about it. Mark it down.” The sheep do not have to doubt the promise of the Shepherd.

People are often skeptics by nature. I have battled with skepticism myself. Having grown up in a pastor’s home, I have seen how critical and hurtful people can be. I sometimes find myself tempted to be skeptical of a promise or of someone’s sincerity. I try not to carry that with me, but it is a battle sometimes.

I heard of a bed and breakfast that put this sign in every room: “Please introduce yourself to your fellow guests, since we are one big happy family. Also, do not leave valuables in your room.” Sometimes it truly is difficult to trust others, especially if you have been hurt or disappointed. People let us down from time to time, but God is worthy of our trust.

Years ago I read an account of a group of scientists and botanists that was exploring remote regions of the Alps in search of new species of flowers. One day, through binoculars, they noticed a flower of such rarity and beauty that its value to science was incalculable. However, it lay deep in a ravine with cliffs on both sides. To get the flower, someone had to be lowered over the cliff on a rope.

A curious young boy was watching nearby and the scientists told him they would pay him well if he would agree to be lowered over the cliff to retrieve the flower below. The boy took one long look down the steep, dizzy depths and said, “I’ll be back in a minute.” A short time later he returned, followed by a gray-haired man.

Approaching the botanists, the boy said, “I’ll go over that cliff and get that flower for you if this man holds the rope. He’s my dad!” Only his dad could provide a promise of certainty that could give the boy full confidence.

Even so, your Heavenly Father says “surely…”—He gives you a certainty that you can count on!

It is a promise of continuance. Notice the expression, “all the days of my life.” Hebrews 13:5 says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Then Matthew 28:20 says, “…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Thank God that this promise is good for the rest of our lives! There will never be a moment, a day, or a season when you are not in His care and under His blessing. We will never be abandoned by our Shepherd. He will always be there!

It is a promise of consequence. As we consider the effects that sheep leave on a pasture, we can see more clearly what the Lord is teaching us. As we have learned, a flock of sheep can devastate a pasture, eating everything in sight and even digging up the root systems. They can totally destroy a field. But when the shepherd is paying attention, he can actually use the sheep to help a pasture.

Along with other vegetation, sheep also eat weeds. I have read that even their manure is of great value to a field. When a shepherd is responsible with his flock and the pasture land, he knows that the result will be better pastures in the future.

This teaching has a two-fold application. First, when we look back on our journeys, it is always amazing to see God’s hand at work. In retrospect it is always easy to trace His purpose, to see His will, and to know that He was always working for our good. So many times I have wondered what God was doing in a moment or in a valley, but in retrospect I have marveled at His meticulous work and blessing in my life.

The Bible tells us that goodness and mercy will follow us. I could write much about the meaning of goodness and mercy, but for the sake of this study we will consider the word follow. This word means much more than “to trail behind.” Strong’s Concordance defines follow as to “pursue, persecute, run after, to put to flight, chase, dog, attend closely upon.”

This term is used with other peaceful words, but it is typically used to describe a predator that is pursuing its prey. The abnormal use of this word here was for the purpose of placing emphasis upon the fact that God’s desire is to absolutely grant us the riches of His grace. He lovingly meets our needs along the way and insists that His goodness and mercy find us, track us down, and overtake us with delight!

The second application is that just like sheep can leave a pasture in better shape than they found it, a true follower of Christ leaves goodness and mercy in his wake. A sheep who knows the Shepherd will leave a trail of goodness and mercy wherever his journey takes him. The implication is that we should leave the impression of goodness and mercy on the lives of those around us. Our influence should be one of godly blessing in the hearts of others. Do you leave people better than you find them? Do you uplift them, encourage them, edify them? Can others say that goodness and mercy are following you?

I thank God for some wonderful friends, one of which really typifies this clearly. This friend always begins phone calls by asking me to share something good that has recently taken place. Then he will share something that God has done for him. We will talk about the Bible, the ministry, and our families. I have noticed that goodness and mercy follow him.

The result of God’s goodness and mercy is that the life of a fully devoted follower of Christ will be one of blessing. What a promise: “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.…”

The Pleasure of the Sheep

Once again, we see the confidence of the psalmist as he asserts that he will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. This expresses his total pleasure and fulfillment from the care of his Shepherd. He begins this psalm by saying, “The Lord is my shepherd.” He concludes by sharing that he never wants it to be any other way.

Occasionally, I am asked about the spiritual condition of people who claim to know the Lord and later deny the faith altogether. The Bible is clear that once a person is saved he is always saved. Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” We do not work to merit salvation, and we cannot work to keep it. It is all of grace.

When I hear of people who deny the faith, a question always comes into my mind. I wonder, “Did they ever really understand?” I am not the judge (and I would not want to be the judge), but who would want to walk away from this relationship? Who would ever want to run from God or leave His care? I don’t know a lot of things, but I do know that the Lord is my Shepherd, and He will be my Shepherd forever. Praise God! Can you imagine a greater hope for the future?

The story is told of a monastery in Portugal perched high on a 3,000-foot cliff and accessible only by a terrifying ride in a swaying basket. The basket is pulled with a single rope by several strong men perspiring under the strain of the fully loaded basket. One American tourist who visited the site became nervous halfway up the cliff when he noticed that the rope was old and frayed. Hoping to relieve his fear he asked, “How often do you change the rope?” The monk in charge replied, “Whenever it breaks!”

What a joy that we don’t have to venture through life with that kind of insecurity! We can rest assured in the promise of the Great Shepherd.

The psalmist wanted to dwell forever in the house of the Lord. The word house is most commonly translated “household.” In other words, we as sheep should want to dwell in the presence of our Shepherd. We are born by faith into His family, and wherever He leads us is where we should want to be. Whether He leads us through green pastures, paths of righteousness, or the valley of the shadow of death, we should be content that we are with Him. He is our God, and He will be forever.

The greatest pleasure that a relationship with Christ offers is the wonderful opportunity to go through life and all of eternity with our Lord and Saviour. To have our sins forgiven is unfathomable, but to be welcomed into His presence—His house—is equally as amazing. What a joy to be in the family of God! What a blessing to reside in His household!

The Perfection of the Shepherd

As we conclude this study, it is apparent that progress has been made in the life of the sheep represented in the psalm. I cannot help noticing the great crescendo with which this psalm ends, “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.” Yes, we as sheep are prone to wander, but there appears to be a greater level of understanding and a greater level of appreciation with every passing day.

Psalm 48:14 says, “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.” Notice that He is our God forever, but our Guide only for a lifetime. One day we will no longer need guidance in the way we need it now. Today we enjoy a relationship that includes guidance. Sanctification is the process that perfects us in the biblical sense. We grow for a lifetime, then we will praise Him in eternity for the work He has done.

None of us will ever attain perfection in this lifetime. We began fighting the good fight of faith the moment we claimed Him as Saviour, but our purpose is to follow Him in such a way that others would desire to be numbered among His sheep as well.

This victory is enjoyed positionally here in this life, but we will enjoy it practically in Heaven for eternity. The fighting will one day be over at last! Revelation 21:4 says, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” What a day that will be!

May a greater knowledge of the shepherding Saviour lead us to follow Him. May this knowledge then lead us to praise Him, pray for our family members in the faith, and pursue the lost until we are led to meet our beloved Shepherd, Jesus Christ, face to face.

Thank you for studying this wonderful passage of Scripture with me! May God grant you His richest blessings and greatest grace as you accept your role—a sheep—and cling to His presence as your Good Shepherd!

Notes

Chapter One

1 Today in the Word, MBI, October 1991

2 Our Daily Bread, May 18, 1994

3 G. Sweeting, Moody Monthly (Grand Rapids: Moody Press, May 1988)

4 Our Daily Bread, May 26, 1994

Chapter Two

1 Charles R. Swindoll, Tale of the Tardy Oxcart (Nashville, Thomas Nelson Inc.)

Chapter Three

1 According to a recent Gallup poll

Bibliography

Today in the Word. MBI, 1991

Our Daily Bread. 1994

Keller, Phillip. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970

Ketcham, Robert T. I Shall Not Want. Chicago: Moody Press, 1953

McGee, J. Vernon. Thru the Bible

Rogers, Adrian. The Lord is My Shepherd. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1999

Sexton, Clarence. The Lord is My Shepherd. Powell, TN: Crown Publications, 2001

Spurgeon, Charles H. The Treasury of David. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers

Sweeting, G. Moody Monthly. Grand Rapids: Moody Press, 1988

Swindoll, Charles R. Tale of the Tardy Oxcart. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc., 1998

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