SHEEP DESPERATELY NEED A SHEPHERD
Psalm
23:1-6
The
23 Psalm is most beloved of the 150 Psalms written. The
great Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon
said this psalm is “the pearl of psalms” Why would
Spurgeon say that? The answer
is simple! This
psalm has dried many tears thought-out the years and has supplied the necessary
strength to endure hardship and trails for the glory of God. Millions
of people have memorized this Psalm because it brings such hope in such desperate
times. Millions
of people have found their strength from the promises we see here in this
Psalm. If
there ever is a Psalm that could stand almost on a single line it
would be this Psalm here. “The
LORD is my Shepherd” Yahweh!
The great God of the universe who spoke everything into existence. The God who
said to Moses
"I AM WHO I AM." And he said,
"Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you." It’s
an inexhaustible name which relates to God’s timelessness. He
is a Shepherd, the God of the universe who is timeless, who will always be
unchanged and unchangeable forever. This
is the Gods you tell them Moses who sent you. The Great I AM. The
other name He is given in the opening verse is “Shepherd”
See! A shepherd in
those days had to live with the sheep 24/7 and the task for caring for them was
unending. It
was a thankless position and considered the lowest of jobs. Day
and night, through every season of fair weather to terrible weather the
shepherd was always there to see his sheep through. Why For this
reason? “We
all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” Isa
53:6. We
are prone to go astray because we love this world more than we love Jesus
Christs. The
shepherd never stops laboring for their sheep. They
never stopped nourishing or guiding and most of all protecting their sheep from
harm. This
Shepherd that David pens about is the same Shepherd who cares for you and me
through the gospel. Jesus said
these words
“"Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me
are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door.
If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find
pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they
may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who
is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf
coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters
them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good
shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows
me and I know the Father; and I lay down
my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of
this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there
will be one flock, one shepherd.” John 10:2-16
This
Shepherd that David writes about is Yahweh, the LORD God who is and is to come. The
God of the universe who in involved personally in your life. The
God who sustains everything for His glory. The
God of the universe who cares deeply about your sin and your sorrow and He has
the power to give you the necessary strength to endure for Him and His glory. He
is a God full of forgiveness and full of tender mercy. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he
loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us
alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”
Eph 2:4-5 Why?
He is the Great
Shepherd! Look
what David writes about our great Shepherd and the provisions He supplies for
you and me.
“You shall not be in want” (v1)
Sheep
are the most helpless animals, but if we belong to the Shepherd then we are
under His care. This
is a care that comes with unlimited resources, because God is self-sufficient,
inexhaustible and utterly unchanging by time.
What does this mean? God
possesses within Himself every quality, ability, and supernatural command with
never-ending measure. Every
attribute or mighty and wonderful power is His endlessly. God
wants for nothing and lacks nothing; He is complete. We call this
“the aseity of God.” The
aseity of God means that He is the One in whom all other things find their
source, existence, and continuance. He
is the ever-present Power that sustains all life. There is no other source of
life and none other like Him.
Isaiah penned this
“declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet
done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,”
Isa 46:10
J I Packer said
“God has no need. He is complete in and of Himself and always has been. God did
not create man because He was lonely or because He needed to create. He is and
always has been complete and self-sufficient in and of Himself.” Despite
that that He doesn’t need you or me, He chose to create us for His glory and He
knows what you need…not what you want but what you need. We
will lack nothing because He is self-sufficient for all things and will provide
for us as the Great Shepherd does. Jesus said
“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor
reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you
not of more value than they?” Matt 6:26. Because
of the aseity of God, we can depend upon Him as the independent One who is able
to deliver, protect, and keep those who trust in Him.
“You shall not lack rest” (v2)
Sheep
do not lie down easily; they need the shepherd’s direction. They
are so skittish…… they will not lie down until 4 requirements are met. One,
is they will not lie down unless they are free from all fear. Second,
because of their social behavior they will not lie down unless they are free
from all friction from other sheep. Third,
they will not lie down if they are being tormented by flies or parasites. Fourth,
they will not lie down as long as they feel the need to finding food. The
great Shepherd is where we find this rest. This
psalm reminds us that the Christian life also begins with resting in Christ and His goodness founded in the
gospel. Are
you resting in Christ this morning? Because Jesus said
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light." Matt 11:28-30. He also declared
“"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and
whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
John 6:35. And Jesus also reminded His
disciples before He was crucified “Peace I leave
with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let
not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27. Are
you truly resting in Christ? Have
you found Jesus to be your perfect provider of all your many needs? We
must begin by resting in Him who has done everything for us.
“You shall not lack life” (v3)
God
is the one who “restores my soul!” This
is referring to salvation. When
a sheep falls over on its side and sometimes onto their backs they begin to
panic and within hours they usually die. And
the only one who can restore the sheep to health is the shepherd coming to the
rescue. For example!
Sheep are built in such a way that if they fall over on their side and then
onto their back, it is very difficult for them to get up again. They flail
their legs in the air, bleat, and cry. After a few hours on their backs, gas
begins to collect in their stomachs, the stomach hardens, the air passage is
cut off, and the sheep will eventually suffocate. This is referred to as a
“cast down” position. It is said
that when a shepherd restores a cast down sheep, he reassures it, massages its
legs to restore circulation, gently turns the sheep over, lifts it up, and
holds it so it can regain its balance.
What a picture of what the
Great Shepherd does for us! He
lifts us up, and holds us until we’ve gained our spiritual balance and He keeps
holding with breaking a sweat. Sometimes
we are like sheep……spiritually on our backs, spiritually dead, disobedient,
living for self, and the feeling of helplessness because of what we are going
through. But
Jesus comes to us when we are in this condition to give a living hope through
His precious gospel. Jesus
came to save the lost, the broken, and the sinner. "I
am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the
Father; and I lay down my life for the
sheep.” John 10:14-15. When
we are on our backs, flailing because of guilt, grief, or grudges, our loving Shepherd
reassures us with His grace. Remind
yourself of this truth that He laid His life down for you. Because you can’t
save yourself whether you stand or lay on your back. The
great Shepherd is the one who gets us up on our feet and going again and He will
keep us going according until we get home.
“You shall not lack guidance” (v3)
Sheep
are foolish creatures, it is said they are the dumbest animals of all animals. They
are creatures of habit; no other livestock requires more careful attention then
sheep. Sheep
have a natural tendency to wander off and get lost. Jesus spoke
about this in His parable in Luke 15 "What man of you, having a
hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in
the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And
when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” Luke
15:4-5. This
is a picture of you when you were lost without a Shepherd, all because of our
rebellion and pleasure over sin. So
we desperately need His leading because like sheep we can’t make it on our own. We
might think we can but were only lying to ourselves. As
sheep, they will keep on grazing until every blade of grass and every root is
eaten. Which
leads them to possible destitution, so the shepherd must lead them to field to
field otherwise they will destroy themselves. Isaiah reminds us of this
truth! “And I will lead the blind in a way that they
do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn
the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These
are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16. You
need to trust that God will get you this and supply what is needed for you to
continue under His grace. His
path of righteousness is what leads us on the straight path of His moral righteousness
which is pleasing in His sight! God’s
way will always help prevent us from straying away by sinning.
“You shall not lack safety” (v4)
God
is our source of comfort, though we seek one another for comfort, ultimately
God’s comfort brings about a certain peace that surpasses all understanding. When
we read “though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death” The
great Shepherd protects His sheep in moments of danger. We
need to understand that this valley is much of God’s right path for us as the “green
pastures”. For example! “Matthew
Henry, the famous Bible scholar, was once accosted by thieves and robbed. In his diary, he wrote: “Let me be
thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, because they took my
purse and not my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not
much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.” Though
God supplies for green pastures, He also allows us to go through the shadowy
valleys like this. The
Christian life is not always tranquil or mountain top experiences. God
guides us through the mundane and tough times like this. Its
times like this where God strengthens and deepen our character to stand by His
grace. “I
can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Phil 4:13. What
we call adversity, God calls opportunity.
“You shall not lack a Heavenly home” (v5-v6)
Our
lives are like a pilgrimage and we long for this home. Because this is not our home. Sometimes
we fear that everyone is our enemy. “A
little girl was being punished for bad behaviour, and her parents were making
her eat dinner by herself in the corner of the room. They paid no attention to
her until they heard her pray part of Psalm 23: “I thank You, Lord, for preparing a table before me in the presence of
my enemies.” Our
families can sometimes feel like our enemies when they aren’t exactly what we
want them to be. Even
our spiritual family at church lets us down occasionally. Psalm
23, reminds us of the mercies of God are new every morning, they continue all the day long. David
knew this as he looked to Heaven, he would be in the Father’s house forever. This
psalm isn’t focused on some puny god as
the world seeks after. This
is a psalm that reminds us of the God who sustains us in the palm of His hand without effort. This
is the same promise of God, grounded in the gospel of His love as the great
Shepherd. "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe
in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not
so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that
where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going."
John 14:1-4. Knowing
of this home as we go through valleys and beautiful days give us strength! Why?
We are Heaven focused by the constraint of the Holy Spirit. We
are not earthly-minded or living for the flesh wandering aimlessly seeking this
world to fulfill our wildest dreams and sin-filled desires. We,
who are in Christ, are seeking a Heavenly Kingdom where He is seated on the
Throne. Under
the Old Covenant the sheep died for the shepherd, but under the New Covenant
the Shepherd died for the sheep. “…I lay down my life for the
sheep.” Remember
when you read this Psalm next time, the weak and the helpless are in the Good
Shepherd’s special care who laid His life down for you and me. That’s
what this Psalm helps to remind us of; as we walk each and every day for the
glory of His Name.
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