The Vicar Writes

The 23rd Psalm of David: The Lord is my Shepherd.

This is a great statement made by a great man of God. If you recall David was anointed to be king over Israel but then what did he do? He went back to being a shepherd. We can just imagine David sitting there with the flock at evening contemplating the goodness and greatness of God and coming up with this Psalm. No doubt David would be thinking how great God is by watching the flock that were in his care and imagining how God watches over all of His sheep.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

God is our provider if we follow His commandments. What more could we actually need if God who is the great Creator of all things seen and unseen? David took care of his sheep providing them with all that they needed.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

Lying down in green pastures means that the sheep have eaten their fill. Sheep will not lie down to rest until they are full. God expects us to eat until we are full of His Word then we will lie down for our rest.

He leadeth me beside the still waters:

Sheep don't like raging waters. They are afraid of falling in and being swept away in the current. Wool also absorbs lots of water and that would also help to cause them to drown. Sheep also don't like stagnant water ~ they like fresh water that runs gently and that's what God wants for us ~ He wants to give us fresh water daily and for us to trust in Him to bring us to this fresh water.

He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake:

He restores us by lifting us up when we are down. He encourages us to keep going where He leads, for the paths that He leads us to are righteous. God will never lead anyone down the wrong path. God cares for us deeply in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Even when we weren't following the Good Shepherd, the Shepherd still sought us out.

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:

The shepherd leads his sheep to where the grazing is good and at times he will have to lead them through some dark valleys where many enemies lurk. Wolves, lions and bears inhabited much of the wilderness in the time of David watching over the flock and there were times that some of these predators would attack the sheep. But the sheep trusted the shepherd that even though there were predators out there, he would take care of them. The rod was for protecting the sheep from predators and also to push the sheep back into the flock were they to wander. The staff is curved on the end so that if a sheep was to wander, the shepherd would hook the staff around the neck of the sheep and lead it back into the flock. If we stay close to Christ then we will be safe from attack in whatever form it comes.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over:

While the sheep would graze where the shepherd led them the enemy would be camped all about the flock seeking a way to get in to cause destruction. Wolves, lions and bears were all around and imagine how they would look at the sheep their mouths watering, then they would see the shepherd and how fear would come upon them. The devil knows who we are in the Lord. He seeks a way to get to us to devour us but then his eyes would turn to our shepherd and he would think if only I could get them away from the flock I could destroy them. It is true that if a sheep is wandering alone that Satan will destroy it. There is safety as long as you stay within the flock and not wander about on your own.

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:

Goodness and mercy follow the Lord's sheep wherever they go. Doesn't it seem like we are looking for goodness and mercy to go before us at times? Or sometimes we will look back trying to see the goodness and mercy behind us? When we look back we are taking our eyes off the Shepherd. We are looking from where we came instead of where we are going. Where is it we are going? (and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.)

There are many many shepherds out there in the world that would want us to follow them. Drugs can be your shepherd. Alcohol can be your shepherd. Jealousy, envy, stubbornness, idolatry, pride are all shepherds. But there is only one Good Shepherd and His name is Jesus Christ.