The most
popular of psalms made for all occasions is psalm 23. Books about it abound.
Songs resonate through the airways. It is recited at weddings and funerals.
This psalm continues to bless and amaze. Over the following blog times I’d like
to share with you a type of devotional investigation into some of its verses. I’m
sure there are insights you could share with me which I’d appreciate. May what
follows be a joy to your heart.
‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want’
verse 1.
‘The’ emphasises the uniqueness, the
only-ness of the person addressed, admired, adored. He is not one of many. He
isn’t ‘a’ lord. He is ‘THE Lord!’
David is
highlighting for us in his testimony a relationship of trust. As a shepherd boy
he understood the faith sheep have in their shepherd. He knew their name and
peculiarities. It is unknown (at least to me) when and how David and his
Shepherd met. This is without doubt, David saw himself a one of the flock. The
testimony he gave to King Saul in 1 Samuel 17:31-37 of The Lord’s protection
highlighted this. Goliath was about to be added to The Lord’s victories through
David. It is our honour to live in a similar fellowship of trust. It is our
privilege to bear testimony, be it ever so mundane, to The Lord!
‘Lord’ is the translation usually
applied to Yahweh. Such a wonderful imagery is here presented. The Creator who
sustains the universe is the one who takes David under His care. This is David
psalm. Have we the right to claim it as ours or is it wishful thinking? By the
grace of The Lord we have His invitation to make this psalm our own. To make
that real and personal requires a relocation of our heart, mind and allegiance.
We are not automatically in His fold. His invitation must be accepted and, as
it were, we must join His sheepfold. In the Gospel of John 10:16 we have the
confidence to claim we are of ‘the other sheep’ The Lord has. David knew His
Lord’s name. We know Him as Jesus, the Christ, The Son of God! He is The Lord!
‘Is’ expresses the assurance David
had in whom he believed, trusted, obeyed. There isn’t a maybe or ‘I wish’ about
it. David would be a silly sheep on numerous occasions but the ‘is’ remained.
For what this word highlights is a covenant commitment between The Lord and His
sheep, David. Such a covenant relationship is ours also because of Calvary’s
cross and the empty tomb. When you, when I realised the meaning of the cross
and believed what Jesus did was for us personally, we gave our life and destiny
into His keeping. That is why we can say with gratitude ‘The Lord is.’
‘My’ is the personal aspect which
should always astound. Why would the Creator choose to associate with me, let
alone claim me as His own? John Newton’s hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ sums it up so well.
I was a worthless sheep, scabby, wasted and infected with sin, at the mercy of
life’s brigands. The Lord rescued me. I had nothing of merit, nothing of appeal
yet in mercy He claimed me, as He did you! I am still a silly sheep from time
to time, but The Lord keeps me in His fold. Why? Because He keeps His covenant.
He will discipline but He will not remove my name from His book.
‘Shepherd’ is for us a warm and
meaningful term. As we work through the psalm we will realise some of the ways
He cares. However, strange as it may sound, a shepherd was not always held in
high regard. The Egyptians in the days of Joseph saw them as beneath their
dignity. In the days of Jesus a shepherd was considered a ‘low-life’ whose word
couldn’t be trusted. In the spiritual realm of today this animosity still
exists. It may or may not be stated, but its atmosphere prevails. Therefore,
when you and I say “Jesus, The Lord is my Shepherd” we could be given the cold
shoulder. This is why we must know the reality, personally and unquestionably,
that The Lord [Jesus] is my shepherd
and I am a sheep in His fold. Can you say “Amen” to that?
To be
continued.
Ray
Hawkins Feb 1st 2016.
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