Everything good comes from the Shepherd
This week I have been struck by the overwhelming goodness of God, particularly as described in Psalm 23. The whole psalm speaks of God’s provision of supply, safety, restoration, and comfort as well as His leading and guiding. But all of these things flow directly from who God is – a Shepherd.
Notice that the declaration King David makes in verse 1 is very personal and intimate. He declares “The Lord is my Shepherd.” In David’s time, it was the king that was often portrayed as a shepherd who looked after his people. In fact, God had said to David, “You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel” (2 Samuel 5:1-3).
Becoming a sheep
Yet here in Psalm 23, David, a king and a shepherd in his own right, places himself in the lowly and humble position of a sheep. The position of a sheep is the position we need to take too. Everything else in the Psalm is contingent on being positioned as a sheep. And everything else in the Psalm flows from the declaration “The Lord is my Shepherd…”.
If we aren’t careful, we can overly focus on the provision rather than the Provider. Therefore, it’s important for us to remember that the Shepherd comes first, rather than the provision.
Jesus also talks about having God in first place, saying
“But seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
Jesus says that we have to give God first place, and provision from God will be added too. In Psalm 23 David says,
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I have all that I need.”
Psalm 23:1
This requires us to take the humble position of a sheep. And to take that position we will need to let go of pride and self.
On the other hand, we sometimes hear a voice that tells us we aren’t worthy of God’s care, or that we don’t deserve His love. This voice can be very real – but it is not actually true. If God is 100% good, and 100% righteous, and 100% love, and 100% merciful, then nothing you or I have done (or that has been done to us) is going to stop the good, righteous, loving and merciful Shepherd from making all that He is, available to each of us, as we place ourselves in His care. You might like to take hold of this truth afresh today.
The goodness of the Shepherd is running after you
Incredibly, the final verse says,
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life…”
Psalm 23:6 (NIV)
The word for “follow” here means to eagerly pursue, to chase or passionately run after. God’s goodness (which encompasses all that God is and all of His attributes), and His love and mercy, is actively running after you. Isn’t that amazing? It reminds me of a parable Jesus told about a lost sheep.
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
Matthew 18:13-14
Acknowledging God personally as our Shepherd requires us to take the humble position of a sheep, just as David did. It also means that we might need to grasp hold of the goodness of our Shepherd in a new way.
Ultimately Psalm 23 is a declaration – not so much of the provision of our needs, but of the goodness and abundance of the Shepherd.
Why not take a few minutes to read through Psalm 23 – slowly – a few times, maybe in a different Bible translation than you normally would, and listen for God’s Shepherding voice as you read.
