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Psalm 23 is one of the most beloved psalms of all psalms.
It is the most quoted and memorized OT Scripture. Many people wrote songs about this psalm.
Whenever we hear this psalm, we feel good. I feel good because it tells me that I am not alone.
I read this Psalm at the burial service.
To die means to be alone. The body will be buried and people all leave the site. But we are not alone even in our death.
I have a shepherd. The shepherd is always with me. I am like a sheep.
Many times, I feel lost. I don’t know what to do and I don’t know where to go.
Sometimes, we feel all alone. Especially, when we go through suffering, we feel all alone.
But God is my shepherd. He tells me that I am not alone. He tells me that he is with me.
That was what God told Isaiah.
Do not fear, for I am with you,
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)
What was Jesus’ last word while he was on earth? It is the last verse of the gospel of Matthew.
I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)
Psalm 23 is the psalm King David wrote.
He himself was the shepherd when he was a boy. He knew what to do to take care of the sheep. He knew very well that the sheep would not be able to survive without him, the shepherd.
The shepherd was very important in the life of sheep. The shepherd did so much for the sheep. David knew that very well.
Finding green pastures was not easy. Near home, sheep already ate all the grass.
So, they had to travel many days to find green pastures. That was not an easy journey.
They carried big knives so that they can make paths by cutting weeds so that sheep could pass through.
They had to protect sheep from wild animals; snakes in the field, lions, and wolves. Sometimes they had to fight with them, risking their lives.
David knew exactly what shepherds had to do to take care of the sheep.
Then he realized that his God was his shepherd. When he thought about God, that image came to him very strongly.
The Lord is my shepherd. (Psalm 23:1)
Then he said,
I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1)
I don’t need anything else. I don’t lack anything.
All I need is God being my shepherd. That was David’s experience. That was his confession.
Sheep did not need to create a path. Sheep did not need to find green pastures. Sheep did not protect themselves from wild animals.
It is the shepherd who creates a path. It is the shepherd who finds green pastures. It is the shepherd who protects the sheep from wild animals.
David’s life was not easy. Nothing came to him easily.
Life did not come to him on a silver platter. He had to fight about everything.
When Samuel was looking for a king, he came to Jesse’s house. Because God told him to go there.
He asked Jesse: Bring your sons to me. But Jesse, David’s father, did not even show David to Samuel.
He even sent him away to take care of the sheep while his brothers had an important meeting with the prophet Samuel.
Because he didn’t consider David as an important person. He didn’t think of him as a king material.
His father did not even recognize his existence. Samuel had to probe into the father to see whether there was another son.
David was so good to king Saul but Saul constantly persecuted David because Saul was jealous and was threatened by David. He even tried to kill him.
So David had to live as a fugitive in another country.
But in all of his life experiences, he firmly believed that he was not alone. God was with him as his shepherd.
He believed; God would guide his life. God would protect him from enemies. God would provide him with his goodness.
We can see this very clearly in this psalm.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:2, 3)
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies. (Psalm 23:5)
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life, (Psalm 23:6)
Even when he fought Goliath, he was confident because he believed that God was his shepherd and he would be with him. When he tried to get permission to fight Goliath from Saul, he shared his experiences when he was a shepherd. But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.’ (1 Samuel 17:34-36)
He related his confidence to his experience of being a shepherd. He learned this confidence by having been a shepherd.
Like David saved his sheep from a lion and a bear, God will save Israel from this ungodly man.
His image of God was clearly the image of a shepherd. He strongly believed that God was his shepherd.
Goliath, seeing David, insulted him, saying,
“Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. (1 Samuel 17:43)
But this was what David said to Goliath.
You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. (1 Samuel 17:45)
All his life David believed that he was not alone. Always, God was his shepherd. He didn’t need anything else.
Yes, my friends, you are not alone. God is your shepherd. You don’t need anything else.
You may face challenges in life. You may face dark times. You may face even crises.
But remember God is your shepherd.
This was what Jesus said.
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)
Jesus knows what you need.
Jesus knows that you are sometimes lost. Jesus knows your worries and fear.
But as your good shepherd, he will provide you with what you need.
He will show you the way out. He will give you peace and confidence.
He takes care of you, risking his life.
Even when you face the most difficult time in your life, Jesus your shepherd never leaves you.
Hired hands run away when they see dangers. But our Lord, the good Shepherd sacrifices his own life to protect the sheep.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)
You are sheep in the good hands of the Shepherd.
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