Ps.23:1 – The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
You can’t read this Psalm without remembering the words of Jesus in John 10:11 – “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” Jesus takes us deeper into the revelation of Psalm 23 with these simple words, He not only says that He is the Good Shepherd but He is also the One who laid down His life for our sins. The Psalm just before this one, Psalm 22, takes us to the cross where Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”. We hear the cries of His suffering as He brings us into fellowship with Himself. Here is how Spurgeon describes this.
“The position of this psalm is worthy of notice. It follows the twenty-second, which is peculiarly the Psalm of the Cross. There are no green pastures, no still waters on the other side of the twenty-second psalm. It is only after we have read, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” that we come to “The Lord is my Shepherd.” We must by experience know the value of blood-shedding, and see the sword awakened against the Shepherd, before we shall be able truly to know the Sweetness of the good Shepherd’s care.”
So lets ponder what Jesus had to say about the Shepherd. First He said I am the Good Shepherd. Jesus Himself is the shepherd of our souls. He went on to say that the Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.As Paul said, “If God be for us who can be against us. He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” If the Father gave His Son for us to free us from our sins then no enemy can overcome us. Jesus also said, “My sheep know My voice”. This describes the personal and intimate relationship the Lord has called us into. He speaks to us and directs us with His own voice. Jesus also said, Jn.10:27,28 – “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” This promise is an eternal promise, He has chosen me to be one of His own, if that is true no one can separate me from His love. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
