Psalm 23

The man who is a true worshiper of the Lord God Almighty is not a man of radical independence. He finds His freedom in the bounds established for Him by a loving King. The Lord is His Shepherd.

This realization has a tremendous impact upon His state of mind. He knows that God is real, the the Lord has chosen to be closely connected to him, that he belongs to his heavenly King as surely as a shepherd owns his sheep, and that God is working all things for his good. Therefore, he knows that he lacks nothing.

Others can be overwhelmed by what they want. This man has a divine Shepherd. Even if he faces hunger, danger, and doubt for a time, He remembers that God has not abandoned him. He considers the Lord's sovereign provision and understands it to be bountiful.

God leads him in green pastures, places of useful service and generous provision. He is still alive on this earth because the Lord has provided him with everything necessary for life and godliness. He does not need to give in to worry. God will supply what may seem to be lacking.

His concern, as a man who knows where all these good gifts come from, is to continue to stay close to the Shepherd. He expects to hear the voice of the One who is everything to him. Like the Israelites traveling through the wilderness, if the Lord moves, then he moves. He is not a passive observer, but an active follower.

The Lord keeps this man's life intact. When following God seems to have wounded him, when his interactions with both friends and enemies have taken some toll upon his soul, his God is able to supply all his needs according to His riches in glory. Over and over again, the Lord restores his soul. Does he need sleep? The Lord gives rest to those He loves. Does he need courage for living? The love of the cross is an assurance to his soul. He knows the One who announced from the beginning that the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. He remembers again the words that his Shepherd has spoken: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

In this world, even the best follower of the Almighty will face temptation. Sin is everywhere. Yet the worshiper's Shepherd is able to lead him in paths of righteousness by His mysterious providence and by His voice. He keeps us in the right way for His own Name's sake. What could be better than that! There is no greater assurance for the man who desires to follow the Lord than this. God will be true to His own Name, and He has determined that our successful pathway of sanctification is tied to the glory of that Name. It shall be accomplished. He who began a good work in the life of His sheep will be faithful to finish what He has started.

In this world the greatest man of God will still have tribulation. All who follow a King who died on a cross have been suitably warned that the sheep that would listen to this Good Shepherd should expect a cross as well. Death is all around any man who lives on the earth. Even the one who is traveling to the celestial city cannot be ignorant of the valley of the shadow of death.

Does such a man need to give up on the journey toward heaven? Does he need to be consumed by worry? No, “I will fear no evil.” Why? “You are with me.” The Lord's voice is in the ear of the man who is able to believe the Scriptures. He feels the discipline of God correcting him, and he has the Spirit of Christ leading him by that Word. He knows that he is not alone. He has the comfort of the heavenly Gift.

Even now, the godly man knows what it is to sit down at the table of the Lord and feast on good things from above. He listens to the Word, taking in treasures old and new. He partakes of the bread and the cup, and He remembers the death and resurrection of the Lord of glory. As he participates in that spiritual feast of Word and sacrament served to him by the Shepherd of the church, he proclaims the death of the King of glory until the Lamb of God comes again as the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

His enemies see the Lord's provision for the man of faith. What do they make of all of this? What can the one who will not hear and believe discern of the feast that God provides for those who have been captivated by His love? Yet we were once dead in our trespasses and sins in which we once walked, and we have been made alive to the voice of the One Shepherd of the sheep. God is still calling people. His sheep will hear His voice, the will know Him, and they will follow Him.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. In love He laid down His life for the sheep. In the power of an indestructible soul He took up His life again. Now He anoints his people with the oil of heaven. He who is the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One, full of the Holy Spirit forever, gives us Himself. Christ is in us. We have the hope of glory. Even in this world of death, that provision from the land of life has become a cup that overflows for us.

We will dwell in house of the Lord forever. The Shepherd who loves His sheep enough to die for them will take them to be with Him where He is, so that we can behold His glory. Until then, the steadfast love that the Father has for the Son is in us, and Jesus Himself is in us. The Lord is our Shepherd, now and forever.