Implications of the 23rd Psalm

by David Gibson

We cannot make it without the Shepherd.

Sheep need their shepherd. So do we (Ezekiel 34:11-16, 23). What a Palestinian shepherd did for his flock, Jesus does for His sheep: He leads, provides, and protects (Isaiah 40:11). Self-reliance is folly. It takes humility to admit we can’t make it without Him.

Only the Lord is the true shepherd.

The Bible warns against depending on anyone or anything other than the Lord—not on money (I Timothy 6:17), military might (Psalms 20:7), people (Psalms 118:8-9), or ourselves (Proverbs 3:5-6). Also, Satan employs false shepherds to lead us astray (Jeremiah 50:6; Matthew 7:15).

Hard times only enhance the Shepherd’s care.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me” (Psalms 23:4 NASB).

W. Phillip Keller writes, “ Let come what may. Storms may break about me, predators may attack, the rivers of reverses may threaten to inundate me. But because He is in the situation with me, I shall not fear” [A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, p. 89].

We cannot be led “in paths of righteousness” if we refuse to live righteously.

“. . . He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness . . . . For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls; for by His wounds you were healed” (I Peter 2:24-25).

If we desire His healing, we must be willing to “die to sin and live to righteousness.”

For the Shepherd to benefit us, we must follow the Shepherd.

Of the 23rd Psalm, Tom Wacaster observes, “There is a certain calmness in it which almost reproduces itself in the mind whenever we say it” [The Songs and Devotions of David, Vol. 1]. This is true. And yet, the comfort is only for those who truly submit to the Shepherd’s leadership. “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me . . .” (John 10:26-27).

When we really make up our minds to submit to this Shepherd, He will guide us in paths of righteousness and lead us home.