The Lord is My Shepherd

Happy Sunday! Today we begin our study of the 23rd Psalm. Before I get there, I want to talk a bit about the author. You likely remember the story of David and Goliath.

As the story unfolds, Goliath had the army of Israel paralyzed with fear. He was over nine feet tall, and he was obnoxious. Day after day he would challenge King Saul and his army. He would scream, "Send your best man to fight me. If I win, you'll be our servants. If you win, will be your servants."

He did this every day for 40 days, both in the morning and in the evening, we are told. There were no takers. The Israelites were totally defeated in their minds. Nobody wanted to fight this giant.

David had older brothers who were in the army of King Saul. One day David's father, Jesse, told David to leave home and deliver some food to his older brothers, who for the 40 days had been paralyzed with fear. David was not a soldier; he was a shepherd and a delivery boy. When he arrived at the war zone and heard the giant Goliath, he was ready to fight him.

David had great faith. That's why we're still talking about him today. When word got to King Saul that there was a man willing to tangle with a nine-foot mouth, there was a meeting. I want to read to you the minutes of the meeting. They're recorded in First Samuel chapter 17.

"'Don't worry about that Philistine,' David told Saul. 'I'll go fight him.' 'Don't be ridiculous,' Saul replied. 'There's no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win. You're only a boy, and he's been a man of war since his youth.'

"But David persisted. 'Been taking care of my father's sheep and goats,' he said, 'and when a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and I club it to death. I've done this to both lions and bears, and I'll do it to this pagan Philistine too, for he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine.'

"Saul finally consented. 'All right, go ahead,' he said, 'and may the Lord be with you.'"

You know the rest of the story. David took his sling and took care of business. With that story on our minds, I want us to look at Psalm 23.

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; he leads me in the past of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your ride and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

As David penned those words, I bet he was smiling. David the shepherd knows that God is his shepherd. All of us who are believers can say that with certainty, that the Lord is our shepherd. He cares for us.

Frequently in scripture, people are referred to as sheep. It's really not a compliment. Sheep are fairly helpless and are in great need of a shepherd if they're going to have a good life. In Matthew 9, Jesus looks across a crowd, and we are told he had compassion on them because they were "harassed and helpless, like a sheep without a shepherd."

Phillip Keller was a sheep rancher, and he wrote a book entitled A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm. In it, he says that sheep require more attention than any other livestock. They just can't take care of themselves. Over the years, I've seen bad sheep who have come to Christ. I've seen people whose lives were out of control yield to the lordship of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

In John 10, Jesus said, "I am the Good Shepherd, and the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." He did that for us. Going back to David and that day with Goliath, the army of Saul, king of Israel, were like a bunch of petrified sheep. For 40 days they cowered in fear of the giant Goliath. They needed a shepherd, and I'm not talking about David here; I'm talking about God.

As we began today, I read from First Samuel 17, where David told Saul this about Goliath: "For he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine." I wonder if this was the first mention of God during those 40 days, the first mention of the living God. The army of Israel and their king seemed to forget about God. Isn't that ridiculous, the people of God forgetting that he's always there as their shepherd?

To be honest, all of us have had lapses in our awareness. It is my prayer that you are now so connected to the Good Shepherd that you are ready to face anything together with him. Pray with me.

Lord God, you are our shepherd. You have laid down your life for us, your sheep, and we at times can go astray, and there you are to lead us, to bring us home, to take us to wonderful places. And we pray in this study you will do just that. Whatever my friends are facing, Father, I ask that you would lead them and they would follow. And the powerful name of Jesus I pray, amen.

God bless.