THE TESTIMONY OF A SHEEP

 

                                   

A teacher asked a class of small boys about ten or eleven years of age this question. Which of the Bible translations do you like the best? One little boy said, "I like the King James Version because that is the kind I got for Christmas." Another little boy said, "I like the Good News For Modern Man because it has cartoons all through it." Another little fellow said, "I like the Living Bible because I can read it easier." The fourth little boy said, "I like my daddy's translation best because he translated it into life and I can see it in him."

Psalm 23 is the most known part of the Bible. Millions of people have memorized this psalm. The powerful words in the psalm have comforted many grieving souls and they have given courage to people in the face of great danger. Dying soldiers have died easier as it was read to them. For some the words of this psalm have been the last they uttered in life.

The idea of the LORD as a Shepherd begins in Genesis 48:15 where Jacob talks of the Lord who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, and in Genesis 49:24 he calls him the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. In Psalm 28:9 David asked the Lord to shepherd his people and to bear them up forever.  Isaiah 40:11 tells us that the Lord will tend his flock like a shepherd and gathers the lambs with his arms and carry them close to his heart.

Micah (7:14) asks the Lord to shepherd his people with his staff as in the days of old. In John 10:11, 14 Jesus spoke of himself as the good shepherd. Hebrews 13:20 speaks of Jesus as that great shepherd. Peter calls Jesus the shepherd and overseer of your soul (1 Peter 2:25) and the chief shepherd (1 Peter 5:4)

Psalm 23 is a psalm of David which he most likely wrote later in life but with vivid remembrance of his youth as a shepherd. He knew sheep very well from the experience he had when he looked after his father flock in the Hills of Judah. David made the analogy of sheep and their shepherd. God was like a shepherd to him and David was like a sheep to God. He wrote this psalm as a testimony of what it's like to be a sheep in God’s care.

David knew what a shepherd is to a sheep in a personal sense. This was not just a theoretical poem; the Lord was a real personal shepherd for him. He knew with certainty that he belonged to the Lord.  David does not say “if” or “I hope” the lord is my shepherd, he is confident that the Lord is his shepherd. If he be a shepherd to no one else he is a shepherd to him, he cares for him and watches over him

Even though he was a king David needed a shepherd and he found comfort and security in the thought that God cared for him. It’s possible that many nights he looked up at the starry sky and felt a great shepherd was watching over him from there. God is looking down to you and he's saying you are my sheep and I'll take care of you.

David presents a lovely image of a flock feeding on green grass and resting in quietness by a gently flowing stream.  The phrase “I shall not want” is both a decision and a declaration. He declares that his shepherd is able to supply all his needs and decides it’s sufficient. Sheep do not lie down unless they feel completely safe. And such is the confidence David has in his shepherd that he lays down in his presence at peace with no one to make him afraid.

“He restores my soul” pictures a soul that had been stained by sin being restored to its original purity. David loved the Lord but he was not perfect. The beauty of his life was visible only through the cracks of his earthen vessel. One time David sexually exploited Bathsheba and ordered the assassination of her husband (2 Sam 11:2-17). As a result his iniquity drained his strength and his bones wasted away (Ps 31:10).

Numb and badly crushed, he groaned in anguish of the heart (Ps 39:2). David cried out “my God, my God why have you forsaken me? (Ps. 22:1), my sacrifice O God is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart you, God will not despise (Ps 51:17). Solomon wrote “he who conceals his sins will not prosper but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy” (Prov. 28:13). God must have said to him “come now let us settle the matter… though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isa. 1:18).

God will not let his children find comfort in sin; he will discipline them as a good father disciplines his son. His discipline is redemptive in nature. Hebrew 12:5-11 says no discipline seems pleasant at the time but painful. Later on it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who are trained by it. So if you keep sinning and you don’t get disciplined, you need to re-examine your relationship with God.

The good shepherd restores his straying sheep and every one in his flock including the small and weak matter to him.  David the shepherd boy would face any danger to rescue his father’s sheep (1 Sam.17: 34-35). He was committed to take all of them back to his father safely. In John 6:39 Jesus said” and this is the will of him who sent me that I shall lose none of those he has given me. In John 17:12 he said “while I was with them I protected them and kept them safe… none has been lost except the one doomed to destruction”.

Here is the kind of shepherd who leaves the 99 and goes out after the one sheep he lost (Matt 18:22); a shepherd who will lay down his life for his sheep (John 10:11-12). Parents value and direct all your children in the way of the lord. God was confident Abraham would do this (Gen.18:19).  Shepherds of the  flock that Jesus purchased with his own blood (Acts 20:28), value and take good care of every  sheep that God has put under your care, if any strays do not easily give up on it, make every possible effort to restore it.

He leads me in ‘the path of righteousness, for His name’s sake. The shepherd’s credit and glory are at stake and the sheep’s welfare reflects his name. His reputation matter to him and he will not lose good name for having failed a sheep, that put their trust in him. He uses his Scriptures to teaches, rebukes, corrects and trains in righteousness so that the servant of God maybe thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 timothy 3:16-17).

In verse 4 we find the first dark note in this beautiful psalm. David recognizes that under the shepherd’s leading, he may walk through the valley of the shadow of death. This has a delightful application to the dying; but it is for the living, too. The words are not in the future tense and therefore are not reserved for a distant moment. In the fearful places of this life, the presence of the shepherd banishes fear.

David envisioned a rich table prepared for him in the presence of his enemies. Sometimes God does this to our amazement! When people wish us evil and expect the worst for us God surprises both the enemy and us by bringing unexpected blessings. The enemy can do nothing but watch as we enjoy it. God does not only have the bounty to feed us, but also the power to protect us from surrounding enemies so we can feast in perfect security.

David’s head was anointed with oil and his cup was over-filled. If God had to fill your cup in proportion to your faith, how much would you have? David lived in expectation that his shepherds goodness and mercy would follow him all the days of his life. The psalm ends with the calmest assurance that he would enjoy the presence of the LORD forever both on this earth and beyond. Is the lord your shepherd?