Meditating on the one Who Is My Shepherd

Summary

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 paths 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 rod 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.

This is the last of three sermons I am preaching about Psalm 23. In all of the sermons I have been challenging the congregation to memorize the Psalm. Put these words into your mind. Put these words into your heart.

In this sermon I am challenging everybody to think about God. As you meditate on the Psalm, meditate on the one who is your shepherd.

The Christian faith teaches that we have one God, revealed in three persons.

Think about the 23^rd Psalm from the perspective of the Trinity.

Both the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed first talk about God the Father, then Jesus God’s Son, and finally the Holy Spirit. But when we think about who God is from the Christian perspective, it is best to start with Jesus, God’s Son.

Jesus came into the world to reveal God to us. God has become human. God has become a person like us, so that we can know God.

Thinking about Jesus being our shepherd as we meditate on the 23^rd Psalm is very easy, because Jesus taught us that he is the shepherd. From John 10:

“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and I know me.”

When I think of Jesus being my shepherd, I think especially about the valley of the shadow of death. The death and the Resurrection of Jesus are at the center of the Christian faith. Jesus, the Good Shepherd is with us as we walk in the valley of the shadow of death. He went through that valley before us. He leads the way.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

for You are with me.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.

Secondly, think about God the Father when you meditate on the 23^rd Psalm.

The original Hebrew word that is translated “The Lord” at the beginning of Psalm 23 is the Name of God Yahweh – a Name that was considered so holy that the Jewish people would not pronounce it. Whenever they came to the Name of God in the Bible, they would substitute “The Lord.” And many of the English translations have followed that custom.

Yahweh, the Name of God, is connected to the Hebrew words “I am.” When God revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush he said, “I AM WHO I AM – I AM YAHWEH, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

It is this God who is our shepherd. The one who is. The Eternal One. The Creator who was, who is, and who ever will be.

Jesus said, “I and the Father are one. The one who has seen me has seen the Father.”

And we have the wonderful words from John Chapter 1, identifying Jesus, the Word, with God, the Father, the Creator:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

Think about the Creator, the Eternal One as your shepherd. God the Father, the Creator of the universe is providing for your needs. He is leading you. He is protecting you.

When you think about Jesus as your shepherd, think about how he came into our world to experience life with you. When you think about God the Father as your shepherd, think about his power, his control, his plan for your life, his final victory.

And then let us think about the Holy Spirit as our shepherd. Jesus said in John Chapter 16:

7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

And again:

13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

The Holy Spirit is the Power of God here with us today. We have been baptized by the Holy Spirit. We have been filled by the Holy Spirit. Jesus has given us His Holy Spirit.

When you think about the Holy Spirit as your shepherd, think about God being present inside of you. Think about God giving you faith. Think about the Body of Christ here today, as we have gathered together with our brothers and sisters. The Spirit is working – He is coming to us, He is giving us faith, He is inspiring us, He is coming to us. He is praying with us. He is in our songs. He is in the words of Scripture that are read. He is in the Communion bringing faith, bringing forgiveness, bringing the Body and Blood of Jesus. His Power is there in the healing.

The Lord, the Holy Spirit inside of me, inside of us, is my shepherd. I shall not want. The Lord, the Holy Spirit inside of me, is making me lie down in green pastures, leading me beside the still waters – giving me New Life. It’s happening to me now! It is here! It is today!

But it’s not a different God – it is the one God – Jesus, the Father, the Holy Spirit – Yes, the Lord is my shepherd.

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