The Lord is my Shepherd

 

"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me 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." - Psalm 23

Remember that the Shepherd of whom this psalm speaks is Jesus. It was Jesus Himself who would later say, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). So when we say, “The Lord is my shepherd,” we are talking about Him - the Lord of glory, Immanuel, God with us. One whom the book of Colossians says is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created” (Colossians 1:15–16).

We have a very capable Shepherd. He is wise. He is strong. And with Him, the Bible says, “with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). But what comforts David isn’t only God’s strength, sovereignty, or wisdom - it’s His character. We see this in Ezekiel and repeatedly throughout Israel’s history: the people had shepherds, pastors, and leaders who failed them. But the promise of Ezekiel is that where men fail, God would not (Ezekiel 34:11–16). Men might not love them, but God loved them.

Being a good Shepherd, He Himself would search out those who were lost, find them, bring them back, bind up the wounded, feed them, protect them, and be their shield and exceeding great reward (Genesis 15:1). And of course, He came as He promised He would.

This is the kind of Shepherd we have - one entirely different from the self-serving shepherds we read about in Scripture (Ezekiel 34:2–6). This Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep (John 10:11), committed fully, overflowing with love and compassion. So when you say, “The Lord is my shepherd,” you are talking about a good Shepherd - not only competent, faithful, and diligent, but loving. He loves His sheep. That’s why He seeks out the scattered and the lost (Luke 19:10), brings them back to Himself, binds up the wounded, feeds His people, and leads them beside the still waters (Psalm 23:2).

There are four things I want to highlight in this psalm. 

First, David does not say, “The Lord is a shepherd” or “the shepherd.” He says, “The Lord is my shepherd.” What a marvelous thing to be able to say! To say of Him, our God, of Jesus Christ, “He is mine.” It’s so personal. And that’s exactly what God says of us in Isaiah 43:1: “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.”

Jesus Christ is a Shepherd, and we are His sheep. By faith, we can say, “We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3), and He is our Shepherd. In John’s gospel, Jesus says when a wolf comes, the hireling - the one hired to care for the sheep - flees. He’s afraid. The sheep are not his; he has no vested interest in them. But the good Shepherd does. “But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth… I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine” (John 10:12, 14). He doesn’t run; He doesn’t forsake us. That’s why He gives His life for His sheep, with a love that passes knowledge (Ephesians 3:19) - a love from which nothing can ever separate you (Romans 8:38–39).

Let the wonder of those words sink in. So often, familiar passages lose their wonder. But every Christian can say, “The Lord is my shepherd.” The God of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things, “taketh up the isles as a very little thing” (Isaiah 40:15), “the nations are as a drop of a bucket” (Isaiah 40:15). This great Redeemer, “mighty to save” (Isaiah 63:1), unapproachable in the brightness of His majesty - good and faithful and kind - is ours. And so David can say boldly: “I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1).

Isn’t that what we want for our children? That they would want for nothing, that they would have every good thing they need? The question isn’t whether God is willing; it’s whether He is able. And here, there is no question: He is able. The One who “shall gently lead those that are with young” (Isaiah 40:11), who carries the lambs close to His heart, will ensure our fatherless children shall not want. That’s why David says with bold confidence, “I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). How can I want anything when I have Him? How can I truly lack anything when I have God?

And so the psalm continues: “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:2–3). None of this is a surprise if we understand the beginning of the psalm: He is our Shepherd, and we are His sheep.

Second, David speaks of the valley of death. The opening verses speak of green pastures, still waters, restoration, and righteousness. And then in verse 4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4). David knows: “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1). That hasn’t changed. He is in the valley of the shadow of death, yet his Shepherd is with him. The friend of sinners has not gone anywhere; He hasn’t left.

Pain, suffering, and loss may come - but not evil. The difference is profound. As believers, we know that “the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30). The enemy cannot touch our souls. “Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28). Why isn’t David afraid? Because he says, “Thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4).

One day Jesus would go to Calvary and be forsaken, so that we would never be alone (Matthew 27:46; Hebrews 13:5). Even in the shadow of death, the Lord is our Shepherd. He will keep us. When a believer dies, we have every confidence that the Lord Jesus is with him - comforting him, bringing him home to glory, and whispering in his heart, ‘Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me’ (Jeremiah 49:11).”

“As under-shepherds, it is natural to want to protect those in our care. As parents, it is natural to want to protect our children. But when they leave our hands, we must remember that they remain fully in God’s care: ‘Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper’ (Psalm 121:4–5). What a comfort that is!”

Third, the psalm closes with the words, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever” (Psalm 23:6). Every Christian can say this. We do not know tomorrow, yet we know goodness and mercy will follow us - relentlessly pursuing us all our days. Spurgeon said, “I shall never be able to outrun the goodness and mercy of God.” Not spared pain, loss, or suffering, but never without God’s goodness and mercy.

Some blessings may not always be present, but God will always be for us (Romans 8:31). His ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9), His perspective eternal, but His Word is sure. He is faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9). He sent His Son for us (Romans 8:32). He adopted us as His own (Ephesians 1:5). Surely His love is trustworthy; His compassions fail not (Lamentations 3:22). He is the best of fathers, the best of friends. David’s confidence was not in himself but in the good Shepherd.

Finally, David looks ahead to glory: “I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever” (Psalm 23:6). David loved the temple because it was where he met God. But his ultimate home is in glory, with his faithful Savior, forever. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). Death has no sting; the grave has no victory over those in Christ. Our hope is not in what we have done, but in what Jesus has done.

As believers, we can say, “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1) - and He will always be my Shepherd. One of the greatest joys of being a Christian is the ability to talk with God, to tell Him our sorrows and troubles, and to be comforted by the Holy Spirit (John 14:16–18). God says, “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:16). He went to Calvary for us, and He will bring us home to heaven.

Even here, “now we see through a glass, darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12), we can say, “I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). Imagine what it will be like to see Him face to face, to dwell in the house of the Lord forever, surrounded by loved ones, praising God together.

"When all my labors and trials are o’er,
And I am safe on that beautiful shore,
Just to be near the dear Lord I adore
Will through the ages be glory for me.

When by the gift of His infinite grace
I am accorded in heaven a place,
Just to be there and to look on His face
Will through the ages be glory for me.

Friends will be there I have loved long ago,
Joy like a river around me will flow;
Yet just a smile from my Savior I know
Will through the ages be glory for me."

* This post is adapted from a sermon I preached several years ago.