January 16
“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,” Psalm 23:1-6.
For many generations, the Twenty-Third Psalm has been a favorite portion of Holy Scripture which children of God have committed to memory. In this psalm, the psalmist expresses his firm faith in the almighty Shepherd, who provides for all necessities of body and soul. Trustingly, the psalmist could say, “I shall not want.” God promises to provide the necessities for this life. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things,” Matthew 6:31-32.
God has also provided for us spiritually. He sent His Son into the world to suffer and die to redeem us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Jesus made the supreme sacrifice on the altar of the cross at Calvary as He poured forth His holy, precious blood to wash away our sins. Then He rose from the grave and conquered death and the devil.
Each believing Christian can say with the psalmist, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.” God gives us peace and rest as we read, study, and believe the green pastures of His holy Word. Spiritually, we drink the refreshing waters of the Gospel, through which we are assured of the forgiveness of sins and the promise of life everlasting. When we have questions and doubts, our faith in Jesus as God’s Son and our Savior is restored and strengthened through the Gospel.
Like a loving shepherd, Jesus leads us along the road of life, and He will keep us from stumbling and falling. When our final hour and day of death comes, with our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can say with the psalmist, “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.” “Death is swallowed up in victory . . . Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Corinthians 15:54, 57.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.” As the forgiven children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, we receive a warm welcome into the family and the house of God. Our cup runs over – we are blessed beyond measure and beyond anything that we deserve. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” God’s goodness and mercy go with us throughout our lives, and at the close of this life we will be received into the halls of heaven.
In the New Testament, Jesus gives us the best commentary on the Twenty-Third Psalm. He says, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep . . . I am the Good Shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own . . . and I lay down My life for the sheep . . . My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again,” John 10:11, 14, 17-18. Jesus laid down His life on Friday on the cross at Calvary, and He took it again on Easter morning when He rose from the grave. As the apostle Peter wrote, “You were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls,” 1 Peter 2:25.
O, Shepherd of our souls, keep us in the faith! Amen.