Psalm 23
Because the Lord is my
Shepherd, I have everything I need!
He lets me rest in the
meadow grass and leads me beside the quiet streams. He gives me new strength.
He helps me do what honors him the most.
Even when walking through
the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me,
guarding, guiding all the way.
You provide delicious food
for me in the presence of my enemies. You have welcomed me as your guest; blessings
overflow!
Your goodness and
unfailing kindness shall be with me all of my life, and afterwards I will live
with you forever in your home.
Food for thought!
“Because
the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need!” These are the words that
introduce Psalm 23 (or 22 in some Bibles). These words are translated
differently by some Bible translations. For instance: The LORD is my shepherd,
I lack nothing; The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need; The LORD is my
shepherd; I shall not want; The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack;
The LORD is my shepherd. I am never in need; The Lord ruleth me: and I shall
want nothing; Jehovah is my shepherd, I do not lack.
What all these translations are trying to tell us is what we celebrate today: Christ the King! What does it mean for you and me when Christ is our King? It means that Jesus Christ (not Joseph or Mary or John the beloved apostle or Michael the archangel or some great saint) is our leader, our Shepherd. this is what Psalm 23 reminds us. Unfortunately, most of us are used to hearing the Psalm in funerals and tribulations. This is a psalm for the living like you and me; it is a psalm principally about life and living, and not about death and dying.
The Psalm fulfils God's promise in Ezekiel 34: I will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places they were scattered in that dark and cloudy day... There they will lie down in peace and feed in luscious mountain pastures. I myself will be the Shepherd of my sheep and cause them to lie down in peace,” the Lord God says. “I will seek my lost ones, those who strayed away, and bring them safely home again. I will put splints and bandages upon their broken limbs and heal the sick.
If Jesus is our Shepherd, we are safe! That is why, says Psalm 23, Even when walking through the dark valley of death (or of problems or of suffering or of betrayal or name it) I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way. Your goodness and unfailing kindness shall be with me all of my life, and afterwards I will live with you forever in your home.
If Jesus is our Shepherd, it means that, just as Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the garden, just as the disciples walked with Jesus on the roads of Galilee, we are walking and working with the Lord Jesus on a daily basis. To him be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever. Amen.
John 10:27-30
My sheep recognize my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one shall snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else, so no one can kidnap them from me. I and the Father are one.
Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb standing in front of the throne will feed them and be their Shepherd and lead them to the springs of the Water of Life. And God will wipe their tears away.
What all these translations are trying to tell us is what we celebrate today: Christ the King! What does it mean for you and me when Christ is our King? It means that Jesus Christ (not Joseph or Mary or John the beloved apostle or Michael the archangel or some great saint) is our leader, our Shepherd. this is what Psalm 23 reminds us. Unfortunately, most of us are used to hearing the Psalm in funerals and tribulations. This is a psalm for the living like you and me; it is a psalm principally about life and living, and not about death and dying.
The Psalm fulfils God's promise in Ezekiel 34: I will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places they were scattered in that dark and cloudy day... There they will lie down in peace and feed in luscious mountain pastures. I myself will be the Shepherd of my sheep and cause them to lie down in peace,” the Lord God says. “I will seek my lost ones, those who strayed away, and bring them safely home again. I will put splints and bandages upon their broken limbs and heal the sick.
If Jesus is our Shepherd, we are safe! That is why, says Psalm 23, Even when walking through the dark valley of death (or of problems or of suffering or of betrayal or name it) I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way. Your goodness and unfailing kindness shall be with me all of my life, and afterwards I will live with you forever in your home.
If Jesus is our Shepherd, it means that, just as Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the garden, just as the disciples walked with Jesus on the roads of Galilee, we are walking and working with the Lord Jesus on a daily basis. To him be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever. Amen.
John 10:27-30
My sheep recognize my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one shall snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else, so no one can kidnap them from me. I and the Father are one.
Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb standing in front of the throne will feed them and be their Shepherd and lead them to the springs of the Water of Life. And God will wipe their tears away.
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