David spent a great deal of his early life tending his father’s sheep, so he was well qualified to write about this subject. Interestingly, the Psalm is written not from the perspective of David the shepherd, but from the perspective of David the sheep and his relationship to the Lord the shepherd. It is a psalm of confidence in the goodness of God. It focuses on the comfort and protection promised to those who know and remain close to the shepherd.
The theme of the sheep and shepherd relationship is a common one in the Bible and is used often to describe the relationship between believers and their heavenly Father.
Psalm 95:7
“For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”
In this post we are going to be looking at the first line, “The LORD is my shepherd.” As we look at this line we are going to try and answer three questions. Who is the Shepherd? What kind of Shepherd is he? What does it mean for us to have the LORD as our shepherd?
Who is the Shepherd? - The LORD is my shepherd
This Psalm begins and ends with, “the Lord” (v. 1, 6). In fact, the title Lord occupies the first and emphatic position in the Psalm. The Lord here is Yahweh (English Jehovah). The name Yahweh was first disclosed to Moses in Exodus 3 and is used thereafter in the Old Testament more than 4,000 times. The name literally means “I am who I am.” It is an inexhaustible name, like its bearer. It points to God’s timelessness on the one hand and His self-sufficiency on the other (James Montgomery Boice Psalms Vol.1, pp. 207).
God is self existent and he needs nothing. He needs no wisdom because He is all-wise; He needs no power because He is all-powerful; He needs nothing. John Phillips, quoting Thomas Newberry says that the name Jehovah combines three tenses of the Hebrew verb “to be” (Exploring the Psalms Vol. 1, pp. 175).
· Yehi – he will be (future)
· Hove – being (present)
· Hahyah – he was (the past)
The Lord is Yeh – ov – ah – Jehovah. He is the God who is, who was and who is to be.
There are several names for God in the Old Testament that David could have used here but did not for very good reasons. Notice what the text does and does not say.
· It does not say, “God (Elohim) is my shepherd,” for that speaks of Him as the great and mighty Creator who is separate from the world.
· Neither does it say, “The Master (Adonai) is my shepherd.” That speaks of a servant slave relationship.
· Rather, it says “The Lord (Jehovah) is my shepherd.”
Jehovah is a term of personal relationship, which implies that you can get close to Him.
The use of the name Yahweh is important for another reason. It points to His role as the covenant making God of Israel. Willem A. VanGemeren says that the name,
“...evokes rich images of the provision and protection of the covenant-God. He promised to take care of His people and revealed himself to be full of love, compassion, patience, fidelity and forgiveness” (The Expositors’ Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, pp. 215).
Exodus 34:6-7
6 Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness and truth; 7 who keeps loving-kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations."
One final thought about the use of the name Jehovah in this Psalm. Warren Wiersbe points out that “the compound names of Jehovah in the OT reflect the contents of this psalm” (Be Worshipful: Psalms 1-89, pp. 94-95). For example:
The compound name Jehovah-Jireh means the LORD will provide (Gen. 22:14) – it reflects the phrase “I shall not want.”
The compound name Jehovah-Shalom means the LORD our peace (Judges 6:24) – it reflects the phrase “he leads me beside still waters.”
The compound name Jehovah-Rophe means the Lord who heals (Exod. 15:26) – it reflects the phrase “He restores my soul.”
The compound name JehovahTsidkenu means the Lord our Righteousness (Jer. 33:16) – it reflects the phrase “the paths of righteousness.”
The compound name Jehovah-Shammah means the Lord is there (Ezek. 48:35) – it reflects the phrase “Thou art with me.”
The compound name Jehovah-Nissi means the Lord our banner (Exod. 17:15) – it reflects the phrase “before me in the presence of my enemies.”
The compound name Jehovah-M’Kaddesh means the Lord who sanctifies (Lev. 20:8) – it reflects the phrase “Thou anointest my head with oil.”
What kind of Shepherd is He? - The LORD is my shepherd
The image of God as Israel’s shepherd begins in Gen. 48:15, 49:24 and continues throughout Scripture (Ps. 28:9; 74:1-4; 79:13; 80:1; Is. 40:11; Micah. 7:14). Additionally, the promised Messiah was seen as a shepherd (Ezek. 34:16, 23; Mic. 5:4; Zech. 13:7 etc.). In the New Testament, Jesus presented Himself as the “good shepherd” (John 10:14). We are also told that...
· He is the “great Shepherd” (Heb. 13:20)
· He is the “Shepherd and Bishop of our souls” (1 Peter 2:25)
· He is the “Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4)
· He will shepherd the nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 12:5)
F.B. Meyer wrote,
“All other life, from the aphid on the rose leaf to the archangel before the throne, is dependent and derived. All others waste and grow old; He only is unchangeably the same. All others are fires which he supplies with fuel; he alone is self-sustained. This mighty being is our Shepherd!”
In the ancient world a shepherd’s work was considered the lowest of all works. Shepherds lived with the sheep 24/7 and the task for caring for them was unending.
“Day and night, summer and winter, in fair weather and foul, they labored to nourish, guide, and protect the sheep. Who in his right mind would choose to be a shepherd? Yet Jehovah has chosen to be our shepherd” (Boice, pp. 208).
What Kind of shepherd is He? He is a loving shepherd! How do we know that the He loves us?
(1) He created us!
Psalms 100:3
Know that the LORD Himself is God;It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
As our Creator He knows everything about us, He knows our names. He knows how many hairs are on our heads. He has a vested interest in us.
John 10:1-6, 11-14
1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. 2 "But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. 3 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. 4 "When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 "And a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." 6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.11 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12 "He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them. 13 "He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep. 14 "I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me,We can’t miss the fact that David says, the LORD is my shepherd.
· He did not say, “The Lord is a shepherd,” which suggests one among many.
· He did not say, “The Lord is the shepherd,” which suggests nothing personal.
· He did say, “The Lord is my shepherd” which suggests personal relationship.
“A characteristic feature of Psalm 23 is its use of the personal pronouns “my,” “I,” and “me,” indicating that all the divine Shepherd is and has is for each of us as individuals. Another psalmist, Asaph, wrote that the Lord was the “Shepherd of Israel” (Ps. 80:1) but such a general, national acceptance of the divine character did not satisfy the man after God’s own heart. He thought of the Lord as being his own exclusive property. Thus David used the pronoun of personal possession, “The Lord is my [my very own] shepherd” (Herbert Lockyer, God’s Book of Poetry: Meditations from the Psalms, pp. 72).
(2) He redeemed us!
Isaiah 53:6
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
He loves us so much that He provides for us the ultimate provision (salvation).
John 10:7-10
7 Jesus therefore said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.
As the Shepherd, He goes after us in salvation! He looks for us!
Matthew 9:36
“He (Jesus) was moved with compassion on them, because they were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.”
Luke 15:4-7
4 "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? 5 "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' 7 "I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
“It is not enough to own him as a shepherd, for that only equates Him with the founders of the world’s religions. It is not enough to own Him as the shepherd, for that simply sets Him apart from everyone else. We must establish a personal relationship with Him. We must be able to say He is my shepherd….” (John Phillips, pp. 175).
(3) He provides for us!“I shall not want” (in the next post)
What does it mean to us to have the LORD as our shepherd? The LORD is my shepherd
Some only testify to past experiences with God, i.e. “The Lord was my Shepherd.”
Some only plan to get close to the Lord-Shepherd in the future, i.e., “The Lord will be my Shepherd. “
For those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord-Shepherd, we can say today, right now, “The Lord is my shepherd.”
What does the word “is” imply? It implies, right now. He is caring for you and protecting you, today. It implies, right here. He is with you watching you and guiding you where you stand. No matter where you are, you are under the Shepherd’s care.
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