How does the Shepherd help us not to want?
He makes me lie down in green pastures – He Provides REST
He leads me beside still waters – He Provides REFRESHMENT
He restores my Soul – He Provides RECOVERY & REINVIGORATION
There have been two general ways in which to understand this line of the Psalm.
Interpretation #1 – It refers to recovery with an emphasis on repentance
In this understanding David is talking about the sheep that goes astray and how he is brought back or recovered by God. i.e. He restores me when I wander.
After all, it is the very essence of the sin nature for us to desire to do our own thing.
Isaiah 53:6
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
David of all people understood this! (For background and context refer to 2 Samuel 11:1-27; 12:1-15).
It is interesting to read David’s prayer of confession in Psalm 51. It certainly reflects his understanding of how a shepherd would help restore a wayward sheep.
Psalms 51:8
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice.
This reminds us of the practice of the shepherd carrying that wandering sheep on his shoulders after he has broken its leg and then bound it up. When we wander God our Shepherd must sometimes break a bone or two to lead us to a place of repentance and recovery in our lives.
Psalms 28:9
9 Save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance;
Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.
Isaiah 46:4
4 Even to your old age, I shall be the same,
And even to your graying years I shall bear you!
I have done it, and I shall carry you;
And I shall bear you, and I shall deliver you.
1 Peter 2:24-25
24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
How does He restore our souls? He uses the word of God.
Psalms 19:7
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
What is the result of restoration?
Psalms 51:8, 10-12
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Thy presence,
And do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation,
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Interpretation #2 – It refers to reinvigoration with an emphasis on revival
In this understanding David is talking about the sheep that has been cast down and is set right or revived and by God. i.e. He restores my soul when I am weak and weary.
The word “restore” here has in it the idea of reinvigorating something, infusing it with life, bringing it back to health. The word “soul” here has in it the idea of “me” (cf. v. 2, 3b-4). Not the spiritual substance but the physical and psychological substance of who I am.
Why would someone in the care of the “Good Shepherd” need restoring? Could one of His sheep become so distressed in mind and body that they would need restoration?
Yes, we have an example (one of many in the Old Testament) in David himself. Even though he was much loved by God, he knew what it was like to be cast down and dejected. He had tasted defeat and felt the frustration of having fallen back in his walk with God. He knew what it was like to feel hopeless and without strength.
Psalms 42:11
11 Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance, and my God.
There is an exact parallel to this in caring for sheep – those that are “cast” or “cast down.” This is an old English term for a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot get back up again by itself.
According to Phillip Keller,
A “cast” sheep is a very pathetic sight. Lying on its back, its feet in the air,
it flays away frantically struggling to stand up, without success. Sometimes it
will bleat a little for help, but generally it just lies there lashing about in
frightened frustration. (A Shepherd Looks at the 23 Psalm, pp. 60)
If the owner of the cast sheep does not show up within a short time, the sheep will die. A good shepherd is there every day counting his sheep making sure that they are all upright standing on their feet. If one or two are missing a shepherd’s first thought is that they are cast down somewhere. He then leaves the flock in good care and takes off to search for his missing sheep.
Interestingly, predators are well aware of the helplessness of cast sheep because they are easy prey. According to Keller even the fattest, strongest and healthiest sheep can become cast down. In fact it is usually the fattest sheep that become cast.
Keller describes how this happens,
A heavy, fat, or long fleeced sheep will lie down comfortably in some little
hollow or depression in the ground. It may roll on its side to stretch out or
relax. Suddenly the center of gravity in the body shifts so that it turns on its
back far enough that the feet no longer touch the ground. It may feel a sense of
panic and start to paw frantically. Frequently, this only makes things worse. It
rolls over even further. Now it is quite impossible for it to regain its
feet.
As it lies there struggling, gases begin to build up in the rumen. As these expand they tend to retard and cut off blood circulation to extremities of the body, especially the legs. If the weather is very hot and sunny a cast sheep can die in a few hours. If it is cool and cloudy and rainy it may survive in this position for several days. (pp. 61-62)
There is a great deal of responsibility laid at the feet of the shepherd in keeping count of the flock and saving and restoring cast sheep. Any sign of buzzards circling over head was a grim reminder of this constant danger.
This drama of this scene is played out for us in Luke 15:3-7 (more on this later).
Keller writes,
As soon as I reached the cast ewe my very first impulse was to pick it up.
Tenderly I would roll the sheep over on its side. This would relieve the
pressure of gases in the rumen. If she has been down for long I would have to
lift her onto her feet. Then straddling the sheep with my legs I would hold her
erect, rubbing her limbs to restore the circulation to her legs. This often took
quite a little time. When the sheep started to walk again she often stumbled,
staggered and collapsed in a heap once more.
All the time I worked on the cast sheep I would talk to it gently, “When are you going to learn to stand on your own feet?” – “I’m so glad I found you in time – you rascal!” And so the conversation would go. Always couched in language that combined tenderness and rebuke, compassion and correction.
Little by little the sheep would regain its equilibrium. It would start to walk steadily and surely. By and by it would dash away to rejoin the others, set free from its fears and frustrations, given another chance to live a little longer. (pp. 63)
Many people have the idea that when a child of God falls, when he is cast down that God becomes disgusted and fed-up with them. As our shepherd however, He experiences the same feelings of care and concern for us as a shepherd does for one of his cast sheep.
Matthew 9:35-36
35 And Jesus was going about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. 36 And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd.
How do we (sheep) end up being cast down?
(1) Soft Spots
The sheep that choose the comfortable, soft, rounded hollows in the ground in which to lie down very often become cast. In such a situation it is easy to roll over on their backs. For the Christian there is the danger of becoming too complacent and comfortable with how things are. Always looking for the easy place, the cozy corner, the comfortable position where there is no hardship, no need for endurance, no demand for self-discipline. When we get to the point where we think that we have made it, we are in danger of being cast down. Self-indulgence is a dangerous thing.
1 Corinthians 10:12-13
12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.
(2) Too Much Wool
Many times sheep become cast down because of the weight of their own wool. A long fleece can become easily matted with mud, manure, burrs and other debris.
Interestingly, wool is a metaphor in the Scripture for the old self. It is the outward expression of an inner attitude, the assertion of our own desires and ambitions. It represents the area of our lives that is in closest contact with the world around us. Things like, worldly possessions, ideas, attitudes and activities can cling to us and easily accumulate, so much so that they begin to weigh us, drag us, and hold us down.
No High Priest was ever allowed to wear wool when he entered the Holy of Holies, because it represented self, pride, and personal preference, things that were anathema to God.
A sheep that had too long and too heavy of a fleece needed immediate attention. They needed to be sheared!
The same is true of us. When the old self begins to weigh us down it needs to be cut-off. We need to be shaved clean of the worldly gunk and stuff that accumulates and clings to us. We need to be restored, revived, and reinvigorated by the word of God.
Hebrews 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
(3) Too Fat
Most of us will at sometime in our life find ourselves cast down. Often it happens to us when we are fat from the word and seemingly healthful and strong. A shepherd that determined a sheep was being cast down because of it weight would take immediate, but long term plans, including rationing and stricter discipline.
All too often the Lord must step into action with us to make us leaner and more disciplined. Mainly He does this through trials and tribulations.
James 1:2-4
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
1 Peter 1:6-9
6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
To paraphrase Charles Spurgeon: When the soul grows sorrowful He revives it; when it is sinful He sanctifies it; when it is weak He strengthens it. He does it.
The same hand which first rescued us from ruin reclaims us from all our subsequent aberrations.
What good is it to have green pastures but a black soul…….what good is it to have still waters and turbulent spirits.
Back to Luke 15:3-7
3 And He told them this parable, saying, 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. NAS
Contrast the attitudes of the Pharisees (who were supposed to be undershepherds but in reality they could care less about the sheep) with that of Jesus who cared for all.
Ezekiel 34:1-2
1 Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD," Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?
Ezekiel 34:4
4 "Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.
Ezekiel 34:10-12
10 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I shall demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I shall deliver My flock from their mouth, that they may not be food for them."' "
11 For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 "As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.
Since the undershepherds of Israel had failed, God himself would shepherd and rescue His people.
Ezekiel 34:22-24
22 therefore, I will deliver My flock, and they will no longer be a prey; and I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 "Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. 24 "And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken.
Jesus Christ is that David to come. He is the Good Shepherd. Let Him restore your soul today.
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