A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

by W. Phillip Keller

“the Lord is my shepherd,” it immediately implies a profound yet practical working relationship between a human being and his Maker.

Under one man sheep would struggle, starve, and suffer endless hardship. In another’s care they would flourish and thrive contentedly.

I am basically bound to admit that His ownership of me as a human being is legitimate—

I belong to Him simply because He deliberately chose to create me as the object of His own affection.

They belonged to me only by virtue of the fact that I paid hard cash for them. It was money earned by the blood and sweat and tears drawn from my own body during the desperate grinding years of the Depression. And when I bought that first small flock, I was buying them literally with my own body which had been laid down with this day in mind.

I would, as their owner, have to continually lay down my life for them if they were to flourish and prosper.

Sheep do not “just take care of themselves,” as some might suppose. They require, more than any other class of livestock, endless attention and meticulous care.

He literally lays Himself out for us continually. He is ever interceding for us; He is ever guiding us by His gracious Spirit; He is ever working on our behalf to ensure that we will benefit from His care.

“Oh, to be set free from this awful owner!”

It is a picture of pathetic people the world over who have not known what it is to belong to the Good Shepherd . . . who suffer instead under sin and Satan.

Not only was He gentle and tender and true but also righteous, stern as steel, and terribly tough on phony people.

It is this One who insists that He was the Good Shepherd, the understanding Shepherd, the concerned Shepherd who cares enough to seek out and save and restore lost men and women.

Each shepherd has his own distinctive earmark that he cuts into one of the ears of his sheep. In this way, even at a distance, it is easy to determine to whom the sheep belongs.

The mark of the cross is that which should identify us with Him for all time. The question is—does it?

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). Basically what it amounts to is this: A person exchanges the fickle fortunes of living life by sheer whimsy for the more productive and satisfying adventure of being guided by God.

Do I really belong to Him? Do I really recognize His right to me? Do I respond to His authority and acknowledge His ownership? Do I find freedom and complete fulfillment in this arrangement? Do I sense a purpose and deep contentment because I am under His direction?

Actually the word want, as used here, has a broader meaning than might at first be imagined. No doubt the main concept is that of not lacking—not deficient—in proper care, management, or husbandry.

But a second emphasis is the idea of being utterly contented in the Good Shepherd’s care and consequently not craving or desiring anything more.

it is absurd to assert on the basis of this statement that the child of God, the sheep in the Shepherd’s care, will never experience lack or need.

the Great Shepherd Himself warned His disciples before His departure for glory, that “in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

One of the fallacies that is common among Christians today is the assertion that if a man or woman is prospering materially, it is a significant mark of the blessing of God upon his or her life. This simply is not so.

“One thing you lack. . . . Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor. . . . Then come, follow me” (Mark 10:21).

David was not referring to material or physical poverty when he made the statement, “I shall not be in want.”

“I shall not want . . . I shall not lack the expert care and management of my Master.”

it was quite impossible to serve two masters. One belonged either to Him or to another.

He ignored their needs—he couldn’t care less. Why should he: They were just sheep—fit only for the slaughterhouse.

It is the boss or the manager or the Master in people’s lives who makes the difference in their destiny.

Contentment should be the hallmark of the man or woman who has put his or her affairs in the hands of God.

I am completely satisfied with His management of my life. Why? Because He is the sheepman to whom no trouble is too great as He cares for His flock.

For Him there is no greater reward, no deeper satisfaction, than that of seeing His sheep contented, well fed, safe, and flourishing under His care. This is indeed His very “life.” He gives all He has to it. He literally lays Himself out for those who are His.

said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). And again, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (Psalm 68:19). “He who watches over you will not slumber” (Psalm 121:3).

But in spite of all these attractive attributes she had one pronounced fault. She was restless, discontent, and a fence crawler.

Even worse, however, was the example she set for the other sheep.

in spite of all that I had done to give her the very best care, still wanted something else.

almost impossible for them to be made to lie down unless four requirements are met.

they refuse to lie down unless they are free of all fear.

free from friction with others of their kind.

Only when free of these pests can they relax.

They must be free from hunger.

It is significant that to be at rest there must be a definite sense of freedom from fear, tension, aggravations, and hunger.

that it is only the sheepman himself who can provide release f...

When one startled sheep runs in fright, a dozen others will bolt with it in blind fear, not waiting to see what frightened them.

They have little or no means of self-defense. They are helpless, timid, feeble creatures whose only recourse is to run.

The presence of their master and owner and protector put them at ease as nothing else could do, and this applied day and night.

We live a most uncertain life. Any hour can bring disaster, danger, and distress from unknown quarters. Life is full of hazards. No one can tell what a day will produce in new trouble. We live either in a sense of anxiety, fear, and foreboding, or in a sense of quiet rest. Which is it?

It is the knowledge that my Master, my Friend, my Owner has things under control even when they may appear calamitous.

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).

order of dominance or status within the group. In a penful of chickens it is referred to as the “pecking order.”