Psalm 23, part one: My Shepherd

In the opening line of one of the most popular Scriptures of all, we read that “The Lord is my shepherd.” But what is easy to overlook is that David had every qualification as a shepherd—if you remember, it’s what he was doing when Samuel was visiting his family looking for the next King of Israel—but he speaks as a sheep here. As one of the flock.

In A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, modern author Philip Keller offers his own perspective on this well-loved description of God. Keller not only grew up in East Africa, where shepherds worked a lot like they did in Israel, but later earned his living as a sheep rancher for 8 years before this book was published and his life took another direction. 

God is the creator of everything— and he is my shepherd!  And not only did he create us (and the intricate natural system we’re a part of, he then bought us again with his life. Without question, we belong to him. 

  In John 10:11, Jesus says:

 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 

Keller writes,“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. It is a tragic truth that many people who really have never come under His direction or management claim that ‘the Lord is my shepherd.’ They seem to hope that by merely admitting that He is their shepherd somehow they will enjoy the benefits of His care and management without paying the price of forfeiting their own fickle and foolish ways of life. One cannot have it both ways… It is a most serious and sobering thought which should make us search our own hearts and motives and personal relationship to him.”

So for the next few minutes, let’s do a little searching of that personal relationship. In biblical terms, we can see the whole picture in Paul’s letter to the Romans:

Chapter 3, verse 23 tells us that  “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

6:23 explains that this sinfulness deserves death—but God offers us life.  5:8 explains how Jesus paid the debt of this sin not because of anything we did (we’re the sheep, not the shepherd, after all). And 10:9 & 10 reminds each of us that we must confess with our mouth and believe in our heart to be saved.

And this is all true and biblically correct. But living next to the Atlantic Ocean, I think this can all be understood with an analogy. 

It’s as if God’s perfection demands that we swim across the ocean to Europe to make up for our imperfection. Let’s say he offers us the easiest crossing possible. The furthest point in North America is St. Johns, in Newfoundland. If you swam from there to the very tip of Ireland, the distance is right around 2,000 miles. 

Now i consider myself an OK swimmer. I think I could maybe make it a mile. My daughter is only 13. She’s a pretty good swimmer. Let’s say she’d make it half a mile. 

But maybe one of you is an incredible swimmer. An Olympic-quality long distance swimmer. And this is a lofty and deeply desirable goal. Let’s say you made absolute fools of the rest of us and swam 100 miles. You’re still barely 1/20th of the distance. So there we are: Lucy, me, and you, bobbing in the water, all exhausted, and none of us anywhere near the goal. 

This is the problem of sin. We can’t live perfect lives any more than we can swim to Ireland, no matter how much we want it. And some of us can get further than others, but what does it matter, if God’s standard of perfection is so far beyond all of us? 

But then a boat comes along, and somebody offers us his hand to help us out of the water, and gives us dry clothes, warm food, and a comfortable seat for the rest of the trip. That’s Jesus. But we have to take the arm that’s offered to us. You tell me what will happen if we say, “I don’t need you: I can do this myself?” or “I’m not here. You don’t exist. And this ocean is all in my mind”?

To return to our friend Philip Keller, “One cannot have it both ways… It is a most serious and sobering thought which should make us search our own hearts and motives and personal relationship to him.” So, it all comes down to that. IS the Lord your shepherd?