Psalm 23, part three: Green Pastures

John Newton, the writer of the classic hymn Amazing Grace, once wrote: “I compare the troubles which we have to undergo in the course of the year to a great bundle of sticks, far too large for us to lift. But God does not require us to carry the whole at once. He mercifully unties the bundle, and gives us first one stick, which we are to carry today,and then another, which we are to carry tomorrow, and so on. This we might easily manage, if we would only take the burden appointed for us each day; but we choose to increase our troubles by carrying yesterday's stick over again today, and adding tomorrow's burden to our load, before we are required to bear it.”

Last time we were together, we talked about how much we human beings resemble  sheep and the contentment that comes from knowing that we follow a good shepherd. 

This time, I have another fascinating fact about life in a flock. The second verse of Psalm 23 tells us that “He makes me lie down in green pastures”.  That seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? But as we’re beginning to expect from sheep, nothing is that simple. Because sheep—imperfect as they are—are downright obsessive  about lying down. In fact, a sheep won’t do it at all unless four conditions are met.

First, of all, it must be free from fear. This is totally understandable. Remember, like I said last time we were together, sheep are bad at fighting, bad at fleeing, and not even wily enough to look ferocious. So by laying down, they’re taking a real risk. 

Let’s be honest, these are starting to sound like the stupidest animals in the world. But before you condemn them, think for a moment about your own fears. Dr. Roger Kasperson,the director of the risk study center at Clark University in Worcester, MA, observes that “People climb mountains and expose themselves voluntarily to all kinds of risks, but they don't like risk inflicted upon them that they don't understand or have control over,'' 

Secondly, sheep won’t lay down if there’s tension with the other members of their flock. We might call this the pecking order. But it’s actually a “butting” order for a flock of sheep. The most powerful ewe commands the best spot, and if she doesn’t like where you’re sitting, she’ll butt her head into you until you move. It’s the same old competition for status that we are equally familiar with. Something inside us is deeply concerned with how we stand compared to others. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.”  But not many people are insightful enough to realize that. 

Third, the sheep must be free of pests before they lie down. Flies, and other aggravations don’t frighten sheep, they just keep them distracted. They can’t rest because these buzzing little things occupy their attention. How many of these little anxieties and irritations and unimportant details keep you from resting? I recently read a famous self-help book called The7 Habits of Highly Effective People for work, and in it, Steven Covey talks about the circle of our concerns vs. our circle of influence. The things that bug us vs. the things we can actually change. Are you worried about the government? About global warming? About that giant island of plastic floating around in the Pacific Ocean? These are just three easy examples of millions of things that can keep us agitated and restless, but that are completely out of our control. 

And there’s one more simple reason that keeps sheep from lying down- hunger! This is a good a time as any to mention that green pasture itself. That may be relatively common here in New England, but where King David lived and looked after sheep in Israel, it was dry and arid. To make a pasture full of lush grass and other growing things that are healthy for a sheep to eat meant A LOT of work for a shepherd. He had to care very much about the sheep to make a place like that happen.

That’s all fine and good for sheep. Now we know how to get a sheep to sleep—so what? How does that affect us here in Danvers? How does this one sentence of a beloved Psalm help US to rest? 

The apostle Paul knew the answer. He wrote to the church in Philippi that “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” 

Because with each of these problems, an amazing thing happens in the presence of a shepherd—it changes things for the sheep completely. The fear, the competition, are simply overcome by the peace the shepherd brings. He also cares for the sheep to keep the bugs away.  And he sees that they have good things to eat. 

Jesus, OUR good shepherd, says in the gospel of Mathew:

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

  Later in that same chapter, he continues “28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”

And this gets to another aspect. Sheep trust their shepherd. We laugh at how stupid they seem to us, but when their trusted shepherd comes around, they lie down and rest. But Jesus touches on our lack of faith. Even those of us who call ourselves Christians are guilty of not trusting our shepherd to provide for us. As the prophet Isaiah wrote, “All we like sheep have gone astray.” 

Max Lucado puts it this way: “No one can pray and worry at the same time. When we worry, we aren’t praying. When we pray, we aren’t worrying.”