Sunday 21st July 2024
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
Psalm 23:1-3 (NIV)
I’ve recently started reading an excellent devotional book, recommended on the Weekend at Home called ‘The Lord of Psalm 23’by David Gibson:
https://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/the-lord-of-psalm-23 . Charles Spurgeon once called Psalm 23 ‘the pearl of the Psalms’ because it gives us a wonderful picture of who God is and also what God does. It is a rich banquet, showing us the inexhaustible riches of God’s care as we travel along the journey of life. No wonder it is so beloved by many.
In six short verses, we see how the Bible depicts God’s care for his people – he is one who makes (vs.2a),who leads (vs.2b), who refreshes(vs.3), who is with us (vs.4), who prepares (vs.5a), who anoints (vs.5b). We see a God who actively cares and leads and guides his people.
It is one thing to have a shepherd. We all have shepherds. We are all following someone or something. The question is, what kind of shepherd are we following? A good one or a bad one? Notice here that it is the LORD who is the shepherd (vs.1). That’s the amazing promise of this Psalm. The Creator of everything can be our shepherd. As Gibson comments in the book: “it is one thing to have a shepherd, but it is an utterly staggering thing to have as a shepherd the one who is strength itself, who never tires, never slumbers, and who never needs protection himself.” (p.16-17)
I love that. However we might be feeling right now, tired, lacking wisdom, distracted by so many pressures within and without. We have a shepherd who never tires. Who is strength itself. He is ourshepherd. The Shepherd of our lives.
At St Wulstan’s on Sunday, we looked at these words of Jesus in John 10:11: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Here is our God, fulfilling Psalm 23 as he steps into history and lays his life down for his people. So that we might know this same Lord, shepherding us, through life, death and into eternity. What a God!
Lord, please help us to see the wonder of who it is that wisely shepherds us now. Help us to look to you and to ask for your help as we navigate the pressures of life now. Amen
With love in Christ,
Ben Wells (Associate Minister)