The LORD is my Shepherd

The great Baptist preacher of nineteenth century London, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, wrote the following words on Ps.23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd.” “What condescension is this, that the infinite Lord assumes towards his people the office and character of a Shepherd! It should be the subject of grateful admiration that the great God allows himself to be compared to anything which will set forth his great love and care for his own people.”

Isn’t that lovely? Does that not thrill your very soul? The Lord’s deep humility is seen in His becoming the One Who shepherds us, pastors us, and Who is “our Shield and Defender.” He places Himself between us and danger, and fends off the enemy. He leads us to where our souls are fed and nourished and restored. This is the Good Shepherd Who laid down His life for us (1 Jn.3:16). We sing with Philip P. Bliss, “Hallelujah! What a Saviour!”

Our hearts ought to know no reserve when we praise and worship such a Redeemer. And His Father, and ours, allows Himself to be compared to a lowly shepherd, one Who loves and cares for the sheep. He understands our needs, you know. The care He has for His own children, for you and for me, should be the subject of our never-dying praise and gratitude. Our hearts should be enlarged with the holiest worship of such a great Shepherd. As His sheep, we are owned by Him; if we were wolves or goats or wild animals, then we would have an altogether different owner, one not nearly so loving and kind. He owns us; we are not our own; we were bought with a price – the precious blood of Christ (1 Cor.6:20). Our Owner sets great store on us, views us as precious in His sight, and takes great delight in us.

Brothers and sisters, we belong to Christ. And the One Who is our shepherd is the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us cultivate this sense of total dependence on Him for everything, yea, for life itself. Spurgeon remarks that the sweetest monosyllable in this verse is the word My. “The LORD is my shepherd.”

Can you say that? Do you know Him as your shepherd? Has He become your shepherd? Have you trusted Him personally? Are you living for Him? Is He your everything, and is He your all? Have you come to Him and asked Him to make you one of His sheep?

If you have, then you will know that He loves you, cares for you, watches over you, leads and guides you, and has your best and eternal interest at heart. Whatever your present circumstances might be, the LORD is with you and by His Spirit lives in you. The words are in the present tense, which means that these things are true for you at every moment and in every circumstance. Did you realise that? At this very moment in your life’s experience, the LORD is with you. You are under His loving and constant care.

When living with cancer or any other kind of trauma, there are few truths that are more precious to the Christian believer. When everything seems to be blackness and gloom, to look up to this wonderful Shepherd is the greatest privilege of all. When you wonder what is going to happen to you, and whether or not you will live or die, this Psalm is the God-provided antidote. When you question what will become of your family and loved-ones, you turn your eyes to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and cast yourself on Him. Why? Because He cares for you (1 Pet.5:7). Jesus Christ cares for you! He is more than able to supply all your needs both now and forever. He deals with our circumstances with great ease. There is nothing in life that you and I have met that He hasn’t met and dealt with triumphantly numerous times. That’s our hope and stay amidst life’s troubles.