Psalm 23: The Lord is My Shepherd, I Shall not Want
Psalm 23:1
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
Psalms 23:1 NASB1995
I am now starting a devotional series on an in-depth study of the glorious words in the 23rd Psalm, going verse by verse. It is a Psalm attributed to David and it has been speculated that he wrote it when he was King of Israel and was looking back on his humble origins as a shepherd (a task given to the youngest in a family).
This popular and comforting Psalm is used in so many ways to bring a message of hope to believers and entice non-believers into thinking about the beauty of God. It is read to the sick and dying; it is read to the newborn, the young child in Bible studies and to the newly baptized. It has been read to wounded soldiers and to lonely orphans and to grieving widows/widowers. Most people who have any church background at all have likely memorized it.
So why am I exploring it? Because I have found, by doing these devotionals and the associated research of commentaries and sermons, that I have learned something new and surprising on so many familiar things, like the Beatitudes/Sermon on the Mount, the “I Am” statements of Jesus, the Parables of Luke and Romans 8. Many learning models recommend going beyond just reading and memorization to doing comprehensive analysis, research and reflection. When Steve and I have done in-depth precept studies on various Biblical topics, we found that using tools like accessing word origins and definitions, comparing various translations, determining historical context, reading commentaries and using other tools dramatically increased our comprehension. So let’s begin.
The first verse of this Psalm is deceptively simple: The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. I have previously latched onto to the beautiful idea of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, given my personal history and testimonies. I am extremely comforted by the image of a caring Shepherd who tends His flock and searches out His lost sheep. The word “Lord” is Translated (using the Blue Letter Bible tools) from the Hebrew word Yhova or Yaweh (also later enhanced as Jehovah, meaning God). Turning to one of my favorite commentators, David Guzik in Enduring Work has some wonderful details on the simple phrase “The Lord is my Shepherd”:
a. The LORD is my shepherd: David thought about God, the God of Israel; as he thought about his relationship with God, he made the analogy of a shepherd and his sheep. God was like a shepherd to David, and David was like a sheep to God.
i. In one sense, this was not unusual. There are other references to this analogy between the deity and his followers in ancient Middle Eastern cultures. “In all Eastern thought, and very definitely in Biblical literature, a king is a shepherd.” (G. Campbell Morgan)
ii. It is also a familiar idea throughout the Bible that the LORD is a shepherd to His people. The idea begins as early as the Book of Genesis, where Jacob called the LORD the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel (Genesis 49:24).
· In Psalm 28:9 David invited the LORD to shepherd the people of Israel, and to bear them up forever. Psalm 80:1 also looks to the LORD as the Shepherd of Israel, who would lead Joseph like a flock.
· Ecclesiastes 12:11 speaks of the words of the wise, which are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd.
· Isaiah 40:11 tells us that the LORD will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm. Micah 7:14 invites the LORD to Shepherd Your people with Your staff…As in days of old.
· Zechariah 13:7 speaks of the Messiah as the Shepherd who will be struck, and the sheep scattered (quoted in Matthew 26:31).
· In John 10:11 and 10:14, Jesus clearly spoke of Himself as the good shepherd, who gives His life for the sheep and who can say, “I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” Hebrews 13:20 speaks of Jesus as that great Shepherd of the sheep, 1 Peter 2:25 calls Jesus the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls, and 1 Peter 5:4 calls Jesus the Chief Shepherd.
· The idea of Jesus as the Good Shepherd was precious to early Christians. One of the more common motifs in catacomb paintings was Jesus as a shepherd, with a lamb carried across His shoulders.
iii. It’s remarkable that the LORD would call Himself our shepherd. “In Israel, as in other ancient societies, a shepherd’s work was considered the lowest of all works. If a family needed a shepherd, it was always the youngest son, like David, who got this unpleasant assignment…Jehovah has chosen to be our shepherd, David says. The great God of the universe has stooped to take just such care of you and me.” (James Montgomery Boice)
iv. “Saith Rabbi Joseph Bar Hamna, there is not a more contemptible office than that of a shepherd…. But God disdaineth not to feed his flock, to guide, to govern, to defend them, to handle and heal them, to tend and take care of them.” (John Trapp)
v. David knew this metaphor in a unique way, having been a shepherd himself. “David uses the most comprehensive and intimate metaphor yet encountered in the Psalms, preferring usually the more distant ‘king’ or ‘deliverer’, or the impersonal ‘rock’, ‘shield’, etc.; whereas the shepherd lives with his flock and is everything to it: guide, physician and protector.” (Derek Kidner)
Think on this: The Lord is MY shepherd and He has focused on each and every one of His sheep, at my lowly level in this vast universe that He created. Sheep are obstinate, foolish, noisy and wayward animals, a perfect metaphor for fallen humanity. He finds us, guides us and leads us.
So what about the second phrase in the verse: I shall not want? Once again, David Guzik succinctly explains that God will provide and I shall want only what God provides:
c. I shall not want: For David, the fact of God’s shepherd-like care was the end of dissatisfied need. He said, “I shall not want” both as a declaration and as a decision.
i. “I shall not want” means, “All my needs are supplied by the LORD, my shepherd.”
ii. “I shall not want” means, “I decide to not desire more than what the LORD, my shepherd gives.
What comfort for our souls!! Combine this simple verse with John 3:16 and you have the foundation for a believer!
My next devotional will examine Psalm 23:2: Green Pastures and Still Waters.
Commentary by David Guzik from Enduring Word is used with written permission.