The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalms 23:1
Jehovah-Rohi the Lord my Shepherd.
From the Treasury of David…
“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. David had himself been a keeper of sheep, and understood both the needs of the sheep and the many cares of a shepherd. He compares himself to a creature weak, defenseless, and foolish, and he takes God to be his Provider, Preserver, Director, and, indeed, his everything. No man has a right to consider himself the Lord’s sheep unless his nature has been renewed, for the scriptural description of unconverted men does not picture them as sheep, but as wolves or goats. A sheep is an object of property, not a wild animal; its owner sets great store by it, and frequently it is bought with a great price. It is well to know, as certainly as David did, that we belong to the Lord. There is a noble tone of confidence about this sentence. There is no “if” nor “but,” nor even “I hope so;” but he says, “The Lord is my shepherd.” We must cultivate the spirit of assured dependence upon our heavenly Father. The sweetest word of the whole is that monosyllable, “My.” He does not say, “The Lord is the shepherd of the world at large, and leadeth forth the multitude as his flock,” but “The Lord is my shepherd;” if he be a Shepherd to no one else, he is a Shepherd to me; he cares for me, watches over me, and preserves me. The words are in the present tense. Whatever be the believer’s position, he is even now under the pastoral care of Jehovah.”
Sometimes the commentaries get it right, and I have to agree with them. David knew what it meant to be a shepherd and what all it involved, as for many years he was one. He knew shepherding by years of life experience and trials. He knew God would take care of him presently and in the future, and thus the statement of “I shall not want.” Do we have that same confidence in God that David had? We who actually have the actual experience of having the Holy Spirit dwell within us — how much do we avail ourselves to Him? Do we have the confidence in the Holy Spirit to guide us correctly in our time of need? Or is He the last one we consult?
Then there’s the whole aspect of being in His “flock”, fully owned and taken care of by Him. Jesus is our good / great shepherd. (Hebrews 13:20) Does the Lord lead you beside ‘still waters’ (real peace)? Does the Holy Spirit lead you in the ‘path of righteousness’? Or have you given that responsibility to your Pastor? Aren’t human pastors sheep as well? Shouldn’t you be getting your direction and instructions from the True Shepherd?
Can you say without question “He is MY Shepherd.” By your long and daily experiences with Him?