Psalm 23: 1– a devotion

Psalm 23: 1: ‘A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.’

• This psalm is about ‘the Lord’. The psalm is not about David or what he did, but it is about who God is and what he does.
• For example, through the psalm we find the words, ‘he makes me’, ‘he leads me’, ‘he restores’, ‘he guides’, ‘he is with me’, ‘he prepares’, and ‘he anoints’. Notice how many times the word ‘he’ is used?
• The whole psalm, therefore, tells us how important God the Shepherd was to David and to his people, Israel. Truly the Lord was David’s shepherd. The Lord is our shepherd too. Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd (John 10: 11).
• What is a shepherd? David was a shepherd who looked after his father’s sheep, so he knew by experience. For example, he killed a bear and lion to protect his sheep (1 Sam 17.34-37). He placed his life at great risk for them and he was willing to provide everything for his sheep.
• In this we have a picture of the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus, who gave his life for us on the cross. Jesus said, ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep’ (John 10: 11).
• Because ‘the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep’, David knew that nothing would be held back from him. Like David, we are God’s ‘sheep’ and may have everything we need (see Rom 8.32). This does not mean God will give us everything we want, but everything we really need, especially for our Christian life.
• If we follow the Shepherd, he will supply all of our need ‘according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus’ (Phil 4: 19), so that we, like David, will never lack. After all, it is God’s desire and intention that we have his true joy and happiness (John 17: 13).

Dear Lord Jesus, our great and good Shepherd, forgive our sins, cleanse us from them and provide us with everything we need in life, such as peace and eternal life. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.