Psalm 23:1: “The LORD is my shepherd; / I shall not want.”

January 29th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

This opening line of the “Shepherd’s Psalm” is the most famous line of all the psalms. This greatly loved song is extremely powerful in its simplicity. By using the word Shepherd to describe God, David was introducing the most personal and wide-ranging term found in the psalms and perhaps in the Old Testament about God. David often used terms like fortress, deliverer, shield, and rock to refer to God; but here he used a word-picture of one who lives with his flock and is everything to it. We remember that David was the son of a shepherd, had been a shepherd himself, and would even become known as the Shepherd King. David knew this title was applied to the person who was ultimately, on a very personal level, responsible for the care and well being of the flock. David was saying because the Lord is my Shepherd, He satisfies my needs, and I do not lack any good thing. That is the very place our Savior wants to bring us to, so that we are dependent on Him and Him alone. The over-riding principle is that sheep can’t make it without a shepherd, and we must allow the Shepherd to rule our lives.

This reminds me of a story. A famous Shakespearian actor was the guest of honor at a social gathering where he received many requests to recite favorite excerpts from various literary works. An elderly, retired pastor in the crowd asked the actor to recite Psalm 23. The actor agreed on the condition that the preacher would also recite it. The actor’s recitation was beautifully intoned with great dramatic emphasis for which he received lengthy applause. The preacher’s voice was rough and broken from many years of preaching, and his diction was anything but polished. But when he finished there was not a dry eye in the room. When someone asked the actor what made the difference, he replied, “I know the psalm, but he knows the Shepherd.”

“LORD, we thank You for drawing near to us and being our Shepherd today.”