[Unboxing Psalm 23: Treasures for Every Believer] My ShepherdSample

The Lord Is My Shepherd

Psalm 23, like many other psalms, was written by David, the shepherd who became the most beloved and recognized king of Israel. Though he was a shepherd, this particular psalm is not written from that perspective, but from the perspective of a sheep. He identified himself as one of the sheep in the Lord’s flock that needed the care of the Good Shepherd.

Let’s look at the phrase-by-phrase meaning of “The Lord is my Shepherd.”

*The: This article means the only one. There is no one like Him. There can only be One to whom David refers, the God and Lord of Israel – Yahweh.

*Lord: Who is He? We see that Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, tells us who the Lord is. He affirms that Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, is the image of the God we cannot see. He is the visible image of the invisible God, and He has come to show us who God is. He is responsible for the creation of all things natural and supernatural. Paul confirms that “the Lord” David speaks of is the One who created everything. There is no other Lord. He created you to receive His affection. He is attentive to your needs. The Good Shepherd takes care of His sheep to the point of giving His life for them. You belong to Him.

*My: This possessive pronoun refers to belonging, to a personal relationship. David declares that he belongs to the Shepherd. The only way we can be counted as the Lord’s sheep is through recognizing and accepting the work that Jesus Christ did on the cross. When we do this, we are adopted by theFather. It is then that we can claim the Lord as our Shepherd. In David’s time, sheep were marked so that they could know the flock and the shepherd they belonged to. In the same way, our Shepherd has marked us. We were sealed by the Holy Spirit the moment we came to be part of the sheep of the Good Shepherd.

*Shepherd: God is identified as our Shepherd in the Old Testament (Genesis 48:15, Psalm 80:1). In the New Testament, Jesus is revealed as the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-16). The letter to the Hebrews calls Jesus the Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20). The shepherd guides and directs his sheep and takes care of them. So, when David states that the Lord is our Shepherd, he understands and declares that the Lord will guide and direct him and take care of his life. We cannot have a better Shepherd than Jesus Christ, who gave His life for the sheep.

Lord Jesus, thank You for being my Shepherd, for taking care of me, for caring about my life, and for giving Your life for me. Today I know that I belong to You, and that You will be in charge of guiding me and directing me to the best place.