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Chapter Eleven
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
This is deservedly one of the most quoted passages in the Old Testament. Through the three thousand years this has shone on the pages of the Bible, untold millions have quieted their spirits as they said in faith, "The Lord is my Shepherd". Happily this will continue till Jesus Christ comes. As we meditate on this gem of truth we shall not expect to find anything new or startling. The short statement is so crystal clear that the saint sees at once the gracious blessedness. But it will do us good to hold this up to our hearts' gaze till it makes an impression that will last.
Our procedure of meditation shall seem to some, perhaps, too methodical or almost mechanical. But if it is effective it will be justified. It has the virtue of being simple.
Our method is to take up each word in succession. Thus: The LORD is my shepherd. The Lord IS my shepherd.
The Lord is MY shepherd. The Lord is my SHEPHERD.
The LORD is my shepherd. The word LORD spelled with capitals means Jehovah. It is thus written in the Revised Version. The Lord, Jehovah, is the One who appeared to Abraham. He is the the One who spake to Moses out of the burning bush, the One who forced Pharaoh to let Israel go. He instructed Moses as their leader to the promised Land. He was a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. He was with Joshua in his conquest of the Promised Land. David not only knew the Lord as the God of his father, the God of Israel, but he knew Him as his own personal Saviour and Lord. Being the shepherd that
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MEDITATIONS ON THE WORD
he was, and knowing what a blessed thing it was for sheep to have a good shepherd, as he contemplated the protection and gracious care he had experienced from the Lord, he must have thought to himself, "That is the way I tried to treat my sheep. Why surely that is the way it is. I had not thought of it before. "The Lord is my shepherd, now isn't that grand and great and gracious? Glorious, it is. I sing about it. The Lord is my shepherd, yes, the LORD is my shepherd, Jehovah, the God of Israel, is my shepherd. 'I shall not want'. Yes, I'll sing. I'll sing the Lord, the God of Israel is my shepherd. My God is my shepherd. 'He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters'. 'He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake'. Yea, I'll sing it, I must sing it. 'Jehovah, my God is my shepherd', 'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me'. I'll sing it, I'll set all Israel to singing, 'The Lord, Jehovah, the God of Israel, is my shepherd.' I'll sing it and put it into the heart of every saint down through the ages."
We can sing this song more meaningfully than could David. Whom David saw in prophecy we see in the gospel records. This One of whom David sang says, "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." ... "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of them. As the Father knoweth me even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep" . . . "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again" (John 10:11, 14, 15, 17). We may go to the epistles for the meaning of "I lay down my life for my sheep—that I may take it again." (I Peter 3:18) "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." Jesus is our Shepherd, the good Shepherd, the chief Shepherd, the great Shepherd.
"The Lord IS my shepherd". Jesus is shepherdizing His sheep now. God has never left His people without
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THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
shepherdly care. The sheep does not have to sense its trouble and bleat for help to get the care of the shepherd. He is ever looking after His sheep. He ministers His care as our shepherd through His Word in the hands of those who teach His word in the power of the Holy Spirit. We can have His shepherdly care for ourselves by reading and studying the Word. The Holy Spirit will make it the ministration of our Shepherd. This is going on now, He IS my shepherd, not was, not will be, but IS now. Let the present tense of this blessedness get hold of you. We do not have to wait until tomorrow. There should always be at the time and place of worship a special and full dispensation of the Lord Jesus' shepherdizing.
"The Lord is MY shepherd." I rejoice to know that the Lord is OUR shepherd. That He is the shepherd of all His sheep. Not one is shepherdless. But the shepherd deals with His sheep individually. "He calleth His own sheep by name." If you think you are as an individual lost to the Lord in the crowd, you can remember the Lord Jesus said even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Yes, He is MY shepherd. Just as much mine as if I were the only sheep. He has the power, wisdom, and means for caring for each one of the multiplied millions of sheep that are HIS today. Jesus, is MY Saviour, My Lord, MY Shepherd.
"The Lord is my SHEPHERD." It is an unspeakable joy to know that Jesus is my Saviour, that He loved me and gave Himself for me, that He made peace for me through His blood. Also, it is great to know He is my Lord. You can take delight in the fact that you are under the authority of Jesus. We are conscious that we need some one to rule over us, and ask as did Saul: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" But, "The Lord is my SHEPHERD" means the providing for our daily needs. It may be when things are running well with us, and there are the green pastures and still waters, or there may be the valley of the shadow of death. The sheep may be lost, wounded, sore and helpless, the shepherd seeketh till He findeth His sheep, and
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bringeth it home on His shoulders, rejoicing greatly. This wonderful gracious truth is presented to us in this beautiful figure, but don't forget that it is the figure of a glorious reality. "THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD."
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