Psalm 23:1-6 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.… I. KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. David believed that all the attributes of the shepherd relation and service belonged to God. 1. God's intimate acquaintance with us. 2. Intense practical sympathy. Once a clergyman told the wife of a besotted drunkard that the Lord had abandoned her husband to his evil habits. Said she, "Do you say that God has abandoned my husband to his sin? Then it is high time I should stand up for him, and see him through. I will be God for him if God is of your mind." It was a noble speech from a noble-hearted woman. 3. Disinterestedness. He "giveth His life for the sheep." What will not a mother do for her child? At its service she puts the whole store of her being. Carry this thought up, as Christ taught us, into the sphere of the infinite, and you will have gained some conception of the disinterested tenderness and unselfish love of God. II. RELATIONSHIP TO GOD. "My Shepherd." He appropriates God. Learn to use this syllable of endearment, and the blessedness and power of David's Psalm are at once felt. III. CONFIDENCE IN GOD. "I shall not want." If we believe that God is the Shepherd of His people, we must conclude that He will supply all their wants. If we have learnt to call Him "My Shepherd," then we shall confidently add, "I shall not want." (George Bainton.) Parallel Verses KJV: {A Psalm of David.} The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. |
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