Text- Psalm 23:1 - “The Lord is my shepherd…”
One of the reasons why Psalm 23 is so well-loved is because it carries a very personal and individual sense… “The Lord is MY shepherd”.
I love the confidence with which David always talks about God in a personal sense. Many times in the Bible, we hear him make such statements of personal relationship.
In Psalm 25:2, he said “O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed”
In Psalm 63:1, he said “O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee”
In Psalm 31:4, he said “But I trust in thee, O Lord: I said, thou art my God”
When you say “The Lord is my shepherd”, you are not drawing confidence from congregational fellowship by saying “Our Shepherd”. You are saying, “This is very personal” He is MY… MY… MY… Shepherd!
Jesus said in John 10:14, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own”. “The Lord is my shepherd” is therefore, is an admittance of an intimate and personal relationship”. In Psalm 23, David explained that relationship from the viewpoint of a sheep, and in John 10, Jesus confirmed it from the viewpoint of the Shepherd.
The kind of personal relationship Jesus depicts in John 10:14 implies that the sheep have an intimate understanding of the way the shepherd thinks and are inclined. They know him so well that they instinctively reflect His way of doing things.
In John 10:3, Jesus said concerning the shepherd: “He calleth his own sheep by name”. This can be better understood by the practice of giving a name to your pet dog (or any other pet animal). The bond that ‘pet names’ create between the pet and the owner is so strong that human lovers now prefer to call each other by “pet names”.
You see, the Lord knows you by name. He identifies and relates with you personally out of the 7.6 Billion people in this world. In fact, His knowledge of you is so personal that He actually has numbered the hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30).
Your understanding of God being your personal shepherd must be as clear as that of a child who says, "That's my mom," or, "That’s my dad". If there's anything you ought to be certain about, it's that kind of relationship. Don’t ever miss out on the warmth and intimate confidence of the words "The Lord is my shepherd."
PRAYER
The Lord is my shepherd. Therefore Lord, I want to know you more. Jesus, hold me close in your embrace.
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