Psa 23:1 | MHM | STEP | The Lord Is My Shepherd This well-known psalm is a song of trust, comfort, and confidence in God as our guide and provider. It is written by David, who himself was a shepherd, and he uses that experience to describe the care and protection God gives to his people. Many of David’s psalms are full of complaints, but this one is full of comforts—expressions of delight in God’s great goodness and dependence upon him. It is a psalm which has been sung by good Christians in every age, and will be while the world stands, bringing much pleasure and satisfaction. Here, the psalmist claims a personal relation to God as my shepherd , recounts his experience of God’s kindness, and draws from this the conclusion that I shall not want anything truly good for him (Ps. 23:1 ). From three very comfortable premises, David draws three very comfortable conclusions, and teaches us to do the same. We are saved by hope—a hope that will not make us ashamed, because it is well grounded. Christians are here encouraged to take comfort both from the relation in which God stands to them and from the experience they have had of his goodness in that relation. I. The psalmist’s claim: The LORD is my shepherd . See here, first, the great care that God takes of believers. He is their shepherd, and they may call him so. David himself was once a shepherd, taken from following the ewes with young (Ps. 78:70–71 ), and so he knew by experience the cares and tender affections of a good shepherd toward his flock. He remembered how much the sheep needed a shepherd, and what a kindness it was to have one who was skilful and faithful—one who would even risk his life to rescue a lamb. By this, David illustrates God’s care for his people; and to this our Saviour refers when he says, I am the good shepherd (John 10:11 ). He who is the shepherd of Israel, of the whole church in general (Ps. 80:1 ), is also the shepherd of every particular believer; the weakest and most obscure are not beneath his notice (Isa. 40:11 ). He takes them into his fold, cares for them, protects them, and provides for them with more constancy and tenderness than any earthly shepherd. If God is as a shepherd to us, we must be as sheep to him: inoffensive, meek, and quiet; silent before the shearers, and even before the butcher; useful and sociable. We must know the shepherd’s voice and follow him wherever he leads. II. The believer’s confidence: I shall not want . If the LORD is my shepherd —my feeder, my guide, my keeper—then I may boldly conclude I shall not want anything that is truly necessary and good for me. If David wrote this psalm before he came to the throne, though destined for it, he had as much reason to fear want as any man. Once he sent his men begging to Nabal, and another time went himself to Ahimelech for bread; yet, considering that God is his shepherd, he can boldly say, I shall not want . Let not those fear starving who are at God’s finding and have him for their feeder. More is implied than is expressed—not only I shall not want , but “I shall be supplied with whatever I need; and if I do not have everything I desire, I may conclude it is either not fit for me, not good for me, or I shall have it in due time.”

‏ Psalms 23:1

The Lord Is My Shepherd

This well-known psalm is a song of trust, comfort, and confidence in God as our guide and provider. It is written by David, who himself was a shepherd, and he uses that experience to describe the care and protection God gives to his people. Many of David’s psalms are full of complaints, but this one is full of comforts—expressions of delight in God’s great goodness and dependence upon him. It is a psalm which has been sung by good Christians in every age, and will be while the world stands, bringing much pleasure and satisfaction. Here, the psalmist claims a personal relation to God as my shepherd, recounts his experience of God’s kindness, and draws from this the conclusion that I shall not want anything truly good for him (Ps. 23:1 ^a).

From three very comfortable premises, David draws three very comfortable conclusions, and teaches us to do the same. We are saved by hope—a hope that will not make us ashamed, because it is well grounded. Christians are here encouraged to take comfort both from the relation in which God stands to them and from the experience they have had of his goodness in that relation.

I. The psalmist’s claim: The LORD is my shepherd. See here, first, the great care that God takes of believers. He is their shepherd, and they may call him so. David himself was once a shepherd, taken from following the ewes with young (Ps. 78:70–71 ^b), and so he knew by experience the cares and tender affections of a good shepherd toward his flock. He remembered how much the sheep needed a shepherd, and what a kindness it was to have one who was skilful and faithful—one who would even risk his life to rescue a lamb. By this, David illustrates God’s care for his people; and to this our Saviour refers when he says, I am the good shepherd (John 10:11 ^c). He who is the shepherd of Israel, of the whole church in general (Ps. 80:1 ^d), is also the shepherd of every particular believer; the weakest and most obscure are not beneath his notice (Isa. 40:11 ^e). He takes them into his fold, cares for them, protects them, and provides for them with more constancy and tenderness than any earthly shepherd. If God is as a shepherd to us, we must be as sheep to him: inoffensive, meek, and quiet; silent before the shearers, and even before the butcher; useful and sociable. We must know the shepherd’s voice and follow him wherever he leads.

II. The believer’s confidence: I shall not want. If the LORD is my shepherd—my feeder, my guide, my keeper—then I may boldly conclude I shall not want anything that is truly necessary and good for me. If David wrote this psalm before he came to the throne, though destined for it, he had as much reason to fear want as any man. Once he sent his men begging to Nabal, and another time went himself to Ahimelech for bread; yet, considering that God is his shepherd, he can boldly say, I shall not want. Let not those fear starving who are at God’s finding and have him for their feeder. More is implied than is expressed—not only I shall not want, but “I shall be supplied with whatever I need; and if I do not have everything I desire, I may conclude it is either not fit for me, not good for me, or I shall have it in due time.”