Chapter 4

THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD

"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want"— Psalm 23:1.

Perhaps no aspect in which the Lord reveals Himself to us is more full of genuine comfort than the one expressed in the Twenty-third Psalm, and in its corresponding passage in the tenth chapter of John's gospel. The psalmist claims that the Lord is my Shepherd. The Lord Himself declares that He is the Good Shepherd. Can we conceive of anything more comforting?

The highest and grandest truths of the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ are often written in the simplest and commonest verses in the Bible. We have known those texts from our childhood, when we learned them in the nursery at our mother's knee.

They were used by those who loved us to explain, in the simplest possible way, the love of our heavenly Father and the reasons for trusting Him.

These texts contain the whole story of salvation in their simple statements.

We need to get back into the nursery and take up those beloved Scriptures from our childhood once more. While reading them with the intelligence of our grown-up years, we need to believe them with all our simple, childlike faith.

Each one of us remembers the Twenty-third Psalm. We can still recall our joy and pride when we were first able to repeat it without mistake.

Since then, we have always know it.

Its words, perhaps, sound so old and familiar that you cannot see their deep meaning. But in truth, they tell us the whole story of our faith, in words of wondrous depth of meaning.

I doubt whether it has entered into the heart of any man to comprehend the things they reveal.

Repeat these familiar words over to yourself afresh: *The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want."

Who is it that is your Shepherd?

The Lord! Oh, my friends, what a wonderful announcement! The Lord God of heaven and earth, the Almighty Creator of all things. He who holds the universe in His hand as though it were a very little thing. He is your Shepherd. He has charged

Himself with the care of you, as a shepherd is charged with the care of his sheep.

If your heart will only take in this thought, your life will be full of the most profound comfort from now on. All your old uncomfortable religion will drop oflf forever, as the mist disappears in the blaze of the summer sun.

Comforted By The Shepherd I experienced the abundant comfort from this Scripture at one time in my Christian life. The Twenty-third Psalm had always been familiar to me from my nursery days, but it had never seemed to have any special meaning. Then came a critical moment in my life when I was sadly in need of comfort.

I could not at the moment lay my hands on my Bible.

I desperately tried to remember some passage of Scripture that would help me. Immediately there flashed into my mind the words, *The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want."

At first I turned from it almost with scorn. ''Such a common text as that,"

I said to myself, '*is not likely to do me any good."

I tried hard to think of a more uncommon one, but none would come. At last it almost seemed as if there was no other verse in the whole Bible.

Finally I was reduced to saying, **Well, if I cannot think of any other verse, I must try to get what little good I can out of this one."

I began to repeat to myself, *The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want."

Suddenly, as I did so, the words were divinely illuminated.

Such floods of comfort poured out upon me that I felt as if I could never have a trouble again.

The moment I could get hold of a Bible, I turned over its pages with eagerness.

I needed to see whether such untold treasures of comfort were

actually mine. Could I dare to let my heart experience the full enjoyment of them?

I built up a pyramid of declarations and promises concerning the Lord being our Shepherd. Once built, it presented an immoveable and indestructible front to all the winds and storms of doubt or trial that could assail it. And I became convinced, beyond a sbadow^ of doubt, that the Lord truly was my Shepherd. In giving Himself this name, He assumed the duties belonging to the name. Furthermore, He declares **I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:11).

Jesus Himself draws the contrast between a good shepherd and a bad shepherd. He follows up His announcement, '*I am the good shepherd," with the words, **But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep" (John 10:12). i Woe To Faithless Shepherds Through the mouth of His prophets, the Lord pours down a scathing condemnation upon all faithless shepherds. ''And the Lord said unto me,

Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. Woe to the idle shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up,

and his right eye shall be utterly darkened"

(Zechariah 11:15,17).

The prophet Ezekiel says, *Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?.

. .The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye bought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

. .Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock"

(Ezekiel 34:2,4,9-10).

Surely no Christian could ever accuse our divine Shepherd of being as faithless and unkind as those

Hejcondemns.

Yet, although they do not put it into words and perhaps hardly realize their feelings themselves, some

Christians do look upon Him as a faithless Shepherd.

What else can it mean when Christians complain that the Lord has forsaken them? They cry to Him for spiritual food and say that He does not hear.

They are surrounded by enemies, and they claim that He does not deliver them. When their souls find themselves in dark places, they insist that He does not come to their rescue. They cry that when they are weak, He does not strengthen them. When

they are spiritually sick, they say He does not heal them.

What are all these doubts and discouragements but secret accusations against our good Shepherd?

They accuse Him of the very things which He Himself so scathingly condemns.

A dear Christian, who had just discovered what it meant to have the Lord as his Shepherd, said to me, ''Of course, I had always known that was what He was called, but it meant nothing to me; and I believe I read the Twenty-third Psalm as though it was written, The Lord is the sheep, and I am the shepherd, and, if I do not keep a tight hold on Him, He will run away.' When dark days came,

I never for a moment thought that He would stick by me; and when my soul was starving and cried out for food, I never dreamed He would feed me.

I see now that I never looked upon Him as a faithful Shepherd at all. But now all is different.

I myself am not one bit better or stronger, but I have discovered that I have a good Shepherd, and that is all

I need.

I see now that it is true that the Lord is my Shepherd, and that I shall not want."

Are you like the Christian who is quoted above?

You have said hundreds of times, 'The Lord is my Shepherd." But have you ever believed it to be true? Have you felt safe and happy and free from care as a sheep must feel when under the care of a good shepherd? Or have you felt yourself to be like a poor, forlorn sheep without a shepherd? Do you believe that you have an unfaithful, inefficient

shepherd who does not supply your needs and leaves you in time of danger and darkness?

Answer this question honestly in your own soul.

Have you had a comfortable spiritual life or an uncomfortable one? How can you reconcile an uncomfortable Christian life with the statement that the Lord is your Shepherd, and, therefore, you shall not want? You say that He is your Shepherd.

Yet, you complain that you do want. Who has made the mistake—you or the Lord?

Perhaps you will say, **Oh no, I do not blame the Lord, but I am so weak and so foolish and so ignorant that I am not worthy of His care." But do you know that sheep are always weak and helpless and silly? The reason they need to have a shepherd to care for them is because they are unable to care for themselves.

The welfare and safety of sheep does not in the least depend upon their own strength.

It does not rely upon their own wisdom or anything in themselves. It rests entirely upon the care of their shepherd.

If you are a sheep, your welfare also must depend completely upon your Shepherd and not at all on yourself.

A Story Of Two Flocks Let us imagine two flocks of sheep meeting at the end of the winter to compare their experiences. One flock is fat and strong and in good condition. The other is poor and lean and diseased.

Will the healthy flock boast of themselves and say, **See what splendid care we have taken of ourselves. What good, strong, and wise sheep we must be." Of course not. Their boasting would all be about their shepherd. ''See what a good shepherd we have," they would say, **and how he has cared for us. Through all the storms of the winter, he has protected us and has defended us from every wild beast and has always provided us with the best of food."

Would the poor, wretched, diseased sheep blame themselves and say, '*Alas! what wicked sheep we must be, to be in such poor condition!"

No, they too would speak only of their shepherd, but how different would be their story, ''Alas," they would say, "our shepherd was very different from yours. He fed himself, but he did not feed us.

He did not strengthen us when we were weak or heal us when we were sick or bind us up when we were broken or look for us when we were lost.

It is true that he stayed by us in clear and pleasant weather, when no enemies were near, but in times of danger or of storm, he abandoned us and fled.

Oh, that we had a good shepherd like yours!"

We all understand this responsibility of the shepherd in the case of sheep. But when we transfer the illustration to our faith, we shift all the responsibility from the Shepherd's shoulders and lay it upon the sheep. We demand that the poor human sheep possess the wisdom, care, and power for their provision that can only belong to the

divine Shepherd. Of course, the poor human sheep fail. Their spiritual lives become thoroughly uncomfortable and even sometimes miserable.

There is a difference between sheep and us in this. They have neither the intelligence nor the power to withdraw themselves from the care of their shepherd, while we do. We cannot imagine one of them saying, **Oh yes, we have a good shepherd who says he will take care of us, but then we do not feel worthy of his care. Therefore, we are afraid to trust him. He says he has provided for us green pastures and a safe and comfortable fold.

But we are such poor, good-for-nothing creatures that we have not dared to enter his fold or feed in his pastures. We have felt it would be presumption. In our humility, we have been trying to do the best we could for ourselves. The strong, healthy sheep may trust themselves to the shepherd's care, but not such miserable half-starved sheep as we are. It is true we have had a very hard time of it and are in a sad and forlorn condition; but then, we are such poor, unworthy creatures that we must expect this and must try to be resigned to it."

Silly as sheep are, we know that no sheep could be so silly as to talk in this way. Yet, we are so much wiser than sheep, in our own estimation, that we think the sort of trust that sheep exercise will not be sufficient for us. In our superior intelligence, we presume to take matters into our own

hands and so shut ourselves out from the Shepherd's care.

If any sheep in the flock of Christ find themselves in a poor condition, there are only two explanations possible.

Either the Lord is not a good Shepherd and does not care for His sheep, or His sheep have not believed in His care and have been afraid or ashamed to trust themselves to it.

None will dare to say or even think that the Lord can be anything but a good Shepherd. The fault, therefore, must lie here: either you have not believed He was your Shepherd at all, or believing it, you have refused to let Him take care of you.

The Shepherd's Reputation It is important that you face this matter honestly and give yourself a definite answer. More than your own welfare and comfort depend upon your understanding of this blessed relationship—the glory of your Shepherd is at stake. Have you ever thought of the grief and dishonor this sad condition of yours brings upon Him? The credit of a shepherd depends upon the condition of his flock.

He might make a great boast of his qualifications as a shepherd. But it would be an empty claim if His flocks had some missing, some with lean ribs and broken bones, and some in a diseased condition.

If the owner of sheep is thinking of employing a shepherd, he requires a reference from the shepherd's last employer. He wants to learn how his flock fared under the shepherd's care. The Lord

makes statements about Himself as the Good Shepherd. He is telling the world and the Church, **I am the Good Shepherd."

If they ask, * 'Where are Your sheep, what condition are they in?" can He point to us as being a credit to His care?

It is a grievous thing if any of us refuse to let the Shepherd take care of us. We would bring discredit upon His name by our forlorn condition.

The universe is looking to see what the Lord Jesus Christ is able to make of us and what kind of sheep we are.

It wants to see whether we are well-fed, healthy, and happy. Their verdict concerning Him will largely depend upon what they see in us.

Paul wrote to the Ephesians that he had been called to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. He earnestly desired to make all men see the fellowship of the mystery which had been hidden in God from the beginning of the world. Then he added the significant words that the object of it all was, *To the intent that now unto principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord"

(Ephesians 3:10-11).

We may be amazed at the thought that God has purposed such a glorious destiny for His sheep. He has made His manifold wisdom known to the universe through what He has done for us! Surely this should make us eager to abandon ourselves to Him in the most absolute trust for salvation to the very

uttermost. He may then get great glory in the universe, and the whole world may come to trust Him.

But if we will not let Him save us, if we reject His care and refuse to feed in His pastures or to lie down in His fold, then we will be a starved and shivering flock. We will be sick, wretched, and full of complaints. Furthermore, we will bring dishonor upon Him and, by our forlorn condition, hinder the world from coming to Him.

Bringing Unbelievers Into The Fold I am not surprised that unbelievers are not drawn into the Church when I contemplate the condition of believers.

I do not wonder that in some churches there are no conversions from one end of the year to the other. If I was a poor sheep wandering in the wilderness, and I saw some poor, wretched, sick-looking sheep peeping out of a fold calling me to come in, and if I saw that the fold was hard, bare, and uncomfortable, I would not be tempted to go inside.

Somebody said that some churches are too much like well-ordered graveyards—people are brought in and buried and that is the end of it. Of course, you cannot expect living people to want to make their homes in graveyards. We must have a fold that shows sheep that are in good condition if we expect outsiders to come into that fold. If we want to attract others to the salvation of the Lord Jesus

Christ, we must show them that it is a satisfying

and comfortable salvation. No one wants to add to their earthly discomforts by getting an uncomfortable religion.

It is useless to expect to win outsiders by the sight of our wretchedness.

Surely, if you do not care for yourself, you must care for the dishonor you bring upon your divine

Shepherd by your poor and wretched condition.

You long to serve Him and to bring Him glory. You can do it if you show the world that He is a Shepherd whom it is safe to trust.

Let me help you to do this. First, realize what a shepherd must be and do in order to be a good shepherd. Next, face the fact that the Lord is truly, in the very highest sense of the word, the Good

Shepherd. Then say the words over to yourself with all the will power you can muster, *The Lord is my Shepherd. He is. He is. No matter what I feel,

He says He is, and He is.

I am going to believe it, come what may." Then repeat the words with a different emphasis each time:

The Lord is my Shepherd.

Imagine what your ideal Shepherd would be.

Think of all that you would require from anyone filling such a position of trust and responsibility.

Then know that an ideal far beyond yours, and a conception of the duties of such a position higher than any you ever dreamed of, was in the mind of

our Lord when He said, ''I am the Good Shepherd/'

He, better than any other, knew the sheep He had to save. He knew a shepherd's duties. He knew that the shepherd is responsible for his flock. He is bound, at any loss of comfort or of health or even of life itself, to care for them and to bring them all home safely to the Master's fold.

Therefore, Jesus said, **And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day" (John 6:39). And again He said, 'The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." And still again, **My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand"

(John 10:11, 27-28).

Centuries before Jesus came to be the Shepherd, the Father said, 'Therefore will I save my flock.

. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd"

(Ezekiel 34:22-23).

We catch a glimpse of the Father's yearning love as we read these words. He laid the welfare of the flock upon One who was mighty; therefore, none who are in this flock need to fear any evil.

He has undertaken His duties, knowing perfectly well what the responsibilities are. He knows that He has to deal with very silly sheep, who have

no strength to protect themselves. They have no wisdom to guide themselves and nothing impressive about them but their utter helplessness and weakness. But none of these things bafHe the Shepherd. His strength and His skill are sufficient to meet every possible emergency.

The Only Hindrance There is only one thing that can hinder Him: if the sheep will not trust Him or refuse to let Him take care of them. If they stand at a distance, look at the food He has provided and long for it and cry for it but refuse to eat it, He cannot satisfy their hunger.

If they linger outside the shelter He has made and are afraid to go in and enjoy it because they feel too distrustful or too unworthy. He cannot protect them. No sheep is so silly as to act in this way. But we human beings, who are so much wiser than sheep, do it continually.

No sheep, if it could talk, would say to the shepherd, **I long for the food you have provided and for the shelter and peace of your fold.

I wish I might dare to enjoy them; but, I feel too unworthy!

I am too weak and foolish.

I do not feel grateful enough.

I am afraid I do not feel quite hungry enough or enough in earnest about wanting it.

I dare not presume to think you mean all these good things for me."

One can imagine how grieved and wounded a good shepherd would be at a speech as this. Surely our Lord has given us a glimpse into His tender

sorrow over those who would not trust Him when He beheld Jerusalem and wept over it saying, ''If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day. the things which belong unto thy peace! but now^ they are hid from thine eyes" (Luke 19:42).

Dear Christians, have you sometimes grieved and wounded your divine Shepherd by such speeches?

If you have, come over on the Shepherd's side of the question.

Trv^ to think how He feels and what His thoughts concerning you are. If He is your Shepherd, then He wants to care for you in the very best possible way; for He is a good Shepherd and cares for His sheep.

It does not matter what you think about it or how you feel. You are not the Shepherd. You are only the sheep. The important point is w^hat He thinks and how He feels.

Lose sight of yourself for a moment and try to put yourself in the Shepherd's place.

Consider your condition as He considers it. See Him coming out to seek you in your far-ojBf wandering. See His tender, yearning love, His unspeakable longing to save you. Believe His own description of Himself, and take Him at His own sweet word.

Simple Trust The trouble is that our faith is not simple enough to take Him at His word. We feel we must add all sorts of *'buts" and *'ifs" of our own. We obscure the sunshine of His love with clouds of our own imagining.

If we only knew the things

which belong to our peace, how quickly we would throw aside every **if ' and **but" of unbelief. We would rapturously plunge ourselves headlong into an unquestioning faith in all that He has told us of His almighty and never-failing love and care.

But you may ask, if all this is true of the Shepherd, what is the part of the sheep?

The part of the sheep is very simple. It is only to trust and to follow. The Shepherd does all the rest.

He leads the sheep in the right direction. He chooses their paths for them and sees that the sheep can walk in safety. When He sends out His sheep, He goes before them. The sheep have none of the planning to do, none of the decisions to make, none of the foresight or wisdom to exercise.

They have absolutely nothing to do but to trust themselves entirely to the care of the good Shepherd and to follow Him wherever He leads.

It is very simple. There is nothing complicated in trusting when the one we are called upon to trust is absolutely trustworthy. There is nothing complicated in obedience when we have perfect confidence in the power we are obeying.

Begin to trust and follow your Shepherd today.

Abandon yourself to His care and guidance as a sheep in the care of a shepherd and trust Him completely. You need not be afraid to follow Him wherever He leads, for He always leads His sheep into green pastures and beside still waters. This is true even though you may seem to be in the very

midst of a desert, with nothing green about you, inwardly or outwardly.

You may think you will have to make a long journey before you can get into any green pastures. He has power to make the desert flourish and blossom as the rose. He has promised, **Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree" and **In the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert"

(Isaiah 55:13; 35:6).

Or perhaps you may say, **My life is all a tempest of sorrow or of temptation, and it will be a long while before I can walk beside any still waters."

But your Shepherd said to the raging seas, *Teace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm" (Mark 4:39). Can He not do it again?

Thousands of the flock of Christ can testify that when they put themselves completely into His hands, He has quieted the raging tempest and has turned their deserts into blossoming gardens.

I do not mean that there will be no more outward trouble, care, or suffering; but, these very places will become green pastures and still waters inwardly to the soul.

The Shepherd knows what pastures are best for His sheep. They should not question or doubt, but must trustingly follow Him. Perhaps He sees that the best pastures for some of us are to be found in the midst of opposition or of earthly trials.

If He

leads you there, you may be sure they are green pastures for you where you will grow strong.

Words fail to tell half of what the good Shepherd does for the flock that trusts Him. According to His promise, He makes a covenant of peace with them and causes the evil beasts to cease out of the land. They will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. He makes them and the places around them a blessing. He causes the shower to come down in its season. These are showers of blessing. The tree of the field yields her fruit, and the earth yields her increase. They are safe in their land and are no more a prey to the heathen, and no one can make them afraid. (See Ezekiel 34:25-28.)

Surrendering To The Shepherd You will probably ask how you can get the Lord to be your Shepherd. You do not need to get Him to be your Shepherd at all, for He already is your

Shepherd. All that you must do is recognize that He is and yield yourself to His control.

When the announcement is made to children who have been longing for a little sister that one has just been born to them, they do not go on saying, **Oh, how we wish we had a little sister" or, **What can we do to get a little sister." But they begin at once to shout for joy and to dance about calling out to everybody, **Hurrah!

Hurrah! We have a little sister now." all of us by the angel of the Lord—*Tear not: for.

Likewise the announcement has been made to

behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11).

We have no need and no right to go on crying out, **Oh, if I only had a Savior" or, *'What shall

I do to make Christ my Savior?" He is already born our Savior. We need only to accept it for ourselves. Then we may rejoice that He is and give ourselves into His care.

There is nothing complicated about it. We are simply required to believe it and act as if it were true. Every soul that will begin today believing in the Good Shepherd and trusting itself to His care, will feed in His green pastures and walk beside

His still waters.

What else can the Lord, who is our Shepherd, do with His sheep? He has no folds that are not good folds, no pastures that are not green pastures, and no waters but still waters. They may not look so outwardly; but we who have tried them can testify that His fold and His pastures are always places of peace and comfort to the inward life of the soul.

If you seem to have difficulty in understanding all this, and if the life of trust looks complicated and mysterious, I advise you not to try to understand it; simply begin to live it. Begin saying, 'This is my Psalm, and I am going to believe it.

I have always known it by heart, but it has never meant much to me. But now I have made up my mind to believe that the Lord is my Shepherd, and

that He will care for me as a shepherd cares for his sheep.

I will not doubt nor question it again."

Then abandon yourself to His care as the sheep abandon themselves to the care of their shepherd, trusting Him fully and following wherever He leads.

We must not forget that while sheep trust unconsciously and by instinct, we need to trust intelligently and deliberately. Our instincts, unfortunately are all against trusting. We have to make an effort to trust. We have to choose to do it.

But we can do this, however weak and ignorant we may be. We may not understand all it means to be a sheep of such a Shepherd, but He knows.

If our faith will claim Him in this blessed and wondrous relationship. He will care for us according to His love and His wisdom and His power, and not according to our poor comprehension of it.

It seems as though we do not need any other passage from the whole Bible beside this nursery

Psalm to make our lives full of comfort. There is no room left for the believer to worry, if he actually believes this Psalm. With the Lord for our Shepherd, how is it possible for anything to go wrong? With Him for our Shepherd, all that this Psalm promises must be ours.

When we have learned to know Him, we will be able to say with a triumph of trust, **SureIy goodness and mercy shall follow me (pursue, overtake) all the days of my life: and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Psalm 23:6). Even the

future will lose all its terror for us, and our confidence in our Shepherd will deliver us from all fear of evil tidings.

In conclusion, you can enter into this relationship with Christ and be a helpless, docile, and trusting sheep. Believe that He is truly your Shepherd, caring for you with all the love, care, and tenderness that His name involves. Then follow Him wherever He leads, and you will soon lose all your old spiritual discomfort. **And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7).

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