TWENTY-THIRD PSALM

Verse 1

Gary Waddell • Victory Ministries Middle Tennessee • 12/28/2022

 

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“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want”     (Ps 23:1).

 

 

 

King David could identify with this Psalm because he was a shepherd in his past life. In many circles being a shepherd was a ‘low’ occupation but among those who owned herds of sheep, it was an extremely important job. David compares the Lord to a Shepherd who provides everything. He surrenders completely to the LORD and in this verse, he states that he belongs to the LORD.   A sheep is a possession.

 

• The LORD is capitalized in the Old Testament and there is a lot written about that. After reading through the entire Bible numerous times, I personally, cannot tell you the exact reason it is capitalized however, it is of extreme importance. “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11).  GOD said it, and I believe it.

 

• David uses the phrase “my shepherd” and not ‘the shepherd’. Again, he is letting all know that he is ‘owned’ by the LORD. In some defintions the word Lord indicates an overseer or ‘boss’.  Like us today, the Lord is our boss. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Note that Jesus says we belong to Him. That is ‘ownership’.   We have two choices:  Belong to Jesus or to this world.

 

• I shall not want:  The LORD is our Provider. There is nothing we need that the LORD hasn’t provided if we trust Him. Why should any of us look elsewhere?  As a man who has received Jesus decades ago, I have made that mistake only to find out the God gives me what I need.  Sometimes we need to be still and wait on Him. “Be still, and know that I am God:” (Ps 46:10).  God will take care of us.   “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19).  He has ‘sealed’ us: “in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” (Eph 1:13b).  So if we belong to Him, we have all that we need since our relationship with God is sealed within us.

 

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want”
Satisfied with what the Lord gives us without complaint.

 

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