WATCHWORD:
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23 King James Version
Meditation:
The Lord Is My Shepherd
Psalm 23, just six verses. if you memorized this Psalm as a child, as I did, you probably recite it in the King James Version. As soon as you speak the first verse, The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want, the rest of the verses just flow, hardly without any encouragement or thought. Should we seek out other versions; the Message, NIV, etc., it’s not nearly as familiar and meaningful, to my mind.
Who wrote this Psalm? See, that is something else we probably know, if we gave it some thought. David, the shepherd boy, later the Shepherd King, is credited with the authorship. He imagined the thoughts of a sheep expressing how it feels about its shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd implies a profound affection and a practical working relationship between the creature, us, and the creator, our Savior.
I shall not want… Some versions say: I lack nothing… Can we say that? Have you prayed for, and it did not happen or you did not ‘get’? If we think in terms of physical or material needs, that may sound strange, but we are giving God praise for graces and being completely content in God’s care and desiring nothing more. I shall not want…
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Think about those scenes in nature that have touched your very soul, and gave you peace. Sheep are a strange creature, they will not lie down unless they are free of fear, and fear of stresses within the flock, or that caused by flies or other parasites. Pastures green and fruitful, a life of joy and calmness, and waters still and undisturbed, lacking in stress. We should also note that the Word of God is “Living Water”, which our Lord freely gives, but we must seek it. Amen.
Well, what about He restoreth my soul and though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death? Ah, yes, we will get to those in tomorrow’s Watchword.
Experiencing Sheep:
From mid-January through April, for four years, my wife and I volunteered at Heifer International Learning Center, at the Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas. We, along with our colleagues, staffed the Visitor Center, gave tours, provided lectures, and, when the kits and lambs were being born, helped the livestock volunteers. It was a very satisfying experience. When we weren’t in the Visitor Center, or patrolling the pastures alert to ewes with birthing problems, we were in the “show barn” and the attached paddock, crowded with baby lambs/goats. We milked the ewes, bottle fed the orphans, and laughed at the antics of the little ones as they romped around the paddock. On one week-long visit, my 8-year-old granddaughter learned to milk a ewe and bottle feed the babies. She played with and fell in love with the little ones. They were fun to watch, but they are not very smart, to say the least. The flocks of sheep were dependent on their shepherd, the livestock volunteers, to keep them safe, lead them to water and give them food, ways and means they could not do on their own. So much like us with our Lord, our Shepherd.
Closing Prayer:
Loving Shepherd, You know our names; You care for us.
When we face darkness and death, You walk beside us and protect us.
When we hunger for our love, fill us with your presence.
When we are fearful, You feed us at your table.
May we dwell in your house of goodness and mercy all the days of our lives. Amen.
