"THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT WANT"

PSALMS 23:1

A. "THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, IS SHALL NOT WANT"
  1. The twenty-third Psalm:
    1. Is without any doubt, the highest expression of the faith of David in the loving care of the Chief Shepherd of our life
    2. It is expressed in simple, poetic and powerful words that have a very special appeal to the heart
  2. Our text is a glowing testimony:
    1. To the loving care of our heavenly Father
    2. It is reassuring and creates childlike confidence in God B. "THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, IS SHALL NOT WANT"
  3. Human want:
    1. Is many fold - physical wants, temporal wants, spiritual wants, eternal wants
    2. Wants created by God and wants caused by the fall of Adam
  4. Created wants:
    1. Nourishment is, perhaps the first want of man - that is why God planted the tree of life in the midst of the garden - Gen. 2:9
    2. This want will continue, eternally, that is why the tree of life is found in the Paradise of God on the New Earth - Rev. 22:1-2
    3. And note, please, how the good shepherd takes care of this want, "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures"
  5. Want of refreshment:
    1. "He leadeth me beside the still waters" - the sheep must drink as well as feed
    2. "He shall drink of the brook in the way; therefore, shall he lift up his head" - Ps. 110:7
    3. The call of the good shepherd, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink" - John 7:37
  6. Want of guidance:
    1. The shepherd in the East does not drive his sheep, but he leads them
    2. Said Jesus, "He calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them" - John 10:3-4
  7. Restoration is still another want:
    1. "He restoreth my soul" - Ps. 51:10-11; Job 33:30
    2. This is one of the primary missions of the good shepherd to restore the wounded life, the broken heart and the broken relationship - Is. 53:1-12; Matt. 11:4-5
  8. Comfort, and protection is another want of man:
    1. "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"
    2. "Fear thou not, I am with thee" - Is. 41:10 C. WHAT A LESSON FOR GOD'S PEOPLE IN ALL AGES AND UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES
  9. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want:
    1. Whatever our want may be, temporal or eternal, "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" - Phil. 4:19
    2. Said Jesus to His disciples, "Lacked ye any thing? and they said, nothing" - Luke 22:35
    3. Says the Psalmist, "I have been young and now I am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread" - Ps. 37:25
  10. Then think of the good Shepherd's provision for the inner man:
    1. Writes Peter, "His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue" - 2 Pet. 1:2-8
    2. "As thy days, so shall thy strength be" - Deut. 33:25
  11. Note, further, the close relationship of they shepherd to His sheep:
    1. He never forsakes the sheep even when danger of the loss of his life is imminent
    2. Says Jesus, "Lo I am with you alway even unto the end of the world" - Matt. 28:20
    3. "I will bring the blind by a way they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known; I will make darkness light before them, and the crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them" - Is. 42:16
    4. "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before Me" - Is. 49:16


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