Reformata

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…”
Psalm 23:1

I ‘ve been meditating on this Psalm, especially the first verse, lately, and the goodness of God has again been impressed upon me. If only we could understand the goodness of our God, it would transform our lives and transform the church. Moses asked God, “Show me your glory,” and God said, “I will show you my goodness.”  

“The Lord is”
David begins by declaring that the Lord is his Shepherd. The wonderful truth expressed here is that God can never change. He is the “I AM” and can never be anything else. When an attribute or characterization of God is true at one time, it will always be true. The Lord is the Shepherd of his people, and he will never be anything else. If the words of David were true in his time, they are no less true now. No years have passed to God; he is still the same, and still the Good shepherd.  

“My Shepherd”
What does a shepherd do? A shepherd is one who has given his life to care for his sheep and to seek their benefit. All his energies are given to this end. If they are lost, he will seek them; if they are in danger, he will protect them; if they are hungry, he will feed them. If necessary, he would die to preserve their well being. So many things could be said about what a shepherd is and does, but the chief principle is that a shepherd his given himself wholly to seeking the well being of his sheep.

When David ascribes the character of a shepherd to the Lord, then, it’s a truly wonderful thing. The Lord–the high and lofty One, the terrible God of the universe–has given himself to seeking the good of his sheep, which are his people. The great God has devoted himself to seeking our benefit and our good. He could have given a might angel or some other heavenly being this charge, yet he has taken it upon himself. His love for his sheep is to great to entrust the charge to someone else. His love is so great hat he has done the greatest thing a shepherd can do: die to preserve his sheep from suffering and harm. ”I am the Good Shepherd, I lay down my life for the sheep.” 

Why does God do these things? Why does God love us? Because we deserve it? Because we can give him something in return? No. Sheep are stubborn and rebellious creatures, and often wander from him who cares so much for them. They are frequently unaware of the pains that the shepherd takes for them. If they are grateful, they do little to show it. So we are also ungrateful, and we take our Good Shepherd and his goodness for granted. But even were we to show him gratitude and give him glory, it still would not be enough. Anything that we could give to God would fall infinitely short of repaying him for his great love. Why, then, does God love us and care for us? Simply because he is good.

Yes, God is good. He doesn’t simply achieve or measure up to the standard of goodness, he is goodness itself. Like a balm that heals because of its very nature, God is good to his undeserving and erring creatures because he cannot be anything else. In spite of our sinfulness, ingratitude, rebellion, and ugliness, God is good to us and loves us without limit.

But David doesn’t just call the Lord the Shepherd of his people. No, he says, “the Lord is my Shepherd.” This is yet another wonderful truth. God gives himself to the care of every one of his sheep as if it were the only one. God cares for me as if I were the only Christian, or person, alive. Only God can do so– human shepherds are limited, and so is their care. But the God who knows no limits cannot give of himself in pieces. He doesn’t give a little care to some of his sheep and more to others. No, God cares for each of his sheep with all of his infinite love and attention. My needs, my wanderings, my hurts, are as important as if they were the only ones in the world. How can we ever comprehend such love and care?

“I shall not want.”
The conclusion of the first verse states an obvious truth, yet one that we often forget: If God is the one who is caring for us, we will never lack anything. Too often we as Christians live as though God were dead; as if he didn’t exist and we were at the mercy of blind forces. The enemy of our souls would love nothing better for us than to believe that we are left alone to carve out our survival in a cruel and uncertain world.

But it isn’t true– it’s a lie. If the Lord is truly our Shepherd, then nothing can come near us or happen to us that the Good Shepherd hasn’t first allowed. And we can take confidence in the fact that if it happens, it is for our good, though we may not see how. Not all things are good, but all things are working together for our good. God has determined that he will care for us–for you, for me–and God never fails at anything he sets out to do. His good pleasure will be accomplished, our good will be achieved. Don’t fear the future, don’t fear the present; your Good Shepherd is caring for you now, and always, even if you can’t see it or don’t believe it. God will never abandon you; he will always meet your every need. Trust him and his omnipotent care.

Why do I write all this? Frankly, because I have not lived recently as if it were true. I have wandered from God, and doubted his love. Today, the Lord reminded me of this Psalm, and of his great love for me. How humbling it is, how convicting, to be reminded that in spite of my senseless sin, God cares for me still. He has not changed, and he is still the Good Shepherd. What insanity sin is. How could I, how could I leave a God so good?