PSALM
23 THE CASE FOR DEPENDENCE
The American declaration of
Independence
,
published, witnessed and signed on
July 4 1776
by representatives of the Thirteen Colonies, made a statement that the American
people were unhappy at the way they were being misruled by an army of foreign
mercenaries under the authority of an absentee king in
England
.
The Declaration of Arbroath, on
the
6th April 1320
, was prepared as a
formal Declaration of Independence. It was drawn up in Arbroath Abbey, most
likely by the Abbot, Bernard de Linton, who was also the Chancellor of Scotland.
The Declaration urged the Pope to see things from a Scottish perspective and not
to take the English claim on
Scotland
seriously. It used strong words, indicating that if the pope did not accept the
Scottish case the wars would continue and the resultant deaths would be the
responsibility of the Pope.
The Declaration was signed and bore the
seals of 38 Scots’ Lords. It was conveyed to
Rome
and the Pope, at that time accepted the Scottish case.
One connection between the two Declarations is that they concerned a common foe.
Another connection is that there were a large number of dissident Scots in
America
.
They, or their ancestors, had left
Scotland
over the preceding century to escape religious persecution. They were not going
to accept continued persecution in the new land and a number of these Scots were
appointed as delegates to the Congress in
Philadelphia
.
The influence of the Scots, and the
Declaration of Arbroath, on the minds of the American Congress that drew up the
Declaration of Independence is demonstrated in the
U.S.A.
right up to the present day. In the
U.S.A.
April 6 is observed annually as Tartan Day. It is perhaps a pity that few Scots
today realise the significance of Tartan Day in
America
and that there is no commemoration of the Declaration of Arbroath here in
Scotland
.
This morning I want to look again at the 23rd Psalm and notice that
the message is not one of
Independence
but is one of living in dependence. Sheep are completely dependent on the
Shepherd. Without the Shepherd they would starve to death and be subject to many
kinds of danger.
THE
SHEPHERD’S PROVISION
Abundant Quantity
“I shall not want” is the main idea
in the psalm, and this idea is derived from the fact that God is our shepherd.
God as a shepherd, would make all necessary provision for His flock, and
exercise all tender care for it. The words “shall not want”, as applied to
the psalmist, would cover everything that could be necessary, both material and
spiritual, with reference to time and to eternity. The idea is that God would
provide all that the Psalmist needed, always. Compare Ps 34:9, "There is no
want to them that fear him." This idea of God as the shepherd of his people
is that all their needs shall be supplied in abundance.
Amazing Quality
He makes me to lie down in green
pastures. The margin in some translations puts it, "Pastures of tender
grass." The Hebrew word, "pastures" usually means
"dwellings". It is applied here to "pastures," as places
where flocks and herds lie down to rest with full stomachs. The word
"tender grass" refers to the quality of the grass. Grazing in
Mediterranean and Near eastern countries is quite different from the places
where sheep graze in this country. In those countries there is little, if any,
green grass, but where the Lord is the Shepherd the flocks lie down on the grass
completely satisfied. Their needs are completely supplied.
He leads me beside the still waters or
waters of quietness. Not stagnant waters, but waters so calm, gentle, and still,
as to suggest the idea of rest. As applied to the people of God, this denotes
the calmness, the peace and the rest of the soul, when salvation flows as in a
gently running stream, when there is no apprehension of want, the heart is at
peace with God.
THE
SHEPHERD’S PROTECTION
He restores my soul or, quite
literally, He causes my life to return. He quickens me, or causes me to live.
The word soul here means life, or spirit, and not the soul in the sense in which
we now use it. It refers to the spirit when exhausted, weary, or sad.
The meaning is that God quickens or
brings new life to the exhausted spirit. . The reference is not to the soul as
wandering or backsliding from God, but to the life or spirit as exhausted,
wearied, troubled, anxious, grieving or worn down with care and toil. The heart
like this, He re-animates. He encourages it; excites it to new effort; fills it
with new joy.
He Guides
He conducts me in the straight path
that leads to Himself; He does not permit me to wander in ways that would lead
to ruin. He leads His sheep in the way of "uprightness" and
"truth." He guides them all the way on the road to heaven for his
name's sake.
He Guards
The feeling expressed in this verse is
that of confidence in God; an assurance that he would always lead his people in
the path in which they should go. he will always do this if people will follow
the directions of His word, the teachings of His Spirit, and the guidance of His
providence. No one dependent on Him in this way will ever go astray! God will
lead and guide me in the path of righteousness, even though that path lies
through the darkest valley, through dismal shades in regions where there is no
light, as if death had cast his dark shadow there.
Even then it is still a right path, it
is a path of safety and it will lead me to bright regions beyond. Through that
dark and gloomy valley, though I could not guide myself, I will not be alarmed;
I will not be afraid of wandering or of being lost; I will not fear any enemies
there. My Shepherd is there to guide me still. On the word here rendered
"shadow of death". The idea is that of death casting its gloomy shadow
over that valley, the valley of the dead. The word is applicable to any path of
gloom or sadness; any scene of trouble or sorrow. It is applicable not only to
death itself, although it embraces that, but to any or all the dark, the
dangerous, and the gloomy paths which we tread in life. It applies to ways of
sadness, solitude, and sorrow. All along those paths God will be a safe and
certain guide.
THE
SHEPHERD’S PRESENCE
Dark, as it seems, I will dread
nothing. The true friend of God has nothing to fear in that dark valley. His
great Shepherd will accompany him there, and can lead him safely through; no
matter how dark it may appear. The true believer has nothing to fear in the
gloomiest scenes of life; he has nothing to fear in the valley of death; he has
nothing to fear in the grave; he has nothing to fear in the world beyond.
The Good Shepherd will be with me. I
shall not be alone. The psalmist felt assured that if God was with him he had
nothing to dread there. God would be his companion, his comforter, his
protector, his guide. How applicable is this to death! The dying man seems to go
into the dark valley alone. His friends accompany him as far as they can, and
then they have to let him go. They cheer him with their voice until he becomes
deaf to all sounds. They cheer him with their looks until he can see them no
longer. Then he seems to be alone. But the dying believer is not alone. His
Saviour God is with him in that valley, and will never leave him. He can lean
upon His arm, and by His presence he will be comforted, until he emerges from
the gloom into the bright world beyond. All that is needed to overcome the
terrors of the valley of death is to be able to say, "You are with
me."
The key word is in the first verse of
the Psalm. It is MY. “The Lord is MY Shepherd. Before he becomes my shepherd I
must recognise that He is the Good Shepherd.
In John 10:11. Jesus said “I am the
good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”.
Luke 15:4-6. "Suppose one of you
has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in
the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he
finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his
friends and neighbours together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost
sheep.'
There is an old gospel hymn that
beautifully expresses what this cost the Good Shepherd.
