THE GOOD SHEPHERD (continued)
Continuing with our theme we come to the next part of the Twenty Third Psalm. Note that the fourth verse is split into two parts with the second part beginning our discourse today. To repeat from the beginning as we had covered them:
- The LORD is my shepherd;
- I shall not want.
- He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
- he leadeth me beside the still waters.
- He restoreth my soul:
- he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
and the first part of our current verse, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:, which was discussed with comments yesterday. Beginning with the balance of the verse and seeing it as the reason for having no fear.
◊for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. The Presence of God dispels all fear and this is found in following the Shepherd. David says that He has no fear for the Lord is with Him and this is the testimony of the Old Testament. For us however this takes a different twist in that we need to be in His Presence and, of course, we do this by seeking the Kingdom and living in His word. There can be no fear in His Presence. Jesus takes us to this same place by being with us and sending us comfort. Now Christ is with us in two ways; first, in real presence as announced by Jesus as He left the physical world over 2000 years ago: “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). [The literal translation for world is age and this is used in many translations.] Second He is with us spiritually as the Christ within spoken of by the Apostle Paul and this through the unity of us all in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit can be seen as the presence in this world of the Spirit of Christ of which we all are a part or have a part in depending on your perspective. Jesus said that “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive , because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:16-18). God is One and Christ and the Holy Spirit are One with Him. From this perspective we have a Trinity that is a Trinity of Aspects of God and not three separate persons as many see this; God cannot be divided. So we are comforted and we know that He is with us in both real presence and in Spirit, both within us and without us for ever. the key however to having the Presence of God in any of His Aspects is that we know Him and we see Him and this because we seek Him and strive for the gate of His Kingdom.
◊Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: For David, the warrior King of Israel, this was probably a real scenario. He was favored by God, despite some transgressions, because his heart was with the Lord. We are not warrior kings and our relationship with God is quite different. If we are in His Presence we are in conscious knowledge of the closeness of the Lord and of the grace that is bestowed upon us. This, the grace of God, should be seen as the prepared table that is set for us by the Lord. At this table we are in His Presence which overshadows and overcomes all that we can consider our enemies; both within and without. The inner enemies are doubt and confusion and those things called by the Hindu the three gates of hell; lust anger and greed. We boldly sit at the table in the presence of these enemies of life knowing that in His Presence they cannot touch us. Jesus tells us of this gift of grace, that we it have when we dwell in the Kingdom and in His Presence and we have the promise of it when we strive to enter at the strait gate. Now, knowing the triumph of Jesus over all enemies and over death itself, it is important to remember the promise that He made to those willing to pay the price. He tells us that: “the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12) and this should give us the confidence to sit at this same table. And again He tells us that: “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed , and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass ; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:23). in these sayings and promises is the in the confidence of believing and being in His Presence….doubting nothing. This is the power that allows us to sit at His table in the Kingdom of God here and now.
◊ thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Biblically, the word anoint is used in many ways but for our understanding we will use it as a way to make one consecrated which is from the Old Testament. The word consecrate does not appear in the gospels and anoint in the New Testament reflects only the word as the definition. It is important to remember that the word Christ means anointed and that the word has a special Christian meaning. For our purpose, let us say that anoint is a physical act that makes one consecrated and that consecrate means to make, or declare to be, sacred; to appropriate to sacred uses; to set apart, dedicate, or devote, to the service or worship of God; as, to consecrate a church; to give (one’s self) unreservedly, as to the service of God. To set apart to a sacred office; as, to consecrate a bishop. To canonize; to exalt to the rank of a saint; to enroll among the gods, as a Roman emperor. To render venerable or revered; to hallow; to dignify*. From this we should get the understanding being made holy by anointing which is the Webster’s definition of consecrate and which appears to be built upon the use of the word and not the actual biblical usage according to Strong’s and the lexicon which offer consecrate only as complete and perfect. Regardless, we know that Christ is the anointing of God on the Master and in this context we are anointed with Him when we are in His Presence. John attests to this when he says speaking of Jesus “because as he is , so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17) and the Master affirms to us that we can do as He does in saying “the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he” (John 14:12). Again, all we need is to be in His Presence and to know that He is our Shepherd and to follow Him. In doing so our cups will truly run over in the promise that “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). This is interpreted by many to mean that anything we want we can have and it does say that. But the criteria still remains that we must believe and be without any doubt and this is possible only in the confidence of His Presence and His Kingdom. Being in His Presence will define much about our desires and bring more meaning to the saying of Jesus “for where your treasure is , there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34). In the promise of having what we desire is also the need to forgive which is a criteria founded on love. “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive , neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mark 11:25-26). If we want the anointing we must do our parts.
Make the Lord your Shepherd and follow Him.
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
I know, o Lord of Life and Love, about the need. Touch my heart anew with love, that I too may love and give. Today’s quote of the day is a very old and simple prayer asking that the Love of God be renewed in you and through you and that you can distribute that love to the world. It is known as a ‘noontime recollection’; try saying it at noon every day. It can only help bring love and peace to others and to yourself.
* Websters Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913
