THE GOOD SHEPHERD (continued)
Continuing with our theme we come to the final part of the Twenty Third Psalm. Repeating again the verses 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.
- 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.
- Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
- thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
The final verse, the finale to this psalm, is an affirmation by David. In it he says that based on all of the things the Lord has done for him that he is secure in the Lord forever. It is the culmination of the plentifulness of green pastures, the serenity of still waters and the restoration of his life in God. He says further that in the Presence of the Lord he is is led to righteousness and accepts it so that he has no fears for anything and has the comfort and peace of knowing that the Lord is with him and he is protected. He sits boldly at the table of the Lord surrounded by enemies without giving it thought and knowing that he is consecrated and blessed and has more that he will ever need. Isn’t this where we all want to be?
So he goes on to say:
◊Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. This is it; this is the great reward of following the Shepherd. This is the reward for being in His presence; goodness and mercy all my days and a permanent dwelling place in the house of the Lord, the Kingdom of God. All of the earlier verses but add up to this final verse; their allness is covered here in this one sentence. Goodness and mercy and dwelling with the Lord.
“And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things” (Mark 6:34). The Lord God of Israel was the Shepherd to David and nearly 1000 years later, Christ brought that presence to us in human form. Jesus, seeing the people were as sheep without a shepherd, took on that part as our teacher and divine intermediary. He is our Great Teacher. The lessons that He gave us in directives and in parables are slowly building each of us, whether it is realized or not, in virtue and in character. Christ’s influence has permeated the entire world and the sense of the Brotherhood of Man has never been as pronounced as it is today. People and countries willingly give to the benefit of people across the globe who they know little or nothing about except that they are in need. This is the group effect, the Human Group, of the Christ teaching and the outpouring of His love on humanity. And yes, there is so much more to do.
“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). There are people in all walks of life, at differing stages of development in soul life and in personality. So many are like sheep without a shepherd following along with the masses of sheep, struggling to get to or to stay at the head of the herd and thinking it important to be there. This is all they know. Some of them make it to the front of the herd which is top of their field, a position of affluence or of influence in the community; a success by whatever means they use to measure. Others forever struggle to do better for themselves and their family that follow along. All of them trudging along, following only what is in front of them; riding the waves of good times and bad times, of green pastures and sparse, they gather what they can and move on and on until it is over. This is what Jesus saw then and it is as true or even more true now.
However, some of the sheep, after long times wandering, get to the front because they want to know where they are headed. They have awoke and are now driven to know. They arrive at the front of the herd only to see that there is no shepherd, that the flock is just wandering and moving on from day to day because that is what they naturally do. Now some of these who have awaken find no satisfaction in following aimlessly; they begin to earnestly seek the Shepherd and, He is not hard for them to find. He has been calling them to follow Him all along but the sheep were not listening. They were lost in the maze of daily life, attending to their duties and their desires and, in the maddening sound of this progress, they could not hear the Shepherd’s call. But now they hear His voice and begin to follow Him and listen to Him. Some however become distracted by the drone of the noise they are so accustomed to and fall away, anxious to continue in the old paths because they know them and because they don’t want to miss those things that the world thinks are so important.
Others stay the new course and, hearing the magical voice of the Shepherd, they know that they are in the right place. They see the Love, the Goodness, the Beauty and the Truth; they see the reality of the promises found in following the Shepherd and they continue their new lives ever seeking to bring other sheep into this fold that they have found; declaring the Brotherhood and the Love to all. They have heard the Shepherd say that “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7;14) and they set their course to it and they enter into the green pastures, and the still waters, and the restored life. A life of following after righteousness where there is no fear for they are with the Shepherd who feeds and protects them. They are blessed and consecrated in the Pasture of the Lord with all its goodness and mercy and they follow the Shepherd in the Pasture of the Lord forever.
I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine (John 10:14) should be words of comfort to all who seek to enter and to follow!
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. Keeping yesterday’s quote of the day which is a very old and simple prayer that asks 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.
