‘He maketh me lie down in green pastures…’ Psalm 23.2a Beloved, throughout the past few weeks we have seen the LORD Jesus Christ not just Shepherd, but the Sovereign Saving Shepherd of the world. He is the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd and the Greatest Shepherd. Yet in all that, He is our ’Shepherd, the same LORD Who created the heavens and the earth is the same LORD Who became our protector and provider as well as our healer and helper.
Within all these, the Chief Shepherd devised a way to protect His sheep, which would be in a sheepfold. In order to provide for them He gave them a shepherd, always remember the sheep are the (people), the sheepfold is the (church) and the shepherd is the (Pastor).
Having said that we understand we are the sheep of the Chief Shepherd. Think of the great benefits and blessings of being His sheep”... Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Psalms 100:3 So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations. Psalms 79:13 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Psalms 95:7
David wrote in our text: ‘He maketh me lie down, in green pastures…’ This is not a forced or dictatorial action, but rather a providential act. We must always remember our Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ is a Compassionate Shepherd. Matthew 9:36 reveals as Christ looked upon His people having great passion fro His people. He looked at them being weary and scattered as sheep having not a shepherd. For that cause He was moved toward these poor souls, moved “with compassion”. We are the sheep of His pasture, therefore He looks at us with the same warmth and tenderness.
Our Lord is also a Considerate Shepherd. Isaiah 40:11 proclaims the LORD will ‘feed his flock’. So many artist depict Christ with either carrying or holding a lamb, I am so glad that He does the same with us. He carries you and I when the weight of the world is too great to bear, it is the considerate Shepherd that carries us forth. He holds us firm when the pull of the world becomes stronger then we.
Our Savior is Compassionate and Considerate because He is the Concerned Shepherd. John 10:9 states that Christ is ‘the door’. The Shepherd is the door of the sheepfold, which is constructed in a circular shape, made of stones with one simple door way. As night falls, the sheep come in under the staff, with the shepherd counting them, one by one. The shepherd remains in the doorway until morning. When morning comes as the sheep go out they are counted yet again, confirming their attendance. Nothing is able to pass through the door without the approval of the Shepherd; in this the Shepherd knows the goings and comings of the sheep.
He knows our every thought as well as the intents of our thoughts (Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.)
The shepherd loves the sheep, just as Christ Jesus loves us as our Shepherd and we His sheep. With that thought, let’s say one particular sheep continues to go astray, drifting from the flock and wandering off inviting danger to him, his family, flock and even the fold. Finally the loving shepherd will have to deal with the rogue, he will do so by fracturing one leg. Almost as soon as the leg is hurt, it is set so to heal in the proper manner. This wayward one will remain with the shepherd during the time of recuperation until he or she has healed fully and able to bear weight once again.
As drastic as this may sound and as painful as it must be, the shepherd allows such to occur so that particular wanderer will need to fully depend on the shepherd, learning that he is all and who the sheep need.
There may come a time in our life where we continue to wander from the fold and flock of God. Should the LORD allow an incident into our life it is only so that He may provide and protect us, His sheep enabling us to remain so to propagate the Gospel of Christ.
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