¹The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want … ⁶Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

One of the most well-known passages of Scripture, this psalm has brought comfort to Christians everywhere, down through the ages. Some have called it the best-loved poem in all of literature. We agree with William MacDonald’s quote of J. R. Littleproud’s outline as being hard to improve upon:

The secret of a happy life—every need supplied.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

The secret of a happy death—every fear removed.
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for You are with me.

The secret of a happy eternity—every desire fulfilled.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (BBC)

We don’t know the specific background from which this psalm emerges in David’s life. Of course, he was drawing the shepherd metaphor from his early life, looking after the family flocks. Sheep are one of the earliest domesticated animals, and the sheep industry has been and continues to be practiced throughout the inhabited world. So, it is a widely appropriate metaphor to illustrate God’s care for His people.

The clear identification of the Shepherd is “The Lord,” using God’s covenantal name, Yahweh. David, who knows shepherding, sees the qualities of a great shepherd in God. He cares for those who are his; he feeds and protects them. Typically, a metaphor uses a tangible illustration of something well known to the audience to help them understand something they do not know. In other words, good communication takes people from the known to the known. David does this in a remarkable way.

The excellence of David’s composition as literature is that most people come to learn of God’s care for us without knowing very much about sheep. But, from reading it, we learn derivatively about sheep husbandry by how David uses this motif of shepherding to tell us about God. We come away thinking, “I don’t know much about tending sheep on a farm, but I get the point, David. You help me see that God is a good shepherd of my soul.”

Using the same metaphor, the apostle Peter tells us, “For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls” (1 Pet. 2:25). Knowing Him as the Shepherd of Psalm 23 is our security in a world that continuously wants to tear us down like vicious wild animals. We must always keep returning to Him. Our Lord Jesus said,

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (John 10:10–11)

He came to give us abundant life by giving His perfect life. With God protecting us, who could possibly destroy us? We must not relegate this psalm to use only when we lose a loved one. The Lord is our Shepherd at all times, constantly watching over us, protecting, caring, warning, correcting, but overall, loving us.

Lord, thank You for being my Shepherd. In You, I am secure and know You are watching over me.