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THE SECRET TO A LIFE WELL LIVED
Psalm 23:3
Bob Bonner
August 20, 2006
Worries of a mother with a son in Iraq; local travelers stressed out because they were stuck or delayed in airports; citizens of the city of Rogue River are concerned about running out of water; downtown business owners are troubled as to what ill effects will occur to their business and the nature of downtown should a strip club open there. These are just a few of the local stories contained in just three days of articles in our local newspaper.
In a week, I estimate that there are at least 20 different articles in our little local paper that either reveal people who live in our community who are disquieted by serious issues that surround them, or these articles tend to raise concerns in the hearts of the readers. Suddenly, the readers find themselves faced with situations that are beyond them. Actions are being taken and events are happening around them over which they have no control.
Old King David found himself surrounded by people, friends who carried similar disquieting fears. Who will lead them in the near future when he dies? An evil self centered Absalom? What about their enemies? Jealous of the wealth of their nation, when their mighty King David dies, will the enemies see it as the time to advance on their nation? Present and future concerns robbed these people of inner peace and joy.
It is to this targeted audience that David dedicates Psalm 23. In the first two verses of this psalm, David declares that Yahweh, the Good Shepherd will care for them. He will meet their needs. If they walk with Him, they will find contentment regardless of what is happening around them.
As he describes in verse 2, the shepherd cares for his sheep. As they stay in contact with him, he brings freedom from their common fears, freedom from the bugs that pester their lives, freedom from the normal friction that occurs amongst the flock and freedom from hunger and thirst. In essence, David is telling us the same thing the Apostle Paul teaches us in Phil 4:19, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
David continues in verse 3 to reveal the character of our Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who He is, by pointing out what He does for us. David declares the Great Shepherd, “restores my soul;...” In Hebrew, this term “restores” has three basic meanings, each revealing a little different aspect of God’s care for us.
First, to restore means “to turn back over.” There is an old English shepherd’s term for a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot get up again by itself. It’s called being “cast down.” Lying on its back, its feet in the air, the sheep flays away frantically struggling to stand up, without success. As it struggles to get back up, its stomach fills with gas which in turn retards its circulation which lends it, in time, unable to move. In that state, it is most vulnerable to attack from wolves. If the owner doesn’t arrive on the scene in a reasonably short period of time, the predators will, for they always know where the flock is and keep their eyes out for strays and for “cast down” sheep.
David, having been a shepherd, understands this anxiety of the sheep, and knows full well the meaning of Psalm 42:11 (which I believe both the KJV and the NKJV has the best translation). It reads, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.” The cry of the sheep that is “cast down” frantic and emotionally desperate, is the cry for help. It is the bleating for the shepherd to come and rescue it.
It is for this reason that when a shepherd finds a sheep missing, he knows that if the missing sheep has rolled over on its back somewhere, he has the possibility of losing it for good. Hence, he searches for it. His desire is to “restore” the sheep. David writes of the good shepherd’s desire to “right the sheep” in Psalm 56:13, “For You have delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living.”
When we like sheep, find ourselves emotionally on our backs, struggling and filled with fear, it is the Shepherd we cry out to for help, to right our lives.
A second use for this Hebrew term “restore” evolves from the first meaning. It reveals the first step or action the shepherd must take before being able to turn over a sheep that is cast down. That is “to fetch, bring back or return” a sheep that has wandered off.
Every evening when the shepherd returns to his protected sheep pen, he counts his sheep, calling each by its name, as he ushers them into their sanctuary for the night. If he discovers that one of his flock is still out in the countryside, he leaves his other sheep safely in the fold and trudges back over the route he and the flock covered during the day. All along the way, he calls the sheep by name, listening for the bleating of the animal. When he finds the sheep, he places it upon his shoulders and carries it back or “restores” it to the fold.
Sometimes, the shepherd is required, night after night, to go out seeking the same lost animal. When this happens, the shepherd will once more go out to find the sheep, but this time before carrying it back to the fold, he will break its leg. Back in the fold the shepherd makes a splint for the shattered leg and during the days that follow, he carries the crippled sheep close to his heart. As the leg begins to mend, the shepherd sets the sheep down by his side. To the crippled animal, the smallest stream looms like a giant river, the tiniest knoll rises like a mountain. The sheep depends completely upon the shepherd to carry it across the terrain. After the leg has healed the sheep has learned a lesson: It must stay close to the shepherd’s side. No more wandering off.
When I first read of this, I thought it to be a little harsh. But Haddon Robinson straightened out my thinking when I read his words, “To break the leg of a poor defenseless sheep seems heartless unless you understand the shepherd’s motive. Then, what seems to be cruelty is actually kindness. The shepherd knows far better than the sheep the danger of wandering off. He breaks its leg, not to hurt it, but to restore it.”
When we are in trouble, God comes after us, so to speak. He brings us back home. If need be, due to our tendency to wander, He will discipline us for our own good. It is part of His restoration process.
The third meaning of the Hebrew word translated “restore” means to “bring back to life,” “to return to health.” Here, the focus of restoring of one’s health is not so much one’s physical health as it is one’s soulish, one’s emotional and mental health. God will eventually physically heal every one of His chosen lambs, either by giving them a new resurrection body after they die, or by temporarily and supernaturally restoring physical health on earth. But that’s not what is in focus in this psalm. It’s the inner man that David has in view here.
Charles Spurgeon, the great 19th century preacher once wrote, “When the soul grows sorrowful, He revives it. When it is sinful, He sanctifies it; when it is weak, He strengthens it.” That’s the work of the Shepherd, to restore the soul. But, how does He do it?
That’s what David addresses next in this verse. He states that the shepherd “guides me in the paths of righteousness.” In the original, it is not clear as to which of two ways this clause is meant to be interpreted. Possibly, it is ambiguous because both potential interpretations are meant to be taken hold of at the same time.
One scholar supports the idea that the Hebrew intends for us to understand this as “He guides me in the right paths,” or points to the correct path.
Once more this picture is drawn from shepherd life in Palestine, where many paths sprawl across the terrain. Some have been worn by travelers going from city to city. Others by robbers who want to lead a flock aside to attack the shepherd and steal his sheep. Still other paths have been made by the winds that have blown across the sand. The wise and good shepherd knows which paths lead to destruction and which lead to life. That’s why Jesus declares, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes unto the Father but by me.” Our shepherd knows the way.
Keep in mind, we, like sheep, are pretty dumb. But if sheep could ask themselves, “Are you stupid?” they probably would not admit to it. Would you? Yet, the Scriptures warns us about our own arrogant foolishness. In Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
Left to ourselves, if allowed to choose our own way, invariably, we will not choose the right or correct path, leading to emotional and mental health.
Isaiah 55:8,9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
But that raises a common question: “Surely, anyone in the Good Shepherd’s care would never become so distressed in soul as to need counseling, would they? Aren’t Christians supposed to always feel joy, peace and perfect contentment? Isn’t anything less considered spiritual immaturity?” The reality is that all believers, me, you, Chuck Swindoll, John MacArthur, Ray Stedman, Charles Stanley, Jack Hayford, you name the person....Job, Elijah, David, Moses, Solomon, Jacob... all at different times find themselves “cast down” because we have wandered and are in need of a word of counsel from God.
And that’s why it is so important that when we are troubled, not if, but when we are in trouble and seek counsel, we must seek counsel from those who know God’s Word, the Bible and can use it to give us guidance. That’s the main reason God gave us His Word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 reminds us, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
When David had tasted defeat in his life or felt the frustration of having sinned, he was well-acquainted with the feelings of bitterness, hopelessness, guilt, shame and fear. It was then that the Word of God restored his soul. If you read the psalms, you will see that sometimes, God’s Word spoke directly to his heart as he studied it. At other times, he needed the counsel of others who would speak the truth and apply biblical principles to his life. Nathan and Abigail were two people who confronted David with the truth of God. And as a result, in both cases his soul was restored.
The Shepherd uses God’s Word to correct and to point us down the right path to soulish or emotional health.
The second possible interpretation of these words in verse 3, is that God doesn’t just show us the right way, but He instructs us in what is righteousness, or how to live such that we will get the most out of life.
Our view of how life should be lived, or what being truly moral or godly is, typically falls way short of what God desires for us. Max Lucado illustrated this well from his own life, when he described the moral righteousness expected when as a child he was ordered to clean up his room. He’d “clean” his room and then ask his mother to inspect it. He writes, “She’d tell me my room wasn’t clean, and I’d ask her to go with me to my brother’s room. His was always messier than mine. ‘See, my room is clean; just look at his.’ Never worked. She’d walk me down the hall to her room. When it came to tidy rooms, my mom was righteous. Her closet was just right. Her bed was just right. Her bathroom was just right. Compared to hers, my room was, well, just wrong. She would show me her room and say, ‘This is what I mean by clean.’ God does the same. He points to himself and says, ‘This is what I mean by righteousness.’”
Once again, God’s Word is the school room of instruction for that which defines righteous living.
Up to this point, we have seen that God, the Good Shepherd, cares for and restores our lives. But have you ever wondered why? Why does He bother with us? What would motivate God to make sure that I am protected and provided for such that I should not want?
David answers “why” for us in the last four words of this verse. He tells us that God does what He does, “for His name’s sake.” In other words, God does what He does knowing full well that His reputation is at stake.
Moses understood this idea better than anyone. In fact, he was banking on this very thing as the basis for his pleading to God to show mercy to the children of Israel.
You might remember the scene. Following their Exodus from Egypt, God had just audibly and verbally spoken to the entire camp of Israel. God verbally gave the people the Ten Commandments plus four additional chapters of instruction concerning the moral laws required to live in community with one another. Following that verbal communication from God, all the people as with one voice, declared, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do.” Then, to ratify their agreement with God to accept Yahweh as their God and King and the leader of Israel, they had a worship service that included burnt offerings and peace offerings to Yahweh.
At this point, Moses leaves them to go to the top of Mt. Sinai to receive the balance of God’s instructions concerning the building of the Tabernacle and other ceremonial laws. While he is there, the people get antsy because they haven’t seen him for forty days. They are afraid something has happened to him. Being religiously superstitious, they don’t want to head out into the unknown, so they build idols for themselves to worship. Thus, they boldly and blatantly violated the first two of the Ten Commandments.
Needless to say, God was not happy. He says to Moses in Exodus 32:8-14, “They have already turned from the way I commanded them to live. They have made an idol shaped like a calf, and they have worshiped and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.’ ” Then the Lord said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. Now leave me alone so my anger can blaze against them and destroy them all. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation instead of them.”
Understand what God is saying here. He is telling Moses that He is going to destroy them as an entire nation and begin all over again, using Moses as the physical stock from which to build a new nation. God is so angry, and rightfully so, that He is about to destroy an estimated 3-4 million people.
Moses, realizing the seriousness of the situation pleads with God. Notice, the basis for asking God to be merciful. Verse 11, “But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God not to do it. ’O Lord!’ he exclaimed. ’Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and mighty acts? The Egyptians will say, ‘God tricked them into coming to the mountains so he could kill them and wipe them from the face of the earth.’” Do you get Moses’ point? He is saying, “God, if you wipe out these people, what are the Egyptians and the rest of the world going to think about you and your character? They are going to think of you as deceitful. They will advertise throughout their media network that you are not a man of your word; that you don’t keep your promises. God, your reputation will be ruined!”
Hence, Moses continues, “Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you are planning against your people! Remember your covenant with your servants—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You swore by your own self, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. Yes, I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’ ” So the Lord withdrew his threat and didn’t bring against his people the disaster he had threatened.”
Understand something: It is true that God withdrew his threat to immediately destroy these people. But God’s will ultimately never changes. For when you study the rest of the history of the Israelite people, God might as well have destroyed these unbelieving Jews right then, because He refused to allow them to enter the promise land. All the adults who partook in that idolatrous worship died in the wilderness. God waited until the last one of them died, and until the next trusting and believing generation had become adults before He allowed them to enter the promised land.
This delayed tactic on God’s part took place because of “God’s reputation” or “His name was at stake” in all that He did with Israel. This way, no one could say that He broke any promises or that He was fickle or deceitful. Instead, He proved Himself to be righteous and just.
Second, God takes on the persona of the Great Shepherd, because He knows that in doing so, it will bring Him glory...a glory that in the end will allow Him to stand alone in His glory. God will not share the marquee of glory with anyone else. He is the headliner. He does these things for His glory. Does God have an ego problem? No, but we do! We are the creature, He is the creator God who deserves all the glory.
But that is not how we like it. We want to give God a nod of appreciation as we step up to receive our trophies and the applause for our successes so that we can glory in our accomplishments. We want to declare, like that five-year-old artist to his mother, obviously impressed with his abilities to draw stick figures, “Look Ma! Look what I drawed!” His mother, and probably his creator both smile, in understanding love. But both know, that in comparison to the creator’s work in engineering a humming bird from scratch, or creating light out of nothing that this little one carries only a reflection of the glory of the One in whose image he was created.
Phillip Keller describes the heart of God, and who rightly deserves to stand alone in His adoration and the glory of praise that comes from the mouths of His sheep. He states that God “is the owner who delights in His flock. For Him there is no greater reward, no deeper satisfaction, than that of seeing His sheep contented, well fed, safe and flourishing under His care. This is indeed His very ‘life.’ He gives all He has to it. He literally lays Himself out for those who are His.”
John 10:3, paints a very intimate picture of Christ’s relationship with His sheep. The picture is the early morning, just as the sun is coming up. Several shepherds arrive at a large community sheep pen, where their sheep have remained all night under protective guard. Then each of the shepherds stands outside the gate to the pen and they call their sheep. The sheep recognize the voice of their owner and one by one they leave the coral and follow their shepherd. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, then describes how He calls each of His sheep by name. He knows each of His sheep and their instincts and markings by heart. One by one He calls their name and they leave the pen to follow after their Shepherd.
One of the great benefits of knowing that you are one of Jesus’ sheep is the confidence you can have each new day when you wake up. Because He knows that you are one of a kind, Jesus calls you by name, to leave the “pen” and to follow Him. As we walk out of the pen, His eyes sweep over us to make sure we are okay, and then, on it is with the Shepherd to face a new day. Think about it. Every morning He calls me by name and says, “Come, Bob. Follow me. I know you may be depressed, sorrowful, scared,, but follow me. I have plans for you today. Not plans for your calamity, but plans that in the end, will prove to be for your best.”
I am still coming to grips with the wonderful truth that I am special, in a good way. Not an arrogant way. Romans 12:3, admonishes us, “Don’t think more highly of yourself than you ought to think; but think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” In other words, if what you think about yourself is according to the faith, the Word of God, then take confidence in what He says is true about you, in Christ. But don’t go beyond what God says is true about you.
Hence, I can rejoice and take confidence in the fact that I am deeply loved by the Shepherd, valued so highly that He laid down His life for me, which in turn made me totally acceptable and fully approved of by God forever. Therefore, I don’t have to prove anything to God to maintain His love and protection over me. He is forever committed to me. Now, I can freely risk and relax in all that I do for Him. What a great picture of how we can begin each day!
Even if later I should wander or get stuck in the bramble bushes with my foot in my mouth, He still loves me. He won’t abandon me. He will come look for me and restore me because Jesus says, “Lo, I am with you always.”
Those of you who know Christ have an advantage over those who do not. You have a Person with direction—who can take you from a wrong place to the right place. You have One who can restore your hope...your souls. When you, His lamb, find yourself lost on a craggy ledge, stuck in the mud or entangled in a bush, or rolled over and can’t get up, everything changes when you cry out to your Shepherd, and He restores you. Loneliness diminishes because you have fellowship with Him. Despair decreases, because you have His prophetic perspective in His Word. Confusion lifts, because you have His directions in His Word.
If you don’t know this Shepherd personally, you are alone. And when you find yourself “cast down,” who will be there to restore you? On the other hand, you can call out to Him, to invite Him to be your Shepherd. That call begins with seeking His forgiveness for having ignored Him. Ask Him to take over the controls of your life. If you do, He promises not to remain distant, but to permanently come into your life, and to abide with you wherever you may be. You will never again be without the restorative touch of the Shepherd.
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