The Psalm: “The Lord Is My Shepherd”
The Psalm: “The Lord Is My Shepherd”
This psalm is one of the Psalms of the Third Hour prayer.
It is called the Psalm of the Shepherd, and it is a psalm beloved by all people. It has the distinctive feature that it contains no petitions. The psalmist asks for nothing in it. There is no confession of sin, no supplication for forgiveness, no sorrow, and no contrition.
Rather, it expresses a sense of God’s presence in a person’s life.
Rejoicing in God’s care and providence, he says:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters” (Psalm 23:1–2).
The fact that you feel you are in need of care is a state of humility. And the fact that you feel that God is the One who cares for you undoubtedly plants within you a sense of reassurance, thanksgiving to God, and inner peace.
The expression, “The Lord is my shepherd”, means that I am not alone.
I do not live in this world alone, weary, and far from help. Rather, the Lord is my Shepherd.
People have those who care for them, support them, protect them, and watch over them. As for me, I have God Himself. God Himself is the One who shepherds me.
And because God is the One who shepherds me, I shall lack nothing.
As long as God shepherds me, I will live in peace, reassurance, and joy. Anxiety will not enter my heart, nor will turmoil.
This psalm also speaks about a special relationship with God. The Lord shepherds all of us, and He shepherds the whole world, and this is true.
But here I am speaking about a special relationship between myself and God.
I personally have a relationship with God. I personally—as an individual, as a human being—feel the hand of God in my life, and I feel that God is my Shepherd and that He cares for me.
These are the feelings of a heart that rejoices in our Lord, a heart that senses our Lord in its life, feels His presence in its life, and experiences God’s protection, God’s covering, God’s help, and His special care.
It means that you are not wandering or lost among the millions of people for whom God cares.
Rather, you have a personal relationship with God. You are not lost in the crowd. There are many shepherds who care for thousands of people. Yet, despite this, one or two or three or even more may become lost in the crowd around them. The shepherd may not notice them because of his many responsibilities. But as for me, the Lord is my Shepherd. And in the midst of the millions upon millions of His creatures, He gives me special attention in my life because of the love between Him and me.
This is undoubtedly a joyful and practical truth.
My heart naturally rejoices to feel this.
We also find this joyful truth in the Gregorian Liturgy.
In its prayers we find a personal relationship between the individual and God. It says to Him, “You made the heaven a roof for me. You prepared the earth for me to walk upon it”. It says for me, not for us.
This heaven was established by God for my sake. He prepared the earth for my sake. It also says, “For my sake You restrained the sea. For my sake You subdued the nature of the animals… For my sake You sent the Law…”.
Your awareness of a personal relationship between you and God.
God is not only the God of the whole world, while you are merely a small part of it.
Rather, He is also your God personally.
Just as our Lord was crucified and died for the world, so also He was crucified and died for you personally—for your own sake, for your own sins: “For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16). In the same way, He loved you as an individual.
“The Lord is my Shepherd” is a beautiful expression of God’s care.
And indeed, our Lord loves shepherding, and shepherding has a special significance to Him.
He says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). The Apostle also speaks of God, saying that He is “the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25). He also calls Him “the Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4). And in the Book of Ezekiel the prophet, He says: “I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick…” (Ezekiel 34:15).
God has also appointed shepherds on earth from among the clergy.
Saint Paul the Apostle says to the bishops of Ephesus: “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).
It is a work of shepherding, and a shepherd’s staff is given to the bishop on the day of his ordination. Indeed, the shepherd holds a special position in the Church. I shall explain this briefly so that we may understand its significance.
Many of those whom God entrusted with His people were first made to serve as shepherds.
“Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (Acts 7:22). But this was not enough. He was raised in the royal palace with all the education of princes, and he was trained in military leadership, yet all this was not sufficient. So God took him and made him shepherd sheep for forty years. Why?
Because the occupation of shepherding cultivates feelings of love, tenderness, compassion, calmness, and kindness. The shepherd loves his sheep, has deep compassion for them, and leads them to green grass and to water.
There is also a close relationship and strong bond between the shepherd and his sheep.
You see the shepherd walking, and the sheep follow behind him. Wherever he goes, his sheep are with him. They follow him in every direction he takes. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” They recognize My voice and follow Me. “Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers”, as the Lord said (John 10:4–5).
If any of you were to see a sheepfold when the shepherd opens its gate, you would notice that all the sheep fix their eyes upon him. They know him, focus their gaze on him, and cling to him. The sheep also recognize his voice and love him, and he loves them. The shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
How beautiful is the saying, “They hear My voice and do not listen to the voice of a stranger”, Some people think that sheep do not understand. Not at all. They recognize the voice of their shepherd, love him, look to him, seek after him, and follow him wherever he goes.
If the sheep are grazing in a green pasture and discover that their shepherd has left, they leave the grass and go after him. To them, the shepherd is more important than the grass and even more important than food. Such is their gentle and loving heart.
The shepherd carries a staff with which he leads his sheep. He never strikes them with it; rather, he guides them. In guiding the sheep, he may touch them with his staff, but he does not beat them. Therefore David said in the psalm:
“Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me”.
They are a source of comfort to me. When does a staff become a source of comfort?
This is something shepherds know, and the flock knows as well. The shepherd’s staff is not for punishment or harm, but for guidance and direction, with gentleness. The sheep love the shepherd’s staff when it touches them.
Many of the fathers were trained in shepherding before they entered pastoral ministry.
David the prophet—like Moses the prophet—was trained in shepherding.
The one who said, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” was one of the most successful shepherds in history. He was not an ordinary shepherd. He walked with his sheep carrying a flute and a harp, singing beautiful songs to them. Never had sheep heard a shepherd with such a pleasant voice as David! He was a musical shepherd, a singing shepherd, a shepherd who played instruments. He delighted the ears of his sheep, not merely leading them to green pastures. The sheep ate while listening to music at the same time. What sheep ever enjoyed such a privilege?
When David says, “The Lord is my Shepherd”, he says it with a complete understanding of what shepherding means—the beautiful kind in which he himself had been trained.
The soul that loves God says in the Song of Songs: “I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine. He feeds His flock among the lilies” (Song of Songs 6:3), He shepherds me among the roses and the lilies. He shepherds the soul. Therefore, when we speak of the word shepherd, we are speaking of a great and profound word.
David shepherded sheep, and God shepherded David.
Saint Augustine says to God while praying for his people: “Lord, to them I am the shepherd, but to You I am only a little sheep from Your flock. I ask You to shepherd me and to shepherd them”.
God is the Shepherd who cares for everyone.
He is the Good Shepherd, who, when He had a hundred sheep and one of them went astray, left the ninety-nine and went to seek the one. That is, He leaves no one outside His care, but cares for all. He seeks the lost one among the mountains and the hills, “Leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills” (Song of Songs 2:8), searching for His flock. He is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep.
The Holy Bible presents us with many examples of our Lord’s shepherding care.
He cared for the people in the wilderness, overshadowing and leading them with the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21). He is the Shepherd who sent them manna and quail (Exodus 16), and brought forth water for them from the rock (Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:8).
He is the Shepherd who leads to green pastures; who cared for Jonah while he was in the belly of the great fish (Jonah 2), and Daniel while he was in the lions’ den (Daniel 6). He cared for the Three Holy Youths while they were in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3), and for the captives by the rivers of Babylon. The examples of God’s care are beyond counting.
When we say, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” we mean that He shepherds me both materially and spiritually.
His care embraces both together. He cares for the body and the spirit, as well as the soul, the mind, and the thoughts. It is a complete and comprehensive care. Therefore David said in the psalm:
“I shall not want”.
Every person can say that many people care for him. My father and mother care for my bodily needs, providing me with sufficient food, drink, and clothing. Teachers at school care for me by giving me education, knowledge, and proper upbringing. The state also cares for me, providing security, provisions, housing, and the necessities of life in every respect.
But God gives me everything.
I shall not want.
He is the Shepherd in whom all my needs are found.
Since I came to know God, I have lacked nothing.
He alone is sufficient. I desire nothing besides Him.
I shall not want.
He shepherds me. Therefore, the one who has experienced God’s care does not rely on the arm of flesh, nor on himself, nor on the world. Rather, when he has believed in God’s care for him and experienced it in his life, he no longer lacks anything.
Nor do I need anyone.
Nor do I trust in the arm of flesh.
He is the Lord who shepherds me,
and I shall not want.
It is a declaration spoken by the individual, spoken by the Church, and spoken by the whole world.
He shepherds us, and we lack nothing, because in His care God overlooks none of man’s needs. Rather, He says: “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:32–33)
All these things shall be added to you.
He will not leave you in need of anything.
The God who cares for “the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns” (Matthew 6:26), He will care for you. He who cares for the butterfly that flies and the worm that crawls beneath the stone—everything receives from His care. Therefore, say these words with faith:
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want”.
These words are spoken by a person who has experienced God and lived with Him.
He has tasted God, as the psalm says: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).
See also what David said from his spiritual experience: “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).
I have experienced the Lord and have come to know Him.
God’s dealings are not merely things that I read in the Holy Bible; they are realities in my practical life.
I have experienced them and lived them. Therefore, from my own experience I say:
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want”.
You must believe that God shepherds you so that you may have inner peace.
Poor is the person who does not feel that he is under God’s care, and who thinks that he is in need of someone else. No. God alone is sufficient.
To remind His disciples of divine care, the Lord Jesus once said to them: “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?” So they said, “Nothing” (Luke 22:35).
Does not God care for the solitary monk in the depths of the mountain, surrounded by wild beasts and creeping things, where the basic necessities of life are absent? God even makes the laws of nature serve in your care. The plants and the animals exist for your care. During the day, for example, you may say: This sun was sent by God for my care, to give me light and warmth. Likewise the stars at night—they are all for me. And so is the beautiful, tranquil moon.
Therefore, the children of God who have believed in His care have entrusted their entire lives to Him.
Each one says: I do not lead myself, nor do I shepherd myself, because the Lord is my Shepherd. I surrender myself completely to Him and sleep in peace within the divine embrace, feeling the loving heart upon which I rest my head. This is the life of surrender through faith in God’s care.
Beware of doubting at any time, whatever the circumstances may be.
The Apostle Peter walked with the Lord upon the water, “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink…” (Matthew 14:30). He forgot that the Lord was caring for him, and so he began to sink into the water. Then the Lord said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31). Does the Lord care for you while you are walking on the road, but not while you are walking on the water? Certainly He cares for me, even when I am in the belly of the great fish—in every place. The one who says, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” is filled with faith.
The Lord is my Shepherd, no matter how difficult the outward circumstances may be.
David spoke these words despite all the periods of humiliation and distress that he endured, especially from King Saul, who pursued him everywhere to kill him. He experienced Absalom, his treacherous son; he experienced wars and afflictions. Yet through all of this he continued to say:
The Lord is my Shepherd.
The Lord’s care does not mean that He causes a person to walk only on the broad and easy road. No. Rather, He cares for him in the midst of tribulation. Therefore David says: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies”.
So there are indeed enemies.
He also says:
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me”.
So there is indeed the shadow of death, and there are indeed enemies. Yet he remains conscious that the Lord is with him.
The statement that the Lord is with me does not mean that He will keep me from passing through the valley of the shadow of death or prevent my enemies from surrounding me. Certainly not. All these afflictions are present, yet He is with me, and I rejoice in the midst of them.
But before speaking about the valley of the shadow of death and about afflictions, he first spoke of the beautiful experiences, saying:
“He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters”.
He leads me to the green pastures. Indeed, when God created man, He placed him in Paradise. And the Bride in the Song of Songs says that He shepherds her “among the lilies” (Song of Songs 6:3). But what are the green pastures, David?
He says:
The green pastures are the means of grace in which I live.
They are also the seven Sacraments of the Church. God has prepared for me every means of grace. I feel that I am walking in green pastures. I am nourished spiritually just as I am nourished physically. I am happy.
“He makes me to lie down in green pastures”.
This is in the work of grace, in the work of the Holy Spirit, in the work of the Church.
The expression “green pastures” also points to another meaning.
It indicates that the one who walks in the way of the Lord finds delight in that path, and that the Lord’s commandments “are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3), nor are the virtues oppressive to the soul.
No. Rather, the children of God find that the Lord’s commandment is “pure, enlightening the eyes” (Psalm 19:8). Thus each one says that God shepherds his spiritual life in green pastures. He also says:
“He leads me beside the still waters”.
Water in the Holy Bible symbolizes the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the Lord says: “He who believes in Me… out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” This He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive (John 7:38–39). This is the water that gives life. Thus the believer becomes like a tree planted by the streams of water (Psalm 1). It is to this living water that He leads me.
For this reason, the Church blesses the people with water at the end of every Divine Liturgy.
The first still water that you entered in your life was the water of Baptism.
It washes away everything old through “the washing of regeneration” (Titus 3:5). As Saint Ananias of Damascus said to Saul of Tarsus after the Lord called him: “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16).
This is the water of rest. It gives you rest from all your former sins. It gives you rest from the old man (Romans 6:6). This is the first still water for the child of God. And what comes after it?
There are other kinds of still waters.
At times you sin, and the water of tears washes you, becoming water of rest.
The Lord Jesus told the Samaritan woman that whoever drinks of the water of this world will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that He gives will never thirst forever (John 4:13–14).
This is the water of rest that satisfies the human soul. Therefore the psalm says, “My cup runs over.” If your soul thirsts for this water, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).
There is another water of rest of which David the prophet speaks in the psalm: “My soul longs for You, O God, as the dry land longs for water.” “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God” (Psalm 42:1–2). You, O Lord, are the living water. You are “the fountain of living waters” (Jeremiah 2:13). You are the water of rest that satisfies me.
“He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.” This means that when I walk with You, I find complete rest and complete happiness. It is not as some people imagine—that the one who walks with God becomes weary or is deprived of the pleasures and blessings of the world. Not at all. When I walk with You, O Lord, I find rest in the green pastures and beside the still waters.
And what does he say after this?
He says: “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness”.
David the prophet says this in humility. Although God leads me into green pastures, He still leaves me with the freedom of my own will. By my own free will I may go astray and fall into sin. So what does the Lord do for me when I am in such a condition?
He says:
“He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness.”
The paths of righteousness mean all the ways that lead to righteousness.
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