A SHEPHERD LOOKS AT PSALM 23 #2

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 #2

I shall NOT want!

                  

by Philip Keller

     WHAT A PROUD, positive, bold statement to make! Obviously,

this is the sentiment of a sheep utterly satisfied with its

owner, perfectly content with its lot in life.

     Since the Lord is my Shepherd, then I shall not want.

Actually the word "want" as used here, has a broader meaning than

might at first be imagined. No doubt the main concept is that of

not lacking - not deficient - in proper care, management or

husbandry.

     But a second emphasis is the idea of being utterly contented

in the Good Shepherd's care and consequently not craving or

desiring anything more.

     This may seem a strange statement for a man like David to

have made if we think in terms only of physical or material

needs. After all he had been hounded and harried repeatedly by

the forces of his enemy Saul as well as those of his own

estranged son Absalom. He was obviously a man who had known

intense privation: deep personal poverty, acute hardship, and

anguish of spirit.

     Therefore it is absurd to assert on the basis of this

statement that the child of God, the sheep in the Shepherd's

care, will never experience lack or need.

     It is imperative to keep a balanced view of the Christian

life. To do this it is well to consider the careers of men like

Elijah, John the Baptist, our Lord Himself - and even modern men

of faith such as Livingstone - to realize that all of them

experienced great personal privation and adversity.

     When He was among us, the Great Shepherd Himself warned His

disciples before His departure for glory, that - "In this world

ye shall have tribulation - but be of good cheer - I have

overcome the world."

     One of the fallacies that is common among Christians today

is t the assertion that if a man or woman is prospering

materially it is a significant mark of the blessing of God upon

their lives. This simply is not so.

     Rather, in bold contrast we read in Revelation 3:17,

"Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and

have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and

miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked . . ."

     Or, in an equally pointed way, Jesus made clear to the rich

young ruler who wished to become His follower. "One thing thou

lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the

poor ... and come ... follow me" (Mark 10:21).

     Based on the teachings of the Bible we can only conclude

that David was not referring to material or physical poverty when

he made the statement, "I shall not want."

     For this very reason the Christian has to take a long, hard

look at life. He has to recognize that as with many of God's

choice people before him, he may be called on to experience lack

of wealth or material benefits. He has to see his sojourn upon

the planet as a brief interlude during which there may well be

some privation in a physical sense. Yet amid such hardship he can

still boast, "I shall not want ... I shall not lack the expert

care and management of my Master."

     To grasp the inner significance of this simple statement it

is necessary to understand the difference between belonging to

one master or another - to the Good Shepherd or to an imposter.

Jesus Himself took great pains to point out to anyone who

contemplated following Him that it was quite impossible to serve

two masters. One belonged either to Him or to another.

     When all is said and done the welfare of any flock is

entirely dependent upon the management afforded them by their

owner. The tenant sheepman on the farm next to my first ranch was

the most indifferent manager I had ever met. He was not concerned

about the condition of his sheep. His land was neglected. He gave

little or no time to his flock, letting them pretty well forage

for themselves as best they could, both summer and winter. They

fell prey to dogs, cougars and rustlers.

     Every year these poor creatures were forced to gnaw away at

bare brown fields and impoverished pastures. Every winter there

was a shortage of nourishing hay and wholesome grain to feed the

hungry ewes. Shelter to safeguard and protect the suffering sheep

from storms and blizzards was scanty and inadequate. They had

only polluted, muddy water to drink. There had been a lack of

salt and other trace minerals needed to offset their sickly

pastures. In their thin, weak and diseased condition these poor

sheep were a pathetic sight.

     In my mind's eye I can still see them standing at the fence,

huddled sadly in little knots, staring wistfully through the

wires at the rich pastures on the other side.

     To all their distress, the heartless, selfish owner seemed

utterly callous and indifferent. He simply did not care. What if

his sheep did want green grass; fresh water; shade; safety or

shelter from the storms? What if they did want relief from

wounds, bruises, disease and parasites?

     He ignored their needs - he couldn't care less. Why should

he, they were just sheep--fit only for the slaughterhouse.

     I never looked at those poor sheep without an acute

awareness that this was a precise picture of those wretched old

taskmasters, Sin and Satan, on their derelict ranch - scoffing at

the plight of those within their power.

 

(Today, a person so neglecting their service to animals can be

reported and have the authorities come and take them away from

such inhumane treatment. Even imposing fines for cruelty to

animals - Keith Hunt).

     As I have moved among men and women from all strata of

society as both a lay pastor and as a scientist I have become

increasingly aware of one thing. It is the boss - the manager -

the Master in people's lives who makes the difference in their

destiny. I have known some of the wealthiest men on this

continent intimately - also some of the leading scientists and

professional people. Despite their dazzling outward show of

success, despite their affluence and their prestige, they

remained poor in spirit, shrivelled in soul, and unhappy in life.

They were joyless people held in the iron grip and heartless

ownership of the wrong master.

     By way of contrast, I have numerous friends among relatively

poor people - people who have known hardship, disaster and the

struggle to stay afloat financially. But because they belong to

Christ and have recognized Him as Lord and Master of their lives,

their owner and manager, they are permeated by a deep, quiet,

settled peace that is beautiful to behold.

     It is indeed a delight to visit some of these humble homes

where men and women are rich in spirit, generous in heart, and

large of soul. They radiate a serene confidence and quiet joy

that surmounts all the tragedies of their time.

     They are under God's care and they know it. They have

entrusted themselves to Christ's control and found contentment.

Contentment should be the hallmark of the man or woman who has

put his or her affairs in the hands of God. This especially

applies in our affluent age. But the outstanding paradox is the

intense fever of discontent among people who are ever speaking of

security.

     Despite an unparalleled wealth in material assets we are

outstandingly insecure and unsure of ourselves and well nigh

bankrupt in spiritual values.

     Always men are searching for safety beyond themselves. They

are restless, unsettled, covetous, greedy for more - wanting this

and that, yet never really satisfied in spirit.

     By contrast the simple Christian, the humble person, the

Shepherd's sheep can stand up proudly and boast. "The Lord is my

Shepherd  - I shall not want."

     I am completely satisfied with His management of my life.

Why? Because He is the sheepman to whom no trouble is too great

as He cares for His flock. He is the rancher who is outstanding

because of His fondness for sheep - who loves them for their own

sake as well as His personal pleasure in them. He will, if

necessary, be on the job twenty-four hours a day to see that they

are properly provided for in every detail. Above all, He is very

jealous of His name and high reputation as "The Good Shepherd."

He 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.

     He will go to no end of trouble and labor to supply them

with the finest grazing, the richest pasturage, ample winter

feed, and clean water. He will spare Himself no pains to provide

shelter from storms, protection from ruthless enemies and the

diseases and parasites to which sheep are so susceptible.

     No wonder Jesus said, "I am the Good Shepherd - the Good

Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." And again "I am come

that ye might have life and that ye might have it more

abundantly."

     From early dawn until late at night this utterly self-less

Shepherd is alert to the welfare of His flock. For the diligent

sheepman rises early and goes out first thing every morning

without fail to look over his flock. It is the initial, intimate

contact of the day. With a practiced, searching, sympathetic eye

he examines the sheep to see that they are fit and content and

able to be on their feet. In an instant he can tell if they have

been molested during the night, whether any are ill or if there

are some which require special attention.

     Repeatedly throughout the day he casts his eye over the

flock to make sure that all is well.

     Nor even at night is he oblivious to their needs. He sleeps

as it were "with one eye and both ears open" ready at the least

sign of trouble to leap up and protect his own.

     This is a sublime picture of the care given to those whose

lives are under Christ's control. He knows all about their lives

from morning to night. "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us

with benefits - even the God of our salvation." "He that keepeth

thee will not slumber or sleep."

     In spite of having such a master and owner, the fact remains

that some Christians are still not content with His control. They

are somewhat dissatisfied, always feeling that somehow the grass

beyond the fence must be a little greener. These are carnal

Christians - one might almost call them "fence crawlers" or "half

Christians" who want the best of both worlds.

     I once owned an ewe whose conduct exactly typified this sort

of person. She was one of the most attractive sheep that ever

belonged to me. Her body was beautifully proportioned. She had a

strong constitution and an excellent coat of wool. Her head was

clean, alert, well-set with bright eyes. She bore sturdy lambs

that matured rapidly.

     But in spite of all these attractive attributes she had one

pronounced fault. She was restless - discontented - a fence

crawler. So much so that I came to call her "Mrs.Gad-about."

This one ewe produced more problems for me than almost all the

rest of the flock combined. No matter what field or pasture the

sheep were in, she would search all along the fences or shoreline

(we lived by the sea) looking for a loophole she could crawl

through and start to feed on the other side.

     It was not that she lacked pasturage. My fields were my joy

and delight. No sheep in the district had better grazing.

     With "Mrs.Gad-about" it was an ingrained habit. She was

simply never contented with things as they were. Often when she

had forced her way through some such spot in a fence or found a

way around the end of the wire at low tide on the beaches, she

would end up feeding on bare, brown, burned-up pasturage of a

most inferior sort.

     But she never learned her lesson and continued to fence

crawl time after time.

     Now it would have been bad enough if she was the only one

who did this. It was a sufficient problem to find her and bring

her back. But the further point was that she taught her lambs the

same tricks. They simply followed her example and soon were as

skilled at escaping as their mother.

     Even worse, however, was the example she set the other

sheep. In a short time she began to lead others through the same

holes and over the same dangerous paths down by the sea. After

putting up with her perverseness for a summer I finally came to

the conclusion that to save the rest of the flock from becoming

unsettled, she would have to go. I could not allow one obstinate,

discontented ewe to ruin the whole ranch operation. It was a

difficult decision to make, for I loved her in the same way I

loved the rest. Her strength and beauty and alertness were a

delight to the eye.

     But one morning I took the killing knife in hand and

butchered her. Her career of fence crawling was cut short. It was

the only solution to the dilemma.

     She was a sheep, who in spite of all that I had done to give

her the very best care - still wanted something else. She was not

like the one who said, "The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not

want."

     It is a solemn warning to the carnal Christian - backslider

- the half-Christian - the one who wants the best of both worlds.

     Sometimes in short order they can be cut down.

                             ................

To be continued