A SHEPHERD LOOKS AT PSALM 23 #4

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 #4

Resting by the Still Waters

                     HE LEADS ME BESIDE THE STILL WATERS

     ALTHOUGH SHEEP THRIVE in dry, semi-arid country, 

they still require water. They are not like some of the African 

gazelles which can survive fairly well on the modest amount 

of moisture found in natural forage.

     It will be noticed that here again the key or the clue to

where water can be obtained lies with the shepherd. It is he who

knows where the best drinking places are. In fact very often he

is the one who with much effort and industry has provided the

watering places. And it is to these spots that he leads the

flock.

     But before thinking about the water sources themselves, we

do well to understand the role of water in the animal body and

why it is so essential for its well-being. The body of an animal

such as a sheep is composed of about 70 percent water on an

average. This fluid is used to maintain normal body metabolism;

it is a portion of every cell, contributing to its turgidity and

normal life functions. Water determines the vitality, strength

and vigor of the sheep and is essential to its health and general

well-being.

     If the supply of water for an animal drops off, bodily

desiccation sets in. This dehydration of the tissues can result

in serious damage to them. It can also mean that the animal

becomes weak and impoverished.

     Any animal is made aware of water lack by thirst. Thirst

indicates the need of the body to have its water supply

replenished from a source outside itself.

     Now, just as the physical body has a capacity and need for

water, so Scripture points out to us clearly that the human

personality, the human soul has a capacity and need for the 

water of the Spirit of the eternal God.

     When sheep are thirsty they become restless and set out in

search of water to satisfy their thirst. If not led to the good

water supplies of clean, pure water, they will often end up

drinking from the polluted pot holes where they pick up such

internal parasites as nematodes, liver flukes or other disease

germs.

     And in precisely the same manner Christ, our Good Shepherd,

made it clear that thirsty souls of men and women can only be

fully satisfied when their capacity and thirst for spiritual life

is fully quenched by drawing on Himself.

     In Matthew 5:6 He said, "Blessed are they which do hunger

and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled

[satisfied]."

     At the great feast in Jerusalem He declared boldly, "If any

man thirst, let him come unto me and drink."

     "To drink" in spiritual terminology simply means "take in" -

or "to accept" - or "to believe." That is to say it implies that

a person accepts and assimilates the very life of God in Christ

to the point where it becomes a part of him.

     The difficulty in all of this is that men and women who are

"thirsty" for God (who do have a deep inner sense of searching

and seeking; who are in quest of that which will completely

satisfy) often are unsure of where to look or really what they

are looking for. Their inner spiritual capacity for God and

divine life is desiccated and in their dilemma they will drink

from any dirty pool to try and satisfy their thirst for

fulfilment.

     Saint Augustine of Africa summed it up so well when he

wrote, "O God! Thou hast made us for Thyself and our souls are

restless, searching, 'til they find their rest in Thee."

     All the long and complex history of earth's religions, pagan

worship and human philosophy is bound up with this insatiable

thirst for God.

     David, when he composed Psalm 23, knew this. Looking at life

from the standpoint of a sheep he wrote, "He [the Good Shepherd]

leadeth me beside the still waters." In other words, He alone

knows where the still, quiet, deep, clean, pure water is to be

found that alone can satisfy His sheep and keep them fit and

strong.

     Generally speaking, water for the sheep came from three main

sources ... dew on the grass ... deep wells ... or springs and streams. 

     Most people are not aware that sheep can go for months on

end, especially if the weather is not too hot, without actually

drinking, if there is heavy dew on the grass each morning. Sheep,

by habit, rise just before dawn and start to feed. Or if there is

bright moonlight they will graze at night. The early hours are

when the vegetation is drenched with dew, and sheep can keep fit

on the amount of water taken in with their forage when they graze

just before and after dawn.

     Of course, dew is a clear, clean, pure source of water. And

there is no more resplendent picture of still waters than the

silver droplets of the dew hanging heavy on leaves and grass at

break of day.

     The good shepherd, the diligent manager, makes sure that his

sheep can be out and grazing on this dew drenched vegetation. 

If necessary it will mean he himself has to rise early to be out

with his flock. On the home ranch or afield he will see to it that 

his sheep benefit from this early grazing.

     In the Christian life it is of more than passing significance 

to observe that those who are often the most serene, most 

confident and able to cope with life's complexities are those 

who  rise early each day to feed on God's Word. It is in the quiet, 

early hours of the morning that they are led beside the quiet, 

still waters where they imbibe the very life of Christ for

the day. This is much more than mere figure of speech. It is

practical reality. The biographies of the great men and women 

of God repeatedly point out how the secret of the success in their

spiritual life was attributed to the "quiet time" of each morning. 

There, alone, still, waiting for the Master's voice one is led gently 

to the place where as the old hymn puts it, "The still dews of His 

Spirit can be dropped into my life and soul."  

(It is a false idea that there is something special about the

morning. Many a so-called "famous" Bible teachers have never 

come to the reality of the truths of the Bible. The morning worship,

or afternoon worship, or evening worship, did nothing, and is

still doing nothing for tens of millions of people around the

world, when it comes to being led by the Spirit into all truth.

It is part to do with God; He will lead when He chooses to lead

into truth; and it is part to do with man; the heart must be in

the right condition to being taught, corrected, guided, into the

more perfect understanding of the Lord. And that heart-set must

be for all day, not just the morning - Keith Hunt)

 

     One comes away from these hours of meditation, reflection

and communion with Christ refreshed in mind and spirit. The

thirst is slaked and the heart is quietly satisfied.

     In my mind's eye I can see my flock again. The gentleness,

stillness and softness of early morning always found my sheep

knee deep in dew drenched grass. There they fed heavily and

contentedly. As the sun rose and its heat burned the dewdrops

from the leaves, the flock would retire to find shade. There,

fully satisfied and happily refreshed, they would lie down to

rest and ruminate through the day. Nothing pleased me more.

I am confident this is precisely the same reaction in My Master's

heart and mind when I meet the day in the same way. He loves to

see me contented, quiet, at rest and relaxed He delights to know

my soul and spirit have been refreshed and satisfied. But the

irony of life, and tragic truth for most Christians, is that this

is not so. It is often the case that they try, instead, to satisfy their 

thirst by pursuing almost every other sort of substitute.

     For their minds and intellects they will pursue knowledge,

science, academic careers, vociferous reading or off-beat

companions. But somehow they are always left panting and

dissatisfied.

     Some of my friends have been among the most learned and

highly respected scientists and professors in the country. Yet,

often, about them there is a strange yearning, an unsatisfied

thirst which all their learning, all their knowledge, all their

achievements have not satisfied.   

  

     To appease the craving of their souls and emotions men and

women will turn to the arts, to culture, to music, to literary

forms, trying to find fulfilment. And again, so often, these are

amongst the most jaded and dejected of people.

     Amongst my acquaintances are some outstanding authors and

artists. Yet it is significant that to many of them life is a mockery. 

They have tried drinking deeply from the wells of the world only 

to turn away unsatisfied - unquenched in their soul's thirst.

     There are those who, to quench this thirst in their parched

lives, have attempted to find refreshment in all sorts of

physical pursuits and activities. They try travel. Or they

participate feverishly in sports. They attempt adventures of all

sorts, or indulge in social activities. They take up hobbies or

engage in community efforts. But when all is said and everything

has been done they find themselves facing the same haunting,

hollow, empty, unfilled thirst within.

(Ah, that is why it is a two sided coin; it takes God calling and

leading to His truth and the one being called, to accept and to

hunger for righteousness and the truths of God's word - Keith

Hunt)

     The ancient prophet Jeremiah put it very bluntly when he

declared, "My people ... they have forsaken me the fountain of

living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that

can hold no water" (Jeremiah 2:13).

     It is a compelling picture. It is an accurate portrayal of

broken lives - of shattered hopes - of barren souls that are

dried up and parched and full of the dust of despair.

     Among young people, especially the "beat" generation, the

recourse to drugs, to alcohol, to sexual adventure in a mad

desire to assuage their thirst is classic proof that such sordid

indulgences are no substitute for the Spirit of the living God.

These poor people are broken cisterns. Their lives are a misery.

I have yet to talk to a truly happy "hippie." Their faces show

the desperation within.

     And amid all this chaos of a confused, sick society, Christ

comes quietly as of old, and invites us to come to Him. He

invites us to follow Him. He invites us to put our confidence in

Him. For He it is who best knows how we can be satisfied. He

knows the human heart, the human personality, the human soul with

its amazing capacity for God can never be satisfied with a

substitute. Only the Spirit and life of Christ Himself will

satisfy the thirsting soul.

(It is true many are searching for something .... but they do not

know what, they are wanting something more than what they are

getting out of life. Then there are many who are quite happy in

their walk of life without "God" or "religion" in any form. For

those being called and chosen by God to inherit the first

resurrection, indeed they will have the heart and mind-set to

hunger and thirst after righteousness, and Jesus did say that

such would indeed be filled. They will be led to the clear still

waters of spiritual truth - Keith Hunt)

     Now, strange as it may appear on the surface, the deep wells

of God from which we may drink are not always necessarily the

delightful experiences we may imagine them to be.

     I recall clearly standing under the blazing equatorial sun

of Africa and watching the native herds being led to their

owner's water wells. Some of these were enormous, hand-hewn

caverns cut from the sandstone formation along the sandy rivers.

They were like great rooms chiselled out of the rocks with ramps

running down to the water trough at the bottom. The herds and

flocks were led down into these deep cisterns where cool, clear,

clean water awaited them.

     But down in the well, stripped naked, was the owner 

bailing water to satisfy the flock. It was hard, heavy, hot 

work. Perspiration poured off the body of the bailer whose 

skin glistened under the strain and heat of his labor. As I 

stood there watching the animals quench their thirst at the 

still waters I was again immensely impressed by the fact that

everything hinged and depended upon the diligence of the 

owner, the shepherd. Only through his energy, his efforts, 

his sweat, his strength could the sheep be satisfied.

     In the Christian life exactly the same applies. Many of the

places we may be led into will appear to us as dark, deep,

dangerous and somewhat disagreeable. But it simply must be

remembered that He is there with us in it. He is very much at

work in the situation. It is His energy, effort and strength

expended on my behalf that even in this deep, dark place is 

bound to produce a benefit for me.

     It is there that I will discover He only can really satisfy

me. It is He who makes sense and purpose and meaning come 

out  of situations which otherwise would be but a mockery to me. 

Suddenly life starts to have significance. I discover I am the object 

of His special care and attention. Dignity and direction come into

the events of my life and I see them sorting themselves out into

a definite pattern of usefulness. All of this is refreshing, stimulating, 

invigorating. My thirst for reality in life is assuaged and I discover 

that I have found that satisfaction in my Master.

(Yes, for those who are called, if they move on to be chosen, if

they love the Lord with all their heart, mind, and life, they

will be led to the true waters of spiritual understanding and

insight, that life with the true God is very satisfying, even if

some of the trails have thorn bushes to navigate around or

through - Keith Hunt)

     Of course there is always a percentage of perverse people

who will refuse to allow God to lead them. They insist on running

their own lives and following the dictates of their own wills.

They insist they can be masters of their own destinies even if

ultimately such destinies are destructive. They don't want to be

directed by the Spirit of God - they don't want to be led by Him

- they want to walk in their own ways and drink from any old

source that they fancy might satisfy their whims.

(Sad to say, but Jesus did say that many are called but few are

chosen. Many who are called to hear the truths of God, push it

aside, reject it, simply do not want to be led by the Spirit of

the Lord - Keith Hunt)

     They remind me very much of a bunch of sheep I watched one

day which were being led down to a magnificent mountain stream.

The snow-fed waters were flowing pure and clear and crystal clean

between lovely banks of trees. But on the way several stubborn

ewes and their lambs stopped, instead, to drink from small,

dirty, muddy pools beside the trail. The water was filthy and

polluted not only with the churned up mud from the passing sheep

but even with the manure and urine of previous flocks that had

passed that way. Still these stubborn sheep were quite sure it

was the best drink obtainable.

     The water itself was filthy and unfit for them. Much more,

it was obviously contaminated with nematodes and liver fluke 

eggs that would eventually riddle them with internal parasites 

and disease of destructive impact.

     People often try this pursuit or that with the casual comment, 

"So, what? I can't see that it's going to do any harm!"

Little do they appreciate that often there is a delayed reaction

and that considerable time may elapse before the full impact of

their misjudgment strikes home. Then suddenly they are in deep

trouble and wonder why.

     To offset these dangers and guard against them God invites

us to allow ourselves to be led and guided by His own gracious

Spirit. Much of the emphasis and teaching of the Pauline Epistles

in the New Testament is that the child of God should not end up

in difficulty. Galatians 5 and Romans 8 bring this out very

clearly.

     Jesus' own teaching to His twelve disciples just before His

death, given to us in John 14 through 17, points out that the

gracious Holy Spirit was to be given to lead us into truth. He

would come as a guide and counsellor. Always He would lead us

into the things of Christ. He would make us see that the life in

Christ was the only truly satisfying life. We would discover the

delight of having our souls satisfied with His presence. It would

be He who would become to us very meat and drink - that as His

resurrection, over coming life was imparted to me by His Spirit;

each day I would be refreshed and satisfied.

(Yes indeed friends, it could well be that you reading from this

Website are called to grow in grace and knowledge. Jesus promised

us that the Spirit would lead into all truth. Maybe you have been

given some truths already, and now the Lord wants you to have

more. Then again, maybe you are brand new to the calling of God,

and He has led you to this Website. You will find on here,

spiritual studies for any spiritual age you may be in at the

present. It is my prayer that you will cry out to the Father and

to Christ, to be led by the Spirit into the wonderment and joy

and peace, that comes from being led to the still waters that can

quench a thirsty soul - Keith Hunt)

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

To be continued