Sept 21 - Psalm 23:1

The Lord is my shepherd,

I shall not want.

Psalm 23:1

KJV

Yesterday we examined Psalm 22, saying it was one of the most important passages of scripture because of the precision of its prophecy. Today we begin looking at Psalm 23, another of the most significant passages of scripture.

There is a very different reason, however, that Psalm 23 is so important.

•       In eight short verses, this beloved Psalm paints a powerful picture of the character of God. As a shepherd, our Lord is gentle. He knows us, loves us, and cares for us.
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•       Next, the character of God wraps us in a blanket of comfort and grace. It reminds us, for example, that “⁴ even when [we] walk through the dark valley of death, [we need] not be afraid, for [God our gentle shepherd is] close beside [us].”

The first blessing from God’s shepherding care reads like this, “Because God is my caring shepherd …”

•      “I have everything I need” (NLT),
•      “I lack nothing” (CJB),
•      “I will not be without any good thing” (BBE).

These translations reflect the abundant provision of our generous God.

But those aren’t my favorite translations of this verse. I still like the old King James (“I shall not want”) and the famous NIV which reads, “The Lord is my shepherd, [therefore] I shall not be in want.”

I obviously added the “therefore” in that last passage, but shouldn’t the Lord being our shepherd be the very reason that we 1) don’t have want and 2) don’t keep wanting more than what God already supplies? The first reason – “we don’t have want” – echoes the generosity of God found in some of the more modern translations. But what I hear in through the NIV is, secondly, a very conscious choice:

•      God is generous.
•      He constantly provides.
•      I can choose to keep wanting more and more …
•      or I can be thankful for what I have, seeing it as generosity for God that I as dumb sheep don’t deserve! 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who doesn’t want

to be in want

“God you are sufficient for me”