TWENTY-THIRD PSALM

Verse 2
Gary Waddell • Victory Ministries Middle Tennessee • 12/30/2022

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters”    (Ps 23:2).   

• He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.  Our LORD God gently places us in His pasture. Note that these are green pastures, (lush pastures) and not parched or sun-baked fields.  These parched fields are offered by this world we live in.  Our willingness to follow Him displays our obedience to God. The psalmist shows us that the LORD has a place of comfort for each of us if we are willing.  When we have ‘received’ Jesus as our Savior (Jn 1:12), He places us in a pasture of safety.  It is a place of peace. My thoughts are that the place is in the arms of Jesus.  The grand old hymn, ‘Safe in the arms of Jesus’ (Fanny Crosby, 1868) explains it: Safe in the arms of Jesus, Safe on His gentle breast, There by His love o’ershaded, Sweetly my soul shall rest. In that pasture your soul shall have rest and comfort.  Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:” (Jn 14:27a).

• He leadeth beside still waters.  (Not stagnant waters)  Many times in life we see a calm and peaceful stream turned into a raging, turbulent flow of water.  As I was looking up global statistics of deaths from flooding around the world, I found varying figures of people killed by torrents of water.  All of the stats were in the tens of thousands of deaths.  After the flood, the river or stream usually returns to its calm self, but we are still amazed at how the waters had become so violent.  God can give you still waters even in this violent, ever-changing world. We must trust Him.   Jesus will lead us, but we must follow. Do you remember this verse used in a previous message? “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (Jn 10:27). We will follow Him as He leads us to those still and calm waters.

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters”

While we pray for wisdom from above, we should also pray for rest.
Rest in the arms of Jesus.

Thanks for “Taking 5" • Victory Ministries Middle Tennessee
www.iamnotashamed.com • God bless and bless GOD

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TWENTY-THIRD PSALM

Verse 1

Gary Waddell • Victory Ministries Middle Tennessee • 12/28/2022

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want”     (Ps 23:1).

King David could identify with this Psalm because he was a shepherd in his past life. In many circles being a shepherd was a ‘low’ occupation but among those who owned herds of sheep, it was an extremely important job. David compares the Lord to a Shepherd who provides everything. He surrenders completely to the LORD and in this verse, he states that he belongs to the LORD.   A sheep is a possession.

• The LORD is capitalized in the Old Testament and there is a lot written about that. After reading through the entire Bible numerous times, I personally, cannot tell you the exact reason it is capitalized however, it is of extreme importance. “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11).  GOD said it, and I believe it.

• David uses the phrase “my shepherd” and not ‘the shepherd’. Again, he is letting all know that he is ‘owned’ by the LORD. In some defintions the word Lord indicates an overseer or ‘boss’.  Like us today, the Lord is our boss. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Note that Jesus says we belong to Him. That is ‘ownership’.   We have two choices:  Belong to Jesus or to this world.

• I shall not want:  The LORD is our Provider. There is nothing we need that the LORD hasn’t provided if we trust Him. Why should any of us look elsewhere?  As a man who has received Jesus decades ago, I have made that mistake only to find out the God gives me what I need.  Sometimes we need to be still and wait on Him. “Be still, and know that I am God:” (Ps 46:10).  God will take care of us.   “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19).  He has ‘sealed’ us: “in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” (Eph 1:13b).  So if we belong to Him, we have all that we need since our relationship with God is sealed within us.

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want”
Satisfied with what the Lord gives us without complaint.

Thanks for “Taking 5" • Victory Ministries Middle Tennessee
www.iamnotashamed.com • God bless and bless GOD

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