Today's Reading - Psalm 1-2, 15, 22-24, 47, 68
Background
The Psalms we read today are powerful! They seem to have a dual meaning, pointing both to God's grace and care in suffering and to a messianic hope.
Psalm 1 speaks of a life planted in faithful obedience.
Psalm 2 highlights the false confidence of those who trust in self and who think that men run this world. God's sovereignty is glorified.
Psalm 15 describes the man who can dwell in God's presence. This is not a path to salvation by works, but a description of the life that a redeemed person lives to please God.
Psalms 22-24 have strong messianic implications. The 22nd Psalm begins with the abandonment quote Jesus used on the Cross and the some believe that 22:31 has hints of the phrase, "It is finished." It does seem to be a Psalm that strongly points to the sufferings of Christ on the cross. Psalm 23 points to Jesus as the Good Shepherd and Psalm 24 glorifies him as the coming King.
Psalm 47 returns to the theme of both Psalm 2 and Psalm 24, God's reign over the nations.
Psalm 68 does the same, including some of the history of Israel in the process.
These are victorious Psalms, focusing on God's sovereignty in the lives of his people, and the requirement that we respond in obedience.
Devotional - My Good Shepherd
Familiarity breeds contempt, they say, but in biblical interpretation, it clearly breeds carelessness. When we know a passage as well as we know the 23rd Psalm, we can assume that we know what it is saying when we don't. David the shepherd used his work as a youth to describe the work of God as a Good Shepherd of his sheep. We must be careful we understand what David said and not simply assume we understand.
First of all, this passage and its promises do not apply to you unless the first phrase does. "The Lord is my shepherd." You can only claim these blessings if you are his sheep, walking in obedience and being guided by the good shepherd of your soul, Jesus Christ. If Jesus is your Lord, your boss, then great promises come to you. If he is not, then none of this is yours.
The first blessing is that you will have everything that you need - not what you want but what your soul (and your body too) genuinely needs. God takes care of those who put themselves in his hands.
Verses 2-3 list four positive blessings that come have a good shepherd. He leads us to green pastures where our souls can be fed from his word and by his Spirit. He gives our souls rest and peace because we know he is watching over us. Sheep trust the shepherd and we can trust ours. Life wears us down and stresses us out, but he renews us with the streams of living water flowing from Christ. And he guides us down the paths that are safe and right and good. Sheep need to be protected from spiritual predators of life and our shepherd does that as we walk the path he leads us on.
David knew what it was like to walk through deep dark valleys. What we usually think of as "the valley of the shadow of death" actually has little to do with death. It simply refers to those moments of darkness, sorrow, pain - the dark night of the soul. When you walk through the deepest valleys of life, when the sun is darkened by hurt and pain, you know that your Savior is there with you, guiding you with his rod and staff, and blessing you with his presence. He never leaves us or forsakes us, even in the darkest moments of life.
Even though enemies surround us, God sets a table of blessing for us and gives us a feast with him. God does not so much GIVE us a feast as he IS our feast! He also anoints our heads with oil. This could mean so many things, but in the context here, it seems to speak of joy - that joy deep inside that comes from God.
The last couple of verses are often the most misunderstood. When David spoke of "dwelling in the house of the Lord forever" he was not thinking of eternity, but of living constantly in the presence of God in uninterrupted fellowship. When the Lord is our shepherd, we can walk with him in constant joy and peace, in the consistent and powerful presence of God.
Of course, eternity awaits but that isn't the point here. The point is that we get to live our lives in the presence of the Good Shepherd who loves us and will never let us down.
Thank you, Father, for the Good Shepherd who takes care of me every day.
Think and Pray
Meditate on the blessings that come when "the Lord is your shepherd."
Is Jesus your shepherd? Are you walking in obedience or in rebellion?
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