Above the altar at our Water of Life Racine Campus is a beautiful stained-glass window of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. He is holding two lambs in his arms. A dozen sheep are close by. A blue stream and verdant hills are in the background.
With that image in front of our worshipers for decades, the majority of the saints from our church have asked me to preach on either John 10 – the Good Shepherd chapter – or Psalm 23 – the Lord is my Shepherd chapter.
“The King of Love My Shepherd Is” paraphrases Psalm 23 in poetry that is then paired with a traditional Irish melody from the 18th century.
Verse one: The King of love my shepherd is, whose goodness fails me never; I nothing lack if I am his, and he is mine forever.
“The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing” (Psalm 23:1). This is the theme of the whole psalm. Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want for anything – I will lack nothing! No uncertainty should frighten us. Old Testament shepherds did not have fancy fences like we have in our country and frequently the shepherd spent day and night with his sheep in the field. He would doctor the sheep, bind up their wounds, carry the little lambs in his arms. At nighttime he would bring them into a cave and lie down in front of the opening to protect them from wolves or other predators which might try to attack them. He was ready to lay down his life for his sheep.
The Lord has this type of love, even deeper still for us. We cannot really understand the 23rd Psalm apart from John 10 where Jesus says of himself: “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep” (John 10:11). Jesus came to heal our sicknesses, to bind up our wounds and to carry the little children in his loving arms. He came to protect us from the most vicious enemies such as sin, death and the devil. In his love he gave his life to protect us from them. His goodness fails us never.
Verse two: Where streams of living water flow, my Savior gently leads me, and where the verdant pastures grow, with food celestial feeds me.
“He causes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters” (Psalm 23:2).
Jesus exchanges this temporary, earthly beauty for a permanent, idyllic outdoor setting of green pastures and quiet waters. It is a new home that was prepared for all the Good Shepherd’s lambs and sheep when Jesus laid down his life on the cross and then he had his lifeless body laid in the tomb, and then when he powerfully brought that body back to life again on Easter morning.
Verse three: Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, but yet in love he sought me and on his shoulder gently laid and home, rejoicing, brought me.
“Perverse and foolish” isn’t a flattering description, but unfortunately it is an accurate one. In our fallen, sinful state, we are perverse and foolish. Even though we know the Word and will of God, we often choose instead to follow our own sinful desires and listen to the tempting voices of the world around us.
Yet we have a Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine other sheep to search for the lost, perverse, and foolish single sheep. The King of love seeks out each wandering sheep and gently lays it across his shoulders – shoulders that once bore the cruel weight of the cross for us. “He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3).
Verse four: In death’s dark vale I fear no ill with you, dear Lord, beside me, your rod and staff my comfort still, your cross before to guide me.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). Jesus walks with his saints through the dark valley of death. He isn’t a hired hand who flees when he sees trouble or death approaching. Jesus has already walked through this dark valley of death himself. He knows the way because he walked through it with his own death on the cross. He knows every inch of this dark valley.
Verse five: You spread a table in my sight, a banquet here bestowing; your oil of welcome, my delight; my cup is overflowing!
David had been a shepherd before he was anointed to be king. The picture David uses in Psalm 23 to illustrate God’s care for his people shifts from the more figurative picture of a shepherd to the more literal picture of a king. “You set a table for me in the presence of my foes. You drench my head with oil. My cup is overflowing” (Psalm 23:5). This is an easy transition because ancient Near Eastern kings were often called the shepherds of their people. A king invited his most honored associates to live in his palace. The king would spread out rich banquet tables at which the members of his court could feast. The King of Love sets out a feast in heaven for those he loves – for those whom he loved enough to suffer, die, rise, and ascend into heaven.
Verse six: And so through all the length of days your goodness fails me never; Good Shepherd, may I sing your praise within your house forever!
The 23rd Psalm concludes with a familiar and comforting thought: “Surely goodness and mercy will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6). The psalmist is not referring to a place as much as he is to a Person. Notice that the 23rd Psalm begins and ends with “the Lord.” As believers, we long to be in the Lord’s house because then we can be in our Lord’s presence. The ultimate goal of our lives on this earth will be to receive a face-to-face relationship with our Lord for eternity. Instead of vague uncertainty about the afterlife, we have confidence. We Christians will enjoy a never-ending fellowship with God the moment we draw our last earthly breath. What assurance! That is exactly what Jesus Christ promises those who believe in him – not merely “I hope so,” but “I know!” In our Good Shepherd we truly have everything we need.