A Spotlight on the Scriptures: Psalms 23:1-2 (part 2)

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This is a Spotlight on the Scripture. Let’s continue to look at Psalms 23: 1-2 (part 2) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

David said, “I shall not want.” What is it that I need? Well, sheep need safety and protection. I'm a sheep, a stupid little animal and so are you. Therefore, my Shepherd sees to my needs. He protects me, he defends me, He keeps me, He guards me. When a little sheep says, “I shall not want,” my spiritual needs will be met, my directional, emotional, and physical needs will be met, and when everything is said and done, my eternal will be met. “I shall never perish,” it is because I have a wonderful Shepherd. “I shall not want” looks into the future and gives assurance to the child of God. The security of the believer rests upon the Shepherd. And the believer's conclusion rests upon his declaration.

Not only do sheep need safety and protection, but Sheep also need tranquility and contentment. That’s why “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” That is tranquility. If you talk with any shepherd, he will tell you that a hungry sheep will not lie down. When sheep are lying down in green pastures, it means they have their stomachs full. And Christ is our tranquility and contentment. “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst” (Joh_6:35).

The shepherd also leadeth me beside the still waters. “Listen Sheep are frightened by choppy water. And they don't like stationary water. They don't want to drink where the pigs drink. All of this applies to us, the people of God. We need rest in our day—not so much physical or mental rest, but rest of the soul. Remember what David said in Psa_55:6: “Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away and be at rest.” He wanted to get away from it all. (Do you ever feel that way) But he found out that getting away from it all did not solve his problems. He had to learn to put his trust in the Lord, rest in Him, and wait patiently upon Him. The Lord Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will rest you” (Mat_11:28). Remember that our Great Shepherd Jesus Christ, (according to Colossians 2:14-15). has canceled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Listen to the Illustration that I heard, In 1954, there was a landmark Supreme Court decision. It was Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education, which ended segregation in public education. Did it stop racism in school? Absolutely not, but since then when a lawyer stands up in a courtroom, he can reference the Brown v. Topeka, Kansas Board of Education case today. It was a landmark decision.

In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. It was a landmark decision. In 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment gave the right to vote and it was a landmark decision. In 1964, was the Civil Right Act, another landmark decision that gave equal opportunity to all. Now, does that mean that all of the evils that those decisions were designed to address went away? Absolutely not, but what it does mean is that there is something in the past to use in an appeal when mess shows up in the present. Listen when mess shows up and somebody wants to deny a child the right to attend a certain school, a lawyer can reach back to the legal decision made in 1964 that frees people of color to go to any publ

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