Dwell

Psalm 23. One hundred and fourteen words of comfort for believers across centuries. Six simple verses describe the Shepherd as He delicately cares, fiercely protects, and fearlessly guides His sheep.

Unlike most other psalms, it is not a prayer of petition, a lament of trouble, or a call for refuge. The twenty-third psalm is a thankful observance of deep provision, peace, protection, prosperity, and presence.

Of its essential nature to the believer, William Evans says:

The world could afford to spare many a magnificent library better than it could dispense with this little psalm of six verses.

Psalm 23 is almost surely the most famous chapter in the Bible. The trees of both Christianity and Judaism are existentially planted on the banks of the still waters where peace overtakes anxiety, at the crest of rolling green pasture where shaded restoration is available to the depleted pilgrims of the age.

And while so many understand the basic idea of God as a Shepherd, there are far too many weary, aching, exhausted sheep to show any evidence that we have collectively allowed our lives to be restored in any meaningful way by the all-too-familiar Shepherd.

This sermon series intends to provide a path for us, the sheep, to find our way back into the restorative arms of the Good Shepherd and to, as Tim Keller put it, consider whether or not we’ve really incorporated the “shepherdness” of Jesus into our understanding of God.

Our prayer is that many will approach familiar words and find the deep rest, renewal, and restoration that only the True Shepherd can provide.