The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters; He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil;
For you are with me; Your rod and Your staff-they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

I have prayed this psalm prayer countless times as I have brought communion to those who are homebound. Most of us probably know this psalm by heart. Many books have been written about it, especially about the nature of the shepherd or pastor and what he will do for his flock. It is obviously seen as a psalm that tells us about what God does for us, not what he thinks about what we are by nature as sinners.

Notice that this psalm of trust or confidence does not even include a confession of sins. It is the prayer of one who knows what it means to be dependent on someone else. Our own thoughts turn so often to how we must take care of ourselves, carry out our own plans, make our own happiness, and exercise our own freedom. But sheep are not free when they are apart from their shepherd. They are in great danger. My friend and now retired farmer and pastor, Elwood Bush, was the first one to tell me how dumb sheep are. They can be close to water and die of thirst. It is thus not completely complimentary when we are all described as the sheep of God's pasture. But our intelligence about being god in our own lives is where we go wrong.

The shepherd will do everything to keep the sheep alive and safe. I would be scared silly to have the responsibility of watching out for the welfare of such animals but Kathy and I have seen many eight to ten year old boys and girls with the sheep. David the king simply got a different kind of sheep when he became king. But he knew what it was to be in a life and death struggle with the wolf or bear. Pastors are in that life and death struggle for the souls of the members of their flock. But they are not alone when they pastor.

Our Lord knows the battle better than anyone. Our safety and security, for all eternity, comes because he laid down his life for the sheep. Though impossible for us to comprehend, His Father's wrath against those who wandered away and were to die forever was taken by our Lord, dying to gift us with what the psalm promises for all eternity.

Note what happens in the psalm. I never noticed this until I set out once upon a time to memorize the psalm with some of my Hebrew students. It goes from him to you, from speaking about God to speaking to him, in thanks and praise. The psalmist is telling others about trust in God's mercy and then turns automatically to praising God. Then he turns back to tell the congregation about the greatness of God's mercy to him, for his whole life. For us that whole life long is one that will be forever. When he calls to us to come back in repentance, it is not that we need to fear, but to come back into his arms with rejoicing. We then get to be the under-shepherds who share his love with others. Every day is a good day for that.

In Christ our Lord and Savior,
Pastor Thomas Trapp