The
Shepherd of our Souls
Psalm
22:6-11
“But
I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. All
those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head,
saying, "He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him,
since He delights in Him!" But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You
made Me trust while on My mother's breasts. I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother's womb You have been My God. Be not far from Me, For trouble is
near; For there is none to help.”
Yesterday,
I failed to mention the inscription that goes with this Psalm. The title is:
“To the Chief Musician. Set to the ‘Deer of the Dawn.’ A Psalm of David.” We are not sure when or what conditions David
was under when he wrote this Psalm. It appears that David meant for this Psalm
to be given to the “Master Musician” who led a special choir of Israel and sung
to a popular tune of his day called the ‘Deer of the Dawn’.
Today
we are going to see how Psalms 22, 23, and 24 form a trilogy on Christ the
Shepherd. Just like Psalms 20 and 21 go together as prayer and praise Psalms,
these three Psalms give us a clear picture of how the Lord Jesus Christ is the
Shepherd of our Souls.
In
Psalm 22, we see how Jesus is the Good Shepherd Who suffers and dies for the
sheep He loves. The companion New Testament passage is John 10:1-18. In John
10:11-15 Jesus is speaking and He says, “I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the
shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the
sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling
flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good
shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me,
even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”
Throughout
the Old Testament the sheep had to be sacrificed for the sinful shepherds but
now, Jesus, the Good Shepherd voluntarily lays down His life and dies for the
sheep! Psalm 22 shares with us the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual
suffering of Jesus on the Cross.
In
Psalm 23, we see how the Great Shepherd lives for the sheep and cares for them. The companion New Testament passage is found
in Hebrews 13:20-21. “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus
from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the
everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will,
working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to
whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Our
“Great Shepherd”, Jesus Christ is able to meet every need we have every day in
our Christian walk! You can always trust that He will lead you, feed you,
comfort you, and will never leave or forsake you!
In
Psalm 24, the Chief Shepherd returns in glory to reward His sheep for their
service. The companion New Testament passage is found in 1 Peter 5:1-4. Peter
reminded the elders that he had “witnessed the suffering of Christ” and
was instructing them to “shepherd the flock of God” as good
examples. Because one day, “When the
Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade
away” (v. 4).
My
friend, the Lord Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd Who died for us. He is our
Great Shepherd Who lives for us and one day He will come back for us as the
Chief Shepherd.
Read
these last verses of Psalm 24 and rejoice!
“Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting
doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD
strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is
this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah (Ps.
24:7-10)
God
bless!
