Scripture: Psalm 23
You’ve heard a lot about my dog Ringo over the years. You know my great affection for him. But we have two other creatures in the house, Wally and Cash. They are cats. I love cats, always have. But whoo… These two are something… Especially the cat named Wally. Imagine putting him down in any room in your house and thinking to yourself, “Where do I least want him to go right now? What is the worst thing in this room that he can get into? What is the most harmful, most destructive thing that he could do at this moment?” Ask yourself those questions, because in a matter of moments, that’s precisely where you’ll find him… that’s precisely what you’ll find him doing! Every time!
I’m serious. He is the worst.
Just last week, in fact, on Monday—my day off—I bought a roll of clear plastic sheeting… often used for storm windows, for instance. And a T-square. And with some velcro “Command” strips, I created transparent plastic “guards” to cover six bookshelves worth vinyl records! Why? Because to my horror, Wally the cat has used at least some of those records as a scratching post… he has ruined the spines of dozens of record covers!
I’ve tried water pistols. Nothing keeps him away. He is trouble. Like I say, he is the worst.
And, oh yeah… I love him. Because when finally his reign of terror temporarily ends, which happens when he gets sleepy, and he snuggles up in my lap, and goes to sleep, it’s the best… I’m like, “I know what I’m doing for the next hour.” Because there is a cat in my lap.
But still… Wally gives us so little, yet he takes so much!
But I must love this cat because… without fail… every single day… Wally always gets exactly what he needs to survive… and thrive. It doesn’t even matter how poorly he treats us! He knows that at 7:00 every morning, and 7:00 every night, he can run over to the closet where we keep the cat food container, and he will get the food he needs. He knows we will give him fresh water. And fresh litter. And take him to the vet.
That’s what we do because we are his humans and he owns us… No, no, just kidding… We own him. We are his masters. We are in charge of him. We are responsible for him. We take care of him. He is a treasure to us!
And this brings us to the subject of Psalm 23, one of the most beloved passages of scripture, which is all about a good shepherd and his sheep. We are the sheep in this poem. And if anything, we sheep, like it or not, are far more dependent on the shepherd for surviving and thriving than cats are dependent on their cat owners!
Let’s talk about what this means in three points: First, the Sheep and the Shepherd. Second, the Valley of the Shadow of Death. And third: Confident Christian Living.
Let me begin Point Number One by giving you five reasons why sheep are so vulnerable and dependent:
Number one: They can become cast and die quickly. Being “cast” means they can fall over onto their backs, with their legs in the air. At which point they often can’t get up on their own—especially if they’re pregnant or heavy with wool. Because of their ruminant digestive systems, gas builds up in their stomachs and may cause suffocation or heart failure. They can die within hours without a shepherd to set them upright again.
Two, they have poor instincts for self-preservation: Sheep don’t naturally recognize dangerous terrain. They’ll walk into thorns, onto unstable ground, or even off of cliffs unless someone guides them. They are essentially defenseless and lack good judgment when left on their own.
Three, they’re virtually helpless against predators: Without horns, speed, or camouflage, sheep are easy prey for wolves, coyotes, lions, bears, and other predators. Their best, and often only, defense is to stay close to a watchful shepherd.
Notice verse 4 says, “your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” The “rod” was a shepherd’s offensive weapon for protecting the sheep—for fighting off these predators.
Because contrary to popular images—paintings, posters, and pictures related to this psalm, which depict shepherding as a peaceful, gentle occupation—shepherds are fighters. Remember when young David makes the case to King Saul that, despite his youthful appearance, he’s well-qualified to go and fight the giant Goliath? 1 Why is he well-qualified? Because he was a shepherd who was used to fighting lions and bears.
Our God is like that! The Lord our Good Shepherd is a fighter… for us. On our behalf! So in the psalm the sheep sees that rod in the shepherd’s hand and is reassured. “I’m safe. He’s protecting me.”
Number four: they get lost easily. They are prone to wander off, even when they’re in sight of the flock. Isaiah 53:6 echoes this truth: “All we like sheep have gone astray…” Or think of Jesus’ Parable of the Lost Sheep…
Sheep will also follow one another blindly… possibly off the side of a mountain apart from the reassuring voice of the shepherd… or the more abrupt jerk of the shepherd’s staff, which also gets mentioned in verse 4: Even if the staff hurts a little, sheep know it’s for their ultimate good. So they see it and feel comforted.
Finally, number five, sheep can’t clean or care for themselves: If their wool grows too thick or dirty, it can harbor parasites, become too heavy, or even trap them in thickets. A good shepherd shears them regularly and checks for infestations or wounds. You’ve likely heard of “sheep dipping”—the traditional method of submerging sheep completely in a chemical bath to rid them of lice, ticks, mites, and blowfly larvae.
In fact, larvae can even get in a sheep’s nasal passages—and cause head-shaking, sneezing—even sheep banging their heads against rocks or trees in order to get relief. In the time when David wrote Psalm 23, the shepherd would apply olive oil to a sheep’s head, nose, and ears. Which is surely part of the poetic imagery of verse 5: “you anoint my head with oil.” David hasn’t completely changed the subject in verse 5, as people often think; he still wants us to think of shepherds and sheep.
All that to say, sheep need ever attentive shepherds to guard, to guide and to care for them all the time.
What does it mean, therefore, that the Bible says that we are like sheep in relation to God our Good Shepherd? Perhaps for the sake of pride and dignity, we’d prefer to be pictured like my very independent house cats, who don’t need shepherds looking after them. Of course, domestic cats were probably unknown outside of the Far East at the time, so David wouldn’t have mentioned cats like that, anyway. But he knew all about lions from his shepherding days.
Yet David didn’t write a poem comparing us to lions. Only to sheep. Which means we who are his children through faith in Christ must be completely dependent on a Shepherd to keep us safe, healthy, and happy.
And the good news, Jesus says, is that we have a Good Shepherd! In John chapter 10 Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me…” We know our shepherd’s voice and listen to him when he speaks. And verse 11: Christ our Good Shepherd not only fights for his sheep, he lays down his life for them—which of course Jesus did for us on the cross!
That’s Point Number One… the Sheep and the Shepherd
For Point Number Two, let’s turn our attention to the first part of verse 4: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Often, the only place for sheep to find sustenance in the hot, arid climate of the ancient Near East was in these shadowy valleys—the “valley of the shadow of death”—because there water wouldn’t evaporate as quickly and grass wouldn’t dry up and die as quickly. It was necessary, in other words, for shepherds, at times, to lead their sheep into these dark places: for their own sustenance, for their own survival.
What does that mean for sheep? It means that being in the dark, shadowy valley—where predators like bears and lions are more prone to attack—is as normal a part of the life of a sheep as being in sunny green pastures.
And so, in our lives as followers of Jesus our Good Shepherd, we’re going to routinely find ourselves in dark, shadowy valleys as well!
We already know exactly what those valleys feel like… Any situation or circumstance that tempts us to doubt, to be afraid, to be discouraged, to feel helpless, to feel trapped…
See, we Christians often think we’re doing something wrong when we find ourselves in the dark valleys of life—that our own sin has brought us to this place. And while that may often be the case, it’s not necessarily true, this psalm says: the dark valleys are going to happen even when we’re doing everything right.
In fact, we have a spiritual enemy, the devil, who’s out to destroy us. He often wants to use the dark valleys to do so!
Stephen Colbert, as many of you know, is a comedian who has a late night show on CBS. Colbert is also a practicing Catholic Christian. He’s very open about it. I was impressed, years ago, on Ash Wednesday, when I saw him on his TV show with ashes on his forehead. You don’t see that often with celebrities!
Anyway, years ago, Colbert gave a poignant interview in which he discussed the early childhood loss of his father and the two brothers nearest to him in age. He was ten years old at the time.
Talk about being in the “valley of the shadow of death”!
Through the example of his deeply Christian mother and her strong faith, however, he said he learned to make peace with this loss.
In this interview, in fact, he described it as “learning to love the bomb”—which is a reference to the movie Dr. Strangelove. He said, “Boy, did I have a bomb [in my life] when I was 10. That was quite an explosion. [But] I learned to love it… That might be why you don’t see me as someone angry and working out my demons onstage. It’s that I love the thing that I most wish had not happened.” 2
I love the thing that I most wish had not happened.
Colbert said, “I felt guilty to be grateful [for that tragic experience]. But I knew it was true.”
In other words, he knew that God brought him through that “valley of the shadow of death” for good reasons, at least some of which he could understand and appreciate… and surely many more reasons he won’t know until he rests safely in heaven. Regardless, Colbert learned to be grateful for his experience in that valley.
And we can too.
I’ve always appreciated those words in verse 2, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” Makes me…This doesn’t mean that the shepherd forces the sheep to lie down. In fact, sheep won’t lie down unless or until they feel completely safe, well-fed, and free from pests or conflict. So the idea is… that the shepherd meets all those needs first—making it possible (and natural) for sheep to rest.
But… what I need us to imagine is this: the sheep would never have made it to these green pastures if they hadn’t first been made to go through those dark valleys. Those dark valleys ultimately led somewhere far better for the sheep.
And that will be true for us, too.
One final thought on this point… See verse 6: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” This is true, of course—goodness and mercy follow us. This is precisely how the King James puts it, as well. And although our English Standard Version is in modern English, it follows the tradition of the venerable King James Version as much as possible, so it also uses the word “follow.”
But… other recent translations that are not so beholden to the King James; they use a stronger word than “follow.” They use the word pursue… Surely goodness and mercy pursue me. Doesn’t that sound stronger, more aggressive? If you’re merely being followed, after all… the person following may keep their distance. If you’re being pursued, look out! It seems likely, sooner or later, you’re going to be caught!
That’s why I like Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase in The Message Bible. He says that goodness and mercy “chase after me every day of my life.”
Chase after me… You know… the same way a fast-running lion or bear might chase after a sheep… Except in this case—as fast as these scary, potentially deadly predators may chase after us down in that dark valley—God’s “goodness and mercy” will chase us even faster and reach us even sooner… every single time.
Point Number Three: Confident Christian Living…
For Point Number Three, I want us to focus on the emotional state of the sheep in response to the work of this Good Shepherd. Verse 4: “I will fear no evil.” Well, that happens to be the absence of an emotion, but once again, this goes along with our church’s theme words for 2025, which are what? “Fear not, therefore…” But fearing no evil in the face of possible danger may rightly be called courage.Courage isn’t usually the absence of all fear, but it is at least not being controlled or overwhelmed by fear. And then there’s another emotion in that verse, “your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Comfort.
And there are other emotions implied here… Verse 1: “I shall not want.” These words imply complete contentment… satisfaction… peace… happiness…Why? Because every possible need is being met by this Good Shepherd. It’s hard not to think, for example, of Philippians 4:19: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
So… It sounds like Christ our Good Shepherd wants to give us confidence, contentment, comfort, and courage.
How would you like to have more of those virtues? I certainly would! And yet, too often, if we’re honest, we find ourselves not experiencing these things.
In Isaiah chapter 7, the king of Judah, Ahaz, was hardly experiencing confidence, contentment, comfort, and courage—far from it!
In fact, in Isaiah chapter 7, Ahaz—frankly, one of the worst kings, and there were more than a few bad ones—but Ahaz finds himself between a rock and a hard place: On one side, he’s facing the proverbial “rock”: an alliance of two enemy armies threatening his kingdom—Syria along with the northern kingdom of Israel. Remember, at this point in history the kingdom of Israel is split in two. And these two kingdoms—though related by blood, religion, and heritage—don’t often get along well. But the northern kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Syria are threatening to attack Judah if King Ahaz won’t join an alliance with them against the Assyrian empire. So that’s the rock on one side.
On the other side, the proverbial “hard place”… i.e.,the mighty Assyrian empire is threatening to destroy Judah. And that task shouldn’t be difficult: Judah is hardly much of a military threat to Assyria, as anyone in their right mind could see. [make motion of flicking away a bug off sleeve]
So… what can King Ahaz and his relatively small, weak nation do? He’s not sure, but he’s considering entering into a costly alliance the Assyrians. Basically that means heavy taxation on his people in order to bribe the Assyrians not to attack his kingdom. It’s called tribute money, and Judah would have to pay dearly.And that will also mean sacrificing much of their independence. But at least they’ll still be alive, right?
Well… the prophet Isaiah brings to Ahaz not political or military advice… rather a word from almighty God.
And this word that Isaiah gives Ahaz urges him to stand firm. Don’t be afraid of Israel and Syria. And don’t enter a costly alliance with Assyria—out of fear.
Stand firm by faith… As Isaiah tells him, in Isaiah 7:9, “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.”
Firm in faith? But that’s difficult!
Ahaz doesn’t want to be firm “in faith.” He’d much rather be firm in the size and strength of his army… firm in the amount of gold and silver in his treasury… firm in his common sense… firm in his worldly wisdom… firm in his strategic alliances… firm in his cleverness…firm in his ability to make deals with powerful people…
And so, when given a choice, Ahaz refuses to be firm in faith… and instead, he folds like a cheap suit… And he makes a deal with the devil, otherwise known as Assyria.
But listen… I sympathize completely with Ahaz here.
What about you? What is it—aside from faith in God our Good Shepherd—that we would rather be “firm in” or “strong” in?
For example, I too often enjoy finding my strength in the opinions of other people. I’ve picked the wrong profession to find my strength there, of course… And the problem gotten much better, but I know the temptation to care a lot about what other people think of me… [1 Corinthians 4:3-4] Regardless, people are fickle. Opinions change. And it’s not like I don’t often give people reasons to lower their opinions of me. I mean, let’s get real. But when people’s opinions change, far from standing firm, I too often fall apart.
Or maybe we enjoy finding our strength in job security. But then the economy changes, we get laid off, and we fall apart.
Or maybe we find our strength in a romantic relationship. But the love grows cold. The person leaves us, and we fall apart.
Or maybe we find our strength in our physical fitness or beauty. But despite our best efforts, we gain a few pounds—and it’s not like any of us is getting younger. So we look in the mirror, or step on the scale, and fall apart.
Or maybe we find our strength in our good health. That can change in an instant with one accident, or one alarming diagnosis. So we fall apart.
If we look for firmness or strength in anything other than God our Good Shepherd, then we will hardly feel confident, contented, comforted, and courageous, especially when we’re in that dark valley. In fact, surely one reason our Good Shepherd leads us through these dark valleys in the first place is in order that we find our strength in God alone.
“If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” Or how about Psalm 62:5 and 6:
Rest in God alone, my soul,
for my hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I will not be shaken.
Verse 11:
God has spoken once;
I have heard this twice:
strength belongs to God…
Or how about 2 Corinthians 12:10:
So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 3
Paul speaks these words, by the way, in the context of going through a “valley of the shadow of death” himself—for him it was what he calls his “thorn in the flesh.” Whatever that represented—and we don’t know—it caused him great pain and anguish. So in verse 10 it’s as if Paul were saying, “God had to empty me of everything that I thought was my strength—every phony thing I depended on for strength—in order to fill me with true strength, which comes only from him!”
Indeed… there’s only one true source of strength in the entire universe, and that source is God alone! If we won’t be strong in him and through him and through faith in his Son Jesus Christ, we will not be strong at all!
So… “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.”
Make us firm in faith, Lord. Make us walk with confidence, contentment, comfort, and courage even in the darkest valleys. Make us strong in the strength of your Son, our Good Shepherd, in whose name we pray!
Amen.