The Shepherd of Israel

Mark the holy boldness of David: 'The LORD is my shepherd.' Not a shepherd, not the shepherd of the chosen — but mine. Each believer has a personal claim. The shepherd of the universe, the shepherd of seraphs, is also the shepherd of one trembling soul, of one poor sinner who could not feed himself.

And the conclusion is sweet: 'I shall not want.' If the LORD is my shepherd, what shall I want? Bread? He provides it. Water? He leads to it. Rest? He makes me lie down. Protection? His rod is over me. Companionship? He walks before me. In life, in death, in time, in eternity — I shall not want.

Let the world hold what it can; the believer holds the shepherd, and that is more than all the world. Lift up thy head, soul of mine: the LORD is thy shepherd; thou shalt not want.