The Lord Is My Shepherd

TEXT: Psalm 23:1-6     

DAVID was the boy who took care of his father’s sheep way out in the hills all by himself. He loved God very much. He used to sing songs to God while he was out on the hills. He would tell God how much he loved Him by singing to Him. That is why we sing in Sunday School, too. We tell God we love Him.

God does love to hear the boys and girls sing. If He sees a girl or a boy not even trying to sing in Sunday School it just does not make God very happy. David sang out there in the hills all by himself.

David was a shepherd boy so he knew how close a shepherd has to be to his sheep. He has to take care of them all the time, day and night. David wrote a song and called it “The LORD is my shepherd.” He knew, too, how he had to lead his sheep to all the safe places. God would show David where to go, just like David did the little sheep.

David said in his song, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” A pasture is where the grass is nice and green. In the summertime the grass would dry up from the sun so David would have to take his sheep to a nice, green pasture to be sure they had enough to eat and could rest in the cool grass.

David did not mean that God made him lie down in that kind of grass. He meant that God always saw that he had what he needed. Everything God gave him was good and made him happy. God took care of him just as David took care of the little baby lambs.

Sheep will not drink where the water is moving very fast. They must have a place where the water is quiet. Then they drink and feel so good inside.

“He restoreth my soul,” sang David. David meant that he could pray and feel so good inside his heart. No matter how hard he worked, when he prayed he was all peaceful and happy inside.

When it starts to get dark, and daytime is almost over, a shepherd as David was, looks for a good place for his sheep to sleep at night. Sometimes the shepherds would find a big hole in the hill called a cave, and the sheep could go in there. If David’s sheep were in a cave sleeping, he would stay right there by them all night, just as God does for us. God is watching over us when we are asleep and when we are awake. God never takes His eyes off us.

The sheep felt safe because they had David for a shepherd. David felt safe because he knew God was his Shepherd and was watching over him. The sheep were never afraid. David was there. David was never afraid. God was there.

David knew if he stayed close to God by praying, he was always safe. It is the same with us, too. When we keep close to Jesus by praying and talking to Him we are like the little lambs were with David. They needed David and we need Jesus.

Maybe you are like David was. Did you ever look up into the blue sky and think about God and Jesus up there in Heaven? Maybe you looked up at night and saw the bright stars and wished you could look right into Heaven and see Jesus and what He was doing.

You do not need to see Jesus to know what He is like. He can make you feel happy inside your heart. You can be kind and good, and you want to sing a little song to Jesus like David did to God. Did you ever try to sing a little song to Jesus while you were playing? You can sing, “Jesus loves me, this I know.” Oh, how Jesus would like that!

The clean, fresh air is all around you. You even breathe it, but you cannot see it. You can feel when the air is warm and you can feel it when it is cold. You can feel Jesus’ love in your heart. You know it is there, even if you cannot see it.

There are lots of songs in the Bible that David wrote. This special song is called, “The LORD is my shepherd.”

Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He loves the little lambs. He loves you.