A Sunday School teacher asked her children if anyone could quote the entire 23rd Psalm. A golden-haired, four-and-a-half-year-old girl was among those who raised their hands. A bit skeptical, the teacher asked if she could really quote the entire psalm. The little girl came to the front of the room, faced the class, made a perky little bow, and said, "The Lord is my shepherd, that's all I want" She bowed again and went and sat down.
That may well be the greatest interpretation of the 23rd Psalm ever heard.
King David, himself a former shepherd, begins this Psalm with, "The Lord is my shepherd," immediately putting himself as a sheep in the care of Jesus Christ (who is the same being as the Lord of the Old Testament-see John 1:1-3, 14 and Heb. 1:2). This analogy of Christ as a shepherd and His chosen ones as sheep, is reinforced in several scriptures, especially in John 10, John 21:15-17 and Hebrews 13:20. The shepherd is the provider and protector of his flock. The sheep are helpless without him. Similarly, human existence is but a sinful, carnal experience without God in our lives (John 5:30; Rom. 8:6-11).
Continuing with, "I shall not want," David indicates here that as a sheep in Christ's care, he was confident that he would lack nothing. This sentiment is repeated in Psalms 34:9-10, and clearly indicates David's understanding in regards to putting God and God's way first in his life (see Matthew 6:25-34).
He goes on to write, "He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters." Both the "green pastures" and "still waters" indicate a blessed abundance, further illustrating the benefits of a God-led life. Friends that little girl's words are true, "The Lord is my shepherd, that's all I want............"
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