Psalm 23: Come What May, We May Return to David’s Shepherd

Rev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 23. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” These famous words of Psalm 23 are so easy to misunderstand. Written by David, they point to how a shepherd boy was made shepherd over the whole kingdom of Israel. Time and again, God not only aided David, but He also blessed Him richly: green pastures, still waters, and a renewed soul. So the psalm isn’t about us, but David. And it wasn’t about David’s present observations, but David’s future confidence. Yet baptism makes us part of Christ the true David, so the words become ours. So we too are confident—not to “dwell in”—but rather to “return to” God’s house for the rest of our lives. In Christ, we know the shepherd’s arms are always wide open to receive us in forgiveness.