Contentment and Rest

The care provided by our Shepherd is exquisite.

Here’s the next line in our 23rd Psalm:

I shall not want.

I shall not lack. I shall have all I need. I remember as a kid how the language here was a little confusing the first time I heard it. What do you mean I shall not want? I want lots of things! But the archaic expression “want,” for “lack,” which was not an archaism in 1611 when the King James was translated, was left here in the ESV, and other translations as well, because the words to this psalm are so famous.

In this life there will be many things we may desire and never have, but no truly good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 34:10). Anyone who has ever had children, or indeed been a child, knows that not everything we want is good for us. How much more does the all-wise, loving Shepherd of the sheep know this? And so we must learn to be content with what God gives us in this life, spending our lives in pursuit of him and his will, as opposed to the material prosperity that our surrounding culture equates with “good living.” Listen to the words of Paul in his first letter to Timothy as he expounds upon this lesson.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 ESV - But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Wise words. In the next two verses (of our Psalm 23) we get a more detailed description of his care.

Psalm 23:2 ESV

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

Mark, in his recounting of the feeding of the five thousand, borrows from this imagery, describing how Jesus sees the multitudes as “sheep having no shepherd,” and then causing them to sit down in groups upon the green grass to be fed by him, both spiritually and physically. You can check it out for yourself. It’s in Mark 6.

Charles Spurgeon saw here a metaphor for the spiritual life of a Christian having two parts. One part is contemplation and the other is activity. We lie down in the green pastures of his word and his worship, and then we are led by him to actively serve him in our daily lives. What aided Spurgeon in making this connection was the first line of verse 3.

Psalm 23:3a ESV - He restores my soul.

Peter tells us that Christ has given us all that we need for life and godliness:

2 Peter 1:3 ESV - His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

The word translated “soul,” here, is sometimes translated “life” because it pertains to the whole of our being. It is rest that we often need and don’t even realize it, but God gives it. He is the author of it, and he, himself, set the supreme example of its importance by resting himself, on the seventh day, when he had completed his work of creation.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, says to us,

Matthew 11:28-30 ESV - Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

David, in one of the earlier psalms, extolling the benefits of God’s written word, special revelation, said this:

Psalm 19:7 ESV

The law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul; (emphasis mine)

Surely when we rest in Christ, rest in his word, resting in the promises, we find nourishment and strength for the journey that is this Christian life; for this same Shepherd who makes us to lie down in green pastures and leads us beside the still waters, restoring our souls, David says about him next…

Psalm 23:3b ESV - He leads me in paths of righteousness

And we will get to that tomorrow.