“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Psalm 23:1
Can you imagine the setting as David writes these famous words? I can just see him sitting in a field looking at the contentment of his sheep eating the grass he had led them to earlier in the day. Those animals didn’t have a care in the world nor a fear in their heart because the shepherd was there watching and providing for their every need. And the words of this verse mirror the contentment of David’s sheep with the satisfaction David felt towards God’s oversight and provision in his own life.
As David pondered those things God had bestowed upon him he couldn’t help but feel anything less than satisfied. Who else could have brought about such protection from the attacks of a bear and a lion upon his flock? Who else could have provided the green pastures of sustenance and the cooling of the still waters within his soul? “No one but the Lord,” David concluded quietly to himself. The Lord as his shepherd allowed David to say, “I shall not want.”
Yet we are soon reminded later in his life that David is fallen. With the Lord as his shepherd David was satisfied but like all of us “sheep” our hearts are prone to wander.
“And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
2 Samuel 11:2-3
Where once David had satisfaction with the Lord’s provisions, he now finds himself in want. He finds himself discontent with what the Lord had provided and now desirous of something more.
But what had changed? Had the Lord been slack concerning His provision for David? Certainly not—the once keeper-of-sheep was now the King of Israel. The once defender of a flock against wild animals is now victorious in battle in protection of his people. The trajectory of David’s life made the Lord’s hand of blessing evident to those around him, yet our hearts can fool us into believing otherwise in a single moment of weakness. A heart once satisfied is now in want. And the very One who was once our Shepherd seems now to be the very One holding us back from our utmost desires. So, David sinned.
“And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.”
2 Samuel 11:4
David got what he wanted! If this were a Hollywood film the light music in the background would crescendo into a melody of triumph and resolve in a scene of “happily ever after.” As the camera pans out our 21st century hearts have seen this story before. Where once previous generations saw looming consequences, our “evolved” minds think we are seeing a beautiful love story. We might be prone to believe that David leaves this scene content and satisfied. “My lust is my shepherd, I shall no longer want” is how some imagine the plot to end echoing our world’s refrain.
“Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;”
Psalm 51:12a
But that is how this story actually ends. David’s heart went from one of contentment in Psalm 23 with the Lord as His shepherd to desirous of something more as his lust led the way to one more moment of dissatisfaction here in Psalm 51. Yet David is not asking God or anyone else for another moment upon the rooftop or another sinful bout of pleasure. He is asking God for something different. He is asking God for a restoring of a joy and a contentment he once had laying in the field watching his sheep. Psalm 51:12 is a call for a return to the satisfaction of Psalm 23.
Contentment is sought by many but found by few. If this is true the fault cannot be because of a wrongful journey but a misplaced idea of the destination. Satisfaction within one’s heart that David’s life so clearly illustrated is only found when the Lord is our Shepherd. There will always be others applying for that job but there seems to be only One truly qualified for the position.
Some call Him God.
Others jokingly refer to Him as the Man Upstairs.
But in the moments of his greatest contentment David called Him Lord.
And I believe when contentment is found in our own lives we will find ourselves calling Him that very same thing—Shepherd. Leader. Lord.
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