Verse 23 goes on to say, “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.” David typifies Christ. Christ is the real David, the real Shepherd, feeding us and causing us to be filled and satisfied.
As our Shepherd Christ takes care of us, including all our problems and responsibilities. He takes care of us not only in spiritual things but in all things related to our human needs. This means that, according to Psalm 23, He takes care of us in every aspect of our living.
Since the Lord Jesus is our Shepherd taking care of us, we should not worry about our problems or about our living. Instead, we need to learn to put our trust in Him. At the end of the day, it is very good to pray to the Lord as our Shepherd. There is no need to pray at length in a formal, religious way. Simply say, “Lord Jesus, I thank You that I am under Your care. Now I am going to sleep, and I ask You to come and take care of me.” Such a simple prayer is good enough. When you wake up in the morning, you say, “Lord, I thank You that I am still under Your care.” There is no need to be religious, asking the Lord to protect you and do many other things for you. If you pray in a religious way, the Lord might say, “Child, I know what you need. Do not waste your time and do not burden Me with this kind of prayer. Simply enjoy My care.”
The Lord Jesus truly is our Shepherd. I could give many testimonies of how I have enjoyed His care throughout the years. Wherever I have gone and wherever I have worked, I have been under His shepherding care. I rejoice that we are under the care of our Shepherd. We are not a flock without a Shepherd. In His recovery we, as His flock, are under His constant shepherding. As He cares for us, He feeds us, and we have the real experience of Psalm 23: The Lord is our Shepherd, and we have no want. May we all learn to experience Christ as our Shepherd.
When the Lord Jesus comes as the Shepherd, He comes also as the King. The issue of the Lord’s caring for us as our Shepherd is that we obey Him as our King and come under His kingship. The Lord is our Shepherd to be our King, and He is our King to be our Shepherd. On the one hand He shepherds us; on the other hand, He governs us. As we receive the Lord’s shepherding, we understand the Lord’s throne, kingdom, and authority. He is shepherding us with His care and supply so that we may be subject to His kingship and that He may set up His throne and His kingdom within us.
Certain portions of Ezekiel speak of God’s covenant with Israel. Ezekiel 16:60 and 62 say, “Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant....And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.” In 37:26a the Lord promises, “Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them.” Once a matter has been covenanted, it is established and secure and it cannot be changed. Therefore, this covenant of peace is established, secure, and unchanging. As we experience the Lord’s shepherding and remain under His kingship, we enjoy His peace and are no longer subject to spiritual troubles and disturbances. Regarding this covenant there are a number of points that deserve our attention.
Ezekiel 34:25a says, “I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land.” Here we are told that, under the Lord’s shepherding, all the evil beasts will be kept away from the Lord’s recovered people. According to Paul’s word in Acts 20:29 evil beasts (“fierce wolves”) refer to evil persons who disturb God’s people. In the proper church life there are no wolves, only lambs. In His recovery the Lord causes the evil beasts to cease.