by Jilene Scherenske
This is the fifth in a series of articles on Psalm 23. I have found this study to be a great blessing to my soul and trust it will be to yours also. The reader should be aware that I have used Phillip Keller’s book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 as a resource. I refer often to his book and knowledge of the care of sheep. Then I take his insights, combine them with the Word of God and meditate thereon. This is the result of my meditations.
Psalm 23:3a
Ps 23:3a He restoreth my soul…
Once again let us first look to Keller’s facts about the nature of sheep to understand this phrase. Sheep can get cast down. This means that it is lying upon its back with its feet up in the air, flaying frantically. It struggles to stand up but has no power to do so in itself. Sometimes, but not always, it will bleat a little for help, but usually it just lies there horribly frightened and uselessly struggling to stand up again. If the shepherd does not arrive in time, it will quickly die. If natural death does not take it, the predators will, for a cast sheep is an easy prey for wild dogs, coyotes, cougars and vultures. It is not necessarily the weak sheep who are cast. It is more often the strongest, fattest, and largest sheep that are prone to this dilemma. But how can this happen? The sheep will lie down to rest and will often turn to their side a bit to stretch out and relax. But because of their weight the pull of gravity shifts so that it quickly and easily turns upon its back. Of course, this sends the sheep into a panic, which only makes things worse and it rolls even further onto its back and becomes impossible for it to regain its stability. As the struggle goes on, gases begin to build up in its stomach. This causes bloating/swelling and cuts off the blood circulation to the legs. If it is hot outside the sheep will die in a few hours. If it is cooler, it could survive for a few days. If the sheep is pregnant, then, of course, the unborn lambs are lost as well, an even further loss for the shepherd. Some sheep will experience this almost daily making the vigilance of the shepherd imperative. He must keep count of his sheep and quickly go looking for the one who may be missing and ‘cast’. Can you imagine the shepherd’s anxiety as he goes out early in the morning and sees in the distance a group of vultures circling in the distant pasture? He would drop everything and run to the scene to rescue his sheep. Or imagine his great concern when the count did not come up right and he knew one was missing. Every minute counted as he raced through the pasture striving to find it in time. Can you imagine the joy of finding it, of righting it, and then bringing it back to the flock and his own security? Tenderly he would turn her over. Often, if she had been down a long time, the lack of circulation in her legs meant that she could not stand, so he would gently lift her to his shoulders and carry her back all the while talking soothingly to her.
The Hebrew word for ‘restoreth’ means to bring back again. Every time we fall that is what Jesus does. He brings us back again. The word does not mean back again to the original point. When Jesus brings us back, it is to a point of new understanding. We now know better how not to fall in the future. We are more mature, wiser. Yes, Jesus brings us back into fellowship with Himself, but now we are more aware of how to avoid that fall in the future. He heals my backsliding and restores me to Himself. He brings me back from what would have destroyed my soul and then He restores it. When I feel like I am ready to perish, He restores my soul.
We sheep, no matter how strong we are, can easily find ourselves ‘cast’. Did you notice that it is not typically weak and scrawny sheep that find themselves in this predicament, it is the strong and fat ones? We can easily come to a situation where we are helpless to aright ourselves. The old saying, “but for the grace of God there go I”, is so true. Our flesh, the world, and satan are constantly bombarding us. I was shocked at the emails that have been coming every day to my husband encouraging him into pornography and immorality. I pray for him every day. As I prayed for him to remain upright and moral, I would often tell the Lord that I knew he was pure and almost insinuate that I didn’t need to pray such a thing for him because he was strong in this area. Little did I know what he was fighting! He never opens them, deletes them immediately, and blocks them all day after day, yet they keep coming! Is it any wonder that our good men fall? Just one time of opening such things will do great damage to their souls! And if there is a wife who is not being faithful, this temptation becomes even stronger! Never allow yourself to think that you are okay, on safe grounds, and will not likely fall into temptation. It is a lie from satan to put us at ease so our guard is not up. Never assume you are so spiritually mature that you will not fall away from God. Be on your toes every day. Wake up every day realizing that you are entering a battlefield; put on God’s weapons of armor, His Word, surrender to His Spirit, and prayer.
Keller indicates that one reason a sheep is so easily cast is because they choose a rounded hollow in the ground in which to lie down, and this soft spot makes them roll over much more easily. So, we Christians, sometimes choose a soft spot, an easy way, something more comfortable where there is less difficulty. Sometimes we fall into thinking that we have arrived and we can just idle for awhile. This is when we are in grave danger and do not realize it! The soft way may be thinking that we need more sleep and so we will fall into a habit of getting up later and then having less time to spend with the Lord. Or perhaps we think that we can stay up later and enjoy some television program, etc., but then we are less alert during our time with God in the morning. Some think that memorizing scripture is too hard for them, especially if they are older. Yes, it is hard! But let’s not make the soft choice of forsaking it. What other soft choices can there be in one’s life?
Keller goes on to say that sometimes the problem is that a sheep has too much wool which is usually matted and full of mud and debris which weighs it down. He says that “wool in scripture depicts the old self-life in the Christian…It is an outward expression of an inner attitude, the assertion of my own desire and hopes and aspirations…Here is where I find the clinging accumulation of things, of possessions, of worldly ideas beginning to weigh me down, drag me down, hold me down…This is when I keep the world as part of my life thus allowing it to continually influence my thoughts and then my actions…It is significant that no high priest was ever allowed to wear wool when he entered the Holy of Holies. This spoke of self, of pride, and of personal preference – and God could not tolerate it.” The simplest way of putting this is that this refers to going my own way, doing my own thing. It is falling into thinking that what I plan, or desire, is best, and leaving out the seeking of God’s will for each and every thing that comes into my life. To my Shepherd Jesus I then appear laden with mud and debris!
What would the shepherd do for this sheep? He would sheer it. This was not a pleasant process for the sheep who are very fearful, nor for the shepherd who must hold him down to complete the process. Imagine a skittish sheep hearing the roar of the sheers, and feeling the firm hold of the shepherd so that he cannot escape the instrument that will shave him! I well remember especially one grandson who was so afraid of the scissors as it approached his head for a haircut that for several years he had to be held down or run after as he frequently escaped! It was not rebellion; it was plain and simple utter fear! Mommy hated those episodes and yet they were very necessary! It was hard work for the shepherd as well, yet he willingly and cheerfully did it to protect the sheep from casting and potential death. What was the result? Just think on it: the sheep had been laden with heavy wool which caught in its fibers all the filth around it, all the mud, manure, thorns/burrs, sticks and ticks and other parasites. Now it was free of all these! Of course, when the sheering was finally complete the sheep felt free and relieved!
When we hang on to worldly things, they will weigh us down more than we realize. Satan will use them for sure to distort our thoughts and eventually those distorted thoughts will surface in actions and words. He will cause us to fall in love with whatever the thing is and not realize that it is like unto manure! We will suddenly one day find ourselves in a place we never imagined! No matter how little we think the worldly thing is in our life – we must forsake it immediately. It is coming between us and Jesus! We must run to Jesus and allow His shears to cleanse us from all this sin! Experiencing His forgiveness is a most wonderful and precious thing!
Our Shepherd Jesus is working hard for us day after day. Do you think it is easy for Him to intercede for us every day? Do you think He intercedes for us casually? No! Never! Every day He puts the might of God into His prayers of intercession for us. He does not pray for us like we pray – casually, limply, often distracted, weakly, seldom fervently. He prays like God would pray for us because He is God. He was willing to die for us, His prayers for us are no less passionate! Yield to His working in you! Sure, when His Word reaches your heart and convicts you it may not be pleasant. You may at first kick and complain, even stumble. You may find your heart refusing His shears because you have fallen in love with whatever that thing is. But in the end, there is something very sweet about His cutting us away from worldly things and fleshly thoughts and behaviors! And this shearing leaves no foothold for satan in our lives. Now it has been replaced with more love for Jesus.
A third reason a sheep might become cast is because they are too fat. I like to think of this as top heavy! It is easy to fall over when one is top heavy. It is hard to stand up and remain aright when one is top heavy! When a shepherd realizes this is the cause of casting, he will quickly take the proper steps to remedy it by altering their food so that their intake will produce strength and energy instead of too much fat which makes them weak.
I think in America especially we Christians can so easily become complacent because we live in a very rich society. Even our poor are rich compared to other countries. It is so easy to just lay back and enjoy the wealth we have. But our wealth does not insure spiritual richness, spiritual maturity. Indeed, it can even keep us from it because we become satisfied with things just as they are. We can lose our need for Jesus. We can forget how much we need Him. To remedy this, Jesus often has to bring into our lives something that is hard to bear, something that will drive us to our knees so that we stay connected to Him. It the discipline which is promised in Hebrews 12 because He loves us so. He knows how much we need Him, and He strives to keep us mindful of that fact. Once we regain our feeling of need for Him, we are filled with peace and calm in our very souls. Sometimes He challenges us to do what we know we cannot do without Him. But oh, the joy when we step forth in faith and follow His leading and rely completely on His strength! It restores our souls!
It is only the Shepherd Jesus Who restores my soul. I cannot do it myself. I have absolutely nothing within myself to be able to aright myself. I will not do it; I most likely will not even desire it! He alone restores my soul! That is the beauty of this illustration. A sheep can never get back on his feet again. It takes the shepherd to lift him up. And that is a beautiful picture of our Shepherd Jesus. He is ALWAYS ready and willing to right us, to put us back on our feet and if we are not ready to stand, He carries us on His shoulders. He never stops loving us no matter how many times He must pick us up. He never handles us roughly, even though we surely deserve it! He may speak words of rebuke to us, but even they are filled with tender love. We MUST guard our hearts by doing three things: stay adamantly away from those things that would seek to harm us, pray every day that God would forgive our pride and keep us safe, and remain faithfully and devotedly in His Word every day.
Oh, the picture we get of our Shepherd from this phrase! How He loves us! Unlike an earthly shepherd, He always knows exactly where we are spiritually and knows where to find us. He never gets frustrated with us, He does not get exasperated with us and want to give up on us, He does not get angry with us, He doesn’t delay in rescuing us. Instead, He loves us. I do not think we can fully realize such love. When we have failed, we expect rebuke and harshness, but instead He gives us patience and mercy. He seeks for us. Eagerly, wholeheartedly, quickly without delay He comes to us. And the beautiful thing is that He aloneis able to set us back on the right path. No one else can work on our soul like He can. He soothingly speaks to us. Sure, He instructs us how to prevent such a failure in the future. Yes, He will let us feel some chiding so that we see our error and ask for forgiveness. But all the time, His words to us are wrapped in love, never punishment. He is an unbelievable Shepherd of our souls.
Application
“He restoreth my soul…” How many times have you found yourself without peace? Something is disturbing you, upsetting you. You are ‘cast’ down and unable to right yourself. And then you go to Jesus, tell Him all about it, and ask Him to restore to you His perfect peace. He may lead you to some specific action, or to confess something you had not realized was hiding in your soul (like fear), but once you have obeyed whatever He tells you, the peace is unmistakable. He has restored your soul. Sometimes it may be a lingering problem, something that will not be resolved quickly, yet when you turn it over to Him you find peace in the midst of it. Sometimes I get overly frustrated with some problem (like computers!) and I forget to STOP and ask Him for help. When I ask for help, the frustration disappears, and peace soothes my soul. Sometimes I find that as I approach my devotional time with Him in the morning, I am casual, nonchalant, about it. That disturbs me. I never want to approach my holy God in this manner. Then I discover that the world has crept into my soul making me feel like this. I confess it and beg Him to make my time with Him glorious and every time, He restores my soul and we fellowship sweetly. In so many ways He is the Restorer of my soul.
Phillip Keller tells us that only sometimes will the sheep cry out for help when cast. Let us make sure this is not true of us. When we are cast down, let us quickly cry out to Jesus for help. Do not forget to cry out to Him. Sometimes we let the distress linger in our soul for a time before we cry out. Sometimes we seek other means to relieve our distress. Jesus is the ONLY Answer. He is the ONLY One Who can restore your soul.
Let us never chose the soft decision. What is there before you right now which begs for a decision? Which way is Jesus leading? Is one way much harder to face? Could that be the way Jesus desires you to go but you know that way is filled with uncertainties and unknowns? Look to the Shepherd. He will guide you faithfully through all the unknowns and keep you from harm. But if you choose the easy way, there will be trouble ahead, casting, if you will. I think of parenting. Some of us are well past that era. I think back to the decisions God urged us to make. Things like “I know everyone else is doing it, but you cannot because I know God doesn’t want this for you.” I think of the many sacrifices my husband made to keep his family safe, decisions that did not make him popular, that even gave him a reputation amongst our daughter’s friends of being overprotective. But he remained true to what he felt was God’s leading for our family. Even in the area of finances. We did not have the money to put and keep our girls in Christian school, yet my husband had us step out in faith and keep them there so that they would have less worldly influence on their young lives. I think of the television and movies that our girls could not watch that others were watching. I think of the things they sometimes went without because Steve would choose to stay within our means and not go into debt. In my eyes he was a master at not making soft decisions that would later harm our girls. Whatever the soft decision is that you are facing, let me warn you. Once you say “yes”, it will be so much easier to say “yes” the next time and the downward spiral will begin and accelerate quickly.
Let us make sure we are not clinging to anything that smacks of worldliness. Let us go before God and ask Him to reveal to us if any such thing is in our soul. If He does reveal something, it will most likely be difficult to forsake at first. You may even be surprised at how much love you really had for it! Ask God to give you the gumption you need to forsake it completely. Not too long ago someone introduced us to a weekly television show that we really enjoyed. It had good morals, good character portrayal, great story lines. Right always won. There was just one thing – now and then there would be a curse word. Not many . Perhaps only one per episode. We could easily “spit out the stones” as they say. I was slightly uneasy about watching it for that reason, but the more I watched it my pleasure of it pushed aside my caution. Then one day God clearly convicted me of it. It was a bit difficult to forsake it because now I realized how much I enjoyed it! But forsake it we did, my husband agreeing with me, and we have not watched it since. As I look back on that incident, I am so glad that it is no longer in my life. Yup, I must admit I sometimes still wish I could watch it, but I am happier that I don’t watch it because it would have put a wall between my God and me. It would have been a disobedience to Him and the effects over time of that would have been more devastating to my soul than any measure of pleasure that program gave me. Clean out the world from your soul! Do not risk having some little thing, or some big thing, disturb your relationship with Jesus.
Let us be extremely cautious of the number one enemy of our soul – our pride. No matter how humble you think you are, you are still full of pride. It makes us fat with ourselves. We compare ourselves with someone else and see ourselves as better. We think high thoughts of ourselves. We think we are spiritually strong and therefore will not, even cannot fall. We forget that the only goodness in us is Jesus. Pride will make us ‘top heavy’ and easily ‘cast’ us down. Satan will do his best to make us blind to our pride. We will not see the destruction that is about to come upon us. That is why it is so important every day to pray, Ps 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Every day we desperately need God’s scrutiny in our souls. Every day we need His cleansing. Dust gathers; it gathers continually in our souls. Seek His cleansing power from pride every day and even throughout the day. Then feed upon the only nourishment your soul really needs – His Word. Read it. Meditate upon it. Memorize it. Pray the Word back to God. This is the diet we all need!
Let us daily get before God and make sure we are not complacent because of the material wealth we possess in America. Let us purposely lean on Him for everything! Let us beg Him to never let us forget our need for Him, even when it seems like we do not need Him. When we find ourselves in a trial, let us thank Jesus for it, knowing that all the while He is making us more aware of our need for Him and there is nothing more precious than that!