# “Are you a sheep who knows the shepherd?” by David Gibson

- Link: https://tollelege.net/2024/05/17/are-you-a-sheep-who-knows-the-shepherd-by-david-gibson/
- Published: 2024-05-17T11:00:00-05:00
- Author: tollelege

“_Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,

for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
” (**Psalm 23:4**)

“**Psalm 23** has become a funeral psalm. But, in fact, it is really a psalm about
life. Only one verse out of six speaks about death. The imagery of the psalm is 
dominated with food, water, rest, security; it’s about going to a banquet where 
you have perfumed oil poured on your head and you have a cup of wine in your hand,
where you have to say to the host, “_No, stop, it’s overflowing!_”

**Psalm 23** is about abundant life. It is more about the happiness of living than
the sadness of dying, and all of the happiness is bound up with being able to say
that this Lord who is a shepherd is also _my_ shepherd.

There is a famous story about a young shepherd boy in the Scottish Highlands in 
centuries past. His parents died prematurely, leaving the boy in the care of his
grandfather, a shepherd.

The grandson was raised to be a shepherd too, but he was uneducated. He never went
to school and he was unable to read.

His grandfather taught him the first five words of **Psalm 23** by taking the boy’s
left hand and, as he said each word, pointing to a finger. Soon the boy could say
the words himself, holding one finger and then the next as he did so: “_The—LORD—
is—my—shepherd_.”

On one occasion when the boy was out in the hills tending the sheep, a terrible 
blizzard swept in, engulfing the mountains, and the boy and the sheep did not return
home.

His grandfather set out to find him, but the brutal winds and blinding snow made
that impossible. He knew he would soon lose all sense of direction and so, fearful
and heartsore, he returned to spend a long and restless night in his chair.

When at last he was able to search the hills, tragically, he found his grandson 
frozen to death in the snow. But as he stooped to lift the child, he noticed that
the boy’s hands were clasped in a peculiar way.

His right hand firmly gripped the fourth finger of his left hand: “_The LORD is 
my shepherd._”

My calling as a pastor is always to ask people where they are with this shepherd.
The members of my congregation are asked all the time by others about their status
in relation to something or someone: _their relationship status? their employment
status? _

But the pastor’s job is to ask about flock status: _Are you a sheep who knows the
shepherd? _

If you can say that he is your shepherd, then I want to show you in what follows
that you have everything you will ever need.”

–David Gibson, [_The Lord of Psalm 23: Jesus Our Shepherd, Companion, and Host_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/143358798X?tag=toletaupanre-20)(
Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023), 21-23.

More quotes from [David Gibson](https://tollelege.net/category/david-gibson/) · 
More on [Book of Psalms](https://tollelege.net/category/book-of-psalms/)