The question to be answered in Part Two of this Study (The Sovereign, My God) is:

How did God become David’s Shepherd?

The answer: God is Sovereign.

Therefore, it is by the Choice of God, to carry out His Eternal Purpose for David in Christ. So it is with every Elect of God in Christ.

1. God Separated the Chosen before time in Christ (Ephesians 1:4-11).
2. God Sanctified the Chosen in time, in Christ on the Cross; but manifested this to His Chosen by the Consecration of oil (or by the Regeneration Process). (See 1 Corinthians 1:30; Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 4:5-6.)
3. God Sanctioned His Chosen People by His Call to Service in Conversion (John 15:16).
4. God’s Service of His Chosen People by Command (John 14:15; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20):
   1. To keep His Commandments;
   2. To be His Witnesses to the uttermost parts of the word;
   3. To be Ambassadors for Christ.

The General Outline of Part Two of this study of Psalm 23 is:

The Supply (My Giver)

The What:

1. “…I shall not want” (Psalms 23:1b)
2. “…me to lie down in green pastures…” (Psalms 23:2a)
3. “…me beside the still waters” (Psalms 23:2b)
4. “…me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalms 23:3a)
5. “…for thou art with me” (Psalms 23:4c)
6. “…me in the presence of mine enemies” (Psalms 23:5a)
7. “…my cup runneth over” (Psalms 23:5b)
8. “…goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” (Psalms 23:6a)
9. “…I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” (Psalms 23:6b)

The Supply of God is unlimited toward his Sheep, now and throughout all eternity, because He is The Source (as previously discussed in the first devotion of the Study of Psalm 23), by Definition; Sovereign by Decree / Design.

As The Source, “In the beginning God…” The Bible, God’s Revelation of Himself to His Chosen People, records – from Chapter 1, verse 1, to the last verse in the Book of Revelation, the last Book of the Bible – that He is the Creator, the Controller, and the Consummator of His Works.

The concept we have of God, without Spirit Illumination, is one of unbelief, doubt, and skepticism. Until God reveals to an individual that He is the Source (the Cause, and not the effect); there is no way for that individual to comprehend God’s Promise to David in Psalm 23:1b. (See 1 Corinthians 2:9-16. You must have the “mind of Christ” to understand the Spiritual Truth of God.)

However, as has been proven in the previous devotions, David makes his statement with full proof that it is Truth: “I shall not want” – because of (a) the Person God is; (b) the Promises made by God; and (c) the Performance of His Promises to David.

To understand, or perceive, the Person of God, you must be born from above (John 3:1-8); you must be Regenerated by the Spirit of God (Galatians 4:5-6; Romans 8:15); and you must be brought to Conversion whereby you make the Confession, as written in Romans 10:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)

This confession reveals you believe that Jesus Christ is God in the Flesh; that He is your Substitute. That is, He took your curse of sin for you and paid the full price; thereby Reconciling you to Himself, and Redeeming you out of the punishment and penalty of your sin debt (Ephesians 1:7); therefore, placing you in the Position of Justification (Romans 3:24-25).

Because of His Action in Eternity Past (Ephesians 1:4-11), He placed you in Christ Jesus to be made holy and unblameable through the Atonement of Christ on the Cross in time. And because Christ came and made Atonement for your sin debt (2 Corinthians 5:21), He Redeemed you out of the slave market of sin. Then, and then only, you would come in time to experience the Regeneration Process in your spirit by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:1-8; John 1:12-14; 6:63; Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 4:5-6). Then, and then only, would you come to confess Christ as Substitute, Sacrifice, and Savior (Romans 10:9-10).

However, confession, or belief, is the end of the process, not the requirement. For the requirement was God’s Eternal Purpose in Christ (Eternal Justification); God’s Atonement on the Cross (Judicial Justification); and God’s Regenerating Work in your spirit – making you a new creature in Christ, having crucified the “old man,” and given you the Gift of the Holy Spirit (Experiential Justification).

To understand the Promises of God, you must know, as David did, that the LORD (the Source, Jehovah, the Creator) is my Shepherd. That is, God is Sovereign by His Decrees; He separated David before time ever was. And by Design; as His Will has been experienced to sanctify him, sanction him, and save him.

David had a clear understanding that God was his Shepherd. The key being the Person of the Shepherd (the LORD; Jehovah); and then the Promises becoming real by the Perception given to him by Faith to know and to experience this to be Truth.