The Servant Master - Part Two: The Lord is Servant

If you had all the power in the universe, what would you do with it?

Would you use this power to serve?

To serve may not have been the first thing on your to-do list. It may not be on your list at all. The world today sees power and servanthood as incompatible. To serve is costly - loss of one’s dignity. It does not promise any fame and glory. It is often met with thanklessness and being taken for granted. Our hearts desire the former more than the latter. Power, on the other hand,  is the authority that brings out a kind of fear or reverence which influence the behaviour of those subjected under its power. Power can be used well or be misused, but mostly for the good and glory of the one who possesses it. Power connotes influence and control of others. To serve implies a loss of dignity and comes at a cost. 

The Lord is servant 

Power and servanthood meet perfectly in the triune God. These traits exist perfectly in him, though we may struggle to marry the two together. David, the author of Psalm 23, shows us that the God of the Bible, the creator of the universe: seated in heaven with Earth as his footstool; sustaining all creation and sovereignly doing as he pleases - is servant-hearted. 

David displays God’s servant heart in the psalm. This is unusual to the world yet familiar to David. Remember, David is a man after God’s own heart and is in deep fellowship with God. He too is fully known by God. David speaks intimately of the Lord. He speaks from first-hand experience about who God is. The Lord has steadfastly and faithfully shown himself to David time and time again in various seasons and circumstances that he (the Lord) delights to serve.. 

The Lord makes him lie in green pastures, and he restores the psalmist’s soul (v2). He leads him to paths of righteousness (v3). He is with him in the valley of the shadow of death (v4). He prepares a table for him and he anoints him (v5). All the action words are ascribed to the Lord as the one doing these things. The psalmist is the one who receives all that is being ‘given’ and ‘done’ to him. It is a grace-filled fellowship. David lists all that the Lord has done for him. There there is no good deed that qualifies David to receive such fellowship from the Lord. The psalmist intimately points to the Lord as one who graciously does everything for him.

A potential misconception about this psalm is that it can easily be about us using God to achieve prosperity in the here and now. It loses being about God’s character and the deep fellowship between the sovereign Lord and his created beings. It can dangerously fall into being about using God for wealth, health and a life of ease. This kind of thinking proclaims God to be small rather than Lord over everything. It omits humanity’s greatest need (salvation) thus emptying the gospel of its power. It robs God of his glory. The Lord’s will in the Psalm is to draw us to himself and not to our selfish desires. 

God is master over all things yet still is a master who serves. His servant-heart does not diminish his authority. 

If you missed out on part one of this Psalm 23 series, here is the link https://thebibletalks.org/devotionals/the-servant-master-part-one-the-lord-is-shepherd-psalm-23