“Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me”
Psalm 23:4

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Lent Service VI—April 5, 2017

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.  He restoreth my soul.  He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me.” 

We continue our sermon series, “A Lenten Look at Psalm 23”: “Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.” 

These two instruments are the common and universal equipment of the primitive shepherd.  In his book, “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23,” Philip Keller has a fascinating explanation of what the shepherd’s rod is, and how it is used:

“Each shepherd boy, from the time he first starts to attend his father’s flock, takes a special pride in the selection of a rod exactly suited to his own size and strength. He goes into the bush and selects a young sapling which is dug from the ground. This is carved and whittled down with great care and patience. The enlarged base of the sapling, where its trunk joins the roots, is shaped into a smooth, rounded head of hardwood. The sapling itself is shaped to exactly fit the owner’s hand. After he completes it, the shepherd boy spends hours practicing with his club, learning how to throw it with amazing speed and accuracy. It becomes his main weapon of defense for both himself and his sheep.

“I used to watch the native lads having competitions to see who could throw his rod with the greatest accuracy across the greatest distance. The effectiveness of these crude clubs in the hands of skilled shepherds was a thrill to watch. The rod was, in fact, an extension of the owner’s own arm. It stood as a symbol of his strength, his power, his authority in any serious situation. The rod was what he relied on to safeguard both himself and his flock in danger. And it was, furthermore, the instrument he used to discipline and correct any wayward sheep that insisted on wandering away.

“There is an interesting sidelight on the word, ‘rod,’ which has crept into the colloquial language of the West. Here the slang term ‘rod’ has been applied to handguns, such as pistols and revolvers, which were carried by cowboys and other Western rangemen. The connotation of calling their weapons a ‘rod’ is exactly the same as that used in this Psalm.

“The shepherd’s rod is an instrument of protection both for himself and his sheep when they are in danger. It is used both as a defense and a deterrent against anything that would attack.  The skilled shepherd uses his rod to drive off predators like coyotes, wolves, cougars, or stray dogs. Often it is used to beat the brush discouraging snakes and other creatures from disturbing the flock. In extreme cases, such as David recounted to Saul, the psalmist no doubt used his rod to attack the lion and the bear that came to raid his flocks.

“Once in Kenya photographing elephants, I was being accompanied by a young native herder, who carried such a club in his hand. A cobra suddenly came into view, ready to strike. In a split second the alert shepherd boy lashed out with his club, killing the snake on the spot.

“‘Thy rod . . . comforts me.’ In that instant I saw the meaning of this phrase in a new light.  It was the rod ever ready in the shepherd’s hand that had saved the day for us.”

So, the “rod” of our Good Shepherd symbolizes his strength in protecting and defending us.  As Jesus says in the tenth chapter of John: “I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.  The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.  I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me . . . and I lay down my life for the sheep. . .  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”

Your Good Shepherd laid down his life to rescue you from the ultimate predator, as Peter says, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.”  Your Good Shepherd laid down his life to rescue you from the ultimate predator, and he will watch over you and bless you and protect you all the days of your life, until he takes you to dwell with him in the house of the Lord forever.  As Paul says in 2nd Timothy, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.”

Philip Keller also describes the other instrument a shepherd carries, the shepherd’s staff:

“The staff, more than any other item of his personal equipment, identifies the shepherd as a shepherd. No one in any other profession carries a shepherd’s staff. It is uniquely an instrument used for the care and management of sheep—and only sheep. It will not do for cattle, horses, or hogs. It is designed, shaped, and adapted especially to the needs of sheep. And it is used only for their benefit.

“The staff is essentially a symbol of the concern, the compassion that a shepherd has for his charges. No other single word can better describe its function on behalf of the flock than that it is for their comfort.  Whereas the rod conveys the concept of authority, of power, of discipline, of defense against danger, the word “staff” speaks of all that is long-suffering and kind.

“The shepherd’s staff is normally a long, slender stick, often with a crook or hook on one end. It is selected with care by the owner; it is shaped, smoothed, and cut to best suit his own personal use.

“The staff is used for guiding sheep. Again and again I have seen a shepherd use his staff to guide his sheep gently into a new path, or through some gate, or along some dangerous, difficult route. He does not use it actually to beat the beast. Rather, the tip of the long slender stick is laid gently against the animal’s side, and the pressure applied guides the sheep in the way the owner wants to go. Thus the sheep is reassured of its proper path.

“Sometimes I have been fascinated to see how a shepherd will actually hold his staff against the side of some sheep that is a special pet or favorite, simply so that they are ‘in touch.’ They will walk along this way almost as though it were ‘hand-in-hand.’ The sheep obviously enjoys the special attention from the shepherd, and revels in the close, personal, intimate contact between them. To be treated in this special way by the shepherd is to know comfort in a deep dimension. It is a delightful and moving picture.

“The Christian life as a sheep in the Good Shepherd’s flock is not just one of subscribing to certain doctrines, or believing certain facts. Essential as all of this confidence in the Scriptures may be, there is, as well, the actual reality of experiencing and knowing firsthand the feel of his touch—the sense of his Spirit upon my spirit. There is for the true child of God that intimate, subtle, yet magnificent experience of sensing the Comforter at his side. This is not imagination—it is the genuine, bona fide reality of everyday life. There is a calm quiet repose in the knowledge that our Good Shepherd is there to direct us, even in the most minute details of daily living. He can be relied on to assist us in every decision, and in this there lies tremendous comfort for the Christian.”

So, the “staff” of our Good Shepherd symbolizes his gentleness in guiding us, as he walks with us along life’s way.  As Isaiah says, “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads them . . .” 

I am Jesus’ little lamb, ever glad at heart I am;

For my Shepherd gently guides me . . .

“Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.”  The “rod” of our Good Shepherd symbolizes his strength in protecting and defending us; the “staff” of our Good Shepherd symbolizes his gentleness in guiding us, as he walks with us along life’s way.