"He leads me beside the still waters."

Sheep have a great need of water; the body of the animal is 70% water. Water determines the vitality, strength, and vigor of sheep and is essential to their well-being. If they lack water, their bodies become weak and impoverished and tissues dehydrate. If sheep are not led to clean, pure water, they will drink polluted water filled with parasites that cause disease.

Water comes from dew on grass, deep wells, or springs and streams. Sheep get much of their water from heavy dew on the grass in the early morning.

We read in Deut. 32:12, "So the Lord, alone, led him." This is speaking of Jacob, a name symbolizing all God’s people, the Lord’s portion and inheritance (Deut. 32:9). 

The Lord, ALONE, leads His sheep to pure water; it is only found in Him. He invites all to come to Him and drink (Jn. 7:37). He, ALONE, is the way, the only way to quench the thirst of all men (Jn. 14:6).

Sheep like to rise early before dawn and start to feed. In the early hours the vegetation is drenched with dew and the sheep can keep fit on the amount of water they take in with their forage. There is no water more pure or still than that which falls from the heavens.

May we be true to our name in this matter of utmost importance. Water is a matter of life or death. May we rise early every morning with joy and pleasure that we can feed on such green pastures and drink such pure, still water. Our Shepherd is always leading us in this way.

Nothing can quench our thirst but God. St. Augustine said, "Oh God, Thou hast made us for Thyself and our souls are restless, searching, ‘til they find their rest in Thee."

Let us not forsake the Fountain of living waters and hew out for ourselves our own cisterns - broken cisterns that hold no water (Jer. 2:13). If we have "no time" to drink of the still waters, we may be sure that we have contacted a fatal disease from drinking of the polluted pools of the world that will kill us if our Shepherd doesn’t come and make us lie down in His green pastures.

Oh, come Lord Jesus – come quickly – lest we die (Rev. 22:20).