He’s Got the Whole World in His Harness

Saturday Psalm: 5.10.25

Photo by David Henry via Pexels

The Saturday devotion focuses on a part of a psalm – a verse, a phrase, even a single word. We pray that it is a blessing to you.

Psalm 23
v4b Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

The first time I saw a child harness in use, I thought, “That kid’s on a leash.”

Yet I have seen many toddlers who look happy to be harnessed. That struck me as odd, which was also my reaction to Psalm 23 describing the Shepherd’s rod and staff as comforting.

Think about what a shepherd’s rod and staff were. The rod, a club for whacking predators or for prodding a sheep. I don’t like to be whacked or prodded. The staff, a walking stick with a crook useful for yanking a wayward sheep back in the right direction … like a leash. And I wouldn’t want to be leashed.

Eventually I saw that David’s perspective on the rod and staff is very similar to what I have seen with child harnesses. The happy children view the harness not as a pet leash and collar, but more like a rock climber’s safety harness. They feel free to charge toward something enticing, confident that Mom or Dad will hold them back if it poses any danger. While they might lose sight of their parents, they remain tethered to safety.

David knew that the Law of the Lord that he was versed in was less about restricting and more about protecting.

For God’s faithful, we should be able to see that the Law that initially condemned us was not, in fact, purely punitive and restrictive, a general “thou shalt not enjoy life.” Confident we have been forgiven, we can still use the Law like a harness, showing us the value of living within the limits of love.

As a rod, it prods us to do right. As a staff, it pulls us back from doing wrong. Wrapped in the knowledge of the Law, we can be confident that God will hold us back from danger, that we remain tethered to safety.

Goodness and mercy followed the Law in the form of the Gospel, forgiveness through Christ. We too will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Harnessed by God, there’s only so far we can drift, only so far we can fall.

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.