Psalms 23:1-6 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”
I’ve felt drawn to this Psalm over the last few weeks. Several times when I have been going to bed, I’ve felt prompted to read these verses. At first I was a little frightened. For it is this Psalm that is most associated with death. It is often read at funerals and quoted over people as they lie on their death beds. But I have always felt that that was unfortunate. It has kind of given this Psalm a “gloomy” feeling when it should be the exact opposite! Just because this chapter mentions death does NOT mean that that is what it is about (I feel the same way about the song “Amazing Grace”).
This Psalm should instill joy and encouragement, not doom and gloom. Yes, it can offer encouragement for someone going through the death process, but I don’t think that is the only thing it is intended for.
So, with these verses on my mind so much lately, I thought it would be good to examine this Psalm verse by verse.
Verse 1: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” The implication of this verse is that BECAUSE the Lord is our shepherd, we shall not want. This want isn’t desire, but is rather saying that because the Lord is our Caretaker, we will not be in want. We will be provided for. It is a strong promise that says our Shepherd is good and trustworthy. He WILL provide for us. There is incredible encouragement in this verse. It brings to mind numerous other verses, like “If the Lord be for us, who can be against us, (Rom. 8:31)” and “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you, (Matt. 6:33)” and all the numerous verses that tell us not to worry. Our God and King is a great Caretaker/Shepherd and He is trustworthy!
Verse 2: “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.” As a big fan of the Lord’s sovereignty (J), I take tremendous comfort in the fact that He MAKETH us to lie down in green pastures and He leads us besides still waters. Using the shepherd/sheep analogy, the Shepherd physically forces the sheep to rest. He places pressure on their backs and causes them to lie down and rest upon the soft grass. He also directs the paths to cool, drinkable and refreshing water! Our Great Shepherd does the same thing for us! He causes us to rest and be content. He leads us and guides us to refreshment. Knowing that our Great High King is in control like this causes an overwhelming sense of peace and contentment to flood our souls!! Praise God for being such a great and worthy Shepherd!
Verse 3: “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” He restores our souls! So often we find ourselves down and discouraged, but it is our Shepherd Himself who restores us! I think that naturally springs from Him causing us to “lie down,” and to “drink.” When we are weary, He makes us lie down. When we are spiritually dehydrated, He leads us to still waters. He restores us!
The next part of this verse is perhaps the most stunning of the entire Psalm and perhaps one of the most amazing and under-recognized truths in all of Scripture. I still don’t fully grasp or appreciate it, but I’ll attempt to do it justice. The reason we are lead on paths of righteousness (sanctification) is for His Names sake. In other words, the reason God makes us Holy is so that His Name gets glory! That’s why Ephesians 2 says that we are HIS workmanship.
Our purification/sanctification is a work that is done TO US (not BY US) in order that those who are called by His Name may show to the world the glorious riches of Jesus Christ! We shine forth as righteous so that, as Jesus put it in Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” The saving work is His and the sanctifying work is His in order that He Himself may receive all the glory and we end up being the beneficiaries of the utter joy that accompanies this! PRAISE GOD!
Verse 4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” This is the reason this verse is used for the dying and/or dead. But I don’t think it’s talking JUST about death. It is saying that no matter WHAT we go through, no matter how trying or scary the circumstances, we do not have to fear because the Shepherd is with us! Because of His Sovereign hand and because of His great love for us, we never need to be worried. No matter what circumstances we are facing in life, this amazing and trustworthy and sovereign King is with us. Like the Psalmist said, though a thousand fall at my side and ten thousand fall at my right side, evil will not come near me (Psalms 91:7). For it is GOD who works for us and He is FOR us and not against us (Rom. 8:31). There is NOTHING to fear.
The second part of this is about correction. Because the only times I start to doubt God’s sovereignty is when I feel as if my mistakes and sins have brought me to destruction. As if somehow my failures were not part of His plan. But He comforts us here by reminding us of His rod and staff. When a sheep starts to go off course, the Shepherd will tap him on the side with the rod. This keeps him on track. And when he is off the path, the Shepherd will use the staff to hook the sheep and pull him back on path. God does the same things for us!
When we start to stray off the path of righteousness, He will use the “rod of correction,” (Pro. 22:15; Pro. 29:15) to get us back on track. The Lord chastises those He loves (Heb. 12:6). And if we stubbornly press through the rod of correction and find ourselves off the beaten path and stuck in some wicked sin, the Lord will catch us with His loving staff and pull us back onto the righteous path. The fact that He does this for His names sake guarantees it! He will not allow us to dishonor His name. HE WILL sanctify and purify us because His Name depends on it!
Verse 5: “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” I picture the Shepherd feeding His sheep a feast in an open pasture, while the wolves lurk on the edge of the woods staring with evil intentions at the sheep. But because of the Shepherd, the wolves are held at bay and are unable to do anything! The sheep rejoice in the midst of their enemies!
The same can be said for us. While the enemies of our souls lurk all around us, we are safe and content and provided for. We rest and take our ease while feasting in the midst of them!
Verse 6: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” Here is the end result of all these incredibly encouraging and victorious verses. Goodness and mercy WILL follow us all the days of our lives! Everything that occurs to us under the watchful and sovereign hand of our King, is guaranteed to work in our favor (Rom. 8:28). Every detail, every instance of life, is being guided by our great Shepherd in order to do us good for the glory of His Name! There is an unbelievable resource of joy and peace in these truths if we can remember to keep them in our hearts! We can live as MORE than conquerors, completely at ease with all of lives trials and tribulations. Through each up and down we can rest secure under the guidance of the Shepherd.
And in the end, even after death, we are not defeated. For we shall dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER!!! AMEN.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Psalms 91:7 “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.”
Romans 8:31 “ What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”
Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Proverbs 22:15 “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.”
Proverbs 29:15 “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.”
