Psalm 23

If you were to use an analogy to describe your relationship with God, what analogy would you use? If you were to say, “My relationship with God is like . . .,” what would you say it is like? Would you say God is like a best friend, he’s always there to lend a helping hand? Would you say God is like a grandparent, overlooking your faults and spoiling you? Would you say God is like a state patrol sitting on the side of the road waiting to catch you doing something wrong? Or would you say God is like an angry judge eager to punish you?

In the 23rd Psalm David uses the analogy of a shepherd to describe his relationship with God. That analogy makes sense when we remember that he had once been a shepherd, tending his father’s sheep.

Turn with me to Psalm 23. A few weeks we looked at Psalm 22. I mentioned that Psalms 22, 23, and 24 are seen as a trilogy of psalms that deal with the Messiah as Shepherd. In Psalm 22, the Good Shepherd dies for his sheep; in Psalm 23, the Good Shepherd cares for his sheep; and in Psalm 24, the Good Shepherd rewards his sheep. I’m going to read Psalm 23 in the King James Version, a translation of the psalm we’re so familiar with, but when we go back over to discuss it I’ll use the NIV. David says:

1 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. (Psalm 23, KJV)

Charles Spurgeon called Psalm 23 the “pearl of the Psalms that delights every eye.” We’re told President Lincoln would read it whenever he was discouraged. President Bush read it to the nation after September 11 to help calm the country’s fears. You will typically find it inscribed in cemeteries or funeral homes, but this psalm has application for each of us every day and not just after the passing of a loved one. Because of verse 4, I will often read it at a graveside service, but the psalm as a whole has more to do about living than about dying.

1 The Lord is my shepherd,

We know who this psalm is about because in Hebrew it is the first word – the Lord: “Yahweh is my shepherd.” This is the name God gave to Moses when he appeared to him in a burning bush. At that time God said about this name: SLIDE 2

This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation. (Exodus 3:15b)

SLIDE 3 Like us, there are many ways David could have described his relationship with God but he chose to use the analogy of a shepherd. After all, that was very familiar to him. When he was growing up he was responsible for his father’s sheep. He understood the role of a shepherd quite well. Now, as he writes this psalm, he reflects back on those days of his youth and decides how fittingly it describes his relationship with God. As he shepherded his father’s sheep so had God shepherded him.

David is not the only one who uses this analogy of God as a shepherd. Before his death, as Jacob is blessing his sons, he talks about how Joseph will remain strong and attributes that strength to God who is a shepherd. SLIDE 4

But [Joseph’s] bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel. (Genesis 49:24)

SLIDE 5 Throughout the Old Testament God is referred to as a shepherd for his people and God referred to himself that way as well. That is remarkable though given the status of a shepherd in that day. We’re told that the Egyptians despised shepherds. If a family needed a shepherd, the task was given to the youngest and least important in the family.

You’ll remember when Samuel went to the home of Jesse, David’s father, for a feast and all of the family was invited. Everyone was there except David. The family didn’t even bother to bring him in from the fields for this once-in-a-lifetime event. They obviously didn’t think too much of this shepherd boy. He was just the kid who took care of the sheep. It has been said that God stoops down to take this lowly role in our lives as well.

Of course Jesus uses the analogy of shepherd to describe his relationship to us when he referred to himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.

God is our shepherd and we are his sheep. God’s people are referred to as sheep almost two hundred times. That’s more than any other description. That’s not really a compliment. Isaiah said: SLIDE 6

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way. (Isaiah 53:6a)

That’s what sheep do. They have a tendency to wander off and get lost. On its best day it is a good day only because of the shepherd. Dogs can navigate. Salmon and birds can navigate. Sheep can’t. They just get lost.

The word shepherd is an intimate one though. Jesus said: SLIDE 7

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)

SLIDE 8 Several shepherds can bring their sheep into the same pen at night and in the morning just say a word and call only their own sheep. Trained sheep will only follow their own shepherd. They will not follow the voice and commands of anyone else.

The Hebrew word for shepherd is רָעָה (râ‛âh), it is also the root word for what is translated as friend or companion. I think that tells us about the intimate relationship between sheep and their shepherd.

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

For David to say that he will lack nothing – or as the KJV says, shall not want – is both a declaration and a decision. It is a declaration in that David acknowledges how God provides for him. Sheep are not able to provide for themselves and completely depend on the shepherd for food. We can trust God to provide what we need, but not necessarily what we want. In the next two verses, David describes how that is accomplished. But this is also a decision to not want more that what the shepherd provides. One sign of maturing believers is to want what God wants for us. It is when we hear and obey the shepherd that we find there is nothing we truly lack.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

SLIDE 9 When we picture green pastures we probably picture lush green fields. That’s not the way it is in Israel though. In Israel, there is not a lot of fertile farm land to grow shin deep grass for the sheep. All available land is used to grow food. As a result, sheep are only allowed on that land in the fall after the harvest. They feed on what has been left behind and fertilize the field for the next year’s crop. The rest of the year they are kept on land where they can’t grow food. The sheep are kept out in what is often referred to in the Bible as the wilderness. We talked about the Judean wilderness two weeks ago. SLIDE 10 Take a look at this “green pasture” in modern Israel. You can see the sheep grazing but you’ve got to wonder on what. If you don’t get up close, you won’t even see any grass, but it’s there. SLIDE 11 It’s a little easier to see some of the green grass in this picture. It usually grows beside a rock where water from the dew rolls off the rock and collects under it. SLIDE 12 As you look there doesn’t seem to be enough grass for the sheep, but it’s enough for that day. They get a mouthful, take a few steps while they chew and take and come to where they can take another mouthful. SLIDE 13 Green pastures do not provide everything you need for the rest of your life; they only provide what you need for today. So the sheep eat what they find and the next day the shepherd moves them on to another green pasture.

SLIDE 14 We should not skip over the fact that the shepherd makes the sheep to lie down. The shepherd knows when the sheep need rest. The implication is that the shepherd knows better than the sheep do about what they really need.

In his book, “A Shepherd Looks at the Twenty-Third Psalm,” Philip Keller, a shepherd, writes that sheep do not lie down easily. They will only lie down if four conditions are met.

Because they are timid, sheep will not lie down if they are afraid.

Because they are social animals, they will not lie down if there is friction among the sheep.

If there are flies or parasites troubling them, the sheep will not lie down.

If the sheep are hungry or anxious about food they will not lie down.

Keller writes that sheep will only rest after the shepherd has dealt with fear, friction, flies, and famine. And that’s what the Lord does for us.

God has given us days for rest as well. From the very beginning, God established a day of rest. SLIDE 15

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Genesis 2:2-3)

SLIDE 16 By example, God is showing us that we need to rest. For much of the Old Testament, God tries to remind his people of this need. In the New Testament, Jesus tells us that we were not made for the Sabbath, but that the Sabbath was made for us. It was given to us as a day of rest because God knows how much we need it.

With that green pasture in mind, notice that you don’t see any flowing streams. Out in the wilderness, where are the sheep going to find water? It’s not the sheep’s problem. Just as the shepherd leads the sheep to green pastures, the shepherd leads the sheep to still water. It has to be still, because the sheep are skittish. They won’t drink from flowing streams. So that’s what the shepherd provides.

3 he refreshes my soul.

By caring for the sheep – making sure they had rest, food, and water – the shepherd was refreshing the souls of the sheep. David says that God refreshed or restored his soul.

Additionally, the Hebrew word for restore means “to return” or “turn back.” It can refer to bring a lost sheep back into the fold. One commentator wrote:

In the Hebrew the words “restores my soul” can mean “brings me to repentance or conversion.”

Think about the parable Jesus told of the lost sheep. The shepherd returns home one evening and as he puts his sheep in the pen he notices he’s missing one. He has a hundred, but he’s missing one. What does he do? He leaves the ninety-nine in order to go out and find the one and restore it to the fold. We do not go looking for God, God comes looking for us.

In his hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” Robert Robinson describes this tendency to wander when he says:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;

Prone to leave the God I love:

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it

We, like sheep, are prone to wandering off and God comes to restore us and leads us where we need to be going. David says:

He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

He restores us and then leads us, taking us to paths of righteousness. The shepherd is our guide. The sheep don’t need to know where the green pastures are or where to find the still waters. All the sheep need to know is where the shepherd is because the shepherd will lead the sheep to those places.

God guides us into the right paths or to paths of righteousness. God does what is right and leads us to do what is right. And it is all for his glory or name’s sake.

I’m reminded of a comment Moses made on Mount Sinai. Moses had been on the mountain with God for forty days. The people, beginning to wonder if Moses was coming back, built a golden calf. God told Moses that he was ready to destroy the people and start over with him and turn Moses into a great nation. But Moses pleaded with God and asked what the other nations would think. What would the Egyptians think if God led his people out into the wilderness and killed them all? What kind of God must he be? Moses was thinking about God’s reputation. David says that God leads us to the right places and thus proves his reputation. He proves that he is reliable and that we can trust him. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

Suddenly the psalm takes a dark turn. He’s been talking about God caring for him, proving rest, food, and water along paths of righteousness. But now he talks about dark valleys. And David doesn’t talk about “if” he might walk through a dark valley but “when” he walks through the valley. Valleys are inevitable. Dangers are inevitable. The KJV says “the valley of death,” but the Hebrew actually says “the valley of dark shadow.”

This valley is not everywhere, it is found in specific locations. A valley is a low area. Because it is lower than the area surrounding it, there is a shadow in the valley. My in-laws lived in a valley when they lived in Saltville. During the winter they did not see the sun rise in the east till 10:00 and it went down in the west at 2:00. They had daylight longer than that, but they could only see the sun for those four hours because of the steep mountains around them. They were in the shade the rest of the day. That’s what happens in a valley.

Note too that David doesn’t say he’s facing death, but a shadow, a deep dark shadow of death. Sometimes it’s translated as a black of doom or thick darkness.

We understand how darkness can sometimes be unsettling if not frightening. Somewhere you go in the daytime looks completely different at night. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen who have been a little nervous walking through this building in the dark who haven’t thought twice about walking through it during the day when there’s light. The dark shadows at night can set you on edge. But they are just shadows, shadows of something real but only shadows. Shadows can’t hurt. A dog can bite, its shadow cannot. The shadow of death cannot destroy us.

It has also been pointed out that if there can’t be a shadow without a light somewhere and that we should therefore rejoice in the light.

David says that he will fear no evil. Even in the midst of walking through this valley of dark shadows he will not be afraid. The reason he gives is because he knows that God is with him. His shepherd is by his side. While God’s presence doesn’t eliminate the presence of evil in David’s life, it did eliminate the fear of evil. As long as the shepherd is with the sheep, the sheep will be OK.

David understood that even with God’s leading there would be times when he would go through unsettling events. However, they were not his destination or dwelling place. It was only a temporary experience.

Notice too that David has been talking about God in the first three verses, but now in the fourth verse, in the valley of deep shadows and evil David starts talking to God. “For you,” David says, “are with me.”

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

The rod is for correction and protection. The staff is for support. David said that both the rod and staff comfort him. How do they both bring comfort? If I do something wrong God was there to get him back on the right path. As the author of Hebrews says, God disciplines those he loves.

In verse 5 the analogy changes from that of a shepherd to that of a host inviting him in for a meal.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

David is being invited to a feast. I say “feast” because of David’s mention of a table. Remember those green pastures? There was only enough to survive, but here there seems to be an abundance on the table. There’s so much that it needs a table. That it has been prepared suggests that there has been planning and foresight. Here is a table of bounty prepared for David.

The Bible talks about such a feast at the end of time when Jesus returns. One verse that talks about this feast says: SLIDE 17

Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:9)

SLIDE 18 I don’t know if this is what David had in mind, but God has prepared this meal for him in the presence of his enemies. In that day, you didn’t eat with your enemies. If you ate with them it meant you had made peace. In 1978 Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty. SLIDE 19 Among the many pictures of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin was a picture of them sitting down and eating together. It was an illustration of the peace that had been made between their two countries. David says that we will be at peace with even our enemies. SLIDE 20

You anoint my head with oil;

It was common in that day to anoint the head of their guest with oil. It felt good and smelled good.

my cup overflows.

The Hebrew word for “overflows” or “runneth over” literally means to be saturated. David had a drink from the cup and he is no longer thirsty. He’s had enough, he’s satisfied, and there’s more left over.

6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

David had spent years running from Saul. Because Saul had sent men out looking for David, David had to watch his every step. It would tend to make you paranoid after a while. Anyone spotted in a shadow might be spying on him, following him so as to report his location to Saul. But now, only goodness and mercy will be following David.

The word translated as mercy in the KJV is חֶסֶד (chêsêd). It is translated as loving kindness, faithfulness, love, or covenant loyalty. It is the closest the Old Testament has for the word “agape” in the New Testament. The word is most often used to describe God’s commitment to his people. In Numbers we read that: SLIDE 21

The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation. (Numbers 14:18)

SLIDE 22 How long did David expect this mercy and goodness to follow him? He expected him all of his life, every day of his life.

And the final line:

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

David has been invited into the house of God and will be allowed to stay forever. The house of God is the temple. That’s where he went to worship God. Our eternity is with God in his house to worship him. We will have an eternity with God experiencing his presence.

I don’t know if you’ve heard the latest news, but we’re living in very unsettled times. At least that’s what you hear from almost every media outlet. It is also no coincidence that our culture is filled with people who are unhappy, stressed out, worried and unsettled. Someone said that:

Anxiety is the rust of life, destroying its brightness and weakening its power. A childlike and abiding trust in God is the best preventive and remedy.

Because the times and people are so unsettled it is good to know that there is someone we can turn to for help and hope.

I’ll close with twelve promises we find in Psalm 23: SLIDE 23

God’s presence

God’s protection

God’s power

God’s provision

God’s leading

God’s purposes

God’s rest

God’s cleansing

God’s goodness

God’s faithfulness

God’s guidance

God’s wise plan

Let’s pray!

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