Psalm 23 A deeper look

A deeper look

This beautiful and short Psalm is one of the most often memorized and recited passages in the Bible.

Psalm 23:1–2 “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.”

In Isreal, there are no Shepard available areas that you could call ‘green’ and the streams in this hilly country are anything but peaceful. So what is David referring to?

I feel the key is in the next line Psalm 23:3 “He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.” He is speaking of the Shepard who is the Lord. Around the Lord there is nothing but Peace. When David proclaimed that the Lord was his Shepard, he described to us the wonder of God reaching out to the individual. For sure, this is the only place in the Bible where the author describes God as his personal Shepard. 7 ‘casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you’. 1Pet 5:7

By calling God his Shepard, David recognizes God’s authority over his life. We all should do the same, submit to his authority and care. God knows what is best for all of us; He sees the end from the beginning, and his will for us is an outgrowth of his shepherding care and sovereignty over our lives.

‘I have all I need’

In a society where food and water were scarce, the Shepard's main job was to find fresh grass sprigs for the sheep to eat and safe water for them to drink. You should know that sheep are not very bright. They can get themselves into trouble very quickly, and quite often did. The shepard’s main job, then, was to lead them to the right supplies, all with keeping an eye out to keep them safe and healthy. How did David know so much about shepherding? 1 Samuel 16:11 “Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.” “Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.””

This phrase shows that David was content with God’s care. This is the same contentedness that Paul was talking about in Philippians 4:12 “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.”

He lets me rest in green meadows.

Once again, in the shepherding world, sometimes they would make their sheep lie down to rest and digest what they had eaten.

How often do we experience this in our own world? God stops our plans for our lives and makes us sit on the sidelines in the midst of the busy time at work, we need emergency surgery, or in my life another in a long line of winter celebrations at our house on the lake in way northern Minnesota - STOP- our son goes missing and then at 1 AM is found dead at the base of a tree he needed to kiss at 45 mph. The plans to live contentedly and be buried in that beautiful Maple Hill cementary, STOP. God has another plan. Still buried an a hilltop.

“he leads me beside peaceful streams.” “He renews my strength.”

Sheep tend to be very timid creatures. The available rushing water would scare them. If they fell in the weight of a soaked sheep would be very heavy to lift out of the stream. The shepard had to find ‘en getti’, a spring flowing out of the hillside rocks.

Are you drinking from a fire hose in your life? Remember that God offers times of refreshing for his people in the form of worship right here or online. Be sure to take advantage of the times to bring your family into a quiet place to drink from the well of God’s word.

He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

The role of shepard guiding the sheep in the right path seems obvious, but how in God’s name involved in this? David was careful to exalt the name of the Lord as he wrote this. This phrase talks about God’s appeal to the people to follow in his ways and by doing so they will honor who he is. While David was imperfect in doing so, scripture tells us that his daily motivation was evidence that he did exactly that.

God’s directives are not meant to keep people from ‘doing their own thing’ or somehow restrict their lives. Rather, Psalm 25:10 “The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.” Psalm 145:17 “The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness.” When we follow these loving directives that I just read, we honor God’s very name and expand his kingdom.

Psalm 23:4 “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”

I last spoke of this verse at Tony’s funeral. The image here is of the Shepherd’s caring protection. like a real sheep, we walk through the ‘ darkest valley’ every single day. There are a million ways that we can be tripped up, diverted, distracted and taken from the path we were on. That darkness takes many forms: Greed, addiction, chronic illness, dangers from predators both online and real life, poor financial decisions and on and on.

In all this God is our protector. He provides guidance and relief in Miraculous way through the work of his Spirit in the world, and he uses our human hands and feet to protect us in all kinds of ways. Like the sheep we’ve been talking about, we have no idea of the dangers that lurk just around the corner from us. But God knows, and he sees all. Only once we are in heaven will we know the extent to which God has protected us from our own foolish choices and from others who had sought to do us harm.

As David wrote in this verse, the knowledge of God’ protection and oversight should give you comfort everyday and we walk along our path toward Him His way.

A gracious soul may look through the darkest cloud and see God smiling on him. Thomas Brooks

I can look back at my darkest periods and realize that these were the times when the Lord was holding me closest. But I couldn’t see his face because my face was in his breast—crying. John Michael Talbot

Talk about valleys and depression

Psalm 23:5 “You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.”

Let’s start with the first sentence. Pretty weird image here. Imaging this shepard preparing a safe, secure place for the sheep to live in the visible presence of predators and thieves. Only the shepherd’s calm and care can reassure the sheep that they are safe and can rest. Also Davids identity as a warrior makes this phrase take on a very different tone. For David, being in the presence of his enemies was a harrowing position- one he experienced a number of times. Yet he declares that God has set a peaceful space for him to live and eat and be refreshed even though his enemies are literally in view.

When he wrote this, was David thinking of a specific time in which this actually occured? How about when he faced the giant on the field of battle (1Samual17)? Or when King Saul was after him to kill (1Samual 23:7-24:22)? How about when he had to flee to the Philistines and take sides against Isreal (1Samual 27)? Or was it when he had to run from his son Absalom when he tried to take the kingdom away from him ( 2Samual15-19)

You gota know that this image was very real to David, the warrior King. He had been in peril most, or frequently in his life so he knew that rescue didn’t come from his own hand. He knew that he was in God’s hands the whole time-safe, secure, and provided for.

How wonderful that this same assurance is for us today?

The second part of this verse Anointing oil and overflowing cup.

English Standard Version (Psalm 23)

6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD

forever.