Psalm 23

Psalm 23 KJV 1900

A Psalm of David. 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.

Introduction

In Psalm 23, David covers all three phases of orientation that we typically talk about.

He starts in orientation.

He walks through the valley of the shadow of death (disorientation)

He ends up in the house of the Lord (reorientation)

God as Shepherd 1-4

David starts by talking about God. 1-3

He is a personal shepherd

Normally, when God is pictured as a shepherd this is alway communicated in a communal way.

He is the shepherd of Israel.

We are the sheep of his pasture.

This makes sense because a shepherd usually has a flock of multiple sheep that he looks after.

David keys in on the fact the Lord is not just the shepherd of the flock as a whole.

The Lord is the shepherd of the individual sheep.

He is a shepherd that provides for His sheep.

The phrase, “I shall not want...” is incomplete.

The question that immediately pops into our head is, “I shall not want…what?”

That’s the point.

It doesn’t matter how we fill in that blank.

As a sheep in God’s flock, I will never lack the things I need.

Not only that, but my shepherd designs situations in which I will thrive.

These are the green pastures and the still waters.

This means I can graze and drink freely from His supply.

Thriving as a sheep is not dependent upon external circumstances.

God’s sheep regardless of what is going on around them can thrive.

Even when life’s circumstances are grinding me down, I find that He restores my soul.

My shepherd knows how to restore me when I am broken.

This applies equally to when I brake myself and when I am broken by others.

The shepherd knows how to restore me to health.

Finally, He leads me in the right paths.

The existence of right paths, implies the existence of wrong paths.

As long as I follow my Shepherd, He will never leave me astray.

He does this for His name’s sake.

While this could mean that His reputation is at stake, there is another way to understand this.

“for His name’s sake...” can also mean He is faithful to lead me because that’s what His name is.

In one sense of the word, YHWH means “faithful one.”

My shepherd takes good care of me, He is faithful to perform His responsibilities because that’s just who He is.

This ends the first section of David talking as he transitions into a time of direct communication to God during a time of disorientation.

David transitions to talking to God. 4-5

If the shepherd leads the sheep faithfully, then we can trust that even when He leads through the valley of verse 4, He is still to be trusted.

That is what David is saying to God as they walk through the valley together.

Though in the literal presence of death, David knows he has nothing to fear.

He expresses his confidence in God.

He finds comfort in the rod and staff of the shepherd.

The staff is the shepherds crook.

It prevents thee sheep from straying away from the safety of the shepherd.

The rod is a throwing weapon.

With it the shepherd can kill or ward off any enemies that might come.

Throughout the 23rd Psalm there is the feeling of traveling towards a destination.

Indeed a shepherds life is somewhat nomadic.

It is also cyclical.

The shepherd takes the sheep away from the comfort of home with the intention of returning.

Along the way though, we see the Shepherd also functioning as a host to the sheep.

God as host 5-6

The table that is prepared elicits images of Thanksgiving, or maybe Easter.

Instead, we are to picture the shepherd preparing a mesa, a table-land for His sheep.

The shepherd prepares the mesa for the sheep by removing poisonous plants and hunting down the predators that would threaten the sheep.

The shepherd anoints the head of the sheep with oil.

This is to prevent parasites and sickness from affecting the sheep.

It is prescriptive when needed, but it is also preventative when not needed.

Isn’t this a great picture of what we get from God.

He can treat us when we are spiritually sick.

He can also prevent us from getting sick in the first place.

David resumes talking about God. 6

Goodness and mercy following me has a strange connotation in our mind.

I think about my little brothers following me around where ever I went.

That is not the following that this Hebrew word communicates.

Instead is more along the lines of a hunter.

Goodness and mercy are pursuing the psalmist.

We think about trouble following us or hunting us down.

But that is not the case with God’s sheep.

Finally, we look forward to dwelling in the house of the Shepherd forever