Pondering the Psalms

Psalm 23

‘The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. {2} He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, {3} he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. {4} even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. {5} You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. {6} Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.’

This psalm is about friendship with God and the journey of life.

·         The LORD: Yahweh was the covenant God whose special name, LORD, was given to Israel as a token of his commitment to them as their God. His revealed nature was love, goodness, mercy, faithfulness and forgiveness (Exodus 3 and 34). This LORD was David’s Shepherd, pastor, friend, and companion.

·         Since this LORD was David’s shepherd, he would/could never be in want, that is, he would find all he needed for meaningful existence.

·         David wrote the psalm for the people of God so that they could make it their own because it rightly applied to them. We are God’s people through Jesus, so the psalm also applies to you and to me.

·         Since the LORD Jesus (I am the Good Shepherd) is my (your) Shepherd, I (you) will have everything required for a meaningful and fulfilling life.

·         The term ‘he makes me’ speaks of our shepherd leading us, even gently coercing us, to lie down. This means he urges us to cease from our activity, our work, our striving, our restlessness, our anxiety, our struggling, and etc., so that we may take the time to enjoy the rich pastures and still tranquil waters of his presence and company.

·         The term ‘he makes me’ also indicates a continual process. He constantly draws us away to rest in his presence.

·         To lie down speaks of trust, rest and surrender or submission. We hand over the reigns of control to the Shepherd of our souls.

·         He (not we, nor anything we could do) provided these rich pastures (note the number of uses of the word ‘he’); he wants us to enjoy them. Rather, he wants us to enjoy him. “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever”, says the catechism.

·         It is in the quietness and cessation from activity, when we take time to be with Jesus, that we are restored. The word ‘soul’ here refers to the whole person and could be translated, ‘he restores me’.

·         Out of the union and fellowship we enjoy with Jesus, and the resultant restoration, he keeps us on the right path. The pathway of life on which we walk is the right one, the one God has planned for us. This assurance comes from our fellowship, friendship, and companionship with Jesus.

·         For his name’s sake we often read to mean, ‘he does it for himself’, i.e., to maintain his honour, but that doesn't portray the full picture. The fuller understanding is that the Lord keeps us on the right path of life according to his dependable and reliable nature, which is loving, good, merciful, faithful and etc.

·         Even when that right pathway leads to ‘death valley’ we are still assured that it is the right pathway because the reality, tangibility, awareness, perception of his presence assures us (his rod and staff).

·         But there’s more: Our shepherd, pastor, companion, friend is also a host who provides rich feasts along the way. These feasts are lavish to the point of our cup brimming over.

·         The feasts, which are regularly enjoyed, are in the presence of enemies. Two ideas exist here: one, that there are enemies which threaten our existence that are always present. Second, that in spite of the bitterness (enemies) of the past, injuries which though past are still present, the Shepherd still lavishes upon us the banquet of his presence.

·         There’s even more yet because the Shepherd also pursues us with his love and goodness so that we are not only led to richness, we are pursued by richness. We are surrounded on every hand by the lavish provision of God through our Lord Jesus.

·         Finally, all the days of our lives we will know and enjoy the presence of the Lord, remaining with him forever.