The Lord Is My Shepherd
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads 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 mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
This Psalm of David is probably the most cherished psalm of all. Even children at a very young age, have learned and memorized this song as part of their early Christian discipline. For me, I am encouraged in my walk with God to see how David, a man after God’s own heart, committed his life to the Lord his God. With confidence, David knew his sovereign God was not only present in all circumstances of life, but it was God who designed his path and who was leading, guiding, correcting, and protecting him in all ways of righteousness. This is reassuring for the believer; and even more so, reassuring to me that through all the seasons of my life, as troublesome I may think them to be, it is God who is gently and tenderly leading me.
The Apostle Paul, echos this confidence in Philippians 1:6 when he said, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
In my reflection and while looking at the psalm as a whole on a page, the structure is evident and provides a glimpse of David’s thought processes at the time of his writing. David begins and ends this psalm with his praise, his confession of his servitude to his Jehovah God (יְהוָה), his covenant-making God, the LORD. In verse one, David speaks from the perspective of a lowly sheep who is being cared for, protected, and being led by his Shepherd-God. Sheep, even though they were the main staple in ancient Jewish times, sheep still bring to mind the simple lowliness of the creature. They cannot tend to themselves. The Egyptians, in Genesis 43:32, 46:34, and Exodus 8:22, were said to consider sheep and shepherds as an abomination. That is why they allowed the Israelites to live in the land of Goshen with their sheep. In the same way, David in his humility considered himself nothing more than a sheep. He recognized his dependence on his LORD and claimed to be a lowly sheep in the care of his Shepherd, his covenant-making God, the LORD. This alone encourages me to forsake any pride that may falsely promote or elevate me to a high position when depending on myself, rather than my dependence on my God. By myself, I am nothing. But thankfully, that is not how David’s story or my story ends.
At the conclusion of this great, masterfully written psalm, David seems to burst out in praise with jubilant cheer for his LORD. David’s greatest desire was to be with his Lord and God forever in His house. His confidence is proclaimed as he confessed “I shall live in the house of the LORD forever.” David did not doubt or hope that someday he may be with his God. David was emphatic in his declaration. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that he shall live forever. As a lowly creature, David was confident, yet dependent on the mercy and the grace of God. in the same way, I have learned, not only through Scripture because it is through Scripture and the teaching of the Holy Spirit we find Jesus Christ, yet experientially I can also say, I am God’s. He has never forsaken me not left me. He has disciplined me ever so gently and tenderly as a father who loves his children. He is mine and I am his. I know with confidence, that I am a child of God and because of Him, I also shall live in the house of the Lord forever. And I shall feast at the table spread before me. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
In between David’s two bookends of praise to his exulted God who alone is all worthy of praise, the one who shepherds him while here on this journey, and the one who will exalt him to his heavenly home, David shares what his earthly journey is like. Because of his Lord God, David lacks nothing and has all he desires and needs for his earthly journey. His God gives him rest and sustenance like a sheep who is in green pastures. He is led to satisfy his thirst with cool waters. The imagery is like that of a running deer whose thirst for water is quenched by God’s providential care (Psalm 42:1). The green pastures and the cool waters are the good gifts of God, for all good things come from Him (James 1:17). While our journey to our Promised Land may be treacherous like the wilderness was to the Israelites, yet, we can have confidence that our Lord God is with us, by day and by night. For He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). There will be valleys, and low points in our journey. We will be met with death, which will be unavoidable, for even death will not escape us. The Apostle Paul tells instructs us to not be dismayed because death, our last enemy, will be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26) and we, those who are in Christ Jesus, will live in eternal bliss with Jesus Christ as their Lord and God. Until then, our exulted Shepherd-God will lovingly discipline and chastise those who He loves (Hebrews 12:6). We should never fear the discipline of our Lord, for He is gently and lowly in heart. And the benefits of his mercy far outweigh any pain we may have in our journey.
John Calvin says in his commentary on Psalm 23, “All men, it is true, are not treated with the same liberality with which David was treated; but there is not an individual who is not under obligation to God by the benefits which God has conferred upon him, so that we are constrained to acknowledge that he is a kind and liberal Father to all his people. In the meantime, let each of us stir up himself to gratitude to God for his benefits, and the more abundantly these have been bestowed upon us, our gratitude ought to be the greater.”
Therefore, I am resolved, by the mercies of God to be eternally grateful for the love that He has shown me. His love and steadfast faithfulness does endure forever indeed.
I am reminded of a beautiful old hymn that speaks of the loving relationship between a child and his God called, “In the Garden.”
In the Garden
Charles A. Miles, 1913
- I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.- Refrain:
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
- Refrain:
- He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing. - I’d stay in the garden with Him,
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.