If you have ever been to a funeral chances are you have heard this poem read. Interestingly throughout time
Psalm 23 is short Psalm (six verses) penned by David. It is often referred as the Shepherd’s Psalm of David as it paints a beautiful picture of God’s tender love and care for His children. With only six verses this Psalm is packed insights to humanity, God, and his great love and provision for us.
The Shepherd
This Psalm is broken down into two pictures of God. The first is a picture of God as a shepherd (verses 1 – 4) and the second pictures God as a host (5 - 6).
“The LORD is my shepherd”
The opening verse begins with a picture of YHWH (the existing One, the Eternal One, the I AM) as a shepherd; however not just A shepherd but “MY” (David’s) shepherd. As a shepherd himself and as king David acknowledges God as his leader, his guide and counselor. Before I go any further I think it would be good to ask yourself, “Is YHWH MY shepherd? Is He the one who is leading me and guiding me in my life? Does He have supreme rule and authority in my life? Am I completely and utterly dependent on God as my shepherd?”
The word shepherd is defined as “a special friend, a herdsman, or one who tends to sheep.” I love the first definition, “a special friend.” God (Isa 40:11) and Jesus (John 10:11, Heb 13:20, I Pet. 2:25) are both referred as a shepherd throughout the Bible and his people are referred as sheep (Psa 78:52).
Some people are actually offended by this analogy because we all know sheep are dumb and need tending to all the time. They are totally dependent on the shepherd to lead them to food and water and they cannot defend themselves. However they also fail to realize that in the ancient Middle East sheep were considered precious to their owners and were even a symbol of wealth. Yes, we may be dumb and needy but we are precious to the Great Shepherd and we would be lost without Him.
It is a beautiful thing to visualize God as our shepherd because the job of a shepherd is to lead, protect and care for the sheep. A shepherd loves his sheep; he often gave them names and tenderly watched after them day after day. He would go to any extreme to get one lost sheep back in the fold. He would protect them from predators by fending off wild beasts with his staff. A predator would literally have to get past the shepherd in order to get to the sheep. This is what God is to us; our Great Shepherd.
“I shall not want”
As long as we are the sheep of God’s flock we lack nothing. As his sheep we should be completely satisfied under God’s care. We have no needs, no worries (at least we shouldn’t) and we are safe. Our contentment should be in the Good Shepherd and in nothing or nobody else. We have all we need in God.
“He makes me lie down… “
As a loving shepherd God knows what we need to survive and thrive thus He leads us to places of rest and feeding. God will take care of us as He brings us to these places we need for survival and rest. His presence and tender care revives us and relieves our inner being, our seat of emotions and passions (“He restores my soul”).
“He leads me in paths of righteousness”
God leads us down the road we need to be on (the right path) so we may go where we need to be. He is our righteousness and He is the one who guides in our moral paths. He does this for His names sake. We are the pride of God and when we walk in the paths of righteousness we reveal God’s glory, his fame, reputation and nature. He leads us in righteousness so we may live the good life, but He also leads us in this path so His fame and glory can be made known.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”
This verse could refer to a place of deep darkness, depression, or anxiety (or even a physically dark and despairing place) or it could be the looming reality of death in our lives. Dark times and death are inevitable in anyone’s life. Whether talking about the loom of physical death, a dark time in your life or a state of emotional despair these can all be distressing to one who chooses not to trust the shepherd. David writes that he “will fear no evil.” All of these “shadows” will not instill fear because he is in the tender care of the Shepherd. We would do well to learn as David did that when the dark times come we cannot let them overtake us and cause us to fear. Fear fades in the presence of the Lord.
The Host
In verse 5 the image of God changes from a Shepherd to the Host of a great feast. This picture shows that we are not only sheep in God’s care but we are also the honored guest at the Table of the Lord. Now this is an analogy that is less offensive to many.
God has set us a place as the special guest of honor at his table. He has spared no expenses and has invited us to eat with Him at His table. This is the place of communion with Him. As the Host God not only feeds and honors us but also assumes the responsibility for the safety of His guests. While under the care of the host all guests were safe from their enemies. As a guest our heads are anointed with perfumed oil (a means of refreshing and invigorating the body… kind of like a shower). The blessings and provisions of God are abundant just like a guest has a generous amount of wine available to them by the gracious host.
His abundance of blessings includes goodness and mercy. We have a plentiful supply of God’s prosperity, happiness, favor, and kindness. These blessings will remain with us for as long as we are alive.
“Dwell in the house of the Lord”
This is the ultimate communion with God. Many have interpreted the house of the Lord as the place where we go when we die. It is not necessarily a place we will go to some day. I believe it is where we are today… dwelling in the house of the Lord means we are in God’s presence. God is here today, He is in the midst of our lives right now. We can and have been given abundant life here on earth. I know of so many people who have written this life off and are just waiting to die so they can escape this world and go to heaven and be happy. My friends happiness is here in this life. The life we have today is a gift from God. Happiness and bliss is not just reserved for the afterlife; God desires we be happy and live the abundant life today. Living in the presence of the LORD today and forever is what David is writing about in this Psalm. Humans need to quit wasting our lives waiting for heaven. Heaven is the icing on the cake. The life we are living today is the cake. How you live your life is completely dependent upon you. I don’t think God’s intention for life is to just get by so we can go to heaven some day. If that were the case I would rather He bypassed the life here on earth and saved some time and energy and just sent me to heaven. Dwelling in the house of the LORD forever includes today. Today is included in forever. Let us dwell in God’s presence here on earth. Let us live the abundant life here on earth. It is a gift from God so let us not waste it by simply existing on this earth.
Conclusion
The LORD is my shepherd and I shall not want. God has blessed me in this life and I am extremely thankful that he is leading and guiding me through this life. I trust He will and has provided all for me. I am a dumb sheep in need of a shepherd. I am also an honored guest at the table of the Lord. I am blessed to have a life where I can live it in the presence of the LORD and will not waste or bide my time hear on earth waiting to go to heaven. I will enjoy the abundant life God has given me today and I look forward to continue dwelling in the presence of the Lord when He takes me home.
It is no wonder that people hold on to this verse in times of darkness and death. It is a beautiful picture of the wonderful love and care God has for us in dark times.I challenge us to not only hold this verse close to heart in times of death and turmoil, but to also hold them close in the life we live daily. May this Psalm not only be considered the Psalm of comfort in death, but that it may also be the Psalm of comfort in living the abundant and secure life in Jesus Christ.
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