Psalm 23
A psalm of praise

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. (v. 1)

The twenty-third Psalm is actually a psalm of praise. One cannot help but rejoice in the Lord’s blessings as he reads this psalm. It begins with praise for the Lord and His provision, and reflects this theme all the way through the psalm. It is prOBably the most popular and oft-quoted psalm in the entire Book of Psalms. The implication of verse one is that “because the Lord is my shepherd…” because He is, and because He loves, “I shall not (have) want”. All my needs are met in Him. I shall not want for peace and tranquility; I shall not want for restoration and further leading; I will fear no evil, nor death; I will not lack for comfort. I will be at peace with my enemies, and even sit at meat with them; I shall know a special and unique anointing by God alone; my cup will overflow with good things that will sustain me, and I will enjoy much more than what is needed. I can be assured that goodness and mercy will be with me all the days of my life, never one time forsaking me, and I can rest in the this promise; and, last, but not least by far, I will have an eternal home in Heaven with the One whom I greatly adore, and Who also adores me, and I will dwell in His house forever and ever. Do you see what I mean? This psalm is filled with praise for what the Lord has done. What greater promise need we than the 23rd Psalm? There is only one condition here, and that is that the Lord must be your shepherd, yea, the shepherd of your soul. This is not for everyone; neither is it for just anyone, but for the chosen one, the child of God.

As David sat on a hillside tending the flock, I can see him penning these words. He was basking in the grace and comfort of faith in the Lord; perhaps he was meditating on what the Lord means to him, and how good He has been in his life. He had put himself in the place of the sheep, and was praising God from their point of view. There must have been a vast, green meadow for his sheep, as well as a river or stream trickling gently down the hillside; PrOBably he had just recently retrieved a sheep that had strayed away, and restored him to the flock; he may have led the sheep back carefully to the fold. Perhaps there was a potential danger there too, a wolf lurking about, on the outer fringes of the hills, and other beasts that roamed the hills, and fed on sheep, and the sheep would gather close to the shepherd. They know the shepherd cares, and that he will protect them, even if he has to live among them until the danger is gone. What a blessing for the sheep! What a loving Shepherd.



Psalm 23
A Psalm of guidance

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.” (v. 2)

When the Lord is our Shepherd, he sees to it that we are taken care of properly. We are His property, and He will take special care of His own. He gives us a peace that “passeth all understanding” (Phil. 4: 7); a peace in which we can rest beside still waters and dwell in green pastures. He removes fear of hunger; of danger; and settles our hearts on the fact that He will provide. Even more amazing is that He will lead us to the green pastures and still waters, so that we need not search for them ourselves. What a loving God we serve. All we have to do is follow. He supplies our every need, and we can bask in the tranquility of His loving grace. It is enough that He provides us with this comforting peace, but He goes beyond that, and leads us to it. I cannot fathom this kind of love and care. When He leads me to the green pastures, He maketh me to lie down and rest, as if I am completely and fully in His power, as well I hope to be; and when He discovers His still waters unto me, I rejoice greatly, and relax in Him, knowing that He is there, and I have no fear of wanting. In so doing, “He restoreth my soul” unto Him, and I am refreshed and made whole again; and I find Him leading in the great and lovely paths of righteousness, which lead to His Heavenly Kingdom (v. 3). These paths are narrow and hard to follow without His gracious leading, in fact, they are impossible to follow; But He leadeth; what a wonderful blessing bestowed upon us, to have the God of all Creation, of the Universe and beyond, to lead each of us, lovingly and gently along.

Are you aware of God’s leading, my friend? Has he led you into those blessed paths of righteousness? Have you walked with God? If so, you know the sweetness of His presence and the joy of hearing His voice; you have experienced the wonderment of His love and basked in the peace He freely gives, but if not, you miss out on too much in this life. The question I put to you now is “Are you walking with God”? Has your soul been restored unto Him? Oh, I hope so, I hope so for your sake, as well as for Christ’s sake, lest Calvary be wasted on you! Yes, if one would be so foolish as to turn His back on Calvary, then the cross was wasted in his life. Don’t let the great sacrifice of Christ be meaningless in your life, accept Christ as your savior today and let Him lead you into paths of righteousness.




Psalm 23
A Psalm of Life

“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.” (v. 4)

Because the Lord is my Shepherd, and cares so deeply for me, I have no fear of death. Death is a valley for most people, a deep dark valley; a valley of despair and fear, but, praise God, it is not so for us! Death is only a shadow now, it has lost its gruesome death-hold on us, and is a mere shadow of what it was. Now, I can truly ask, with the apostle Paul, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Cor. 15: 55). Christ has literally wretched the victory from the hands of Satan, and passed that same victory unto us, and we live forevermore! I cannot walk this valley without Christ, for as soon as I enter its threshold, I am dead, having died in my sins; but with Jesus, oh, he is with me, I can do all things through Him, which strengthen me, even walk in this loathsome valley of death. There is comfort in His presence. There is peace, joy, love grace, and LIFE in Him, and we can endure this valley because He goes with us through it, and removes the “sting” of death.

Yea, even if death comes and nips at my heels as I walk, I have nothing to fear; If he breathes his fiery breath of death into my face, I can smile and continue on; even if he chides me and heckles me as I go, and taunts me until I want to scream… “thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” and I will prevail. Friends, I am on the winning side, but only because of Jesus. Take comfort in Him. Jesus is there for you. Most of us think we can take anything short of death if we have to, but with Jesus, we can even stand in the face of death. Against all odds, Jesus prevails. We would do well to hide ourselves in Him, thereby sharing His victory over death and hell. Be aware of the presence of Christ; it is a great comfort to know that he is there; whatever the trial, whatever the affliction, Christ is there with you; He will carry you through. When life is drudgery, and depression has you down, look up! Look up to Jesus, He is always there. He will never let you down when you fully trust in Him; he can’t; it is not in Him to do so, He honors faith. We walk through many valleys every day, but Jesus leads us out and there is a mountaintop ahead. Keep walking. Keep believing. Keep trusting in Christ, keep climbing that mountain of grace, and soar the lofty heights of eternity.




Psalm 23
A Psalm of Reconciliation

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” (v. 5)

Our God will bring reconciliation to our lives. First, we are reconciled to Him, then with one another. There is growth when we walk with the Lord. Preparing a table speaks of communion with one another, sitting down together in a time of feasting. It speaks of finding acceptance with our enemies, and when we have exalted Him, he also exalts us.

Case in point: Daniel. He found great favor with the prince of the eunuchs: “Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.” Dan. 1: 9; consider also Joseph who God promoted to second man in Egypt (Gen. 39); God will give us the favor of men; even in Luke we see that Christ grew in favor with God and man (Luke 2: 52). In the paths of righteousness, we will find a table spread before us, and eat with our enemies. This is necessary because God has anointed our heads with oil, the oil of His Spirit. Once he has anointed His beloved, they are blessed indeed. Three big blessings are seen in this verse as a result of making the Lord our shepherd: He will make us to be at peace with our enemies; he will anoint us with a special anointing; and He will cause our cup to run over with blessings. The cup is also a symbol of communion, but more specifically, communion with our God. Our cup shall run over with the anointing oil of God; we shall be blessed beyond measure, we shall have a close communion with the Lord.

This is for the saved man, he who walks with God daily and communes with Him regularly. This is the man that prays without ceasing, and that makes his body a “living sacrifice”…he is the one who makes the Lord his Shepherd, and sees the promises and blessings of God poured upon him. This is the sheep that abides in His Word, and is a disciple indeed, because he abides in Him, and the Shepherd knows him by name. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow him, as two friends that are always there to lend a hand, never leaving him alone, and he shall dwell in the house of the Lord…forever



Psalm 23
A Psalm of Rejoicing

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. (v.6)

This lovely psalm brings great joy and comfort to me every time I read it.
I find it disheartening though, that it is so often used only in funeral services today. It is a psalm for life, not for death! It offers comfort in the storm, and peace for the troubled soul, and yes, it is comforting when one has lost a loved one, but we need to realize that it is not solely a funeral dirge, it is a refreshment for our souls.

To me, the most comforting part, perhaps, is the last verse; there are two angels that follow us everywhere we go in life, they are Goodness, and Mercy. Goodness is there to bless us in all our endeavors for the Lord; Mercy is there when judgment comes, in any form, and he intercedes on our behalf. Thank God for these two “angels.” We could not make it through one day without the goodness of God, and definitely would not last long without mercy. We need them both, and God knows we do, and He provides that need. “Surely” they shall be with us, as surely as God’s Word. Which is the most value to us? It is hard to say. We need them both. As you walk through life, and go about your day, be aware that these two gentlemen follow you, and they are there for you, every moment, every day, and in all your ways. They do not lead, but follow, to help us out of the mischief we find, though we are often led into it of our own volition.

The Lord is so gracious in providing these for us. He is, of course, the Shepherd of the psalm, but He has appointed helpers, not for Him, but for us, to help us along the way. Every time we read, or hear this psalm, let us render our thanksgiving to the Lord of the psalm, and praise Him for His great provision on our behalf, and when trouble comes our way, remember these two blessed friends, they will see us through.

There are 27 pronouns in this short passage, and 17 of them refer to the “sheep” while only 10 refer to the Shepherd. One can easily see that the Lord loves His Sheep, and that we are foremost in His thoughts and heart.