The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul; He leads me in the
paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Yea, 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.
You prepare a table before me in the
presence of my enemies: You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Continuing from my study of the 23rd Psalm.
Verse 4 – Gift of the
Shepherd
“Yea, 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.”
· David recognized that with the Shepherd leading
the way, we may walk through the valley of the shadow of death. That the
valley is neither a destination, nor a dwelling place.
· Shadows are not tangible but are cast by
something that is. In looking toward Jesus as the Great Shepherd, it can be
said that we only face the shadow of death because Jesus took full reality of
death in our place.
· The presence of the shepherd does not eliminate
the presence of evil, but most certainly his presence eliminates the fear of
evil.
· Just as the rod and staff used by the shepherd
to both gently guide and correct the sheep, it is a great comfort to us to know
God will guide and correct us when we need it.
· The sheep take comfort in the strength of the
shepherd.
· David is declaring that if adversity were to
befall him, he would lean into the providence of God. In doing so he is able to
courageously endure the misfortunes he may face.
· We can be reassured to find a source of strength
and courage in God’s presence, even when we find ourselves in a dark valley.
· Seeing how the Shepherd’s hand has guided and
sustained us in our darkest hours renews our faith.
· When we find ourselves in troubles caused by our
own stubborn, self-willed actions, our Shepherd is there in tenderness and
compassion.
· We can trust our Shepherd, not only in what He
does for us, but in that He knows what lies ahead.
· Rather than focusing on fear, we can focus on the Solution.
Verse 5 – The Shepherd as Host
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.”
· The shepherd prepares a field for his sheep, eliminating
dangers and hazards that may adversely affect the sheep, allowing them to graze
in abundance.
· Our Shepherd has provided provision and goodness
which can be enjoyed confidently in perfect security, even amongst those who
stand against us.
· David paints a beautiful picture for us; the “table”
suggests bounty; “prepare” suggests foresight and care; “before me” suggests a
personal connection to the shepherd.
· Despite the dangers of the presence of enemies,
we can enjoy the richness of the host’s goodness toward us and be refreshed
through his actions.
· Our Shepherd provides abundantly, “Now to Him
who is able to do immeasurably more that all we ask or imagine, according to
His power that is at work within us.” (Eph. 3:20)
· Daily anointings of our Shepherd make is
possible to react to the annoyances and aggravations of life with quiet and
calm.
· Our Shepherd is always there for us and always has
our best interests in mind.
· Dealing with daily dilemmas show the importance
of continually spending time with our Shepherd.
Verse 6 – Future blessing
of the Shepherd
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
· The goodness and mercy are brought to us by the
Shepherd and we can live in faithful expectation of it all the days of our
lives.
· We will enjoy the presence of the Lord forever.
Both in our time on earth and beyond.
· Our wayward wonderings from our Shepherd are met
with goodness and lovingkindness.
· Dwelling in the house of the Lord puts us in the
Lord’s presence; this is a face-to-face relationship with the Lord, forever!
· What an amazing assurance, we will enjoy a
never-ending fellowship with God.
· David entertains the hope that since the goodness
of God never fails, God will always be favorable to him always.
· The real and practical measurement of my
appreciation for the goodness and mercy God has shown me is the degree to which
I show goodness and mercy to others.
· Our moods shift, we change our minds, and we
falter in our devotion, but God never does. Where we are faithless, He is
faithful. Always!
· Just as the shepherd is devoted to his sheep,
our Shepherd is devoted to us.
“My sheep hear My Voice, and I know them, they follow Me.
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone
snatch them from My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than
all; and no one is able to snatch them from My Father’s hand.” (John 10:27-29)
The sheep doesn’t understand where the food and water are found, what repels the flies, or what makes it feel better after being sick or injured. All the sheep knows is that something happens when it is near the shepherd. This is all we need to know as well; things are better when we are near our Shepherd. Now and forever.
