The Shepherd of Our Souls
Psalm 23
Introduction
Since the first week of the new year, I have been making the argument that God is more satisfying, more pleasurable, more joyful than anything else including sin.
Sin always tempts with the promise of pleasure. Do this, eat this, buy this, say this, and you will be happy. But in the end, we find that we are only happy for a short time. And then the reality of what we have done sets in and we realize that what sin offered was not all that great, but hollow and empty.
Only God will ultimately make us happy. Only God can provide lasting, all-satisfying pleasure that our souls so desperately desire. This is the point we want to continue to see today – this time from a very familiar passage. Turn with me to Psalm 23.
“There are countless descriptions of God in the Psalms: he is a King who rules over us, a rock of immovable stability, a deliverer in times of distress, a fortress in whom we find refuge, a shield behind whom we safely retreat. But there’s something special about his being a shepherd. There’s a dimension of personal tenderness and intimacy in the image of God as the one who shepherds his sheep.
King David is the author of this psalm. Before, he was anointed by God to be king over his people, he himself was a shepherd. And so, as he remembers the kind of attentive watch and protective love that he exercised over his sheep, he begins to realize that in a very similar way, the Lord watches over, guides, protects, and provides for his people.
Psalm 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.
1. The Lord is our loving Shepherd (23:1-4)
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
David begins this psalm by drawing out a metaphor of a shepherd and his sheep. Here, David pictures God as the shepherd of Israel. Though, he goes a step further though and considers, not just the nation but he himself to be one of God’s sheep.
David makes it personal. The Lord is his shepherd and he is one of the Lord’s sheep.
David rejoices in the fact that as long as Yahweh, the Lord, is his shepherd, he will lack nothing. All that David needs will be provided to him by God. That idea of ‘lacking nothing’ is the key to these first four verses.
So, how does the Lord provide for David? How does the Lord provide for his people? How does he provide for us today?
1.1. God restores his people (1-3a)
He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. [3] He restores my soul.
Here, David says that sill waters and green pastures restores the sheep’s soul. What does this mean? Well, you have to know a little about sheep. Sheep will not lie down and rest until they are full of food and water. So, as you can imagine, the shepherd must do everything he can to find plenty of food and water for his sheep.
But this is not as easier than it may sound at first. Sheep are also nervous and fearful. They will not drink from running water – it scares them. They will only drink from standing water. So, the shepherd cannot just find any old creek, or brook – no matter how clean and cool the water is, if it is moving the sheep will not drink from it.
David isn’t simply trying to put together a picture of serenity: a calm body of water, a grassy knoll, where one can lay down and relax. No, he is describing the difficult task of the shepherd:
He must be on constant look out for lush, grassy fields for his sheep to graze providing exactly what his sheep need.
After a long day of traveling around, the shepherd must find a place where his sheep can be well-fed so that they will rest; so that they be restored.
David says that because the Lord is his shepherd, he lacks nothing. This means that the Lord always finds the perfect pasture for his sheep. He never lets them go hungry or thirsty. He always provides with exactly what they need, so their souls may be restored.
1.2. God leads his people (3b)
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Because, the shepherd is constantly on the move looking for water a grass for the sheep, he must have a plan as to where he will take the sheep. He must know the right places to go and the right times to go there:
In the summer, he will lead them into the mountains where the air is cool and there is water. In the winter, he will lead them back home to the plains, where there will be rain and more growth.
But leading the sheep can be difficult. Usually sheep are dumb animals, but they can also be curious. The curious ones will cross over fences, leave the flock, and go into ravines, etc. (especially if they smell water or grass). If they smell food, they are off (I have some single guy friends like this).
Sometimes the flock will follow the curious ones around. If a leader is a curious one leading sheep astray, the shepherd as three options:
First, he might kill it for sacrifice or food (unlike today, sheep were not primarily raised for food, but for wool and milk – the meal would have to be a significant one to eat a sheep at it). Second, he might sell it, or third, he might break its leg.
If he did this, the shepherd would do it with his hands to ensure a clean break. If not a clean break, the leg will heal wrong and the sheep could be crippled. After breaking its leg, he would then carry the sheep with him until the leg healed. By this time the sheep will know his voice and will stay close to him.
The point is, the shepherd will do whatever it takes to lead his sheep. Not just to lead them, but to lead them in the right way. David says that with the Lord as his shepherd, he can be sure that God will always lead him down the right path. God’s instruction on how to live, on which path to take will always lead to righteousness.
1.3. God comforts his people (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.
Most likely, David has in mind times of danger. Times when one is fearful that he is in a situation that may lead to death. “The valley of the shadow of death,” is probably an actual place, or couple of places; those valleys that allowed one to pass from the mountains down to the lowlands.
Remember the shepherd would have to move his sheep through these passages when the seasons changed these valleys were dangerous because of the wild animals that inhabited them, and the potential for sudden storms and flooding. Even bandits that may lurk in the shadows.
These valleys represent though, any danger that would threaten our lives. Yet, even in these dark valleys, David is still comforted because the Lord is his shepherd. He knows that his God is able to protect him.
David also speaks of his shepherd’s rod and staff. These were the essential tools of the shepherd. The rod is a club for protecting the sheep that can be used as a blunt object, or thrown with great accuracy. (I saw this in Niger the last time I was there).
The staff is a long stick, sometimes with a crook at the end, which is used, for guiding the sheep.
The mention of the rod is obvious. It was the defensive and offensive weapon that the shepherd would use to protect the sheep from wild animals. This fits well with what we know about the dark valleys
But why mention the staff? As we said, the staff was used for guiding the sheep. Why not mention it in verse 3? It’s important that we understand that the staff that guides us, sometimes even into the valleys of life.
About this, Sam Storms says, “Some might prefer (and even presumptuously demand) that God insulate us from all evil and darkness and suffering. Some might even pray that he always take us ‘around’ or ‘over’ or ‘in the opposite direction’ from all troubles and trials. But God’s unfailing promise is that he will walk ‘with’ us ‘through’ the valley. God doesn’t simply send us into the valley with truths about him nor even angels to guard our steps. He pledges his personal presence ‘with’ us. Wherever we go, whatever we suffer, he’s there, with a ‘rod’ to beat off ravenous wolves that seek to consume us spiritually (cf. 1 Sam. 17:33-37) and a ‘staff’ to keep us under his control and bring us back to the fold should we stray too far.”
He trusts that no matter where God directs him to go – it will be a good place for him. And he takes comfort in knowing that it is God who goes with him.
2. The Lord is Our Gracious Host (23:5-6)
Here, David shifts his metaphor. He draws upon the customs of his time; customs of being a host. We see first that,
2.1. God protects his people (5a)
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
According to the Bedouin law of hospitality, once a traveler has been accepted into your tent, and a meal prepared for him. He has gained immunity from any enemies that may be pursuing him.
David is here rejoicing in the fact that with God as his host, he is secure from any enemies that may be trying to overtake. This was not an abstract thought for David – for many years this was his life.
If you remember, because of persistent sin God took his anointing of leadership away from King Saul and gave it to David while David was still a teenager. But the throne wasn’t his for a long while. And at the height of his insanity and rage, Saul chased David across Israel, seeking to kill him.
David was continually in the presence of his enemy – never knowing if Saul was over the next hill, or if the city he was going to take refuge in would be loyal to Saul. And yet, in all of this, God protected David. He never let him be overtaken.
2.2. God fellowships with his people (5b)
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
“To anoint someone with oil today would generally be regarded as little more than an inconvenient mess, but in David’s world it was customary to anoint an invited guest as a sign of welcome and hospitality. It was the consummate expression of joy and acceptance!”
Furthermore, the amount of food offered was also sign of the extent of host’s affection for you. The more food that was put in front of you, the more you could consider yourself a friend of the host.
And what does David say? With God has his host, his cup overflows! It’s as if God just cannot give him enough. The moment David has taken a drink from the cup of blessings, God is there to more back in. In fact, so quick is he to bless that he doesn’t just top off the cup, he fills it to the point of overflowing it.
Don’t mistake what David is saying here for mere material blessings. Yes, David was the king, but he wasn’t always the king. Again, it’s helpful to think of David’s wilderness experience. The David who was near to the point of death from lack of food is the same David who says, God always gives him what he needs and blesses him to overflowing.
2.3. God covenants with his people (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.
The word ‘follow’ is not like following a leader. Rather, it is like being followed; or ‘pursued.’ The idea is that God’s covenant love is with the individual. The word mercy means love, or covenant faithfulness. David is confident in God’s commitment to his promises and so can say that he pursued by ‘goodness and love’ not his enemies.
God had made a covenantal promise to Abraham, and in fulfilling that promise to the people of Israel. But he had also made a specific covenant promise to David as well. And David says, he has confidence that God will not re-nig on those promises. He will not get tired of blessing his people.
More than that, David says he has this confidence forever. So when we wonder if God will ever grow weary of his commitment to us, or cut-off his supply of spiritual blessings, we can hear David say, ‘No. Never.’
“Surely” – that is, with absolute certainty and beyond all shadow of doubt – David, says “goodness and mercy will follow God’s people all the days of their life.” “All day, every day, whether they be days of despair and disappointment or days of celebration and joy; all day, every day, whether days of fasting or feasting, days of depression or deliverance, we will live in God’s abiding presence, forever.
Conclusion
It’s amazing to me that amount of trust David had in God. Especially when I think about the fact that he hadn’t even seen the fulfillment of his promises. You all of this metaphor and imagery didn’t just stay in the mind of David where God inspired it.
No, a thousand years after David penned these words the metaphor and imagery took on flesh and dwelt among us. All that David believed about God was perfectly revealed in Christ. Did David experience the reality of God’s endless provision and blessing? Absolutely!
But now that Christ has come, we see all the more clearly what these realities mean.
John tells us that when Jesus came, he came to shepherd God’s people. In John 10:11, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus came that our souls could be restored to right fellowship with God. Jesus came to die in our place. He came to offer himself as the only sacrifice that would satisfy God’s wrath against us;
As our shepherd, Christ restores our souls. All that we truly need can be found in Jesus: He is the bread of life and the living water; He promises that if we partake of him, we will never hunger or thirst again. As the good shepherd, Jesus provides true satisfaction for the soul.
Christ leads us in paths of righteousness. Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Though we deserve punishment for our sins, God sent Christ to bear our judgment for us. And so in 2 Cor 5, Paul says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
God sent Jesus to die in the place of sinners so that sinner might become righteous. Instead of going our own way, doing what is right in our eyes, Christ came to lead us into a life that is righteous and pleasing to God.
Christ comforts us in times of adversity. We do not have a promise that we will never experience tough times. On the contrary, he may lead us through adversity but when we experience the valleys, we can take comfort in God nothing can separate from his love or his very presence with his us. When the Lord is our shepherd, we have nothing to fear.
Christ also came in fulfillment of the ultimate host. Christ rescues us from our enemies. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus has rescued us from our worst enemies: sin and death. Because of his work, we receive forgiveness for our sins and a resurrection from the dead. Just as death could not hold Him, so now it will hold those who trust in Lord.
Like Paul we can say, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ also gives us fellowship with God. 1 John 1:1-3, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
Christ establishes a covenant with his people. Just before his death, Jesus had a last supper with his disciples. There he said that he had come to establish a new covenant with his blood. And so if we place our faith in Christ, we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
If the Lord is our shepherd, we lack nothing! If the Lord is our Shepherd then there is nothing I need that God has not or will not supply. We can be altogether satisfied with God’s management of our life. We’re not being blind to the pressing demands of life as if it is unimportant whether or not we have money to pay our bills and adequate clothing and a roof over our heads.
The point is simply that everything we have above and beyond God is a luxury. David’s point in this psalm is simply this: “Take everything from me except my God and I’ll die the wealthiest man in the world” (cf. Psalm 16:2).
When we realize our incredible the Lord is; how much care and provision he gives to us, how can we not chose him over sin everyday of the week? What can sin possibly offer that God will not give to us in a better, more satisfying, overflowing way?
