Church of Christ Studies

 

Psalm 23. 
The Shepherd's Psalm

 

The twenty-third psalm is the most beloved of the 150 psalms in the Psalter and possibly the best-loved (and best-known) chapter in the entire Bible. The great Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon called it "the pearl of psalms." 1 Nineteenth-century preacher and commentator J. J. Stewart Perowne observed that "there is no psalm in which the absence of all doubt, misgiving, fear [and] anxiety is so remarkable."  Alexander Maclaren said that "the world could spare many a large book better than this sunny little psalm. It has dried many tears and supplied the mould into which many hearts have poured their peaceful faith." 

 

Millions of people have memorized this psalm, even those who have learned few other Scripture portions. Ministers have used it to comfort people who are going through severe personal trials, suffering illness, or dying. For some, the words of this psalm have been the last they have uttered in life.

 

"The Lord Is My Shepherd"

The psalm is a masterpiece throughout. But if ever a psalm could stand almost on a single line, it is this one, and the line it can stand on is the first. In fact, it can stand on only part of a line, the part which says, 'The Lord is my shepherd."

 

What an amazing juxtaposition of ideas! The word Lord is the English translation of the great Old Testament personal name for God, first disclosed to Moses at the burning bush, as told in Exodus 3, and then repeated more than four thousand times in the pages of the Old Testament. The name literally means "I am who I am." It is an inexhaustible name, like its bearer. Chiefly, it refers to God's timelessness, on the one hand, and to his self-sufficiency, on the other. Self-sufficiency means that God needs nothing. He needs no wisdom from anyone else; he has all wisdom in himself. He needs no power; he is all-powerful. He does not need to be worshiped or helped or served. Nor is he accountable to anyone. He answers only to himself.

 

Timelessness means that God is always the same in these eternal traits or attributes. He was like this yesterday; he will be like this tomorrow. He will be unchanged and unchangeable forever.

 

He is the great "I am."

 

On the other side of this amazing combination of ideas is the word shepherd. In Israel, as in other ancient societies, a shepherd's work was considered the lowest of all works. If a family needed a shepherd, it was always the youngest son, like David, who got this unpleasant assignment. Shepherds had to live with the sheep twenty-four hours a day, and the task of caring for them was unending. Day and night, summer and winter, in fair weather and foul, they labored to nourish, guide, and protect the sheep. Who in his right mind would choose to be a shepherd?

 

Yet Jehovah has chosen to be our shepherd, David says. The great God of the universe has stooped to take just such care of you and me. This is an Old Testament statement, of course. But Christians can hardly forget that the metaphor was also taken up by Jesus and applied to himself, thus identifying himself with Jehovah, on the one hand, and assuming the task of being the shepherd of his people, on the other.

In Luke 15 Jesus defended mingling with tax collectors and "sinners," by saying, "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent" (Luke 15:4-7).

 

Even more remarkable is Jesus' teaching about himself as a shepherd in John 10.

 

The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.... I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.... I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd (vv. 2-4, 11-12, 14-16).

 

We are part of that "one flock" composed of believing Jews and Gentiles. So we are not stretching the twenty-third psalm to see Jesus as our shepherd and to apply the lines of the psalm carefully and in detail to ourselves.

 

"I Shall Not Be in Want"

It is not only the first half of the first line that is important, however. The second half is important too. It says, "I shall not be in want," that is, I shall lack nothing. This statement goes with the first half. Left to themselves, sheep lack everything. They are the most helpless animals. But if we belong to the 209 one who is self-sufficient, inexhaustible, and utterly unchanged by time, we will lack nothing. He is sufficient for all things and will provide for us.

 

What is it that those in the care of the good shepherd shall not lack? Verses 2-6 are an answer to that question.

 

I Shall Not Lack Rest

This is because "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters" (v. 2).

 

Phillip Keller is a pastor and author who for eight years was himself a shepherd. Out of that experience he has written A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. It throws light on this and other statements. Sheep do not lie down easily, Keller says. In fact, "It is almost impossible for them to be made to lie down unless four requirements are met. Owing to their timidity they refuse to lie down unless they are free of all fear. Because of the social behavior within a flock sheep will not lie down unless they are free from friction with others of their kind. If tormented by flies or parasites, sheep will not lie down. Only when free of these pests can they relax. Lastly, sheep will not lie down as long as they feel in need of finding food. They must be free from hunger." 

 

Fear. Friction. Flies. Famine. Sheep must be free from each of these to be contented. And as Keller notes, only the shepherd can provide the trust, peace, deliverance, and pasture that is needed to free the sheep from them.

It is interesting that the psalm begins at this point. We might expect it to begin with motion, with some kind of activity either by the shepherd or the sheep. But strikingly, it begins with rest. It is a reminder that the Christian life also begins with resting in God or Christ. Along the way there will in time be many things for us to do. But we begin by resting in him who has done everything for us. Are you resting in Christ? Have you found Jesus to be the perfect provider of all your many needs?

 

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28).

He also declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35).

 

Before he was crucified he told his disciples, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27).

 

I Shall Not Lack Life

This is because "he restores my soul" (v. 3). In Hebrew idiom the words "restores my soul" can mean "brings me to repentance" (or conversion). 5 But since the word translated "soul" is actually "life," and since the metaphor here is that of shepherding, the words probably mean "the Lord restores me to physical health (or salvation)."

 

Phillip Keller explains this by the situation known to shepherds as a "cast (or cast down) sheep." What happens is this. "A heavy, fat or long-fleeced 210sheep will lie down comfortably in some little hollow or depression in the ground. It may roll on its side slightly to stretch out or relax. Suddenly the center of gravity in the body shifts so that it turns on its back far enough that the feet no longer touch the ground. It may feel a sense of panic and start to paw frantically. Frequently this only makes things worse. It rolls over even further. Now it is quite impossible for it to regain its feet." 6 In this position gases build up in the body, cutting off circulation to the legs, and often it is only a matter of a few hours before the sheep dies. The only one who can restore the sheep to health is the shepherd.

 

 

Sometimes we are like cast sheep. We are spiritually on our backs, quite helpless. But Jesus comes to us when we are in this condition, as he did to Peter after Peter had denied him even with oaths and cursing (Matt. 26:72, 74), and he restores us. Jesus restored Peter. He gets us up on our feet and going again.

 

 

I Shall Not Lack Guidance

This is because the Lord "guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake" (v. 3).

 

Sheep are foolish creatures. In fact, they are probably the most stupid animals on earth. One aspect of their stupidity is seen in the fact that they so easily wander away. They can have a good shepherd who can have brought them to the best grazing lands near an abundant supply of water, and they will still wander away to where the fields are barren and the water undrinkable. They are creatures of habit! They may be brought to good grazing land by their shepherd, but, having found it, they may keep on grazing until every blade of grass and every root is eaten; the fields are ruined, and they themselves are impoverished. No other class of livestock requires more careful handling than do sheep. Therefore, a shepherd who will move them from field to field yet always keep them near an abundant supply of water is essential for their welfare.

 

 

In his translation of this psalm Martin Luther rendered the phrase "paths of righteousness" by auf rechter Strasse. The connotation is not just of a straight way, but of a right way: a righteous way. We stray by sinning, but God leads us into upright moral paths. Isaiah said,

 

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53:6).

 

I Shall Not Lack Safety

This is because "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" (v. 4).

 

 

This verse is often used to comfort those who are dying, and it is not wrongly used in this way. God is certainly a source of comfort in a person's dying moments. However, this verse primarily speaks of the shepherd's ability to protect his sheep in moments of danger. The picture, as Keller points out, is of the seasonal passage from the lowlands, where sheep spend the winter, through the valleys to the high pastures, where they go in summer. The valleys are places of rich pasture and much water, but they are also places of danger. Wild animals lurk in the broken canyon walls. Sudden storms may sweep along the valley floors. There may be floods. Since the sun does not shine into the valley very well, there really are shadows which at any moment may become shadows of death.

It is important to note that "the valley of the shadow of death" is as much God's right path for us as the "green pastures" which lie beside "quiet waters." That is, the Christian life is not always tranquil nor, as we say, a mountain-top experience. God gives us valleys also. It is in the valleys with their trials and dangers that we develop character.

 

 

Yet the valley has its own unique problem. The problem is fear. What is the answer to it? Clearly, the answer is the shepherd's close presence, for he is the only one who can protect the sheep and calm their anxieties. Many commentators on Psalm 23 have noticed that the second person pronoun "you" replaces the third person pronoun "he" at this point. Earlier we read, "He makes me lie down... heleads me beside quiet waters... he guides me." But now, "I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and yourstaff, they comfort me" (italics added). We are never so conscious of the presence of God as when we pass through life's valleys.

 

I Shall Not Lack Provision

The twenty-third psalm also mentions the shepherd's provision for the physical needs of the flock, saying, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows" (v. 5).

Some commentators think this represents a change in the psalm's basic image, passing now from that of a shepherd guiding his sheep to that of a householder welcoming a guest to his table. 7 This may be, particularly since the poem ends with the psalmist dwelling "in the house of the Lord forever." But on the other hand, Keller may be right when he sees this as the shepherd's preparation of the high tablelands or mesas where the sheep graze in summer. A good shepherd will prepare these before the sheep arrive, removing physical hazards, destroying poisonous plants, and driving predators away. Keller also has a chapter in which he describes how ancient shepherds used a mixture of olive oil, sulfur, and spices to protect their sheep from insects and promote the healing of infectious skin diseases.

 

 

In biblical imagery oil and wine also speak of joy and prosperity, since olives and grapes take time to grow and oil and wine require time to prepare. In periods of domestic turmoil or war these tasks were not performed.

 

 

Moreover, oil and wine were highly valued in the dry, barren lands of the Near East. In Palestine, where the sun shines fiercely most of the year and the temperatures continually soar up into the hundreds, the skin becomes cracked and broken and throats become parched. Oil soothes the skin, particularly the face. Wine clears the throat. When a guest arrived at the home of a friend, hospitality demanded the provision of oil and wine so the ravages of travel might be overcome. David spoke of this, though somewhat differently, when he prayed, "O Lord,... let your face shine on your servant" (Ps. 31:14, 16). A shining face was the face of a friend. In another passage David thanks God for "wine that gladdens the heart of man" and "oil [that makes] his face shine" (Ps. 104:15).

 

 

If we will allow God to lead us where he will, we will find that a table has been prepared for us, our heads have been anointed with purest oil, and our cups have been filled to overflowing with the wine of true joy.

I Shall Not Lack a Heavenly Home

The twenty-third psalm portrays life as a pilgrimage, and in the final verse the psalmist rightly comes to life's goal, which is God's house. "Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of theLord forever."

 

To have a sure home was always a desire of the nomadic people who occupied the area of the Near East bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the great Arabian desert. T. E. Lawrence, who gained fame as Lawrence of Arabia during the First World War, wrote of this in his classic volume Seven Pillars of Wisdom. He tells how, because of the geography of this area, one tribe after another came out of the desert to fight for the lush Judean highlands which contained the best trees, crops, and pastures. Under Joshua, the Israelites were one of these peoples. When a group like this succeeded, the conquered people generally moved just a bit south into the Negev, which was also good land, though not so good as the highlands. They in turn displaced others, and those still others, until the last of these people were pushed out into the desert with nothing before them but Damascus. Thus, for most of them Damascus, with its ample rivers and fertile fields, thereby became a symbol for the happy end of life's long passage.

 

We too long for such a home. Only our home is not Damascus. It is the place the Lord himself, our Good Shepherd, has gone to prepare for us. "I am going... to prepare a place for you," he said. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:2-3).

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