PSALM 23

PSALM 23 is one of the best-loved passages in the whole Bible. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. Let’s spend some time reflecting on it.

Of David. Yehovah is my shepherd; I shall lack nothing (v. 1).

It is a psalm Of David. And David says, Yehovah is my shepherd. Now, in David’s time, people said lots of different things about him. Some said “Warrior, Conqueror, Hero!” Others said, “Man of blood, creep, criminal!” But what does David say about himself? Well, here we can see his heart. He doesn’t say what other people are saying. All he says is, “I am a sheep. And Yehovah is my shepherd.” Once David had been a shepherd boy. But now the Lord is his shepherd.

A WORD ON SHEEP

Now sheep are not known for their intellect. There was never a Nobel Prize-winning sheep. I grew up in Scotland. There we have lots of sheep. And, honestly, sheep do stupid things. For instance, I have seen a sheep up a tree. I don’t how it got there. But there it was. Stuck. Sheep wander into swamps and get sucked in. They roll on their backs and can’t get up. They love to eat clover. But it blows them up like balloons, and kills them.

Sheep don’t win medals for bravery either. They are fearful creatures. They panic and run off blindly. That’s what happens in Far From the Madding Crowd. Gabriel Oak’s flock panic and run over a cliff in an act of blind, panic-inspired mass suicide.

So spare a thought for sheep. They are born helpless into a world red in tooth and claw, a world which they have neither brain nor brawn to cope with. Yet, in spite of all this, sheep have prospered. In Scotland we have 4.5 million people and 7 million sheep. The sheep are winning! But it’s not because of the sheep. Frankly, prospects are dim for the lonely sheep. They prosper because people look after them. If you were a sheep what would be the thing that you really need most? (Answer: a shepherd.)

THE DIVINE SHEPHERD

David says The Lord is my shepherd. This idea of the shepherd-god was not David’s invention. In the ancient Middle East, where sheep grazed on every hill, the shepherd was the favourite image for a good leader. The Pharaohs of Egypt posed with a shepherd’s crook to show they were Egypt’s shepherds. Here’s our good friend King Tut (c. 1342 – c. 1325 BC) with a shepherd’s crook in his right hand.

The Babylonian kings did the same. Here’s a statue of King Gudea of Lagash (c. 2144–2124 BC) from the Louvre in Paris. The thing on his head is a shepherd’s knitted woollen hat, to show that he is a humble shepherd of his people. (Actually, from the remaining evidence, it seems that he was a good king who sought the best for his people.)

For all these ancient nations, the shepherd was a picture of a righteous leader. This was because the shepherd does three things for his sheep. The shepherd…

• feeds his sheep.
• guides his sheep.
• protects his sheep.

And David says that, because the Lord is his shepherd, he will do these things for him. And that is why he says, I will lack nothing.

In green pastures he makes me lie down,
upon waters of rest he guides me (v. 2).

In v.2 David says, He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me upon waters of resting places. The Lord provides for his sheep by guiding them to where they will find food. And, as they follow, they arrive in green pasture.

Shepherds in the ancient middle-east and in modern Europe are different. Here, in Europe, the shepherd follows his flock. He’s got dogs to round them up. But the ancient middle-eastern shepherd walks ahead of his flock and they follow him. You can see him here, in this ancient Egyptian frieze, leading his flock, with his friend following on behind.

He calls them by name to reassure them, and keep them together. In David’s Bethlehem, there was drought in the dry season. In a land of hunger and thirst, the sheep is frightened, and unhappy. But in rainy winter weather, the sheep can be disturbed too. You see, sheep don’t like turbulent water. If frightens them. They like gentling flowing streams, waters of restfulness. So the shepherd leads his flock to a green valley among the hills. To a pool fed by a quiet stream. A haven of peace. The sheep lie safely under the shepherd’s eye. Sheep heaven.

My life he restores; he leads me in good paths for his name’s sake (v. 3).

And that is why David says, he restores my soul, or better, he revives my life. Then, in v. 3 of our translation, the language goes all religious. He leads me in paths of righteousness. But sheep are not moral creatures. I never met a righteous sheep. So I’m not sure about this translation. Yes, the Hebrew tsedeq can mean “righteous”. But it also means “right” or “good” or “straight”. So we should stay in the sheep picture and read, He leads me in good paths or right paths. A path safe to the green valley and safe back to the fold. Well-trodden paths that sheep have followed for years. No crazy shortcuts through the swamp or the forest. The shepherd does this for his name’s sake. For the village must say he is a good shepherd. Not a bad shepherd, who loses the sheep in his care.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (v. 4).

Now the picture changes from sunny hillsides to something darker. When I was a kid, we played in the Renfrewshire hills. As we ran among the bracken, we would find sheep-bones. Maybe in a ravine, where a sheep had fallen, broken a leg, and died. Maybe among the whin-bushes, the remains of a little lamb dragged off by a fox. Foxes and wolves, you know, prefer the valleys; they don’t like high ground. The valley of the shadow of death is such a place, scattered with the bones of sheep who did not make it through.

Notice that David says, even though I walk, not “even though I have walked”. The sense of the Hebrew verb here is continuous. We could translate it though I am walking. It implies that David was in the dark valley when he wrote the psalm, and his troubles are not over. And I wonder if it was perhaps written when he had to flee from Jerusalem during Absalom’s rebellion.

I will fear no evil for you are with me (v. 4).

But in all his troubles, he says, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. It is good to know the shepherd is in the valley with us, for he will help and sustain us. But it is good to know he is with us for a deeper reason too, a reason tied to how we understand suffering. David Hume, the atheist, said “If God wills to prevent evil but cannot, then he is not almighty. And If he can prevent evil, but will not, then he is not good. In either case, he is not God.” Was Hume right? When we suffer, is it because God cannot or will not help us? Is he too weak or too heartless? Does he lose control and drop us by accident, like we could drop a baby on concrete?

THE SHEPHERD LEADS THROUGH THE VALLEY

David says no. The shepherd has not lost control. He leads his sheep through the dark valley. For the dark valley is the way to green pasture. Hume was wrong. God is neither unwilling nor unable to help us. Suffering is part of his plan. Ultimately our sufferings do not come from Satan, or from other people, or from a chaotic world. They come from the hand of our God. As the Lord said to Isaiah, “I make weal and create woe.” (Isa. 45.7) As he said to Moses, “I have wounded and I will heal.” (Deut. 32.39). As Hosea said, “For he has torn, but he will heal us; he has stricken, but he will bind us up.” (Hos. 6.1) It is the shepherd who leads us into the dark valley because he knows it is the way to green pastures.

Does this seem scary to you? Isn’t the alternative scarier still? I would rather know my pain is because the shepherd sent it for my good than because he fumbled and dropped me on my head. And if we know the Lord is sovereign in our sorrows, then we know he can deliver us in his good time. Yet he teaches us to pray every day, “Deliver us from evil”. And if we do, we will suffer less pain than those who do not.

Your rod and staff, they comfort me (v. 4).

The ancient shepherd carried both a rod and staff. The rod was a weapon. A club. It was for smiting lions and bears when he was defending his flock. The staff was the shepherd’s crook. It guides a straying animal back to the path or pulls a little lamb out the swamp. Together the rod and staff comfort the sheep in the dark valley.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies (v. 5).

At verse 5, the scene suddenly changes. The picture of shepherd and sheep fades to a picture of a gracious host serving up a banquet for his friend. In fact, the whole tone of the psalm changes to something more solemn and steady.

How do we account for this sudden change? Why flip from one picture to another? I think it reflects an incident in David’s life. Something he never forgot. It was the day he was anointed as shepherd of Israel.

Remember 1 Samuel 16. The Lord tells Samuel, “Go to Bethlehem and anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king.” Samuel goes to Bethlehem. The townsfolk are afraid. The ayatollah has come for lunch. They sacrifice animals and put on a feast. Samuel asks Jesse to present his sons. Up comes the firstborn, Eliav. Great buff hunk! Samuel thinks, “Woh! My man!” But the Lord says, “Do not look on his appearance. I have rejected him.” Number two is Avinadav. But this time Samuel says out loud: “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Next comes Shammah. “No not this one.” Seven sons are presented. But Samuel says to Jesse, in front of them all, “The Lord has not chosen any of these. Are these all your sons?”

NOT ALL BIBLE FAMILIES WERE HAPPY

You know, David’s family never loved him. In Psalm 27 he wrote, “My father and mother reject me.” When he went to fight Goliath his brothers mocked him. “Back to your sheep,” they said. In fact, they even sided with Saul, who was trying to kill David, until Saul turned against them too. Why? There may be a clue in Psalm 51. There he says, “In sin my mother conceived me.” David wasn’t talking about original sin. That’s not a Hebrew idea. He was speaking about his own conception. The likeliest possible answer is that David was the offspring of his father’s liaison with a prostitute. Does this surprise us? Maybe it shouldn’t. The whole tribe of Judah sprang from an incestuous relationship between Judah and his daughter-in-law, Tamar, wearing her best prostitute outift. You see, the Lord doesn’t use only perfect people. There aren’t so many around.

DAVID IN THE FIELDS

David’s family despised him. But when Samuel came to Bethlehem, it was different. Jesse said, “There is still the youngest. He’s with the sheep.” Samuel said, “We won’t eat until he comes.” So they called David in from the hills.

Maybe it took an hour. Maybe more. Someone had to put the sheep in the fold. David changed and came into the hall. Maybe twelve years old. There he saw a banquet table. He smelt the roast meat, the fresh bread, the good wine. He saw the fruit – dates, pomegranates, figs, apples, raisins, pistachios, almonds. The honey-cakes. No-one had ever invited him to a feast before. Why was everyone looking at him? He saw his seven brothers. His seven hungry, angry brothers. Eliav, Avinadav, Shammah and the rest. All looking at the food. All rejected by the man of God. Cursing and grumbling. Why must we wait for him?

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows (v. 5).

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Arise. Anoint him. He is the one.” And Samuel anointed David as king of Israel in front of his brothers. He was led to the best seat. A table was spread before him in the presence of his enemies. The anointing oil on his head ran down his face. Samuel sat at his right hand. He told the servants, “Let him lack nothing.” His plate was piled with meat. His cup was filled with wine. My wife assures me that one should not fill a wine glass more than half-full. But the Bethlehem serving-men were not so genteel. Each time David drank, they filled his cup. Right to the brim. Till it overflowed.

David never forgot that day. The day his destiny changed. The Lord chose him to be shepherd of Israel. He chose him before all his great, proud brothers. In the overflowing cup at the Bethlehem feast he saw a picture for his life. The Lord had blessed him to overflowing. He mentions it as if to say, “Yes, Lord. You loved me from the beginning. You will love me to the end.” In every dark valley, the Lord’s mercies in the past guarantee his mercies in the future. The Lord will see him through.

Ach, goodness and love shall follow me all the days of my life (v. 6).

That leads on to his next thought: Only goodness and loyal-love shall follow me all the days of my life. The word ‘follow’ here is actually pursue, as if to say, his enemies, Absalom’s army, are pursuing him. Yet the Lord has set goodness and loyal-love to pursue him, and so his enemies won’t succeed. Now pursue is a strong word. When you are pursued, it means you get caught in spite of your best efforts. And that reminds us of the silly sheep, which doesn’t know what’s good for it, but the shepherd pursues it, for he must bring it safely back to the fold.

And I shall return in the house of Yehovah for ever (v. 6).

David closes, I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. There’s a little textual matter here. As you probably know, classical Hebrew is mostly consonants without vowels. So, occasionally, the same word could be read in two ways even in ancient times. But the best texts read this word not as ‘dwell’ but as ‘return’. That is, I will return in the house of Yehovah for length of days.

I see two things here. Firstly, there is the idea that David is separated from the Lord’s dwelling place. In other words, this looks like the time of Absalom’s rebellion, when David fled from Jerusalem. Secondly, the shepherd takes his sheep out every day to pasture and comes home to the fold at night. And David knows that when his day is finished, he will return into the fold of the Lord. That’s just like Jesus says, They will come in and go out, and find pasture (John 10:9). But, whichever way, he looks forward to returning to the dwelling of God, to worshipping there and staying there for ever, or, as the Hebrew says, for length of days.

DID YOU KNOW…

You know, people, people like me, or like you, perhaps, are like sheep. Like sheep, we get into situations we can’t fix. Like sheep, we wander where wolves are waiting. Like sheep, we do what is bad for us. Like sheep, we are stupid, but think we know best. Like sheep, what we really need most is a good shepherd.

Well, there is a good shepherd. There is a lovely shepherd. He is the wonderful Lord Jesus. He feeds his sheep. He guides them. He protects them. He loves them. He lays down his life for his sheep. He leads them through every dark valley—even sickness, poverty, bereavement, divorce, rejection, and death. For he is taking them to green pastures. He gives them eternal life and none shall pluck them from his hand. And you can join his flock.

But maybe you say, “I don’t need a shepherd. Shepherds are for sheep. I’m a wolf.” I saw a T-shirt once: “Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for I am the meanest s.o.b. that ever walked the valley.” Is that you? You say, “I can make it without some ‘good shepherd’ crutch?” Very well. But know this: In the valley of the Shadow of Death is the King of Terrors and his hosts. There is the worm that does not die. And there is the fire that is not quenched. There you will die and there your bones will rot.

ONE WALKED THROUGH THE VALLEY

Only one person ever walked the valley of death and came out. That was the Good Shepherd. He was good enough for the killer of Goliath. So he is good enough for me.

We all fear the dark valley. We fear that the thing we dread most will hit us. That we perish in confusion and pain, never to see the good land we hope for. But I will fear no evil. For he is with me. And I know he will see me through. So I will follow him.

So let me recommend to you the Good Shepherd. He will not fail you. Do not fear. He is leading his flock to green fields, even to the paradise of God. There he will restore our souls. We will go in and out and find safe pasture. The Lamb upon the throne will be our shepherd. He will lead us to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from our eyes (Rev. 7:17).

If you want to hear some more psalm settings, head through to the Videos page.