THE BOOK OF PSALMS - PSALM 23 THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD (TRUST)

This is one of a set of notes I have compiled, inspired from a series of lessons given by Rev Fr Ferdinand Purnomo, OCD, including the notes he very generously made available.

Also contained in this set of notes are my compilation from other resources.

This page will be updated as an when I come across other resources related to this psalm.

 

General observations

• v.1-4: God is described as shepherd; the psalmist as sheep
• v.5-6: God as a bedouin who prepares a banquet for the psalmist as a visitor
• Intimate communication between God (he v.1-3,6 and you v.4-5) and the psalmist

The Lord is depicted in two different images in this psalm, two different images

SHEPHERD

• As shepherd, the Lord is not owner of a big herd of sheep 
• Rather, the psalm depicts a very intimate setting of the shepherd knowing his sheep.

• God is infinite, he can deal with us as if we are the unique individual on earth, at the same time giving this unique attention to billions and billions.

• When David says, "The Lord is my shepherd," he's not saying God is gentle. He's saying God is his personal bodyguard, that God fights even harder for us than David fought for sheep. 

THE PROGRESSION OF TRUST

• David writes this psalm using a specific Hebrew structure that creates what scholars call the progression of trust.

• Each verse doesn't just comfort us. The psalm trains our brain to think differently about problems. 

Verse 1

• Verse 1 I shall not want.

• David isn't talking about material stuff. The Hebrew word means I will not lack what I need to fulfill my purpose.

• Every time we worry about not having enough, time, money, strength, we are forgetting we have a shepherd who already knows what we need

• Jesus proved this in Matthew 6:26 - If God feeds birds who can't even pray, what makes we think he'll forget about we? 

• God is not like a sheep owner who owns thousands of sheep, who treats one sheep like any other.  Rather, God is a shepherd who takes care of a small number of sheep and knows each sheep intimately (cf. Prophet Nathan’s parable of sheep owner and the poor shepherd in 2 Sam 12:1-3)

• Deut 2:7 For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows you are going through this great wilderness. 

• These forty years the LORD your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing. (Deu 2:7 ESV)
• The wilderness/desert is the place where there is nothing, yet because the Lord was with the people, they lacked nothing - their shirt and sandals did not break, they had food and water'

• When thinking about shepherd and sheep in the context of Israel, we must not think of a large green field of grass like that in Milka advertisement. Rather, we must think of the landscape in Israel where it’s mostly desert with many rocks/stones in the soil; it’s difficult to find enough grass for the sheep

Verse 2

• David says in verse two, "He makes me lie down in green pastures."

• Sheep won't lie down unless they feel completely safe. If there's even a hint of danger, they stay standing, alert, stressed. 
• David is saying that when God is our shepherd, we can actually rest.  Our nervous system can calm down. 

• Sheep also won't lie down if they are hungry, and thirsty, afraid, or dealing with tension in the flock. 
• David is saying, "God handles all four of these issues before we even realize we have them. 
• He feeds we before we are hungry, provides before we are thirsty, protects before we are afraid, and brings peace before conflict destroys us.  

• Hebrew verb behind “makes me lie down” is used for an animal that curls its paws because it feels totally safe  

• Deuteronomy 12:9 ESV: for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that the LORD your God is giving you,. “He leads me beside still waters”

• Isaiah 49:9-10 ESV: [the Servant of the Lord] saying to the prisoners, ‘Come forth,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’ They shall feed along the ways, on all bare heights shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall smite them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.

Verse 3

• He restores my soul.

• The Hebrew word for restore means to turn back or to retrieve something lost. 
• David is saying that when life beats we up, when we feel like we've lost pieces of ourself....
• God doesn't just heal us.
• He brings back parts of us that we thought were gone forever. 

• Look at how God restored Peter after he denied Jesus three times. 
• In John 21, Jesus didn't shame Peter. 
• He gave him three opportunities to declare his love, one for each denial.

• God doesn't just forgive our mistakes. He turns them into our ministry. 

• He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 
• This isn't about being perfect. 
• The Hebrew word for righteousness means the right path to reach our destination.
• God isn't trying to make we look good. He's making sure we get where he's taking us, even when we don't know where that is.  

• The paths of righteousness
• The path of rest 
• God accompanies my journey along paths that are most suitable for the sheep, not necessarily the shortest 

• (cf. Exodus: people of Israel in the desert for 40 years following paths that are not the shortest; the shortest path would have taken a few days, but God led them through the right or most suitable path) 

• temptation is for us to say “God has brought us to the desert to die of hunger and thirst” (cf. Exodus 16:3)

'

• “for his name's sake”
• Jer 14:7 ESV: Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O LORD, for your name's sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you. 
• Jer 14:21 ESV: Do not spurn us, for your name's sake; do not dishonor your glorious throne; remember and do not break your covenant with us.
• "for you name sake " - because we have nothing to negotiate, no power.

Verse 4

• though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. 

• Notice David doesn't say if He walks through dark times. He says though. 
• He is acknowledging that hard seasons are guaranteed. 

• The phrase valley of the shadow of death in Hebrew literally means valley of deep darkness. 
• David is not just talking about dying. 
• He is talking about any season where we can't see what's ahead. Job interviews, medical tests, relationship problems, financial stress, times when we are walking blind.

• Darkness can be expressed in several words, but here it’s “tsalmavet” צַלְמָוֶת , which contains the word “mavet” מָוֶת (death) 
• Evokes danger
• Shepherd and sheep usually travel through desert lands when it’s dark to avoid the heat of the sun
• Darkness can evoke fear in the sheep because it’s more dangerous, easier to get lost, but the sound of the shepherd with his rod and staff gives the assurance of safety

• I will fear no evil, for we are with me. 
• David switches from talking about God to talking to God.  
• From third person to second person. 
• Why? Because when we are in our darkest moment, God stops being a concept and becomes a person walking right beside we. 

• Your rod and your staff they comfort me
• The rod and staff aren't just shepherd tools. They are weapons and guidance systems. 
• The rod was used to fight off predators. 
• The staff pulled sheep back when they wandered toward danger. 
• David is saying in our worst moments, God is both fighting for us and redirecting us.
• Here's proof this works. When the Israelites were trapped between Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea in Exodus 14, Moses told them, "The Lord will fight for we. You need only to be still." Then God opened a path through the impossible. Your Red Sea moment is coming, and God already has the solution. 

Verse 5 - transition of the image of God

• You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 
• Change of image from shepherd in pasture to beduine (land owner) in a tent;
• Guests are sacred
• The host protects them because offence against the guests is like offence against the host; 
• A table in the desert was usually an animal skin spread on the ground, on which food is placed, and people sit around it and eat.

• God doesn't remove our enemies. 
• He feeds us while they watch. 
• He promotes us in front of the people who said we would never make it.
• He blesses us so publicly that our haters become our witnesses. 
• Think about Daniel in the lion's den. His enemies threw him in there to die, but God turned it into the greatest testimony of Daniel's life. 
• King Darius was so amazed that he wrote a decree honoring Daniel's God throughout the entire kingdom. 

• You anoint my head with oil
• In the desert, the air is dry and human skin becomes dry; 
• hospitality is to provide oil with aroma and herbs to refresh the skin of the visitors; 
• Oil is used to consecrate kings and prophets, as medicine, as basis of cosmetics oil is expensive because it takes many olives to make
• So it is a sign of blessing, gesture of generosity

• But God is not just blessing us
• The oil David mentions that wasn't just ceremonial.
• When a sheep got injured, shepherds poured oil on wounds to prevent infection and promote healing. 
• God isn't just blessing us, he is actively healing every wound our enemies inflicted. 

• Psalm 133 “how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head” 

• My cup overflows
• Wine, like oil, is difficult to produce, involves a lot of careful work; so oil and wine together indicate the great generosity of God in treating us.
• In large banquets in Israel, which last several days, the 1st day lamb is served, 2nd day smaller, 3rd day chicken, 4th day vegetables; IN CONTRAST God provided manna and meat in the desert every day for 40 years (cf. Ex 16:35; Deut 8:2-4)
• The image of wine is used, not water, because water will turn stale and contaminated
• When our cup overflowed 
• It meant we had so much that we could bless others.
• Our breakthrough becomes someone else's breakthrough. 
• Our testimony becomes their hope. 

 

Verse 6

• Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

• The Hebrew word for follow actually means to pursue or to chase.
• Goodness and mercy aren't just accompanying us. 
• They are hunting us down. 
• Even when we mess up, God's goodness is faster than our failure.

• And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever
• David isn't talking about dying and going to heaven. 
• He's saying that no matter where life takes him, he is carrying God's presence with him.

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Psalm 23 invites us to make the journey in the desert with God, i.e. the religious experience of 

• Exodus 
• From Egypt to the Promised Land
• There were points of reference: Moses, column of cloud and fire 
• Exile 
• From the Promised Land to Babylon
• (much more difficult experience than Exodus 
• The Return 
• From Babylon to Jerusalem (joy)

• Psalm 78,52-53 
• Then he led forth his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.  
• He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid; but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. 

• Is 63,1-11
• v1- O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

• v2 - So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.

• v3 - Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.

• v4 - So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

• v5 - My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips

• v6 - when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

• v7 - for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.

• v8 - My soul clings to you; our right hand upholds me.

• v9 - But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth;

• v10 - they shall be given over to the power of the sword, they shall be prey for jackals.

• v11 - But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

• Eze 34,11-15 
• For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 
• As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 
• And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the fountains, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 
• I will feed them with good pasture, and upon the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on fat pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.
• I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD.

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PSALM 23 IS NOT JUST A PRAYER.  IT IS A DECLARATION

• Every verse is David speaking his reality into existence. 

• He's not asking God to be his shepherd. He is announcing that God already is. 

• Psalm 23 is a supernatural blueprint for living undefeated no matter what life throws at us. 

• David did not just recite these words. He lived them, declared them, and stood on them when lions were literally trying to eat his sheep. 

• When we read Psalm 23 out loud, read it not as a nice bedtime story, but as our personal declaration of war against fear, anxiety, and every lie that says God has forgotten about us.

• Speak this psalm over our finances, our relationships, our health, our future.
• We are not hoping God will be our shepherd. We are announcing that he already is.
• We are not asking for protection. We are declaring that we are already protected.
• We are not begging for provision. We are acknowledging that our cup is already overflowing. 

JESUS IS THE FULFILLMENT

• Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) 
• Jesus is the rock struck with rod to give water (1Cor 10:4) 
• Jesus is the light that allows the sheep to walk without stumbling (John 8:12) 
• Jesus is Emmanuel (God with us) (Mt 1:21; Isaiah 7:14) = “you are with me” (v.4)  
• Jesus is the abundant banquet (Luke 14:16-24)
• Jesus is the new temple (house of the Lord) (John 2:21) 
• Jesus is the new temple pierced with lance to give blood and water (John 19:34) 
• Jesus is with us always until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20)