[Unlike some psalms, no specific circumstance or occasion is given; it applies to any time. A psalm for our pilgrimage as believers]
[1] The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want
—The Yahweh is the best shepherd I could have; my wants are all wrapped up in Him, not material things. He is all I need. He is the Great I Am. He is “my” Shepherd, but that does not mean the sheep “own” the Shepherd. The Shepherd owns the sheep. They are His. He is not “mine” in the sense of ownership, “my house, or my car,” but more in terms of showing the relationship we have with Him. Our identity is found in Him. David continues to flesh out what it means to have Yahweh as his Shepherd.
[2] He makes me lie down in green pastures
—He, the Creator of the universe, provides for my rest and sustenance, and has set me amidst the beauty of His creation. The Good Shepherd anticipates the needs of the sheep.
He leads me beside still waters
—He refreshes me and guides me to a place of rest. This rest is not only for recuperation, but to prepare them for what lies ahead.
[3] He restores my soul.
—My spirit is renewed [the idea of being returned] in His presence. However, the purpose of His rest is not to sit back and do nothing. He prepares us through His rest so we can follow Him.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
—His way is a path that reflects His nature and character, and He does so in a way that honors Who He is. He is leading me, ahead of me, and I must continually choose to follow Him wherever He leads. Notice the progression toward knowing God more intimately as the psalm continues.
[4] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death [darkest valley]
—He leads us through places that are dangerous, where death may be all around us. But He is ahead of us, and as long as we follow Him, we will be following the One who has conquered death. So far, getting to know God has not been very challenging, but the more we get to know Him, the more we begin to identify with Paul, when he said in Philippians 3:10 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death.” God does not minimize the depth of danger or hardship, – it is the valley of the darkest shadows, but He does promise to be with us “through” these times.
I will fear no evil, for You are with me [Notice the shift from “He” to “You” – The tone is more intimate.]
— Because He has conquered death, and we are following Him, our focus is not on the circumstances that would make us fearful, but on the power and authority of the One who is leading us and is with us. As real as the valley of the shadow of death, so real is the fact that Jesus is with us, and His Spirit lives in us. We are never alone. Following Christ does not mean that we will not face danger or difficulty; but just like Job, these problems must first pass through God’s hand and permission.
The longer we follow Christ through these difficult situations, the deeper our relationship and trust grows and the deeper we get to Him. As Paul said in Romans 5:3-5 “ 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
Your rod and staff comfort me
— Your rod of correction and your staff of protection are there to help keep me close to You and to express God’s love for us. We can take comfort in God’s “rod and staff” because they express His love and remind us that are His children. Our fear of the circumstances is overcome by our faith, – our fear/reverence for God, that is, confiding in His nature and character. We must stay close to the Shepherd.
[5] You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. [Notice the shift from Shepherd to Host]
— Instead of hiding from those who would harm me, You provide for me in the midst of those who would harm me, as a testimony to Your greatness. We are in the world, but we are not of the world, so the way we live becomes a testimony to what a relationship with God looks like. God “prepared” the table: what is given and where it is located. This was no accident.
Why would God do that? It reflects that [1] He is in control and is a testimony of His greatness. [2] It demonstrates what a relationship with God is: His provision and presence in the midst of difficulty. [3] He places us so we can learn to love our enemies as He has commanded. He prepares us for this with His rod and staff.
You anoint my head with oil
— You treat me like an honored guest, and You fill my mind with Who You are. Pouring a little olive oil on the head of your guest would not be what we would do, but in dry, arid areas, it was soothing and expected. God sees us through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, we are His children. We do not define who we are by what the world sees, but by what God declares us to be.
My cup overflows.
— The reality of Your presence and Your Spirit overflows in my life. [The idea is “abundance,” like God’s grace.]
[6] Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life
— Even though we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, even though we are surrounded by those who want to harm us, as we follow You, we have the assurance of Your Spirit and Your presence through it all. We can see Your “goodness and mercy” following us, meaning that we can now see some of the difficulties of the past from Your point of view and see how You showed grace, how they were for our ultimate good, and how You showed us mercy through it all. We must always remember that our worth is not based on what we can do or not do, but on what Christ has done. The word for “follow” is “pursue”; that is, God is actively reminding us of what He has done to this point.
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. [Yahweh: The Great I AM begins and ends this psalm.]
— We will have the joy and assurance of being with You now and forever. As long as we live here, we will live in a fallen world, but we will never be alone, because God is with us. What’s more, for all eternity we will be with Him, not in a fallen world, but in heaven. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:8, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. He will lead us home to be with Him. He is always the Great I AM.
Application:
Pray the psalm back to the Lord as a prayer of thanks:
Father, I thank You that You are my Shepherd, the Creator of the universe, the Great I AM, and that in You I have all I need.
You provide for my rest, the food I eat, the water I drink, and I am refreshed in my spirit because of who You are and all You have done in my life.
As I follow You, You develop Your nature and character in my life for Your honor and glory.
You lead me and are with me even when I am going through difficult times and circumstances, – when my greatest fears would overtake me. Yet, You are always there, near. As I follow and trust You, my fears melt away, because You are greater than my fears, and I am growing in knowing who You are.
Your rod of correction and staff of protection and guidance comfort me because they remind me of how much You love me.
You place me in situations that stretch my faith and help me learn to trust You more. In trusting You, I become like a special guest, and You give out of the abundance of Your love, mercy, and grace.
Regardless of my circumstances, Your presence sustains me, and I can trace how You have been with me all of my life. In that assurance, I know I will delight in the joy of Your presence throughout eternity.
