START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 23
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OBSERVE:
Before David was a king, he was a shepherd. This Psalm is a shepherd’s song. We can imagine David the shepherd, gazing out over his grazing flock as the sun is setting, with a deep sense of serenity. The parallels between a shepherd’s watchful care of his flock and the Lord’s care for his people are obvious.
But for our purposes, we find a Psalm that begins as a kind of lyrical hymn that develops the metaphor of God as Shepherd. The Shepherd guides his flock along paths of righteousness to peaceful, safe, green pasture, and to still waters. This is an important detail. Sheep tend to be shy of drinking from swift brooks. Placid pools or ponds are more inviting to them.
This metaphor of water prevails when David says his relationship with Yahweh is like drinking the still waters:
He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.
Then in verses 4 & 5 the Psalm becomes a prayer to God. The third person becomes second person — no longer “He” but “You.” This more intimate voice occurs as the Psalmist describes God’s presence with him in the valley of the shadow of death, and also as he describes God’s protection and provision in the very presence of his enemies:
Your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
The rod and staff are used to discipline and guide the sheep, but also to protect them from predators.
Obviously there is the comfort of provision, protection, and God’s presence in this Psalm. But we also notice that he speaks of his head being anointed with oil. Anointing with oil was used for healing and for cleansing in the ancient world, but in a Biblical context it was used to signify a holy office, such as a prophet, a priest or a king.
David sums up his supreme confidence in Yahweh that will endure in this life and forever:
Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever.
APPLY:
Our most familiar acquaintance with Psalm 23 occurs at funerals. The reasons are self-evident — language that describes a comforting Shepherd who guides us through the valley of the shadow of death where we fear no evil, and then finally assures us that we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever is indeed reassuring in the face of death.
But we do well to notice that the Psalm also offers promises for this life:
goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life
God’s provision, guidance, and protection are not postponed until death. We need the Good Shepherd now and at the hour of our death.
RESPOND:
This is a Psalm that I can recite by heart, but it is also frequently my prayer — that the Lord will be my Shepherd, provide for my needs, restore my soul, protect me in the midst of danger, and be with me to the end of my life, and beyond.
Lord, I trust in You as the sheep trust their shepherd. Amen.
PHOTOS:
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SOAR Lectionary Bible Study 