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I want to go through one of the most popular and well known chapters in the entire Bible. Its the
23rd Psalm, written by David when he was older. This was not written but the young shepherd
boy or the newly crowned king of Israel, but many years after David had been sitting on the
throne. This Psalm reflects the experiences of a man who had gone through many valleys and
had constant shadows of death enveloping him, yet he knew in the end that he would dwell in
the house of the Lord forever. I have read a lot of commentaries on this chapter but I thought I
would add my own personal commentary to what the 23rd Psalm means to me. You may not
agree with mine and your own personal commentary may differ, but this is my personal Bible
commentary on the 23rd Psalm.
23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
The Lord is my Shepherd. For those who have not placed their trust in Christ, He is not their
Shepherd. Unless He is your Savior, He is not your Shepherd. If He is not your Savior, then He
will be your Judge someday (Rev 20).
When the Lord is my Shepherd, I will lack for nothing for only He can bring satisfaction and I find
that my satisfaction is in Him not in things, so why should I want for anything when I have all
things in Him?
23:2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
Sheep are stubborn. They dont have enough sense to know when to lie down to rest so there
are times that He makes me lie down but the good thing is that He makes me lie down where
the green pastures are. That is where I can be fed on the Word of God. Sheep have been
known to stay in one place and eat until they eat down to the dirt. A good shepherd moves them
to green pastures.
He also leads me by still waters as sheep are afraid of moving water. Sheep are not brave at all.
The least bit of movement and they will not approach something that is troubling, however
sheep will drink from still waters. They wont go near moving waters but only by the still waters.
Again, good shepherds lead them beside the still waters. Not downstream, upstream or
anywhere the waters are not still. When the sheep thirst, only the Shepherd gives the satisfying
waterliving waters (John 4).
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23:3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His names sake.
The word restores is more like a revival. I was dead in my sins but He restored my soul
because the Shepherd willingly gave His life for His sheep.
My Shepherd leads me to restoration by leading me in the paths of righteousness. His
righteousness was imputed to me (2 Cor 5:21) and unless He lead me down it, then I would
have surely died in my sins. This He did for His names sake, not mine. It was for His glory since
no one of us can boast (Eph 2:8-9, 1 Cor 1:29).
23:4 Yea, 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.
Sheep are about the dumbest of all of Gods creatures and we are like sheep, every one of us
(Isaiah 53:6). Consequently, we go through the valleys of, what appears to be, imminent death
at times. God never promises to keep us out of these valleys of death or prevent us from going
through them but He does say that He will go through the valley with us. And if there is a
shadow, this must mean the Son is still shinning somewhere.
Sheep are also cowards. They can literally die from fear or panic but the Shepherds sheep have
no evil to fear for He has conquered the evil one. Why? It is because the Psalmist said, You are
with me. Its easier to pass through evil, valleys of death when He is with you.
His rod corrects us when we need it. He corrects every son or daughter that He loves. When my
children were young I corrected them, not only because they needed it but because I loved
them. If I didnt love them, I wouldnt care enough to correct them. His rod also keeps predators
away like the shepherds of old fought off the sheeps enemies. Sheep are slow and so they
cant run awaythey cannot defend themselves because they have no claws or vicious teeth.
His staff has a crook on it. It can pull me back like a shepherds staff pulls back a sheep by his
or her neck. This keeps us from going the wrong way. Sheep have been known to run off a cliff
and fall to their death before. The staff keeps us close to Him and the Shepherd knows that
there is protection only when the sheep remain near the Him. If a sheep tries to run away and
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falls and lands on its back, it is helpless and defenseless against the ravening predators but the
Shepherd can put us back on our feet again and so the staff comforts us.
23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with
oil; My cup runs over.
When He prepares a table before my enemies, this means that He has had victory over him. It
is safe to sit down to dine with the Shepherd when the enemies have ceased to be a threat. To
sit down pictures a completed work. Today Christ sits at the right hand of the Father because
He has finished His work. This work was accomplished and paid in full at Calvary.
Every believer has an anointing. If you are a Christian, then you have an anointing. The oil
represents the Holy Spirit to me. It also reflects healing properties.
When the guests of the culture when this was written, a guest was welcome to stay as long as
the cup was being overflowed. When the cup ceased from being filled, then it was time to go but
in the Jewish culture, if they kept the cup full this indicated that the guest could stay as long as
they wanted. When it was overflowing, then the stay was unlimited.
23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwellin the
house of the Lord Forever.
Goodness and mercy will follow, even when I stray off the path. This surely means with
certainty. This goodness and mercy stay with me even when I dont deserve it. Mercy is where I
dont get what I do deserve and His goodness is what I do get but dont deserve.
I will dwell with the Lord forever because I have eternal life. I was born from above (John 3:3)
and so this means I wont have to die but one more time. Ive heard it said that if a person is
born once, theyll die twice, but if theyre born twice, theyll die only once. That second birth is
from above and since this second birth is promised to all who would believe in Him, they can
dwell or live with Him forever and ever for time without end (John 3).
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The Lord is My Shepherd. Is He yours? If He isnt, then Hell be your Judge. Decide today, if you
havent already, to make Him your Shepherd. Then goodness and mercy will surely follow you
in this life and in the life to come.
PSALM 23
Psalms 23:1-6 . Under a metaphor borrowed from scenes of pastoral life, with which David was
familiar, he describes God's providential care in providing refreshment, guidance, protection,
and abundance, and so affording grounds of confidence in His perpetual favor.
1. Christ's relation to His people is often represented by the figure of a shepherd ( John
10:14 ,Hebrews 13:20 , 1 Peter 2:25 , 5:4 ), and therefore the opinion that He is the Lord here
so described, and in Genesis 48:15 , Psalms 80:1 , Isaiah 40:11 , is not without some good
reason.
2. green pastures--or, "pastures of tender grass," are mentioned, not in respect to food, but as
places of cool and refreshing rest.
the still waters--are, literally, "waters of "stillness," whose quiet flow invites to repose. They are
contrasted with boisterous streams on the one hand, and stagnant, offensive pools on the other.
3. To restore the soul is to revive or quicken it ( Psalms 19:7 ), or relieve it ( Lamentations
1:11Lamentations 1:19 ).
paths of righteousness--those of safety, as directed by God, and pleasing to Him.
for his name's sake--or, regard for His perfections, pledged for His people's welfare.
4. In the darkest and most trying hour God is near.
the valley of the shadow of death--is a ravine overhung by high precipitous cliffs, filled with
dense forests, and well calculated to inspire dread to the timid, and afford a covert to beasts of
prey. While expressive of any great danger or cause of terror, it does not exclude the greatest of
all, to which it is most popularly applied, and which its terms suggest.
thy rod and thy staff--are symbols of a shepherd's office. By them he guides his sheep.
5, 6. Another figure expresses God's provided care.
a table--or, "food."
oil--anointing oil, the symbol of gladness.
cup (which represents abundance)--are prepared for the child of God, who may feast in spite of
his enemies, confident that this favor will ever attend him. This beautiful Psalm most admirably
sets before us, in its chief figure, that of a shepherd, the gentle, kind, and sure care extended to
God's people, who, as a shepherd, both rules and feeds them. The closing verse shows that the
blessings mentioned are spiritual.