Psalm 23 A Psalm of David

 ¹The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

²He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

³He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

⁴Yea, 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.

⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

Preamble: Undoubtably Psalm 23 is the most beloved of all psalms, whether recited as prose, poetry, or sung and put to musical accompaniment, it is a very moving, soul stirring, life enrichening psalm.

Commentary

Vs. 1 The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

This psalm begins with a declaration that resonates with the heart of every believer: “The Lord is my shepherd.” Meaning that in all aspects of our faith and lives our trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ, For it is Jesus who is our Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18, 25-30), who is providing not only salvation for us who believe in Him, but He is providing everything that we will need on our journey home with Him. For the Lord always watches over us for good, just as a good shepherd does his sheep, and that is the essence of this psalm, and in particular verse one. Therefore, knowing that His Person is always with us, we can all boldly say in good times and bad, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Vs. 2 “He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.”

The imagery here is stunningly beautiful as Jesus our caring shepherd leads us, His flock, to soft flowing green pastures, far away then from the rugged rocky terrain (of this sinful and evil world), where He causes us to lie down and take our rest with Himself. Same with His leading us to the still waters, for sheep are inherently fearful of rough waters, they don't like drinking from it, and they don't like crossing it. And so the Lord knowing this leads us where we can all drink safely without fear of drowning in strange doctrines or teachings, or be swept away by the unsettling moral currents of this world. For the Lord is an ever thoughtful and caring shepherd, who knows all his sheep’s fears, frailties and weaknesses, and so He not only provides salvation for us, but He also leads us to where we can all feel safe, and be fed and nurtured with Himself. 

Vs. 3 “He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.”

The restoration of our souls is our renewal and regeneration, of our being born-again by God’s Holy Spirit, which is our souls being brought to life with Christ. Having then accomplished that for us by our faith in His Person, the Lord Jesus Christ now leads us in the paths of righteousness for His Names sake. By His Word then is how we know how to walk in His Righteousness, for His Names sake, for His Name is to be hallowed by us who believe in Him.  

Vs. 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.

Having then the Lord Jesus Christ as our Shepherd means that even as death draws near to us, I will fear no evil, “For You are with me.” “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” For these most utilitarian instruments of the shepherd that he would use to fend of predators, or aggressive animals, or snakes around the herd, all gave the sheep a deep sense of comfort and security. Even when the shepherd has to use them on some of the sheep to change their direction, there is comfort in knowing the Lord does not leave any of His children unchastised. 

Vs. 5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.”

Such then is our Lord’s goodness towards us that He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies, thus our enemies don’t get too triumph over us as they would like, instead He makes us to be honored and fed by His Royal hand in their very presence with absolutely nothing they can do about it! Indeed, He anoints our head with oil, which means our exaltation comes from Him alone, and literally here this means kingship, for in Christ’s Kingdom, He will make us kings and priests to our God (Rev. 1:6; 5:10). Truly then we can all say whatever our lot is in this life, “My cup runs over”, that is I am filled with the blessings of the Lord, both those seen, and those yet to be seen! (Consider 1 Cor. 4:8).

Vs. 6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”

What more can be said! Guaranteed then is God’s Person, Presence and His mercy is with us forever!

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson.