Psalm 23

[Snowy]

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

 

[Serapha]

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Hi there!



As you are certainly aware, entire books have been written on each verse in Psalm 23.

I am going to focus on the first verse. If you want more, just ask.


1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.


In Israel there just isn't enough grazing land, and as the hot and dry summer takes it toll on the grass... the sheep graze over the hills and mountains in search of all the grass they can nibble. When you look on the steep and rocky hillsides, there are transversing lines in the sandy dirt where sheep have gone across the hillside looking for nibbles of food. Most of the lines are horizontal, but a few are vertical, and some at angles, but all crossing each other as if in a decorationed fashion... like loose weaving across the mountainside.

They don't leave a bit of grass behind either, but eat it down to the roots so all you see is the pattern in the dirt.


You know what... those sheep go where the shepherd cannot go, and sometimes the shepherd goes where the sheep cannot. In either case, when the Shepherd is leading, the sheep have no unfilled needs.




4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

Note the words, walk through the valley. You are never instructed to build a house and stay there. As Christians, we may have to go through valleys for in agriculture, the valley is where the fertilizer for growing can be found, but we are never instructed to stay there amist the trials and troubles of "death", but to pass through, to move on, to grow spiritually.


~malaka~

 

[seangoh]

i'll just give an overview of psalm 23 taken from a commentary.

Probably the best known and best loved of all the psalms is Ps. 23, universally known as The Shepherd Psalm. It is at once the delight of childhood and the consolation of old age. It has been variously called The Pearl of Psalms, The Nightingale Psalm, The Shepherd’s Song About His Shepherd, etc. Augustine noted that this psalm was the hymn of the martyrs. Undoubtedly more books and articles have been written on this psalm and more poems and hymns composed on its theme than on any other of the psalms. It has a message for men of every age.
But it is more than The Shepherd Psalm. It paints not only the picture of the tender Shepherd, leading His flock to rest and feed “in green pastures” “beside the still waters” and protecting them from the perils of the wilderness, but also the picture of the gracious Host, providing superabundance of food and solicitous care for His guest. The psalm closes with a profession of absolute confidence in Jehovah to lead His child lovingly through this life and to entertain him as His guest to the end of his days.
The poem falls into three stanzas. The first two (vs. 1–3 and v. 4) present the ideas of loving guidance and protection; the third (vs. 5, 6) presents the idea of hospitality provided by a host.
Ps. 23 has no touch of nationalism. It is universal in its appeal. The experiences of David as a shepherd in the ruggedness of the Judean hills, and later as a royal host in the opulence of the Oriental court in the capital city, surely fitted him for writing this sweetest of sacred lyrics.