Psalm 23 is among the most well-known passages in scripture. This psalm consists of only six short verses and 118 words yet it contains a wealth of material. This psalm is often written on the back of funeral cards or at least read at the funeral. It is meant to comfort the family of the dead showing how God is with you even in death if you are a Christian. This psalm was written by David who wrote the vast majority of the psalms. David wrote the psalm about himself, but it also applies to all Christians as well. The great hymn Surely Goodness and Mercy is all about this great comforting Psalm 23.
(Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.) This verse shows the LORD is our shepherd just as he was David’s. The LORD is the shepherd to all true believers. Jesus is the chief Shepherd. (I Peter 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.) Jesus is also the Shepherd of Israel. (Psalm 80:1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.) David was a shepherd as a boy prior to becoming a servant to Saul and then later king so he understood what it took to be a shepherd and how a shepherd cares for his sheep. David killed a lion and a bear in order to protect his sheep and Jesus as our Shepherd protects us from Satan and his devils. (I Samuel 17:34-35 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.) A shepherd will leave the 99 sheep behind in order to find the one lost sheep that has wondered off. (Matthew 18:12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?) This verse is representative of Jesus as the Shepherd who wants all of the lost sheep (unsaved) to come to him. (John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.) In scripture people are often symbolized as sheep. Sheep are very dumb animals and will follow the leader even if the leader takes the flock over the side of a cliff to death. They cannot find their way back if lost, even if only a short distance away. This is how people are as we as sinners are lost without Jesus as our Saviour and the only way to join the flock of Jesus is to be saved. With Jesus as our shepherd we will never want anything. We may not always have everything that our sinful flesh wants, but God will provide for his children all that they need if they obey his word. (John 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.) Sheep know the voice of the shepherd and that is how believers must be as they listen to the commands of Jesus. (John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:)
(Psalm 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.) Jesus as our shepherd brings us his sheep to the green pastures and not to dried up brown dead pastures. Green means life and as children of God we now have everlasting life with Jesus as our Saviour. A person can only have life with Jesus. All other sheep are just walking dead with no spiritual life. If a person tries to follow any shepherd besides Jesus it will only lead to a path going to hell. Satan will try to lead people away from Jesus the true shepherd to another false shepherd who will lead you astray. The pope claims to be the shepherd of the one true church, but he is a false shepherd as only Jesus is the true shepherd. Many try works for salvation which again leads you to brown pastures. This verse says we lie down in green pastures. Sheep lie down for rest and also when they feel safe and secure from predators. Jesus provides us that security not only from Satan but also Jesus provides eternal security that cannot be lost if one is a true believer. Jesus is the only one who gives true rest. (Matthew 11:28-29 ¶ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.) Jesus leads us to still waters, not some raging river. Notice Jesus leads and we must follow to get to these still waters. Sheep will not drink from fast moving water, but will die of dehydration first. Sheep cannot swim and will drown if they fall in the moving water. The same applies to people who want a calm life, not a roaring river. Jesus brings this to us and lets us drink from the living water of himself rather than the poisoned water of Satan that will lead to death. (John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.) If we obey the voice of Jesus and come to him then we will have peace in our lives and drink of the calm still water that only Jesus gives. Jesus will only provide the best water for his sheep.
(Psalm 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.) If we become one of Jesus’ sheep then he will restore our souls. Because of Adam’s sin, we are all now born with a sin nature. When Adam sinned the link between his spirit and soul with God was broken. He was on a path to hell until God provided a way through his Son Jesus to restore that link between God and man. When we get saved, our soul is reunited with Jesus and the link is no longer broken. We are all born with the broken link and it can only be fixed by calling upon Jesus to save you. Jesus leads us in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. There is no holier name than that of Jesus and God must do what he says he will do in order to keep his name holy. Jesus will never lead us on a path of destruction. We will always be led on a path of righteousness if we obey God and listen to our shepherd. It is only when we wander off that we end up on a sinful path. Notice that Jesus leads us. We are to follow him. He never expects us to go on our own and have to confront the evils of this world by ourselves, but he will always lead us along the way. (John 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.) We must follow Jesus if we want the paths of righteousness. For those Christians who backslide and wander away, Jesus will always go for you to try and bring you back. A shepherd does the same for his sheep. One that continues to wander will often have a splint placed on a leg so it hobbles when it walks and it must stay close to the shepherd until it learns to stay nearby and not wander off. Jesus does this to backslidden Christians by allowing Satan to bring them trials so that they will return back to Jesus.
(Psalm 23:4 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.) Throughout life if we are following Jesus and serving him then we will often be attacked by Satan but we do not need to fear death. Many Christians around the world literally put their lives on the line everyday just for being a Christian but Jesus said do not fear death as he will be with us. Jesus said he would never leave us or forsake us and that includes even at our deaths. (Deuteronomy 31:8 And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.) Jesus said where two or three are gathered then he is in the midst of us. (Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.) When Christians die they are carried by angels to heaven to be with God. We know this from the story of the rich man and Lazarus when Lazarus was carried to paradise by angels. (Luke 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;) When we die we must pass through Satan’s realm in order to get to heaven. God does not make us pass through this on our own, but sends holy angels to bring us to him. They fight for us. God tells us in this verse that when we are nearing death and are in the shadow of death then we do not need to fear since God will be with us. Our death is precious to God and our death brings about real life not what we perceive as life here on this corrupt earth. (Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.) This verse teaches us that no matter what life brings us as we walk close to death in perilous places then Jesus will always be with us. We should never fear darkness since we always have the light of Jesus in our hearts if we are truly saved.
The number 23 means death and we see once again this meaning here in Psalm 23. It is not a coincidence that even chapter and verse numbers are inspired and this is why this is Psalm 23 and not another psalm. Some corrupt bibles, especially some Roman Catholic bibles change this to Psalm 22 losing the connection to death.
The rod and staff of our shepherd Jesus will comfort us in our times of need including as we near death and also following death. Jesus uses the rod and staff to drive away evil. During the millennium Jesus will rule all nations with a rod of iron and will keep evil at bay. (Revelation 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.) The staff was used by the shepherd for walking and fending off enemies of the sheep as well as counting his sheep. The rod was carried on his belt and was basically a club used to fight off animals and things trying to harm his sheep.
(Psalm 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.) Jesus prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies which they cannot touch. Jesus provides us with all of the food we need to survive if we just obey him. Jesus is the bread of life and is the only food that we need and he also quenches our thirst. No other food can satisfy us or bring us everlasting life. (John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.) Our enemies will see how God provides for us when we are following him. Just as a shepherd provided a meal for his sheep whether in a trough or a field with no work done by the sheep, Jesus does the same for us. Jesus anoints our head with oil. This represents not only giving us the Holy Ghost when we are saved, but also we as children of the King are princes and princesses and royalty was anointed before their coronation. David was anointed as king of Israel. A shepherd would use oil on a sheep’s wounds and often times the host would pour oil on an honored guests head. Jesus does the same for us. The cup of Jesus runneth over and we can never take too much from Jesus. Jesus provides for us and he never runs out of anything including food and water. One day Jesus will provide a banquet for his bride the church at the marriage supper of the Lamb. (Revelation 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.)
(Psalm 23:6 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.) If we are a sheep of Jesus and obey his voice then goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives. This does not mean that we will not have trouble, but that with Jesus in control Satan cannot take away our joy unless we let him. God’s mercy knows no limit as he will always forgive those who truly repent. God only brings good to us. It is us that bring about the bad often times due to our sin or wandering from God. As Christians we will dwell in the house of the LORD forever with Jesus.
Jesus prepares a mansion for us. (John 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.) This verse shows that if we are true believers then we can never lose our salvation. God will never kick us out of his house. (John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.)
David had many trials during his life, but no matter what the situation was whether running from Saul, or his own sons, God always had mercy on him and always brought goodness to the situation even when all hope seemed lost. God always provided David and his men with food and drink. God does and will do the same for all true believers. This goodness goes back to the green pastures and still waters that we saw earlier in verse 2 that God will provide for those on the paths of righteousness. When we wander from those paths, then the mercy of God will bring us back.
As we saw in this psalm, Jesus will be our shepherd and bring us comfort and rest for all those who call upon him for salvation. If you are not saved do so today so that you will not need to fear death.
