The Lord is my Shepherd.
An in-depth look at Psalm 23
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - Today I want to look at what is most likely the most memorized chapter in the Bible Psalm 23. This particular Psalm is a favorite passage of scripture at funerals; however, it’s not a Psalm of death but a Psalm of Life, Rest, Peace, Comfort, and Protection. Although written about 3000 years ago it is still so relevant to our lives today.
Psalm 23 is part of what is called the Messianic Trilogy made up of Psalm 22, 23, 24 with each giving a different look at this wonderful shepherd. In Psalm 22 He is the Good Shepherd, in Psalm 23 He is the Great Shepherd, and in Psalm 24 He is the Chief Shepherd, remember the number 3 represents fulness the Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd is Jesus, and this Messianic Trilogy shows Him as the Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd in the Past, Present, and Future. PAST - John 10:11 says, “I am the Good Shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep”. PRESENT - Hebrews 13:20-21 says, “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever Amen”. FUTURE – 1 Peter 5:4 says, “And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away”.
J Vernon McGee a great Bible Theologian and Commentator who had the program “Thru the Bible with Dr. McGee and passed in 1988 said it the best I feel concerning this messianic Trilogy when he said “In Psalm 22 we see the cross, in Psalm 23 the crook (the Shepherd’s crook), and in Psalm 24 the crown (the King’s crown). In Psalm 22 Christ is Saviour, in Psalm 23 Christ is Satisfier, in Psalm 24 He is Sovereign. In Psalm 22 He is foundation, in Psalm 23 He is the manifestation, in Psalm 24 He is the expectation. In Psalm 22 He dies, in Psalm 23 He is living, in Psalm 24 He is coming. Psalm 22 speaks of the past, Psalm 23 speaks of the present, Psalm 24 speaks of the future. In Psalm 22 He gives His life for the sheep, in Psalm 23 He gives His love to the sheep, in Psalm 24 He gives us light when He shall appear. What a wonderful picture we have of Christ in these three Psalms”.
So, let’s look at Psalm 23 – The Lord is my Shepherd!
Prayer:
Scripture: - Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 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. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 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”.
UNDERSTAND: - this Psalm is written from the sheep’s point of view (David) talking about his shepherd. We have an advantage that David only longed for and that is we have what the Shepherd has done, how He loved the sheep and would never let them go, how He said My sheep know my voice and another they will not follow. He gives His sheep eternal life, how He is laid down His life for His sheep.
Verse #1 “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want”. In this first verse there are 5 points that must be understood, remember 5 represents God’s Grace and we see God’s Amazing Grace in this verse.
1. The LORD: - this is imperative because it establishes exactly who is being spoken of. This is the unpronounceable name represented by YHWH, Yahweh, Adonai, the creator God responsible for laying the foundation of the earth. The LORD that hath laid the measures thereof, who shut up the sea with doors and said hitherto shalt thou come, but no further and here shall thy proud waves be stayed. The LORD who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand. The LORD which doeth great things past finding out and wonders without number. The LORD that stretcheth out the north over the empty place and hangeth the earth upon nothing. This is who David is talking about the one that controls all things is the only one that is able to be our Shepherd responsible for our well being and trusted with everything.
2. Is:- this is present tense confidence, right now at this very moment.
3. My:- This is personal, sure He is the shepherd of the entire flock, but understand that this is personal when Mel is dealing with something, when Mel is filling anxious, depressed, lonely, uncertain the LORD is my (Mel’s or whatever your name is _____ own personal shepherd right now). Something interesting about this Psalm is how personal it is without being boastful or prideful 5 times the word my is used, 4 times I is used, 7 times me is used, and 1 time mine is used.
4. Shepherd:- The theme of shepherd and sheep runs through the entire Bible and the New Testament Jesus describes His relationship with His people as the Shepherd and the sheep. However, to fully appreciate the role of the shepherd we need to understand the characteristics of the sheep. Sheep are called dumb because they constantly have their heads down unaware of what lies before them, they are defenseless and totally dependent upon the shepherd, they can’t run fast, don’t have the greatest eye sight, very timid and fearful, very likely to wander off, if there is a ditch around they will more than likely fall into it. Without a shepherd they would starve because they constantly have their heads down and poor eyesight that they would not realize that all the grass was gone in one area and could not see the grass just a little distance away. They would be victim to the wolves that seek to devour them. So the condition of the sheep is directly related to the care of the shepherd and sheep don’t naturally roll on their backs like other animals and if they end up on their backs they get what is called cast down and are not able to get back up which is ultimately deadly. Now that we understand the characteristics of sheep, we see how important the Shepherd is. We as sheep have all of these characteristics but can rest assured because The LORD is my Shepherd.
5. I shall not want: - This is not the prosperity gospel that teaches you will have money, fame, and popularity. It doesn’t mean that there will not be difficult times, valleys, and times of hurts because God knows if the road was always easy that we would stop giving Him the glory but is talking about the LORD my Shepherd shall provide everything that I need according to His riches in glory. Yes, there will be some difficult times but as Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose”.
So, within this first verse we see the WHO – the LORD, the WHAT – is my Shepherd and the Grace of God – I shall not want.
Verse #2 “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters”. This verse exudes confidence and trust in the One that has everything in control. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: - Remember this is written by David who understood sheep. He knew sheep will not lie down unless they are totally free from fear, conflict, irritation and hunger. When he said He maketh me to lie down in green pastures he is referring to the fact that all his needs have been met – green pasture speak of a place of rest and security which is hard to find in the wilderness and in our own lives. He leadeth me beside still waters – because sheep are very fearful and timid and the necessity of water is so vital for survival the great shepherd leadeth the sheep to still waters, water that is not troubled with waves because the sheep would see their reflection in the water and it would be distorted if the water was troubled in any way scaring the sheep and causing them to flee and not drink the water. So, he leadeth me beside still, calm, refreshing water. Jesus is the well of living water spring up in us.
Verse #3 “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake”. He restoreth my soul: - Remember I said how a sheep will not roll on their back because the become cast and are not able to get back up which make them compromised and eventually die either to starvation or at the will of a predator. So often we become cast by our emotions and circumstances and there is no amount of get over it, snap out of it, it will get better that is going to help, but Jesus Christ the great shepherd restoreth my soul, He put things back in order, He comforts the broken hearted in other words He provides restoration to that which has been broken in me. There is something about restoration that is truly amazing and that is when something is restored it is worth more than what it was originally. Example: - In 1957 a Chevy cost about $2048 but if it was restored and sold today would cost about $25,000. So, he restoreth my soul is He replenishes and replaces sorrow with joy, stress with peace, grief with comfort.
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake – Jesus guides our footsteps, He directs us personally. The paths of righteousness are practical righteousness and personal holiness. WATCH THIS: - Jesus leads us on paths that lead to rest and provision for our good true but for His name’s sake so our lives will be a testimony for Him. Psalms 25:4-5 says, “Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day”. The paths of righteousness doesn’t mean it will be easy always but are designed to bring us into a stronger and closer relationship with Him and glorify His name.
Verse #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”. This is the verse that cause people to use it for funerals because of the valley of the shadow of death and we limit it to trying times and grief especially when we are facing fear and darkness in our lives. When David was speaking here, he was talking about the paths that the shepherd had to lead the sheep on in order to bring them to new and fertile feeding grounds were often dark and narrow cliff ridden places that were places where predators would like to hide at. So, this is talking about times we are facing places where the enemy really would like to devour us at. When God is trying to take us and lead us to another level in Him, He leads us through enemy territory, which would be the valley of the shadow of death, death is lurking all around, but He leads us through that place. We don’t have to fear because He is with us.
His rod and staff comfort me – here are two very distinct and very important pieces of equipment. The Shepherd’s rod was used for protection against the predators that would come for the sheep. The rod is never used on the sheep, but it should give us comfort knowing that it is used against all and any enemy that tries to come against us. The Shepherd’s staff is used to support the shepherd and to guide the sheep in the way they should go, the crook of the staff would pull them out of a ditch if they fell in.
Verse #5 “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over”. This is showing how the Lord regardless of how our enemies may be surrounding us He will supply all our needs and make us comfortable. The table represents all the blessings that Christ has for us. Thou anoinest my head with oil, this is awesome because when the shepherd would pour oil over the sheep’s head it would keep the flies and other insects away that would annoy the sheep and cause them discomfort. When our shepherd anoints our heads with oil He is making the annoying and irritating things from bothering us. My cup runneth over – Malachi 3:10 says, “and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it”. This is the blessing of our cup runneth over, He blesses us show much that it is literally over flowing in abundance.
Verse #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”. Surely is just like the word is in verse #1 it denotes confidence and assurity, there is no doubt at all, we don’t have to think twice about it. Goodness and mercy are depicted as attendants in the Lord’s household who accompany David for the rest of his life. The word for “goodness” in the original language means “that which is pleasing or valuable or useful.” The term for “mercy” is sometimes translated as “loyal love,” “steadfast love,” or “unfailing love.” This relates to the faithfulness of His covenant.
Follows me all the days of my life – follows me doesn’t mean to just tag along or follow like a little brother or sister but it means to actively pursue you, to chase after. God, the Lord our Shepherd constantly is chasing us with goodness and mercy, with lovingkindness and favor, with joy and peace and this will continue on all the days of our lives as long as we continue in Him.
I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever – this is deeper than the church building this is in His presence forever. Revelation 21:3-4 says, “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away”. This is the dwelling in the house of the Lord forever that we are all expecting.
CLOSING: - So, we see Psalm 23 is more than a passage of scripture that is read at funerals when someone passes but is in fact a profound testament to God's loving care, guidance, and provision for each and every one of us. It is an assurance that no matter how difficult or dark the circumstances may be, we can always find peace and strength in the Lord our personal shepherd. As we trust in God and follow His guidance, we understand His goodness and mercy are everlasting, and that we can look forward to an eternal dwelling in His presence.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
