Read Psalm 23 here

The Psalm for this Sunday morning is perhaps the best known of all the Psalms—one that even folks long separated from the church likely could recite—at least a few of the verses. And it is a comforting Psalm, often read at funerals or in times of grief and pain. And understandably so, as it is filled with imagery that invites us to rest in the promise of God’s care, his provision, and our protection.

But as familiar as it may be to some of us, I would invite us to come to it with fresh eyes and open hearts, soaking in its comforting truths and promises. Simple enough for even a child to understand, yet deep enough for a lifetime of reflection.

My hope this morning, my invitation to each of us, is simply to spend some time reflecting on what the Psalm says, letting it sink into our minds and take root in our hearts once more.

¹The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
³     he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
    for his name’s sake.

⁴ Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
    I fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    my whole life long.

Psalm 23: 1-6

The Psalm is constructed around two metaphors—God as our shepherd (vv1-4), and God as our host (vv5-6); The LORD shepherding us and welcoming us.

The LORD as our Shepherd…

The LORD is my shepherd I shall not want…

We could spend the entire morning reflecting simply on this declaration.

The LORD. Who is this? The creator and sustainer of the entire cosmos. From before all eternity in the past and to all eternity in the future. The one who holds all things together. To whom every star is known and named.

• Is there anything outside of his knowledge? No.
• Is there anything outside of his power? No.
• Is there anything outside of his authority? No.

And the text says he is MY shepherd—not just A shepherd, but mine. I.e., I belong to him, I am known to him, MY care is a responsibility he has taken on himself (nobody could give to him, it is chosen—and chosen from before the foundation of the world. Let that sink in for a moment. Before the world was created, before Adam and Eve, before the Fall, the LORD had you in mind. YOU—knowing everything there is to know about you, he set himself as your shepherd.)

I am reminded of Paul’s exclamation in Romans 8:31: “If God is for us, who can be against us?

Peter’s exhortation in I Peter 5:6-7: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

If the LORD is my shepherd, what do I need to worry about?

That, after all, is the Good Shepherd’s calling—to care for the well-being, the health and safety of their sheep. They pay attention to their needs. They pay attention to the larger picture—the sheep only see what is right in front of them in that moment. The shepherd is thinking about their longer-term needs and well-being.

With the LORD as my shepherd, I will not WANT for anything. I.e., nothing will ever be lacking to ensure my well-being. Full stop. No exceptions.

Of course, we might immediately think of all the disappointments and heartbreaks of our lives and wonder how this declaration could possibly be true. I can think of times when I was angry with God, thinking he had let me down, had even misled me. And I have friends who continue to nurse their anger and disappointment with God.

But the issue is not God’s shepherding. The problem is our limited time horizon. If we only have this life in view, the promise of Psalm 23 is smoke and mirrors and we’d be fools to believe it. As Paul said to the Corinthians, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (I Cor 15:19)

But the LORD’s shepherding always has eternity in view—i.e., it always has our true and eternal well-being as its motive and commitment. As sheep, we cannot see beyond our noses. It’s just the way it is. It’s not a failure on the part of the sheep. That’s why they need shepherds. That’s why we need the LORD as our shepherd.

     He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
    he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
    for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23: 2-3

The psalm goes on to list some of the ways that the LORD’s sheep—whom we are, as followers of Jesus—will not want.

Green pastures and still waters—places of health and sustenance, of nourishment and healing. The soul being restored suggests that it has been weary and depleted, its resources drawn down, perhaps exhausted. And that may be how we are experiencing life just now. But we have shepherd who is committed from eternity to the healing and restoration of our soul—our life energy, our essence. There will be green pastures and still waters for eternity.

Being guided in right paths suggests, of course, that there are other paths that are not right and along which we might be drawn. As sheep we are not capable of discerning, on our own, what are the right paths. We need the shepherd’s guidance. And the promise is that he will provide it. Again, in the perspective of eternity. The shepherd is wholly committed to ensuring that we end up where we are supposed to end up—the green pastures and quiet waters.

His reputation as a Good Shepherd depends upon his accomplishing his good shepherd purposes—for his name’s sake. We think our ultimate well-being is important to us. And it is—but it is even more important to the shepherd. And he is the one who truly knows what our well-being is, much better and more fully than we do for ourselves.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
    I fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

Psalm 23: 4

Vs. 4 suggests that there will be dark places to navigate. The Hebrew word (salmawet) could be translated ‘the darkest of dark valleys’ (KJV: ‘the valley of the shadow of death’, but while death may be implied, it is not explicit to the Hebrew.)

It is still the metaphor of the sheep—now going through a very dark place. We sometimes speak of the ‘dark night of the soul’. That is a reality—a given—as we move through this still broken world.

Through every single phase of suffering, no matter what it may hold of that which seems to be utterly impossible of endurance to the natural man, the Father’s love affords his child his unfailing help that she may endure to the end bravely; and finally overcome that which is most difficult, and even evil in the eyes of the world. Our blessed Lord’s words (John 8:12), ‘he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life’, shine with radiant truth and love to the soul which is responding to his call; and the light grows brighter as she advances along the rough and thorny road in his wake. Even when she comes to those places where through human difficulty of understanding and weakness she cannot pierce the cloud which for the time being obscures the light, she knows deep down within herself he is still there, and his light cannot go out. So she gains confidence in the temporary gloom, while holding on, as she knows she can, to the faith which never lets her doubt the fact of his presence behind the cloud.

The Witness of Edith Barfoot: The Joyful Vocation to Suffering. SLG Press: 1985.

With the LORD as my shepherd, evil can obtain no hold on me. Evil cannot prevail. Full stop. Evil. Cannot. Prevail.

For the LORD is with me.

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name; you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.

Isaiah 43: 2-3

your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

• The rod: a symbol of the Lord’s strength and protection

• The staff: symbol of the Lord’s guidance and lovingkindness

Where is this ‘darkest valley’? I suggest that it is, in fact, our journey through this broken and fallen world. We are people of hope and confidence because we have a shepherd: The LORD. He protects us and he guides us. We are comforted, we can rest secure in his care and in the certain knowledge that we are being guided to the other side of the darkest valley, being guided to eternal green pastures and still waters.

The Lord as our welcoming host…

In v5, the metaphor shifts. We are not sheep, but welcome, permanent guests.

You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.

Psalm 23: 5

This is an image of ancient, Middle Eastern hospitality, which was considered a compelling and sacred duty—to provide food, shelter and protection to travellers and strangers. There are many Bible stories and instructions that relate to this duty.

Cf. Hebrews 13:2, ^“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” [This is serious business! And perhaps something we need to consider as a church—what kind of hospitality do we show?]

The image in Psalm 23 goes beyond mere hospitality. It is a picture of being cared for, of having one’s needs lavishly provided for, in the presence of enemies. This draws on the understanding that a host was obligated to protect their guests. To allow one’s guests to be injured or harmed was considered a criminal failure on the part of a host.

(Recall Lot in Genesis 19 being prepared to give his daughters to a mob, rather than allow the mob to molest his guests. It’s hard for us to understand, but it was in fact a reflection of how serious the obligations of hospitality were.)

And who is our host in this Psalm? We need to remember—it is none other than the LORD.

There are enemies that we face in a fallen world. Not, as Paul notes (Eph 6:12), “blood and flesh,” but “the rulers, …authorities, [and]…cosmic powers of this presentdarkness…, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

(We need to be careful to remember this! Our enemies are never people. Jesus did not regard the Roman soldiers nailing him to the cross as his enemies—“Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Same with Stephen being stoned to death.)

But we are safe, we are cared for, we are under the all-powerful and eternal protection of the LORD, sitting at the table HE has prepared for me. It is intentional, planned, specifically FOR ME. (Recalling dinner at Antoinette’s—an 8-course dinner exclusively for the extended Horne family.)

The anointing oil is an added special gesture. I confess to finding the image rather off-putting, but it was very much an ancient custom of hospitality and respect shown to esteemed dinner guests, by which the host would anoint his guest’s head with special oil, mixed with fragrant perfumes. (Recall Luke 7:46, in which Jesus rebukes his Pharisee hosts: “You did not anoint my head with oil, but she [a sinful woman] has anointed my feet with ointment.”

The provision of the table is not stingy or measured. My cup overflows. This is extravagant hospitality, overflowing!

But again, this is the LORD’s hospitality that has eternity as its context. How does the Afghan Christian hiding from the Taliban embrace this promise? Or any of us who face loss and hardship in this life? As Hebrews 11 makes abundantly clear, only from the perspective of eternity does our faith make sense. As Paul declares to the Corinthians, our hope and confidence are based on the resurrection of Jesus who, by his death and resurrection, has defeated our last enemy—defeated death itself.

It is the resurrected Jesus who serves us at the table. And we are safe for eternity. In this world we may suffer loss—but, as Jesus said in John 16:33, “In the world you face persecution [i.e., loss, danger, brokenness and death], but take courage: I have conquered the world!”

And v6 makes it clear that the setting is not a mere Bedouin’s tent or some villager’s home in which I am being welcomed. I am being welcomed into the LORD’s house as a permanent guest.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    my whole life long.

Psalm 23: 6

Goodness and mercy are the motivation of my host, the motivation of the LORD from before eternity—with MY life in view, my unique being.

As the LORD said to his people in Jeremiah 29:11, “¹¹ For surely, I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”

The ancient Israelites could not possibly grasp the full weight of what the LORD was promising through the words of Jeremiah. But we look back from the death and resurrection of Jesus. Death HAS been defeated. And we have been absolutely assured of the future awaiting us:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them and be their God;
⁴ he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
forthe first things have passed away.”

Revelations 21: 1-4

Will I be alive next year? I do not know. I don’t know if I’ll be alive tomorrow. Nor do any of us. Nor do any of us. But what do I know? I know that I belong to the LORD; that HE is MY shepherd, that I am welcomed into his home where he is my protector for eternity.

Let us say Psalm 23 together, embracing it as our own.

¹The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
³     he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
    for his name’s sake.

⁴ Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
    I fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    my whole life long.

Psalm 23