Psalm 23.
The first verse tells what the psalm is about,—the Shepherd. Of Him and His kindness and love, it speaks all the way through. The sheep throughout the psalm tells of its circumstances, but in the telling, our thoughts are directed, not to the sheep or its circumstances, but to the faithful Shepherd.
Because "the Lord is my Shepherd," it follows that, "I shall not want," for He has undertaken to do everything for me, "having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end"—and there is no end.
The Lord Jesus is called the Good Shepherd in John 10:11; He showed His wonderful, changeless love to His sheep when He died on the cross for their sins.
He is called the Great Shepherd in Hebrews 13:20.
His suffering time is over, but He is leading on His sheep to the home He went to prepare for them. And who are His sheep? Those who trust in Jesus.
Their Shepherd knows their needs, and provides for them as best may seem to Him. Green pastures He has for them to lie down in, and He leads them beside waters of quietness. These words picture to us food and rest, comfort, safety, peace; all are the proper portion of the believer.
If the heart be troubled, in sorrow, or gone astray from this dear Shepherd, He revives or restores it. For His name's sake He leads the sheep in paths of righteousness; how important this is! The paths of righteousness are the ways of obedience to His Word, ways before men that God can approve of.
In this psalm we are given a complete picture of the life of a child of God, and so we are next led to consider the day of cloud and darkness, of deepest sorrow: the valley of the shadow of death, speaking of experience of one whose beloved mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband, child it may be, has died. Then the world and all its charms become to the desolate heart, the valley of the shadow of death, where "Thou art with me" is the only comfort and stay, and thereby looking up to Jesus, Satan's snares are avoided ("T will fear no evil"),
We may think of the world, as at all times, the valley of the shadow of death to the believer, because his Lord has been here to die, taking such a place as the death of the cross (Philippians 2:8). It has been rightly said, that the shadow of the cross of Christ is on everything here, to the renewed heart.
"Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me." The "rod" here is not the rod of chastisement, but of position or title, as a scepter. It speaks of Him upon Whom the believer rests. He who could say,
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give unto them life eternal; and they shall never perish, and no one shall seize them out of My hand." John 10:27, 28. (R. V.)
The "staff" speaks of strength given for the day (Philippians 4:19).
The table prepared before the sheep of Christ in the presence of enemies (verse 5), is refreshment on the journey, and to the Christian it speaks of the Lord's Table, and "This do in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19).
The head anointed with oil is a mark of high honor. The Pharisee in Luke 7:46 had not done this for his Guest.
The cup running over, is the fulness of blessing. The psalm closes with dwelling in the house of the Lord forever.
This psalm expresses the heart, feelings and path of Jesus as He passed through the world, to the delight of His Father; how perfectly it answers to what the gospels tell of Him as the lowly, dependent One!
It is rightly placed between the 22nd, telling of His cross; and the 24th, telling of His glory.
Messages of God’s Love 6/8/1930