Psalm 23

This psalm may be the most familiar passage of Scripture. How special is this psalm to you? How well do you know what it says? When was the last time you turned to this psalm for encouragement? Or has it become too familiar?

Since this psalm mentions the “shadow of death,” we usually go here for hospital visits, funerals, and gravesides. While it does speak beautiful, poetic words of comfort and hope for times of suffering and loss, it speaks more about life than death. It speaks more about how God cares for and guides us through life than it does about God’s comfort in death.

It is also important to point out that this psalm does not offer comfort to everyone, since God is not everyone’s shepherd. He only cares for those who follow him, and we follow him by first trusting in Jesus Christ alone as our God and Savior.

In fact, Christ himself said, “I am the good shepherd; and I know my sheep and am known by my own” (John 10:14). Jesus is the shepherd we read about in this psalm. He gave his life and then died on the cross so he could rescue us not from hailstorms, frigid temps, and wolves (things that sheep encounter), but from our sins.

Have you turned to Christ and trusted in him as your God and Savior?

• If not, then this psalm only offers the kind of care and guidance which could be yours.
• If yes, then this psalm reminds you of the care and guidance that is yours today.

Though we have a nostalgic, pleasant view of shepherds, this was an unfavorable role. Shepherds were considered unclean, represented a lower class, lived dangerous, uncomfortable lives, and spent enormous amounts of time with difficult, stubborn animals.

Yet throughout Scripture, Yahweh/Christ prefers to identify as a shepherd, key leaders of ancient Israel were first shepherds, and men who guide churches are called shepherds. So, it's good to be a shepherd. Easy and glamorous? No. But good!

A Psalm of David.

Like many others, this psalm opens with a small line saying it’s a psalm David wrote. As he wrote, he did so knowing what it meant to be a shepherd, for he had been a shepherd, caring for his father’s sheep. He knew firsthand the difficulties and experiences of caring for and living among a flock of sheep outdoors under the open sky.

When he became Israel’s king, he was still a shepherd, only of people not sheep. If a leader views him-/herself as a shepherd not an overlord, what a difference that makes. As a shepherd, David understood his need for a shepherd to care for him as well.

In this psalm, David reflects on the blessing of having Yahweh – the all-powerful, self-sustaining, eternal Creator God – as his shepherd, the one caring for and guiding his life. Do you have this same assurance, that the God who made you is your shepherd?

David had the best possible shepherd.

Yahweh is my shepherd;

            I do not lack anything.

Who is your shepherd? Your shepherd (or shepherds) is whatever or whomever you rely on for guidance and care. We rely on health or wealth whizzes, inspiring authors or radio, television, or YouTube gurus, close friends, professional counselors, the government, and even Google or Alexa. Some accomplished leaders or isolated people rely on themselves.

But not David – he relied on Yahweh. Rather than reading this opening line with the lilting, lullaby sound of “the Lord is my shepherd,” it is helpful to read it as “Yahweh is my shepherd,” placing enthusiastic emphasis on the first word, as though David is answering the question “who is your shepherd?” by saying, “Yahweh! Yahweh is my shepherd!” In this way, he insists that he relies on no one or nothing else but Yahweh.

Since Yahweh was his shepherd, David knew he would be deprived of nothing. Yahweh describes God as the self-existing one who needs or receives nothing from anyone – no counsel, skill, knowledge, strength, resource, or wealth. All these things come from him. This exhaustive, comprehensive sufficiency makes him the ultimate shepherd.

Yahweh met his needs.

In grass-filled pastures he makes me lie down;

            by restful waters he leads me.

Reading these lines, we envision calm, peaceful sheep resting quietly on a lush green hillside, an image which portrays a peaceful, restful state of mind, not agitated or uneasy.

But we should focus on the actions of the shepherd here which make this restful state possible. “He makes me” is key for it says more than that he merely allows or encourages us to lie down. He makes it possible for us to lie down and causes us to lie down – without his intervention in our lives, we would neither want to lay down or be able to do so.

Sheep do not easily or naturally lie down, even in lush pastures, for at least two reasons:

Friction. Rivalries, tensions, and disagreements between sheep prevent them from resting calmly in the field. They need a shepherd to step in and resolve that tension for them. We need the same care from God in our relationships and circumstances of life.

Frustration. It’s not just major differences between sheep that prevent them from resting. Minor, petty irritations have the same effect. When flees, flies, and ticks get under a sheep’s skin, they irritate that sheep to distraction. This pesky agitation spreads quickly to an entire flock, making it impossible for them to lie down in the fields and rest.

Beyond enabling us to lie down peacefully despite the friction and frustrations of life, Yahweh also nourishes our hearts and provides for our physical needs.

Sheep need water to survive, but they often try to quench this thirst in harmful ways, drinking from potholes and puddles along the way. Though these waters are readily available, they are breeding grounds for diseases and parasites. Though they quench thirst for a moment, they lead to many harmful conditions which may even cause to death.

Only Yahweh can satisfy our thirst with “still waters,” and a shepherd does this two ways:

Morning Dew. He wakens them early to be refreshed by fresh, clean morning dew, satisfying their thirst before they face the difficulties of their day. A sheep who begins the day satisfied will be less likely to drink from potholes later.

Freshwater Springs. A good shepherd “leads” his sheep to springs of fresh water. These are hard to find and may require a difficult, steep climb, squeezing through a narrow passageway, or doing some hard manual labor to clear away rocks or dig into the ground.

Yahweh guided him forward.

My life he restores,

            he guides me in the right paths

for the sake of his name.

One of the problems sheep face is “being cast.” When they settle down to rest, they can get so comfortable that they roll onto their back with legs up in the air. This happens when they settle into a pronounced indentation in the ground or have grown too much wool.

If the shepherd doesn’t see this and flip the sheep back over, a sheep will last only a few days in cool, damp weather or a few hours in hot, dry weather. Gas builds up and cuts off circulation. When a sheep is cast, it needs a shepherd to “restore it” to an upright position.

Next, we know that – left to themselves – sheep wander in any direction they want. They have no plan, goal, or direction in life apart from the guidance a shepherd provides.

The primary way a shepherd guides sheep is with his voice. When they follow their feelings, impressions, and instincts, they end up in confusing and disastrous places. But when they follow their shepherd’s voice, they end up at the right place in life.

As one experienced shepherd, Phillip Keller, recalls:

“I can still see one of the sheep ranches in our district which was operated by a tenant sheepman. He ought never to have been allowed to keep sheep. His stock was always thin, weak, and riddled with disease or parasites. Again, and again, they would come and stand at the fence staring blankly through the woven wire at the green, lush pastures which my flock enjoyed.”

Not only does this scenario cause a poor quality of life for the sheep in his pasture, but it reflects poorly on the shepherd, too. That’s what “for his name’s sake” means. Caring for us well reveals how good and great our shepherd truly is.

When we follow God’s clear guidance and care – through his Word – our lives reflect well on the goodness of our shepherd. But when we resist his care and guidance, our lives reflect badly on him.

Yahweh accompanied him through danger.

Even when I walk through the valley of death’s shadow,

I fear no harm,

for you are with me;

Your rod and your staff –

they reassure me.

In warm late-Spring and summer months, sheep graze in wide-open spaces of grassy highland pastures. Left alone, they would stay there indefinitely, then die when the harsh winters set in. Frigid temps, accumulating snow, and biting wind would kill them.

To prevent this disastrous outcome, a shepherd would guide his flock back to the fenced farmyard and barn near his homestead in the valley or at the base of the mountain. As autumn closed, he would lead them from the highlands to the safety of his home.

This journey was treacherous and uncomfortable, crossing rushing rapids, rocky, rough terrain, dangerous alpine meadows, and passing through shadowy forests.

These descents presented many opportunities for sheep to be swept away, wander off, fall prey to a predator in land or sky, or simply give up to exhaustion or stubbornness.

There was no way to avoid this unpleasant journey. It was the only way to get the sheep safely through winter, so they could return to the mountaintop pastures once again.

When sheep enjoy the open, highland pastures in the springtime, they generally roam freely and farther from their shepherd’s presence – as Robert Robertson wrote as a young man in his twenties, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”

We can “settle into a groove” and get comfortable with life, then the Lord brings a sudden change or trial our way to “lead us into the valley.” Hudson Taylor, well-known missionary of the China Inland Mission in the 1800s, called these experiences the “valley of tears.”

When we leave the comforts of life to follow Christ on the arduous descent down the mountain, we tend to walk closer to him. When we cross the tree line into the forest and shadows dim our eyes, we give more effort to walk as closely to Christ as possible. The phrase “shadow of death” means more generally “shadow of darkness,” and refers not only to death but to any dark and shadowy trials in our lives.

David describes how the Lord guides us through these dark valleys by highlighting a shepherd’s two primary tools: a rod and staff.

Rod. This was a wooden club hanging at the shepherd’s side. It was chosen by the shepherd from the root of an oak tree, with the bulb at the beginning of the root serving as the head of the club and the handle carved to fit the grip of the shepherd’s hand.

Staff.  This was a longer stick, up to six feet, that served less as a club and more as a walking or climbing stick. Sometimes it would feature a curved or hook-shaped end.

How would a shepherd use these tools to guide his sheep through the valleys?

Each night, before the sheep lay down to sleep, they “passed under the rod” of the shepherd so he can count them and account that they are there and not lost. He will often use his rod to push back their wool to ensure that no matting, injuries, diseases, or bug infestations have developed on their skin during the day.

Sometimes a sheep will become so rebellious and stubborn that the shepherd may need to break its leg by striking it with his rod. This is undesirable of course, but sometimes necessary. When a shepherd does this, he then picks up the sheep and carries it on his shoulders, caring for it until the leg heals. This drastic measure humbles the sheep and forms a closer bond between the sheep and the shepherd.

Sometimes a sheep is cornered or stalked or even attacked by a predator, such as an eagle, a coyote, a cougar, or a wolf. When the shepherd sees that this is happening or has occurred, he will use his rod as a fighting club to wound or kill the predator that’s threatening his sheep.

Sometimes a sheep wanders off the pathway or falls into a ravine. The shepherd will use his staff to reach out and nudge the sheep back to the pathway. Or he may use the staff as a lever or lift pull the sheep back to safety.

Yahweh blessed him abundantly.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my foes;

You slather my head with oil –

my cup overflows.

Here David blends shepherding and royalty themes. For a shepherd, “preparing a table” and “slathering my head with oil” recall ways that a shepherd cares for his sheep.

Clearing Land. “Preparing a table” recalls how a shepherd prepares a pasture in the mountains for his sheep, ensuring they would have lush, green pastures to graze in.

In the earliest days of spring, before the snow fully melted, a shepherd would trek to the highlands to survey the pastures. He’d make multiple visits to clear out rocks and prepare water sources to make grazing as refreshing and comfortable as possible.

He’d also remove dangers and risks to make their stay even safer. A good shepherd knew not every blade, flower, root, or stem was nutritious, but a sheep will eat whatever green blade is before him. Some vegetation is a source of poor nutrition or poisonous:

“Unknown to me the first sheep ranch I owned had a rather prolific native stand of both blue and white cammas. The blue cammas were a delightful sight in the spring when they bloomed along the beaches. The white cammas, though a much less conspicuous flower, were also quite attractive, but a deadly menace to sheep. If lambs, in particular, ate or even just nibbled a few of the lily-like leaves, as they emerged in grass sward during spring, it would spell certain death. The lambs would become paralyzed, stiffen up like blocks of wood and simply succumb to the toxic poisons from the plants.”

A shepherd combed the entire pasture to ensure he’d removed every poisonous weed or flower. This is painstaking work was necessary for the health and survival of his sheep.

He also reduced the risk of predatory animals, scouting for signs like droppings, feeding remains, dwelling places (burrows, caves), footprints, or bits of fur. If he found evidence, he eliminated the threat by tracking down or trapping the threatening animal(s).

He reduces the risk of other difficult experiences, too.

Preventing Outbreaks. A good shepherd aims to reduce not only the high-stakes threats in our future but these other difficult, frustrating experience, too. Three of these experiences a shepherd aims to minimize are fly larvae, skin parasites, and the rut.

Larvae. In summer, all sorts of flies and other insects swarm in the fields. They even try to lay eggs on the sheep’s moist noses. If they succeed, the eggs hatch small, wormlike larvae that burrow up a sheep’s nose into its head, causing severe inflammation and irritation. Affected sheep throw their heads against trees and rocks, lose weight, and produce insufficient milk for their lambs.

Scab. The “scab” is irritating and spreads from infected sheep to the whole flock if undetected. Microscopic parasites on the skin, under the wool, cause this.

A good shepherd aims to remove this threat from the pastures, detecting and isolating the problem as soon as possible. If mild, he will locate the area of skin irritation and apply a special ointment to heal the scab and prevent it from spreading. If the outbreak is widespread, he prepares a large bath of the ointment and dip the sheep into it head to toe. This is a laborious, pain-staking process.

A Royal Banquet. Though we can see how these visuals remind us of shepherding scenes, the “overflowing cup” is a signal that David envisions something more and different here, too, because an overflowing cup is not a shepherding concept.

So, David expands his imagery here to a different kind of scene, one with which he was likewise familiar – the imagery of a royal banqueting hall.

• The table envisions a sumptuous feast.
• The oil envisions a luxuriant oil (think shampoo & cologne).
• The cup envisions extravagant servings of drinks.

With this scene David reveals that with Yahweh as his shepherd, he truly did lack nothing. God not only provided for his needs, but he provided above and beyond what he needed. Is this your experience with God, and if so, are you thankful?

Yahweh provided continual care.

Surely goodness and kindness will pursue me,

all the days of my life,

And I will return to the house of Yahweh

for the rest of my days.

Based upon God’s proven track record of faithful, loving, lavish care and guidance in David’s life to the day he wrote this psalm, he had become quite confident that God’s faithful care and guidance would continue well into the future.

• Goodness refers to all of God’s blessings, whether they are moral transformation (goodness) or material blessings (good things).
• Mercy (chesed) refers to his perfect and unchanging devotion, faithfulness, loyalty, and love which we do not deserve.

The way David describes this experience, he emphasizes a few additional things:

• He describes God’s blessings not only as experiences he enjoyed, but as experiences that were “chasing after” him. That’s what “follow” means – to chase, run, or pursue.
• He also describes God’s blessings as an expectation for every day of his life (“all the days of his life”), not just rare and occasional highlights.

He prefaces all these things with “surely,” which means he has no doubt this will surely be the case. He knew the reliable character of Yahweh, that he will take such amazing care of him daily (“all the days of his life”). The Lord will not fail to bless and care for his sheep on a daily basis. He cannot and he will not.

It’s easy to focus on the trials of life rather than on the countless blessings he provides.

Now, God’s blessings “chasing after me” probably carries an additional layer of meaning, too, especially since this is written as poetry. This “blessing chasing after me” reminds us that well-cared-for sheep leave their pastureland better off after they leave, not worse.

Proper grazing rotation, good weeding practices, and the sheep’s natural waste all make a pasture a better-managed, well-grazed pasture for any who come behind. Sheep were referred to as “those of the golden hooves” because they were regarded so highly for their beneficial effect on the land (God’s blessings coming “after” or “behind” them).

Not only does the Lord ensure his faithful blessing and care in the future of this life, but he also ensures your safe arrival in eternity. This world is a temporary journey that’s made bearable by our longing for the next life that’s coming.

When I was a child growing up in the farmlands of Indiana, I looked forward to our annual pilgrimage to Pennsylvania to visit our grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. We’d get up early in the morning and drive all day to make the 10-hr. journey. We’d load up with treats in the back seat of our Mercury Grand Marquis and would be asking the famous question 30-60 mins. into the trip, “Are we there yet?”

As silly as that question was, it kept us going one toll booth, one gas station, and one rest stop to another. After what seemed like an eternity, we’d turn off the highway, take a few turns down a twisty, uphill, country road, and pull into my grandparents’ driveway.

Those vacations were filled with good food and fun times, but there was one tiny problem. They only lasted a week, after which we’d load into the car with blankets and tear-filled eyes for the long journey home, waiting to do it all again a year later.

That same question keeps us going today. We follow our shepherd one step after another through the unknown roads and pasturelands before us asking, “Are we there yet?” Though we aren’t “there yet,” we know that one day we’ll make that final descent into the valley of the shadow of death, then we will at last “dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

And that’s what makes that future destination so different from my childhood vacations. I’ll stay there forever – and forever is a very long time. I’ll remain in the Lord’s presence forever and enjoy the New Creation that he will make forever, which will be a perfect world brimming with God’s blessings and free from all evil and suffering.

Are you following Yahweh as your shepherd?

This psalm presents so many points of application and tie into our lives today, far too to unpack in one sermon – so I encourage you to relisten to the sermon slowly, reflecting and meditating on how your life matches David’s descriptions of Yahweh as shepherd.

For now, I will draw our attention to the importance of relying on God and submitting to him as your shepherd. You cannot do one without the other.

To enjoy Yahweh as your shepherd, you must submit yourself to his care and guidance. You cannot wander carelessly through life and enjoy God’s presence, protection, and care. You must live as a sheep in his pastures. How can you do this?

Well, first you must turn to Jesus Christ and trust in him alone as your God and Savior and he will become your shepherd. As Paul tells us, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). And as Jesus said about himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

Once you have believed on Christ as your God and Savior, he becomes your shepherd for life. From that point forward, you should announce your faith openly through baptism, which is the way that Christ commands all of his followers to identify with him.

You should also identify yourself as the member of a church family or congregation. This is how Christ shepherds his people – through the church.

Following his resurrection and before his ascension, Christ told Peter to “shepherd my sheep” (John 21:16) and to “feed” them (John 21:15, 17). Peter did this of course through a faithful preaching and teaching ministry, in which he taught and explained the Word of God to the people of God.

In a letter he wrote to believers near the end of his life, he referred back to these instructions from Christ, expanding them even further (1 Pet 5:1-4).

• In these verses, he calls Christ the “Chief Shepherd” (1 Pet 5:4)
• He also tells church leaders (elders/overseers) to “shepherd the flock of God.”

From this we see that Yahweh cares for and guides his people especially as they identify with and participate with the church where he has placed them. When commenting about the contemporary significance of this Psalm today, commentator James Hamilton says:

“Peter refers to the Lord Jesus as the “Chief Shepherd” in 1 Peter 5:4. The pastors that the Lord Jesus has given to shepherd the church (Eph 4:11) are the human means whereby the Lord mediates his shepherding love to his people. Those who would have the Lord as their shepherd today should join themselves to a body of believers united to Christ by faith, and thereby united to one another, guided and cared for by the Chief Shepherd’s undershepherds on their sojourn to the land of promise.”

Let me encourage you today in knowing that those who turn to Christ alone as God and Savior are placed into the family of God, where they will find the care and guidance of God made available to you forever daily.

Then of those who trust in Christ, they will find his care and guidance most assuring, evident, and real who identify with and participate in a faithful, Bible-teaching church. This is how we experience life best as a sheep of God – for God does not shepherd sheep in isolation, the shepherds them as a flock.

This is not a popular concept today. As Americans, we value our independence. Yet far too often, we resemble sheep who:

• Live as though we are lacking things
• Are looking for satisfaction in wrong places
• Are filled with anxiety
• Are distracted by frustrations and fears
• Wander wherever we want but not in the right paths
• Who fear the worst
• Who are not aware of God’s personal presence

This is due – in part – to our lack of identification and affiliation with “the flock of God,” so we live as though we are lacking God’s guidance and care.

As we go forward, let me encourage you to embrace being a sheep in God’s family. Embrace being in his flock and enjoy the care, comfort, and guidance you will receive as the Chief Shepherd cares for your soul. Let us not be wandering sheep but sheep who are present and at peace.