Psalms 23:4 NIVUK
[4] Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Since the very beginning of my awareness of concerts, I have been aware of the tendency most bands have to not play their biggest hits early on in the concert – and in some cases waiting until the encore to play them – much to the delight of their fans. The reason why is slightly egotistical, and a little commercial too: they introduce fans to new songs and then make them wait till hear the hits to encourage them to stay until the end.
Well, I’m ending this study with one of the ‘greatest hits’ of the Night Songs, as I’m calling them. In fact, when we talk about Psalms designer to help us through the night, this is the one song above all that anyone would think of: Psalm 23.
It is a beautiful Psalm. There is no doubt about it.
But it is often misused and misunderstood.
Yes, it is a wonderful Psalm about God’s provision. But this provision is not in a hermetically sealed, safe as houses place.
No. This is in the face of suffering, problems and threats.
That interpretation might surprise you. Maybe this Psalm gives you the ultimate picture of safety and ease and ease.
However, that peace is in the eye of the storm, not in the face of a flat calm paradise.
There are five lacks here that someone who is suffering often feels when in the midst of their problems. This beautiful Psalm is an appeal from David for us to trust God with these terrible lacks.
The first of these is Direction:
Psalms 23:2-3 NIVUK
[2] He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, [3] he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Maybe you’re looking at this and wondering, ‘This is all very well, Paul, but where does the direction come into it?’
Well, if you and I were shepherds, our number one job would be to find good pasture for our sheep. In the UK, this is no problem. The only time it would be an issue is if they wandered into the football stadium of a lower league football team and discovered that the grass is always greener because it’s plastic. We have good grass pretty much everywhere – except there.
But in the Middle East, access to good pasture was – and still is – seasonal. In the cooler seasons, might problem. There would be abundant pastures in the hills around Bethlehem, for example.
Summer, however, was another problem. The rising heat would cause the grass to die out. Any shepherd worth his salt would have to take his flock into the high mountains of Northern Israel – likely towards the Golan Heights – to find good pasture.
That area was dangerous – and not always for the same reason it’s dangerous now. There were wild animals, bandits and hostile terrain.
You cam imagine, then, how much of a relief it would be for both shepherd and sheep to find a place like the one described in verses 1-3: a place where both weary sheep and shepherd could safely lay down to rest; green, fresh pastures; waters that were not stagnant but flowed gently.
It’s no wonder David described such a place as being somewhere that restored his soul – and the word almost means to restart or reset it back to what it was before.
This is pretty much a ‘goldilocks’ place: not too hot, not too cold, just right.
And the conduct of the sheep in such a place is so orderly and peaceful, not at all like the aggressive and pushy conduct described in Ezekiel 34:17-24. It’s as if the flock described in Ezekiel’s day did not trust their shepherd to provide for them and so hurried to grab as much as they could, but in Psalm 23, the sheep trust the shepherd inherently and believe that he will provide all they need, so they don’t need to behave aggressively or belligerently to get what they need.
Isn’t it such a beautiful picture?
You know, my wife and daughter don’t always trust me with a map. I get a little disorientated sometimes. Once I have my directions sorted out, I’m fine. But in a new place it can take me a while to get my bearings.
Here the sheep trust the shepherd one hundred percent. Even when he abandons the pastures they have known for months. Even when he takes them in a new, strange direction.
Even when the terrain changes and becomes uneven or steep.
They trust the shepherd.
And he repays that trust by taking them to this wonderful pasture.
Ezekiel 34:14-15 NIVUK
[14] I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. [15] I myself will tend my sheep and make them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord.
That is what happens when we trust God too.
We saw such a beautiful picture of peace in Psalm 91, but it was conditional. Not everyone received it:
Psalms 91:1-2 NIVUK
[1] Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [2] I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’
Psalms 91:9-12 NIVUK
[9] If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, [10] no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. [11] For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; [12] they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
Just like in Psalm 91, we see in Psalm 23 that there is a condition implied here. You don’t find these rich, satisfying, soul-restoring pastures on your own. You don’t wander off and stumble across them by accident. You need to be led there by the shepherd.
The journey might be long and arduous and you might wonder if you will ever get there, but if you follow the shepherd, then you will.
So we have seen direct, how God directs our path to places that are just right for us. This is a concept that Solomon, David’s son, also takes up:
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIVUK
[5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
But the Psalm moves on to a lack that is often misunderstood, that of Protection:
Psalms 23:4 NIVUK
[4] Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The King James translation of this verse included the phrase ‘valley of the shadow of death’.
This has lead to this verse being quoted by an incredibly wide range of music artists – from Duke Ellington to Pink Floyd to Coolio to even Marilyn Manson – and often used in funerals. Not to mention, of course, in horror and gangster movies.
But all of them – every last one of them – have missed the point.
This verse does not at all talk about dying and going to heaven. That is not the point.
The next verse talks about God providing a feast for David ‘in the presence of my enemies’.
This can’t happen in heaven. Our enemies will not be present, and even if they are, we will no longer feel animosity towards them.
No this verse is about overcoming the fear of death.
Journeying into the northern mountains to find pasture would likely take shepherds such as David into high mountain gorges and steep valleys. Hiding in shadowy crevasses and behind large rocks could be anything from cross-border bandits to wild predators to even other shepherds, looking to steal from the flock.
It’s entirely possible that this is what David referred to when he told Saul this useful piece of information before he went to battle against Goliath:
1 Samuel 17:34-35 NIVUK
[34] But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, [35] I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.
A shadowy place, hidden from the sun, in a remote place, far from human habitation, was the ideal place for things to go disastrously wrong. We might say that any sheep in this flock would be quite right to be afraid.
But David wasn’t.
Why?
Because of three things.
We understand one of them: the Lord, his Shepherd, was with him. The Lord, who would happily lay down His life for those sheep (John 10:11). The Lord, who promised that through Him they would find safe pasture (John 10:9).
Now, we can fully understand why anyone would find that comforting and how that Presence would ease fears.
But the next two things, at first glance, seem, to the modern mind, to be a little unusual.
After all, of you have a crying infant, laying two big sticks either side of then will not bring them any comfort.
Yet David is comforted by the presence of the rod and the staff.
How?
The rod was basically a stick or club. It’s principal function was to defend the flock. It was a weapon against marauders (see Exodus 21:20 and Micah 5:1). It was also used to muster and count sheep (see Leviticus 27:32). It’s purpose was to identify those who belonged to the shepherd and protect them. As Jesus said:
John 10:27-29 NIVUK
[27] My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one will snatch them out of my hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no-one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
What a blessed, wonderful truth!
The staff, meanwhile, was simply a walking stick, used by shepherd to steady himself on terrain where the sheep would be more sure footed, but he would be less so. In the Bible, it is often used as a picture of political support (see 2 Kings 18:21; Isaiah 36:6; Ezekiel 29:6).
The staff speaks of the shepherd’s ability to ‘be there’ for the flock; the rod speaks of his ability to do something about their predicament.
Christians are absolutely not immune from passing through the valley of the shadow of death (note: not death itself, just its shadow). There are times in our lives when we have a brush with our mortal enemy.
I myself have been there. As a missionary in Romania, I fell badly ill and was rushed to hospital. After coming round from a general anaesthetic the next day, I was rather unsubtly informed that if I had waited even an hour more, I could have died from septicaemia.
I remember lying on my bed in an empty ward and sobbing silently to myself at the thought.
But we can stare down death without fear. As Paul stated:
1 Corinthians 15:55 NIVUK
[55] ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’
Why is that?
Because Jesus has risen from the dead, so even if we die, He takes us to be with Him (1 Corinthians 15). And so – and this is a wonderful truth – we win. We cannot lose:
Philippians 1:20-24 NIVUK
[20] I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. [21] For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. [22] If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! [23] I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; [24] but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
But how should this affect us?
Davis himself has the answer:
1 Samuel 17:34-37 NIVUK
[34] But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, [35] I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. [36] Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. [37] The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.’ Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you.’
David in these verses doesn’t see Goliath as a small, pitiful man. No, he sees him as the giant he is. But is seems to see the lion and the bear as more dangerous foes, and the God who helped him defeat them as a boy will surely help him defeat the Philistine.
The giant is tough. The lion and bear were tougher.
But his God was bigger than all of them.
That is the key to getting through our valley moments, our dark nights of the soul. It is recognising the magnitude or the event or the situation we are facing, but realising that our God is greater, and since He has conquered death, these life issues are small fry in comparison.
And even if we do die, we win.
So we see these two great lacks when we suffer – direction and protection – and how our God provides them for us.
Because that is what we will look at now: Provision.
Psalms 23:5 NIVUK
[5] You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
When my sisters were small, they did what many girls do: they arranged all their teddy bears and dollies together at a table and held a tea party.
But I don’t ever recall them inviting a sheep along.
The only time we can imagine a sheep being at a meal table is in the form of mutton or lamb.
However, the theologian J. Douglas MacMillan noted that there is an old oriental practice of feeding sheep at small raised tables. So this image, while referring to a human banquet, also refers to a common shepherding practice.
And this is where it becomes really special.
If someone prepares a parry or a celebratory meal for you, then you know that they value and esteem you. You are worth something to them.
The Bible uses the picture of a banquet to help us conceive of the glories God has prepared for us in heaven (Matthew 22:1-14; Luke 14:15-24; Revelation 19:9).
But I don’t think that is what is described here.
Why?
Because this feast is ‘in the presence of my enemies’.
In other words, this is God’s special, specific provision for David to indicate that David is special and his enemies are not.
The nearest parallel to this would be David’s own call, when a feast to the Lord was set up, but David was not invited (1 Samuel 16:1-13).
Not right away anyway.
You can imagine how this feast in the midst of enemies would look: docile, peaceful, harmless sheep feeding from their shepherd’s hand, calm and composed in his favour, resting peacefully in his security, while all around them their natural predators grown and snarl while their empty stomachs grown.
That is precisely the picture here.
And it is also the picture in Ezekiel 34:
Ezekiel 34:25, 28 NIVUK
[25] ‘ “I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety.
[28] They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no-one will make them afraid.
There are times in life when we experience blessing, while those who sought our destruction experience a curse; when God lifts us up and provides for us, while He pushes them down and takes from them. Those are the time when we experience God setting a table for us in the presence of our enemies. Those are the times when God uses our situation to show just who Je us and who they should be.
We should never be smug or proud when this happens, though. We should not boast about it. It didn’t happen because of who we are, but because of who God is; not because of our merit or entitlement, but entirely because of His grace:
1 Corinthians 1:31 NIVUK
[31] Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’
So we have seen three lacks so far that a person who is suffering may experience: direction, protection and provision. There is a fourth, and it is quite a big one: that of Recognition.
Psalms 23:5 NIVUK
[5] You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
This harks back to David’s anointing as king in 1 Samuel 16:1-16.
Anointing is rather an unusual thing nowadays. When King Charles was anointed during his coronation, it took place with him dressed in simple clothes and behind a screen. I am sure many of the millions of people who watched would have been quite confused at this ancient ritual, wondering what on earth was going on.
Anointing with oil was an ancient act that set apart a person (Exodus 30:30) or an object (Exodus 40:11) for sacred use.
David was not the first anointed king – he was the second. In fact, what made his anointing so controversial at the time (note 1 Samuel 16:4 and how Samuel doesn’t tell the town elders of his true purpose) is that Saul had already been anointed as king (1 Samuel 10:1) and was the incumbent, but had been rejected by God (1 Samuel 15:1-31). David was being anointed as his replacement.
But there were two other startling aspects to this anointing.
The first is that David was only a boy. Some commentators place him only in his early teens.
He lacked the wisdom and the experience to perform the role.
The second is that even his own family don’t seem to have considered him as fit for the role.
After all, Samuel, prophet to the king, coming to town is a huge deal – a bit like if a major Hollywood or sports star showed up in your town. But his father had taken the decision to leave David with the sheep (1 Samuel 16:11), from where he would likely have missed all the festivities around the sacrifice.
Until Samuel intervened.
So David was anointed, despite other people doubting.
Even when David was crowned king, he had to fight a war against Saul’s descendants, despite having been anointed, before he could fully take up the role (2 Samuel 2:8-5:5).
Lives were lost and blood shed because people simply did not believe in the legitimacy of his claim.
God’s recognition in the face of human opposition reminds me of these famous words in the New Testament:
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 NIVUK
[26] Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. [27] But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. [28] God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, [29] so that no-one may boast before him. [30] It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. [31] Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’
Coming from a family that was, in all probability, not wealthy and from a backwater village, David knew the truth of these words. He was anointed despite being the youngest, the least experienced, the least qualified. God even had to correct Samuel’s perspective (1 Samuel 16:6-7).
When I was starting out as a missionary and a preacher, I often encountered people who had second thoughts over where or not a man like me – a small-ish man from a relatively poor neighbourhood in Scotland – could do the job.
One such fellow even became a colleague. I remember his first comment after he’d heard me preach my first sermon at a Pentecostal church in Pitești, Romania. I’d been asked to preach off the back of a recommendation from one of his friends, but when I stood up at the pulpit, my future colleague was somewhat unimpressed. He confessed to me afterwards, ‘When you stood up, I asked myself, “This can’t be right! What can this little Scottish guy teach us?” But you were really good!’
In life, people are far more likely to tell us that we can’t do something than they are to support us and give us praise.
But at the end of it all, their opinions really doesn’t matter a bit. Only God’s opinion counts.
So, if, like me, your self-esteem took a battering if you were among the last to be chosen for sports teams at school; if you were rarely asked or chosen to do anything and had been set aside for most things; if you are a follower of Jesus Christ then I want you to hear this:
Almighty God, in all His power and glory, stands before you right now and says the three words you have always longed to hear:
I choose you.
Not because of who you are or because of what you have done, but because of His grace and His love towards you.
Almighty God chooses you.
Why would anyone else’s opinion matter?
So we see, then, four lacks which God provides: those of Direction, Protection, Provision and Recognition.
The last is equally, if not more, wonderful as these: Destination.
Psalms 23:6 NIVUK
[6] Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Now, here we hit an interesting fact. David talks here of the ‘house of the Lord’. However, he can’t have been talking about the Temple. David designed it, but he didn’t see it built. God told him he wouldn’t (1 Kings 8:18; 1 Chronicles 17:4). Instead, David’s son Solomon built the Temple (1 Kings 6:14).
So what could David mean here?
Another possible translation of the word used for ‘house’ in Hebrew is ‘household’: that is, the sum total of a man’s family and his servants. What David is saying here is that he will be welcomed into the household of God forever.
And he is not alone.
Romans 8:15-16 NIVUK
[15] The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ [16] The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Galatians 4:6 NIVUK
[6] Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’
In other words, because of Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross, we too are part of God’s household – but not as servants or slaves.
No, we have been adopted into His household as His children.
And that is a status that will never be taken from us.
John 10:28-29 NIVUK
[28] I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one will snatch them out of my hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no-one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
So what David talked about is something we all have, can never lose, and will spent all eternity enjoying.
What a glorious future!
Yet we are not alone in the here and now.
Imagine yourself on a long walk. You are on a journey, following the shepherd. You see him in front of you, with his rod and staff. You trust him. One hundred percent.
But in the Middle East, shepherd led from the front, not the back.
So the question crosses your mind, ‘Who is watching my back?
David has the answer: two giant, unbeatable angels called God’s Goodness and God's Mercy.
Isaiah 58:8 NIVUK
[8] Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
When you feel threatened, they ate right there to protect you. When you are frightened, they are an ever present comfort. When you feel weary, they carry you.
God’s Goodness and His Mercy will keep you safe until one day you make it to your heavenly home.
There is little doubt that this is a special Psalm.
The picture of God as a shepherd was nothing new – it existed in the Near East before Psalm 23 and would be reused and recycled many times throughout Jewish history – even by Jesus Christ Himself.
Here, however, David takes that popular image and elevated it in an ancient song that is beautiful from start to finish, but also has echoes in his own life. As well as an expression of worship, this Psalm is also his personal testimony of how God worked in his life, and also works in ours.
That is why it is so special to so many all around the world.
Many years ago, I was on a long distance international train from Prague through Budapest to Bucharest. It was passing through the stunning wilderness of the Transilvanian Plain when it broke down. A new locomotive would be required. We sat there on the rails, going absolutely nowhere, for at least an hour while a replacement locomotive was sourced and dispatched.
While we sat there, in rural Romania, I noticed something that caught my attention. A shepherd was leading his flock close to the railway lines.
Now, that line was not exactly high speed. I think trains on that railway line barely reached a hundred miles an hour, if even that. But if that train had struck any of his sheep – or even him – there would be nothing left of them.
But there he was, wrapped in traditional shepherd’s garb, leading his flock close to something that could completely destroy them.
I was stunned.
And yet that picture took me to this Psalm.
Psalm 23 is often understood as being an idyllic Psalm – a calm, quiet picture that takes us into the countryside where everything is peaceful and calm. I understand that impression. I really do.
But it isn’t a hundred percent accurate.
This is a Psalm about how God looks after us in the presence of dangers, risks and threats. We can only be calm and cool-headed in such situations because of God, and no other reason. It is not a Psalm that depicts a perfect life. Instead it is a Psalm of quiet defiance in the face of threat.
Just look at the five things we have seen:
· Direction, to a place where our souls can be restored, following a long and arduous journey
· Protection, in the face of life-threatening risks
· Provision, in the presence of enemies
· Recognition, in the presence of doubters
· Destination, in the midst of those who lack direction
It is for these reasons that David says at the start of this Psalm, ‘The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing.’
Can you say it?
Honestly?
Sheep are inherently nervous animals. They can only lie down if they perceive a complete absence of threats and pests and an ample supply of food.
These are things God can provide us with, even in the midst of terrible trouble.
But do you believe that He will?
Over this long series, we have travelled through a whole gamut of negative human emotions. And to be honest, when I started it, I wondered if it would be depressing and difficult.
I was wrong.
Studying these Psalms has been one of the most uplifting and experiences I have ever had.
To realise that, no matter how we feel and no matter what we go through in life, the everlasting arms of God are wrapped around us and underneath us is truly an awesome thing.
My only hope is that, regardless of where you are in life, these words have strengthened your faith as they have mine.
May God be with you, wherever you are.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I thank You that my suffering is never wasted or on vain. I thank You that you will lead me through even the darkest of times, provide for me whatever I need and lead me to be home with You. I never want to lose faith in You. Keep my close, I pray. Amen.
Questions
1. Who is it who lacks nothing, no matter what happens in life?
2. What are the five lacks and how are they met?
3. This Psalm has the same basic message as all of the Night Songs. What is it? How does it apply to your situation?
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