PSALM 23 - A PSALM OF DAVID

David had an experience and related it to us in a psalms 23 as he tells us of the goodness of the Good shepherd. This very popular psalms is a description of who God is towards us as a believer, and his loving kindness as a Father to us as his beloved children.

Verse 1

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“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”, this scripture is one of the greatest scriptures in the bible as it describes our position with God and his stand with us. In psalms 103, the psalmists says “we are the sheep of his pasture”. The Lord is our shepherd and we are his sheep, the shepherd ensures that the sheep is properly well taken care of and all is well with them, Immediately a person gives his or her life to Jesus Christ, he automatically becomes part of the fold of Christ; Jesus himself likens the believer to a sheep. Want is something that is apparent in the life of everyone and in this world, but God has made a powerful statement saying whomsoever I shepherd shall not want, implying the infinite resources of the Good shepherd, the Lord is more than able to supply all our needs according to his riches in glory (Phil 4:19). This provides such an enormous amount of comfort to the believer knowing that the Lord is in charge of their lives as he will meet their every need.

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Verse 2

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“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he leadeth me besides the still waters”, earlier we had established the shepherding of the Lord over his own; One major duty of a shepherd is to lead his sheep and to be a guide unto them. In this verse of scripture, green pastures and still waters is what we shall pay attention to. Firstly, a green pastures is indicative of a fruitful and productive place, of which the scripture now says that the Lord makes us to lie down in green pasture, as said by the psalmists it is the Lord himself that can bring his sheep to a place of prosperity, full of abundance. Typically, a green pasture is a very nourishing place of the sheep and for every sheep that makes his abode there, flourishes. Still waters imply Calmness, tranquility and satisfaction; in this world there is a whole lot of problems and confusion, but here the Lord leads us to a place of peace, as Jesus had rightly said my peace I give to you, not as the world does. True peace comes from God and the shepherd provides that for his sheep, as the world we leave is full of darkness (unrest).

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Verse 3

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“He restoreth my soul, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake, this leads us to the understanding that at the long run, our souls are to be restored back to the Lord, because on the account of the Fall of man; his soul was put at this paws of condemnation. But as Jesus died and redeemed man back to God by his blood, the restoration of our souls was put into play; as “the end of our faith is the salvation of our souls” (1 peter 1:9). The ways of the Lord are righteous and everything that proceeds from him is righteous, if that be so we as children of God are to be righteous; that is why David says he leads me in the paths of righteousness. For his name’s sake is indicative of the fact that as believers we are called by the name of the Lord and in order for God to make us be who he truly wants us to be, there has to be a leading in the righteous ways of God.

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Verse 4

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“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 gives a description of the shepherd’s protection over his sheep. “The adversary, the devil is like roaring lion seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8), the shepherd helps keeps his sheep from the wolves of the world by being with us because no one can stand against the Lord. There is a valley to move through in everyone’s life, that only the Lord can lead us through by his staff (Direction) and his rod (Correction). He will comfort all the way of our struggles and difficultly in life.

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Verse 5

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“Thou preparest a table before in the presence of mine enemies, thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over”, this is clearly indicative of the fact that in the midst of adversary, the Lord will bless us to an overflow, irrespective of the oppositions that stand before us; he has enable us to be bold and flourish in the presence of an on toward people.

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Verse 6

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“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days my life, and I shall continue to dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever amen”: Concluding, David, speaking of the goodness and mercy that will follow him all the days of his life, this is indicative of the fact that as the Lord is your shepherd his essence follows you throughout your life. One thing is needful that we dwell in the presence of the Lord and David understood this and said he would dwell forever there, “the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into and they are safe”. (proverbs 18:10). As believers we should always keep in my mind that we are the sheep of the Good shepherd and he is always watching over us for providence, for protection, for guidance and above for his name’s sake. David experienced the Lord in this dimensions, and this is the default life of a believer, so therefore let us allow the shepherd to have his perfect way in our lives.

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Peace.