The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
 He leads me beside still waters.
     He restores my soul.
 He leads me in paths of righteousness
     for his name's sake.
 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
     I will fear no evil,
 for you are with me;
     your rod and your staff,
     they comfort me.
 You prepare a table before me
     in the presence of my enemies;
 you anoint my head with oil;
     my cup overflows.
 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
     all the days of my life,
 and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
     forever -- Psalm 23

Psalm 23 is one of the best-known and most-loved passages in all the Bible. It is read time and time again, with no end to the relevance of its message. In these days of troubled times, when it seems that evil is winning on all sides, we need the truths in this passage more than ever. They tell us of God’s care for us.

The Lord as Shepherd

We in the west don’t quite fully grasp the concept of the Lord as our shepherd. The reason is that western shepherds are different from traditional Middle Eastern shepherds, especially those in the Bible.  Western shepherds today drive their sheep with sheepdogs. The oriental shepherd, however, leads his sheep. Thus, Jesus’ words make sense: “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” The shepherd walks ahead of his sheep, leading them.

In the same way the Lord leads us. He does not drive us, does not force us. He invites us to journey with Him. While leading His sheep, the Shepherd cares for them, and thus they lack (are in want of) nothing:

He leads them to a place of provision. “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters” (v. 2). The Shepherd leads His sheep to a place where there is plenty of grass in which to find sustenance, but also to lay down in peace and safety. The grass is not only plentiful, but it is green, meaning that it is healthy grass, not dead. Likewise, the sheep find not only water, but still water. Still water is that which is calm. The environment is peaceful. And it is in that environment that the Lord restores our souls (v. 3a).

He heals them and restores them to righteousness. “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (v. 3). The Shepherd restores our souls. What does that mean? The Hebrew word can mean not only “to turn back, bring back,” but also “to refresh, repair.” When the soul is restored, we are healed of the wounds of our past, and we are turned again to God. We are able to walk with Him in the paths of righteousness in which He leads us. No matter the wounds we have, He is our healer.

He guides and protects them in the valleys. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (v. 4). The paths on which the Shepherd leads the sheep do often go down into valleys. Some of them are deep, dark, and dangerous. Yet, the sheep are never left alone. He is always with them. And because He loves the sheep, the sheep need not fear the evil that is there.

Shepherds use both a rod and a staff.  According to former shepherd Phillip Keller, the rod is used to protect the gentle and harmless flock from predators or reprimand unruly sheep that pick on others, eat the wrong plants, or are oblivious to danger. The shepherd parts the sheep’s wool using the rod to look for wounds, disease, and the overall condition of the skin. The staff, which is long and slender with a crook on the end, can be used by the shepherd to return a lamb to its mother, bring timid sheep closer to him or guide the flock into new pasture or through a gate, free sheep from bushes, lift them out of water when they stray too far and get into trouble. Both, David says, are a comfort to the sheep.

He shows his care for the sheep to all. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (v. 5). The Shepherd wants all to know that the sheep are His, and that He cares for them. Thus, He “prepares a table” in the very presence of enemies. We can enjoy goodness and grace of the Shepherd even when enemies are all around us. The anointing with oil is to signify His pleasure with the sheep. He wants all to know, “He is mine, and is greatly beloved by Me.”

A Permanent Dwelling Place

Because of the love and care of the Shepherd, the sheep have a permanent dwelling place—in the very presence of the Shepherd. We are assured that we shall never lose the love, goodness and mercy of our Shepherd. He cares for us so much that now, as we follow Him, goodness and mercy will always follow us. They will always be there, just as He is.