He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. He leads me beside still waters. New Living Translation 1 A psalm of David. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. Psalm 23 reminds us that in life or in death — in times of plenty or want — God is good and worthy of our trust. It gives voice to the sheep who are always eager to share what they know to be true, that staying close to the shepherd is always the safe place to be, for there can be nowhere He leads that does not, in the end, result in that which will be good for His flock.
Tell me, little lamb, about your shepherd He makes me lie down in green pastures. We are not justified by works, but for works. Faith in the Good Shepherd does not make void His law. On the contrary, His death for the sheep makes it forever sure. The fact that all the Ten Commandments—not five or eight of them—are repeated in principle in the New Testament and are taught by both Christ and the apostles, sustains the Word of the Psalmist.
And now the Shepherd leads on, not only beside the still waters of rest and the righteous paths of service, but through trouble and sorrow. The heavenly shepherd does not always keep His sheep from sorrow, but He is with them in sorrow.
When the three young men of Babylon found themselves in the fire for conscience's sake, the form of the Fourth walked with them in the flames. When the apostle Paul stood before Nero, he was not alone. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me. So, friend, do not worry about the future. But even there, the Shepherd is with us and we need fear no evil. His rod and His staff comfort us; His law and His gospel contribute to our correction and support. A father was once holding his little blind daughter on his knee, when a friend who had called took her in his arms.
Her faith in him took away fear. Remember, the sheep are men—are people. They gather around the Lord's table here in this world and in the one to come. The next time we sit at the table of the Lord, let us brush aside any thought that it is the table of the church.
But it is for us. The Shepherd supplies all our needs in the presence of our enemies. But God disdaineth not to feed his flock, to guide, to govern, to defend them, to handle and heal them, to tend and take care of them.
David knew this metaphor in a unique way, having been a shepherd himself. It is well to know, as certainly as David did, that we belong to the Lord. There is a noble tone of confidence about this sentence. David found comfort and security in the thought that God cared for him like a shepherd cares for his sheep.
David felt that he needed a shepherd. But those who acutely sense their need — the poor in spirit Jesus described in the Sermon on the Mount Matthew — find great comfort in the idea that God can be a shepherd to them in a personal sense. He makes me to lie down : The LORD as a shepherd knew how to make David rest when he needed it, just as a literal shepherd would care for his sheep.
To lie down in green pastures : The shepherd also knew the good places to make his sheep rest. He faithfully guides the sheep to green pastures. Philip Keller in A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 writes that sheep do not lie down easily and will not unless four conditions are met.
Because they are timid, they will not lie down if they are afraid. Because they are social animals, they will not lie down if there is friction among the sheep. If flies or parasites trouble them, they will not lie down. Finally, if sheep are anxious about food or hungry, they will not lie down. Rest comes because the shepherd has dealt with fear, friction, flies, and famine. He leads me beside the still waters : The shepherd knows when the sheep needs green pastures , and knows when the sheep needs the still waters.
The images are rich with the sense of comfort, care, and rest. He restores my soul : The tender care of the shepherd described in the previous verse had its intended effect.
Restores has the idea of the rescue of a lost one. He leads me : The shepherd was a guide. In the paths of righteousness : The leadership of the shepherd did not only comfort and restore David; He also guides His sheep into righteousness. Yea, 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.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death : This is the first dark note in this beautiful psalm. Previously David wrote of green pastures and still waters and paths of righteousness. Yet when following the LORD as shepherd, one may still walk through the valley of the shadow of death. David used this powerful phrase to speak of some kind of dark, fearful experience. It is an imprecise phrase, yet its poetry makes perfect sense. A valley suggests being hedged in and surrounded.
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