This is probably the most beloved of all Psalms, bringing comfort to so many in times of fear and difficulty. Henry Beecher wrote of it,
The twenty-third Psalm is the nightingale of the Psalms. It has charmed more griefs to rest than all the philosophy of the world. It has remanded to their dungeon more felon thoughts, more black doubts, more thieving sorrows, than there are sands on the sea-shore.
Henry Beecher
The first line opens the metaphor of God as shepherd and the writer, David, as a sheep. As king, David could have seen himself as a lion or an eagle, but instead he lands on the simplicity and vulnerability of a sheep, and compares the King of Creation to a blue-collar shepherd.
This metaphor sees its fulfillment in Christ, who calls himself the Good Shepherd. The catacombs where the early church met in secret are littered with images of Jesus as the good shepherd.
The picture painted here is of God as provider, echoing the promises of God to Israel as they wandered in the desert, keeping them safe often without them knowing. How often do we receive these material blessings without even realizing it? The illnesses we do not get, the car accidents we do not have.
But more than that, even in the midst of illness, injury and difficulties, God Himself is our portion, he is our sufficiency.
Aristotle provides the broad ancient view of sheep: “The sheep is said to be naturally dull and stupid. Of all quadrupeds it is the most foolish: it will saunter away to lonely places with no object in view; oftentimes in stormy weather it will stray from shelter; if it be overtaken by a snowstorm, it will stand still unless the shepherd sets it in motion; it will stay behind and perish unless the shepherd brings up the rams; it will then follow home.”
All that to say, the sheep need the shepherd. Isaiah 53:6 says “We all like sheep have gone astray.” We need to be brought to the still waters and the pasture. We see a picture of this in how David treats Mephibosheth, a son of Jonathan who had beg crippled. David, if he had been like other kings, would have had him killed. But instead, he brings him out of the town of Lo-Debar, which means “no pasture,” to eat at the table of the king.
Then verse 3 echoes what we saw in psalm 85:13 – “Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.” It’s not the God carries us, per the Footprints poem, but he makes our way forward in righteousness plain.”
Then in verse 4 the psalm shifts – from speaking about God to speaking to Him directly. It does so at the same time as another shift, from green pastures and blue waters to darkness and danger – where else do we turn when in fear?
It refers to the staff and rod used by shepherds. The staff, broadly, is a support, something to lean on. The rod can mean the same thing, but it can also mean branch or tribe. There may be a connection here between the branch and tribe six Israel with whom God made His covenant.
Then the metaphor shifts from us being sheep to us being people at his table – as Jesus says, “I have called you friends.” Our ultimate destiny is not as sheep, but as guests of the king of the universe, and we will dwell in His house forever. Spurgeon writes, “While I am here, I will be a child at home with my God. The whole world shall be his house to me; and, when I ascend into the upper chamber, I shall not change my company, nor even change the house. I shall only be in the upper story forever.”
Is Christ your shepherd? Do you hear His voice? He loves you and is calling you to join his flock and to be His friend in His house forever.
-Sermon Notes, Bart Hodgson, Seed Church, Lynnwood WA, August 1, 2021