We will first read that choicest of all the Psalms, the twenty-third. It is like a precious pearl shining with a mild lustre. This Psalm is, among the other Psalms, what the lark is among the other birds; it soars and sings till it is lost in the heights to which it ascends.
Psalms 23:1. The LORD is my Shepherd;
What a precious title the psalmist used in speaking of his God! It is right to call the Lord a Shepherd. «The Shepherd of Israel» is a very blessed and true title for him, but «my Shepherd» is best of all. I wish beloved, that each of you would truthfully say, with David, «'The Lord is my Shepherd.' He owns me; and as I am his property, he will preserve me, protect me, provide for me, guide me, and be everything to my weakness, and folly, and necessity, that a shepherd is to a sheep.» «The Lord is my Shepherd;»
Psalms 23:1. I shall not want.
Not only do I not want at the present moment, but I never shall want. I may sometimes foolishly fancy that I shall come to want; but I never shall as long as God provides for me. How could such a Shepherd as he is almighty and all-sufficient, ever suffer one of his sheep to lack any good thing? No, ‘I shall not want.' All the world beside may want, but I shall not while Jehovah is my Provider. Famine may be sore in the land, there may be neither dew nor rain, and even the brook Cherith may at last be dried up, but since Jehovah is my Shepherd, ‘I shall not want.' As a guarantee of his care of us in the future, we turn to our experience in the past and the present What is our experience of our great Shepherd even now?
Psalms 23:2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
Here is blessed rest, and here is also gracious provision for the needs of the sheep. The pasture is sweet and tender, and there is so much of the green grass that it cannot all be eaten, and the superabundance makes a soft bed for the tired sheep: «He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.» Repose, O believer, in the abundant provision of God's grace! A sheep needs sometimes to lie down. It is as necessary for its health that it should have time to digest its food as that it should have proper and sufficient food to eat. May the Lord graciously give to each of you the sweet rest of meditation and contemplation, that blessed rest, to which faith attains when it grows into firm confidence and full assurance, so that you may be able to say with David, «He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.» But our spiritual life is not to be all spent in lying down; there must come a time for going forward, so David adds:
Psalms 23:2. He leadeth me
What a peerless Guide he is, since infallible wisdom is his! And how gracious and condescending it is, on his part, to go first in the way which he means us to take! David does not say, «He driveth me,» but «He leadeth me»
Psalms 23:2-3. Beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
«In each one of them; he is my Exemplar in every virtue, for he himself has endured all temptations that are incident to my life's pathway; and, all the way, ‘he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness'»
Psalms 23:3. For his name's sake.
«Not because of any goodness in me, but because of the goodness that is in him, and for the glory of his holy name, ‘he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness.'»
«Also, ‘He restoreth my soul.' When I wander, he restores my soul to the right road. When I become empty, he stores my soul again with good things; he restoreth my soul.»
Psalms 23:4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
«Not only shall there be none, but I will fear none.» A sense of the Lord's presence lifts a Christian above even fear. You know how often it is true that we «feel a thousand deaths in fearing one.» But if we have a sense of our Saviour's presence, when we do really walk through the valley of death-shade, not a trace of fear shall come across our peaceful souls.
Psalms 23:4. For thou art with me;
The presence of Christ is all that his people can ever want. The all powerful, ever-faithful, infinitely-compassionate One being with us, what cause for fear can possibly remain?
Psalms 23:4. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
«To see thy scepter, and even to feel thy chastising rod, to know that thou art a King, and that thou rulest over Israel, to know that, as a Shepherd, thou carries «a crook to guide thy flock; shall be enough to comfort my heart, and to sustain my spirit.» How sweet is the next verse!
Psalms 23:5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
How calmly the psalmist writes! He realizes that he has enemies, yet he means to sit down to a feast; he is not going to snatch a hurried mouthful or two, but «a table» is «prepared» for him as though for a banquet. His enemies may look on while he is feasting, but they cannot take away his enjoyment of the feast.
Psalms 23:5. Thou anointest my head with oil;
He receives a fresh anointing for new service, even the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Psalms 23:5. My cup runneth over.
«I have all I want, and even more than I need, so that others, not so favored as I am, may come and catch some of the droppings from my overflowing cup. It is so full O Lord, that it cannot hold all that thou givest me till thou dost enlarge my capacity, I shall still have to say, «My cup runneth over.» The psalmist's next word also has much meaning and force in it:
Psalms 23:6. Surely
There are no ifs, no doubts, no fears about the matter: «Surely»
Psalms 23:6. Goodness and mercy shall follow me
«These two holy angels shall watch over my footsteps and track me wherever I go; ‘goodness' to preserve me and ‘mercy' to pardon me! ‘goodness' to supply my needs, and ‘mercy' to blot out my sins.» And these angels shall follow me
Psalms 23:6. All the days of my life:
«Not merely now and then, but all my days; my dark days as well as my bright ones; these heavenly messengers will never forsake me,»
Psalms 23:6. And I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
This life begins here, for this earth is but the lower part of God's house; and when the time shall come for us to leave this earth, we, who are the Lord's own children, shall only go upstairs to the higher rooms, to «dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.»
This, then, is the portion of the children of God; but there are some to whom David's language will seem strange. They cannot sing this sweet Psalm, for their life is as restless as the waves of the sea, No quiet pastoral poem could set forth their joy, for the sound of war is heard in the streets of their city of Mansoul. If any such souls are seeking rest and peace let them hearken to the voice of God as it speaks to them from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, chapter fifty-five.
This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 23:1 and Isaiah 55:1.