We are going to continue walking through Psalm 23, through green pastures, beside still waters and other terrain as we pick up where we left off last time.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
“The greatest single safeguard which a shepherd has in handling his flock is to keep them on the move.”(Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23.) He continually guides them throughout different seasons of the year so that they have the pastures and other things they need.
If he’s a good shepherd, he knows his terrain. He knows both the advantages and drawbacks of it. This means he knows where it’s safe for the sheep, where the will do well and flourish and where it will there isn’t much feed.
The shepherd acts accordingly by leading the sheep to places where there is plentiful fresh feed for them. “As they (the sheep) go through the gate even the staid old ewes will often kick up their heels and lap with delight at the prospect of finding fresh feed. How they enjoy being led onto new ground.”(Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23.)
I had to chuckle when I read that. It reminded me of the ladies at my church when we are gathered together for our Christmas Tea and the desserts are plentiful. The excitement is palpable as the women prepare to partake of the chocolate fountain and other delectable delights. Perhaps we are a little more like sheep than we care to admit. 😊
As we observe how a shepherd leads his sheep, we can be sure a good one leads them sheep along life-giving paths.
We, however, sometimes doubt or even question the path that God has us on, don’t we? Our doubt may creep in when we are walking through “dark valleys” in our lives. We may not understand why God is having us take that route.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,[a] I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
Surprisingly, valleys were the best possible way for the sheep to get to higher terrain where the shepherd wanted them to go. Why? First,they provide the gentlest grades up the mountain. That means the sheep weren’t headed straight up a steep mountainside. Second, valleys have water along the way, which the sheep needed. Third, valleys generally have the choicest meadows from which to graze.
“Our Shepherd… knows where we can find strength and sustenance and gentle grazing despite every threat of disaster around us.” (Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23.)
We have to remember that the psalm says I walk “through” the darkest valley, it doesn’t say I stop or die there.
Sometimes we walk through dark seasons of life, like the sheep going through a valley with tall cliffs on either side – where the sun may only reach their path a couple of hours a day, if that.
The next time you walk through a dark valley, or if you are walking through one now, remember this Psalm. Remember that the Shepherd knows the terrain Remember that He is with you. The valleys have water – which is found in him (think of the woman at the well). He will sustain you.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
A shepherd’s rod is like an extension of his arm. “It stood as a symbol of his strength, his power, his authority in any serious situation.” (Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23.)
The rod was used to fight off danger. It was also used for discipline. When a sheep starts to wander where it shouldn’t, the shepherd skillfully throws it near the sheep to encourage it to scurry back to the flock. In a similar way, God’s Word keeps us from sin.
The rod was used to count and inspect the sheep. The shepherd would take great care and closely examine each sheep, looking for wounds, insects and other things that might harm the sheep.
“This is what was meant in Psalm 139:23-24 when the psalmist wrote, ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23.)
He renews our minds – where a lot of potential damage starts.
The Staff
The staff is “…normally a long, slender stick, often with a hook or a crook on one end.” (Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23.)
A shepherd will use it to draw the sheep close to Himself and newborns who’ve been separated from their mother to them.
It’s used for guiding the sheep by using the long tip of it to gently go alongside the sheep and apply pressure to guide it where the Shepherd wants it to go – through a gate or a narrow passageway. This reassures the sheep of its proper path.
It makes me think of how God guides us in our lives – we might say “closing doors,” or even saying “no” to things, but using that to guide us where He wants us to go.
The shepherd will also hold his staff against the side of some sheep (like one who is a special pet or a favorite) as they walk together. It’s like walking hand in hand and the sheep enjoy the special attention.
The staff could be considered symbolic of the Holy Spirit – guiding us.
You prepare a table before me
As the shepherd guided the sheep, he would lead them to the high mountain country, otherwise known as the “table lands.”
The shepherd had to take scouting trips there to see how best to use the area for the sheep and ready it for their arrival. He had to distribute salt and minerals in strategic locations for the sheep. He had to find where any poisonous weeds were in order to keep the sheep away from them or get rid of them.
In our Christian life, even though Christ has gone before us and prepared the “table lands,” it doesn’t mean we won’t have problems there. There is still potential for attack. But we remember that our Shepherd is with us, that He knows us and cares for us.
You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows
In the beginning, I mentioned that this poem takes us through a year in the life of a sheep. Well, summertime for sheep is “fly time”
The Shepherd must pay extremely close attention to the behavior of the sheep which, at the onset of flies, would show aggravation, irritability, and restlessness. The shepherd then would apply a protective coating, like a balm, over the sheep’s nose and head. This process had to be done repeatedly. Each time, there was an immediate change in the sheep’s behavior, and they would start to feed quietly again and lie down, contented.
If we liken this idea to our Christian life, we might say that we too need a “continuous anointing of God’s gracious Spirit to counteract the ever-present aggravations” we encounter.
My cup overflows
At the end of summer, the autumn days approach. The sheep have a reprieve from the flies. “No other season finds them so fit and well and strong. *Remember, there’s nothing that makes the Shepherd happier. No wonder David wrote, ‘My cup runneth over.’” (Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23.)
Another aspect to the meaning of the “cup” is that of suffering, as Jesus referred to his suffering in the Garden and at Calvary as his “cup”
When brutally cold weather comes and the sheep are freezing, Phillip Keller would be there with them, in their distress and to remedy it, would share a mixture of brandy and water with the sheep. He’d give them a few spoon-fulls and it would warm them right up. He believes the shepherds in David’s day would have shared their wine “with their chilled and frozen sheep.”
“What a picture of my Master, sharing the wine, the very life blood of His own suffering from His overflowing cup, poured out at Calvary for me. He is there with me in every storm.”
Phillip Keller, A Shepherd looks at psalm 23
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life
“Surely goodness and mercy — That is, God’s favour, and the blessed and comfortable effects of it; shall follow me — Hebrew, ירדפוני, jirdepuni, shall pursue me ... (Benson)
David was used to being pursued by enemies but here, he contrasts that with being pursued by God’s goodness and mercy – which pursue us too. Isn’t that amazing? And that pursuit lasts all the days of our lives. And what happens after that?
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
David recognizes that God’s goodness and mercy will be with him until the end of his life on this earth and even beyond into eternity. (Adapted from Benson)
The idea of the last line of the poem is a “longing of the soul for a sense of the continual presence of God, and a realization of constant communion with him.” (Pulpit Commentary).
May that be our longing too – to sense the presence of God continually and have communion with Him.
We are a forgetful people. To help us remember the truths of this Psalm, I wear a bracelet I made (with the help of some friends) that has different colored silicone beads. Each color represents a different section of the Psalm. Every time I wear it, I’m reminded of our Good Shepherd’s undeniable care for us through various terrain and in all the seasons of life.
Let us go be radiant this week!
Go Be Radiant 