A Psalm of David.
23 “The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 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.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.” Psalm 23
Today, we had a wonderful blessing. We had a calf born in the field last night. He is a little biddy guy. As I am out here reading this Psalm in context in the field doing what farmers do, it makes me think……. I am this calf’s shepherd out tending to this little guy as his shepherd just as the Lord is my shepherd tending to me. It really helps to put me in context.
I am the shepherd taking care of him from predators, being vigilant and eyes sharp. In the same way I do this, the Lord does it for me. What a wonderful promise. When we see that the Lord is our shepherd, what is there left to fear?
“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.” Psalm 23:4
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31
We shall not want.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1
I tend to that calf’s needs. We take care of it. We tend to it when it is happy, when it is scared, when it is hungry, when it is thirsty, and when it is sick, we provide for it. If the Lord cares for the smallest of birds, will he not care for us? How much more right!
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Matthew 6:26-30
Our God takes care and provides for us. He knows our every need so what is there left to fear?
“He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:2;3
The calf can lie down in the pasture because I am taking care of it by shepherding him so nothing can hurt him. In the same way, the Lord is shepherding me so I can lie down to sleep in green pastures cause my God is above me, below me, before me and behind me and not against me. I love, obey and keeps His commands. He’s my shepherd. What a promise and that is what it means.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me;” Psalm 23:4a
Though there might be evil all around coming from anywhere and everywhere, I can lie down in green pastures because the Lord is my shepherd. It is a powerful passage.
My shepherd is a defender and also corrects me if I get a little off. We need that sometimes don’t we? Just a little tap in the right direction.
“Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4b
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.” Psalm 23:6
Do not go to the right or to the left but straight is the path that leads to life.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Psalm 7:13-15
“Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.” Proverbs 4:27
For the Lord is an overcomer because He has already overcome all things. By the power of Jesus Christ who anoints us and through the Holy Spirit, we too can be overcomes.
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37
“Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all— that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.” Acts 10:34-45
Grace and peace in Christ and I pray that you too will find peace in Psalm 23. Lie down in green pastures and sleep.
“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.” Psalm 23:4
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