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This Psalm of David reflects David’s great joy in having a Shepherd to watch over him at all times.
Psalms 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” What a great peace this gives to the believer. YOU shall not want! God is your protector, your caregiver, your provider, and BECAUSE OF HIM, you shall want for nothing. This should give you a great peace. Romans 5:1 says that God gives us peace through Christ Jesus. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” And Philippians 4:7 says that God’s peace is greater than anything and goes beyond all understanding and with it we shall not want! “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Psalms 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Resources:
Holy Bible KJV
Sermon Notes, Pastor Thomas E. Miles, Sr.
The Lord is my shepherd and you will always be refreshed and want for nothing. The Lord teaches the believers that fullness is theirs. Green pastures symbolize prosperity and wellness. The Shepherd teaches us to rest in His fullness. He gives us everything we need and stills the waters before us. The Shepherd removes all our problems and causes our fear to vanish. The “still waters” symbolizes a life free of problems and troubles.
You shall not want for anything with the Lord as your Shepherd. The great Shepherd desires that you the believer learn to follow Him without fear and doubt. He wants you to blindly follow Him, trusting in Him totally. He wants you to know that He will never let you down.
Psalms 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
“He restoreth my soul:” No matter what may happen in your life the Lord is always there to restore you. The Lord is always willing to restore your heart and soul to Him. Even when you turn your back on Him and act as if you do not know Him, He restores you. He draws you unto Him and washes away all your iniquities. He looks at you as if nothing ever happened!
The rest of verse three says, “therefore, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Therefore, you will always have guidance if you will accept it. No matter where you travel the Lord is there as your guide if you so desire. Life no longer needs to be a maze of disasters and hidden fears and worries. If you desire the great Shepherd to guide you, He will. He will tell you when to turn a corner, when to cross the street, when to sell your house, buy your house, He will guide you in every decision you need to make if you will let Him. If you will listen to His voice, He will guide you throughout your life. The Great Shepherd will never lead us into destruction or despair nor He will He ever cause us to fail.
Psalms 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
“although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” Do you know that a sheep cannot fight? A sheep is virtually a helpless animal. It can not fight against the smallest of predators. The Shepherd teaches the sheep to rely always on him. The Shepherd wants the sheep to not develop courage to fight predators, but instead to develop courage to trust in the him. God desires you learn to trust in Him to fight your battles. He doesn’t want you to go to battle on your own. He wants you to trust in Him to fight all your battles. It makes no difference what the battle is, the Lord will be with you always.
John 6:20 says, “It is I; be not afraid.” This is Jesus is speaking the greatest shepherd of all and He is telling the disciples that He is with them and that they should not fear. You are one of Jesus’ sheep and you should never fear for He is with you. The rest of verse 4 says: “thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” This means you will never lack comfort for the Lord is always with me. He is always there guiding, leading, correcting and comforting you. God wants you to know that no matter what, He will hear you when you call.
Psalms 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
“thou preparest a table before me.” You shall not want for anything because God has prepared a table before you. Your table will always be full. Your life will always be full. Your joy will always be full because God has prepared a table before you.
The Lord is your Shepherd and He is with you even, “in the presence of mine enemies” Even in the midst of your enemies, God will protect you. The great Shepherd watches over His flock always. No enemy can stand up to you when the Lord is with you and He “anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” The power of the Holy Spirit is yours as you yield to the great Shepherd. You have been anointed to do service to the Lord. The power of the Holy Spirit is yours to help you to walk with the Lord. The power of the Holy Spirit is yours and your cup runneth over. Your life is going to be full to overflowing. Your joy and gladness will be overflowing as you walk in harmony with the Lord!
Psalms 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Surely good things and mercy will follow you all the days of your life. No matter where you go, as long as you stay in the trust of the Shepherd good things will happen to you. No matter what you do you will have favor with God and with man for mercy also follows you! God is so great! “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” For ever means for eternity and that’s a long time.
Everything that happens in our daily life is based on time. With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, a thousand years is as a day. God says that if we trust in Him we will dwell in HIS house forever and ever.
This does not mean that nothing will ever come against you. It does though mean that when something does come against you, if your trust is in God, He will remove it all. So as you begin to trust more and more in Him, the less you will fear. As you begin to trust more and more in Him, the stronger you will be. As you learn to trust more in Him, you will find wellness in place of disease and joy in place of sadness. Put your trust in HIM for all things. Learn to trust him.
God existed before time was. Jesus existed before pain. The Lord is my Shepherd; therefore, I shall not want for I will dwell in the house of my LORD forever. Jesus was here before you got so tired and wore out. Jesus was here before you felt totally exhausted and wanted to give it all up. Jesus was here before your nerves became frazzled and your mind full of fear. Jesus was here before exhaustion, He is still here right now, and He wants you to trust in HIM. He wants you to do more than just read Psalms 23; He wants you to live Psalms 23. He wants you to realize that with Him there will never be another disappointment, never another heartache, never another worry, because as soon as anything comes against you, HE WILL STEP IN AND TAKE IT AWAY.
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