1 The Lord is my shepherd;I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23 may be the single most famous chapter in the whole Bible. Christians and nonChristians alike know and appreciate its images. Today, I feel the burden of working with this heavy and honored text.
However, I find some help from a preacher-scholar named James Mays. He is the former president of the Society of Biblical Literature and the founding editor of the Interpretation commentary series. But before his chapter on Psalm 23, he wrote, “Any interpretation seems presumptuous. ... Why undertake to explain a psalm that ... so rightly speaks for us and interprets us?”
If he can’t interpret this Psalm, then I am not going to even try!
But maybe like he said, Psalm 23 actually interprets us. Maybe, we identify with Psalm 23 on such a deep heart-level because it clearly and profoundly speaks the truth of our hearts. So today, I don’t want to explain Psalm 23. Instead, I want to let Psalm 23 explain us and our relationship with God. (I’ve been really helped this week by Phillip Keller’s little book called, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, so much of what I’ll say flows out of that.)
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD. Behind this familiar statement is a humbling truth. If “the LORD is my shepherd,” then I am a sheep. This sheep and Shepherd relationship explains so much about us.
First, we are owned. I am a sheep, and I belong to God, my Shepherd. I am not my own; I am owned. We may not like it, but we belong to God. That is a simple and fundamental truth of reality.
