Under a metaphor borrowed from scenes of pastoral life, with which David was familiar, he describes God's providential care in providing refreshment, guidance, protection, and abundance, and so affording grounds of confidence in His perpetual favor. William Tynsdale was the first great English Bible translator and much of his work found its way into the King James Version. Ps. waters of rest: not gently-flowing streams, but streams where they may find rest and refreshment (Is. Today: The tobacco industry, accused of selling products harmful to public health, is forced to pay a government settlement totaling billions of dollars. “The sudden transition from one image to another,” he writes, “is in the spirit of the Oriental ode. God is close by, protecting the speaker with the shepherd’s tools: a rod for use as a weapon, and a staff for support. Now I understand that David meant that since he had the Lord as his shepherd, he had no other want; he was lacking nothing. I Sa. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. David’s shepherding days (like those of his predecessor Moses, cf. Herder, J. G., The Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, translated by James Marsh and Edward Smith, 1833, pp. Let us do them well. 222-46. 4:1-4). 104:14-15). This theme is introduced in the psalm’s famous first line, “The Lord is my shepherd.” In this line and the following three verses, the speaker proclaims that the Lord will care for him the same way a shepherd cares for his flock. 5 Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. A good shepherd is all a sheep needs since a good shepherd, by his very nature will always supply all of the sheep’s needs. Israel was God’s flock and the sheep of God’s pasture. Like most Near Eastern peoples, the Hebrews relied on a herding economy, and the importance of the shepherd-figure derives not only from the necessity of sheep to that economy but also from the hostile nature of the environment. In verse 5, the Lord is portrayed as host who takes the speaker in and provides food and protection. This is the chief device used in Psalm 23, and good examples of it can be seen in verses 4 and 5. As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. Robert L. (Bob)Deffinbaugh graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with his Th.M. 22:26). The psalmist completes the initial confession of faith with the affirmation, “I shall not want,” lo’ ’eshsar, a verbal phrase without an object. In sheep-like terms, they think God is with them only when they are lying in grassy meadows alongside restful waters. As his guests eat, Abraham hovers by them, attentive to their every need. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the L, This page was last edited on 2 November 2020, at 19:44. B.A. (NASB). Phillip Keller has written a book on Psalm 23 entitled A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, which has many helpful insights. (October 16, 2020). 93 Leupold tends toward the view that both “rod” and “staff” refer to the shepherd’s crook, which is a multi-purpose instrument: “Perhaps, then, those interpreters are nearest the truth who claim that the one commonly observed shepherd’s crook could be used for purposes of defense as well as to guide and direct sheep that stray from the road …” Leupold, p. 213. While a shepherd provides his sheep with food, rest, and restoration, God provides His sheep with His Word, which is the principle means of giving spiritual nourishment, rest, and restoration. Nevertheless the threat has been overcome, the passage complete, and the speaker is welcomed into the safety of Lord’s household. Later the Lord is portrayed as a host who provides shelter from one’s enemies. Still, the reference is a reminder that the life of the psalmist is not sheltered and idyllic, removed from hostility and threat. We can sense this from Old Testament passages such as Genesis 18:1-8, where Abram graciously entertained three “men” who passed by as strangers. The psalmist is helpless, innocent, and utterly dependent on God. In our context the two senses evidently interact, so that the retrieving or reviving of the sheep pictures the deeper renewal of the man of God, spiritually perverse or ailing as he may be.” Kidner, Psalms 1-72, p. 110. If you would experience the comfort and consolation of Psalm 23, you can only do so as a sheep, as a guest who has been invited to sit at the Lord’s table. God’s reputation rests upon His ability to guide and care for His people. ).” Kirkpatrick, pp. The second cause of doubt is when our “under-shepherds” fail us. David notices that like himself, God, too, is a “shepherd,” and that David, the shepherd, is himself led by God like a sheep or lamb. Source: Gene Rice, “An Exposition of Psalm 23,” in The Journal of Religious Thought, Vol. 77 “Obviously, David, in this Psalm, is speaking not as the shepherd, though he was one, but as a sheep; one of the flock.” Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970), p. 17. It is a place where death is a real possibility. God’s reputation as seen by His care of His people is the basis of Moses’ appeal for mercy when God threatened to wipe out the nation for the incident involving the golden calf (Exod. Fromm, Erich, “The Psalms,” in You Shall Be As Gods: A Radical Interpretation of the Old Testament and Its Traditions, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966, pp. A Greek translation that corresponds to the Book of Psalms and to older Hebrew documents found among the Dead Sea Scrolls was made in Alexandria circa 130 b.c.e. Among the many expressions from the King James Bible that have passed into everyday use are “an eye for an eye,” “the skin of my teeth,” “the apple of his eye,” “a man after his own heart,” “out of the mouths of babes,” and “at their wits’ end.”, The eighteenth-century critic J. G. Herder writes about the sudden transition in metaphor from God as shepherd to God as host. In verses 2-4 David describes those things for which he, as God’s sheep, will never lack. … The shepherd can be portrayed from two standpoints. Psalm 23 is no exception. So the psalm depicts a rite of passage that begins with faith in the Lord, faith that leads through danger to salvation. In the context of the Old Testament psalms, of which Psalm 23 is a part, a psalm is not just any song sung to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument. The abundance of his provisions indicated that he was a prosperous, powerful, and generous man. Scriptures (goodbooksfree.com)", Itzhak Perlman and Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot perform Ben-Zion Shenker's Mizmor leDavid, International Music Score Library Project, Psalm 23 in Parallel English (JPS translation) and Hebrew, Hebrew text, translation, transliteration, recorded melodies from The Zemirot Database, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Psalm_23&oldid=986748027, Articles with dead external links from March 2014, Articles lacking in-text citations from March 2014, Articles needing additional references from January 2020, All articles needing additional references, Articles with International Music Score Library Project links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. From Ezekiel 34:15 I understand that the sheep would lie down to rest after having been fed. Although Psalm 23 is one of the most familiar texts of the Bible, there is a perennial freshness about it. The language of the King James Bible is conservative. 7, xcii. However, they were allowed—even encouraged—to consult other works; for example, they looked at the Latin Vulgate version, earlier English translations, Martin Luther’s famous German translation, and translations into other European languages. Satan desires to deceive those who trust in God, and wants them to believe they are lacking and deprived of the good things in life. Many of you know it by heart. A useful reference book, with interesting notes on variants between English translations and the original Hebrew text. In the open pasture land of Palestine is a bewildering maze of paths. Deut. “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters … he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness.”. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. also Ps. Still aglow with the companionship and hospitality of the host at the temple, the psalmist’s thoughts turn to the time of leaving this blessed place. It is known that a collection of psalms were sung in the Second Temple of Jerusalem built under the Persians. Ho. Gen. 46:28-34). The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want (v. 1; RSV). While this message does not dwell on this area of application, allow me to suggest that Psalm 23 not only describes the Good Shepherd, but also good shepherding. Psalm 19:7, by its subject (the law) and by the parallel verb (‘making wise’), points to a spiritual renewal of this kind, rather than mere refreshment.

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