Continuing in verse 4 of Psalm 23 we come to the third of four powerful statements in this verse, “For you are with me”. I see this as another key to the entire Psalm, (similar to “The Lord is my shepherd”) the assurance of His presence! God knew His redeemed people would go through dark, difficult, and dangerous places in this world, so He assures us in Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers they shall not overflow you, When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” When Moses, apparently feeling inadequacy in himself, said to God “You have not let me know whom You will send with me” God replied “My Presence will go with you…” Exodus 33:12-14. Oh what great assurance that God is always with us, Hebrews 13:5 says, “…I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And with that thought in mind the writer continues in verse 6 “So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear, what can man do to me?” The Greek for helper here depicts one that is poised and comes running with assistance when we cry out for help. Psalm 118:6 has a very similar message, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” When in a time of great stress Jehoshaphat stood in the house of the Lord and cried out to Him “we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do” and then he hits a key note saying, “but our eyes are upon You” 2 Chronicles 20:12. As A man by the name of Oded said to king Asa “…The Lord is with you while you are with Him…” 2 Chronicles 15:2, so it is with every one of us! Always remember these words from Psalm 23:4, “For You are with me.”
He is ever near
By Rose Hill
Jesus our Savior is always near,
When with Him we have nothing to fear.
In need or in distress,
He is there to cheer and to bless.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright …1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.