The next thing that Psalm 23:5 says of (and to) the shepherd is “You anoint my head with oil”, likely drawing from the practice of putting oil on the sheep to protect them from flies and other insects that could get into their eyes, ears, and nose. Aside from the sheep it was a custom […]
Picking up from last week’s meditation Psalm 23:4 continues “…I will fear no evil…” The Hebrew word here translated evil means bad or evil, and can associate with adversity, affliction, and calamity. It seems that as David makes this declaration he is refusing to focus on the shadow of this valley. It is a battle […]
“He leads (guides) me in paths of righteousness” Verse 3. This shepherds Psalm has a counterpart in the New Testament where in John 10 we are introduced to Jesus the good shepherd; in verses 3-4 we read “…he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…and the sheep follow him, for they know […]
The Psalmist continues in 23:2 saying “…He leads me beside the still waters”, in some translations it is peaceful water. Still waters, stands in contrast to the torrent of rushing mighty water of which the sheep are fearful, probably because of the swift movement and noise, and from which the sheep we are told […]
(Part one, Relationship) from a Facebook post we want to look at seventeen statements that are made in Psalm 23. The first being “The LORD is my shepherd”, which I see as key to the rest of the Psalm. Who better than David would know how to compare the sheep/shepherd relationship and make the comparison […]
In last week’s meditation we saw that longsuffering is an attribute of God Himself; today we are looking at His purpose for it to become an attribute of we His children as well. Synonyms for longsuffering include such things as forgiving, resigned, tolerant, accommodating, patient, and selfless. Since this is a fruit of the Holy […]
Taking the fruit of the Spirit one step farther we hear Isaiah the Prophet speaking of a day when God’s rule of righteousness on the earth will bring “peace…quietness and assurance forever” 32:17. While this verse of Scripture is applied to the millennial reign of Christ and the eternal kingdom, it actually began as a […]
As we approach the end of one year and the beginning of a new I am reminded of Jesus words in Revelation 22:13, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” He is like the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet which “bookends” everything […]
In Exodus 3:13-14 when God commissioned Moses, at the “burning bush”, to stand before Pharaoh, and to lead His people out of Egyptian bondage, Moses said, “when I…say to them The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, What is His name? what shall I say to them? […]
“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His” Hebrews 4:9-10. God’s work of creation followed by rest in Genesis 1-2 forms a perfect picture of His new creation in us “through the redemption that […]