The Psalmist asks the question “Why are you cast down [or Why do you sink in depression] O my soul?” He then asks a second question, “And why are you disquieted [or Why do you moan with such tumult and commotion] within me?” He then continues by giving a solution to both questions with the […]
The final word of Psalm 23 is “Forever”, just one word but it is not isolated from the rest of what has just been said, his confidence is that he “will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.” This confidence instills Hope, Assurance, Peace, and rejoicing! Forever from the Hebrew focuses on a length […]
Psalm 23:6 continues “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord” The word for dwell properly means to sit down, and implies to dwell, remain, settle, and even to marry, which gives us a right to dwell there as a member of the family! Again, where did he say he would dwell? “…in […]
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life” Psalm 23:6. Goodness in the Hebrew text means just that; in Exodus 34:6 God “proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth.” Mercy in the Hebrew means kindness, piety, and (rarely) reproof, but even […]
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 […]
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…” verse 4. Picture a large table, perhaps at a family reunion, you find the place with your name and take your seat. The food is on the table in abundance, it is passed around family style and you dine on the bounty with […]
“Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” Psalm 23:4. The rod and staff were the symbol of a shepherd; while the staff may have been used by the shepherd in walking, or as something to lean on, the obvious message here is their function in caring for the flock, and by their use the […]
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, […]
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 […]
Verse 4 of Psalm 23 opens up saying, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…” The picture here is of a dangerous path through a deep ravine with high steep mountains on either side, and no seeming way of escape, so you must move forward in spite of the […]