Sunday Messages · Part One · Note
My Shepherd
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
· ESV
Literal rendering (from the Hebrew)
YHWH — my shepherd. I will lack nothing. In pastures of fresh grass He makes me lie down; to waters of rests He gently leads me. My life He brings back. He guides me in right tracks — for the sake of His name. Even when I walk in a ravine of deepest darkness, I fear no harm — for You are with me. Your club and Your staff, they comfort me. You set in order a table before me, facing my foes. You drench my head with oil; my cup is saturation. Only goodness and covenant-love will hunt me down all the days of my life, and I will return to the house of YHWH for length of days.
Opening
If everything you own, achieved or felt today were taken away, what would remain? David answers that question in six verses.
Psalm 23 is often read at funerals, so we file it under "comfort for the dying". But David wrote it for the whole of life. He walks through green pasture, a deadly ravine, and a banquet surrounded by enemies. His circumstances swing from one extreme to another. One thing never moves: the relationship.
Today's claim: David had made his relationship with God his number one asset - and so can you. Not his kingship, health, wealth or mood. The Shepherd.
Notice also that the psalm is written by a shepherd-turned-king. The man who once protected sheep with a club against lions and bears (1 Samuel 17:34–36) now says, in effect, "I know what a good shepherd does - and God does it for me."
Movement 1 - Who He is defines what I have (v1)
Hebrew insight: YHWH ro'i, lo echsar. The first clause has no verb: not "the LORD is my shepherd" but "YHWH — my shepherd". It is a declaration of possession and identity. Ro'eh (shepherd) shares its consonants with rea', friend or companion.
Lo echsar ("I shall not lack") is Moses' wilderness word: "these forty years… you have lacked nothing" (Deuteronomy 2:7). Lack-free living is promised in the desert, not instead of it.
Point: Possession comes before provision. David does not say "I have no needs, therefore God is good." He says "God is mine, therefore I lack nothing."
Illustration prompt: A child holding a parent's hand in a crowded market owns nothing, yet lacks nothing.
Movement 2 - Rest He produces, a self He fetches home (v2–3)
Hebrew insights: • Yarbitseni — "He causes me to lie down". A sheep only lies down when it is fed, unafraid and at peace with the flock. The rest is His work.
• Mei menuchot — "waters of rests". Menuchah is the Promised Land and Sabbath word (Deuteronomy 12:9; Hebrews 4:9–10).
• Yenahaleni — "He leads gently", as of a shepherd with nursing ewes (Isaiah 40:11).
• Nafshi yeshovev — "He brings my life back". Nefesh is the whole person; shuv is the turning-back word of repentance and return.
• Ma'glei tsedek — "right tracks", well-worn paths that lead somewhere.
• L'ma'an shemo — "for His name's sake". His reputation, not my record, is on the line.
Point: Grace is the engine of this psalm. Every verb belongs to God; the sheep's part is to be led. When you wander, His name guarantees the search party (Luke 15:4–7).