Psalm 23 is one of the most classic, iconic passages in the entire Bible. You can find it tattooed on biceps, stamped on bookmarks, and glazed on coffee cups. Not many verses can pass that kind of popularity contest. But this passage does, and for good reason, too.
It’s chalk full of poetry. It’s inundated with imagery. And it’s resonant of promises.
If it’s been a while since you’ve looked at the passage, I have it directly below for good measure.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
I love this passage, just like many other people do, too. But if I’m honest, even though I’m fairly acquainted with it, I’ve come to realize that I’ve simply glazed over a lot of its depth.
One thing I’ve been doing recently in my Bible reading is dissecting a passage, phrase by phrase, and just dwelling on each piece. And that’s what I want to do in this post. I want to try to squeeze some goodness out of every phrase, and not be too quick to get to the end.
For the sake of structure, I’ve chosen to bold each phrase of the passage, one by one, and then include some commentary throughout. Here we go:
The Lord is my Shepherd;
God is leading and guiding your life according to how He sees fit. It might not make any sense to you. It might hurt. It might be uncomfortable. But the Shepherd has a much better perspective than his sheep. He sees things they do not. He knows things they do not. His sense of timing, tact, and intent is simply better than that of his sheep. He is the great leader.
I shall not want.
Because God is a good shepherd, He knows exactly what you need, when you need it, and how He will supply it. He knows your needs and desires better than you do. And He will not short-change you in terms of what is absolutely best for you. He is the great provider.
He makes me lie down in green pastures:
The grass may looker greener somewhere else in your perspective, but God knows what grass is greenest. I don’t think it was a coincidence that the psalmist used the metaphor of sheep. Sheep are known to have fairly bad color vision and even worse depth perception. In fact, they cannot even see immediately in front of their noses. That’s a pretty compelling analogy for describing our spiritual condition. We often confuse ‘greener pastures’ for others, and we have a hard time gaining perspective through our difficulties, desires, and direction. But thankfully God makes us lie down in green pastures. He is the great perceiver.
He leads me beside still waters.
God will lead you towards ultimate peace in life, one way or another. You might be going through a storm circumstantially right now, but God is still with you, is still leading you, and continues to lead you towards stiller, and stiller, and stiller waters. He certainly has the power to stop the storms of your circumstances, but He also has the power to stop the storms of your heart—whether that be anxiety, depression, or bitterness. And more often than not, it would seem that God seeks to still the waters of your heart before He stills the waters of your circumstance. He wants to grow us. But He’s leading you towards a type of spiritual stillness nevertheless. He is the great peacemaker.
He restores my soul.
If you are in Christ, God is in the business of redemption and restoration—of literally every part of your life. Romans 8:28 says that ‘and we know that in all things, God works together for the good of those who love him.’ I love this quote by Tim Keller: “God is so great that he works out a plan, a plan to work everything out for your good if you belong to him, and his glory, which takes into consideration your choices, and still works his plan out infallibly.” God’s ultimate goal is circumstantial redemption and personal restoration, and He will see it through accordingly. He is the great restorer.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
God is constantly trying to lead you in paths of righteousness, if we only let him. If our perspective is ‘for my name’s sake’, it will be harder for God to lead us. Just like it’s probably difficult to lead a sheep that keeps tailing off to that next attractive piece of grass, it will be difficult to be led by God when we are constantly veering off for our name’s sake, our desire’s sake, and our will’s sake. But there’s something comforting in knowing that God leads us for his name’s sake—it means that He is taking full responsibility for how our life will unfold if we trust and obey. And that’s always better.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
If I can be honest, I hate how this is the next phrase. God leads us on paths of righteousness for his name’s sake… and that often means walking through seasons of valley and darkness.
But that’s also convicting—if you’re not walking through valleys and darkness every now and then, you’re probably not following God. If you keep trying to avoid ‘dark seasons’, you’re probably basking in a false sense of light. Maybe it’s that God is calling you to stand up for Him in your workplace, but you fear rejection and want acceptance, so you keep compromising. It’s a false ‘light’ of acceptance. Maybe it’s that God is calling you to purity, but you fear loneliness and isolation, so you keep compromising. It’s a false ‘light’ of pleasure. But be assured, the ‘dark’ seasons with God are much brighter than the ‘light’ seasons without God. So don’t run to the light without God; embrace the darkness with God.
I will fear no evil,
Even though God leads us through valleys of darkness, we can be assured that God has power over evil and will not let it overcome us. We will certainly encounter spiritual warfare; we will be sinned against; and we will have to face our own sin. But we can rest in the fact that “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4). Evil in the world is no match for Who is with you.
For You are with me;
He hasn’t left you. Not one step of the way. “Behold, I am with you always, even until the end of the age” (Matt 28:20). The Bible is consistent across the board—whenever we are called to not fear, it gives us a reason to not fear immediately after: “For I am with you.” I’ve heard it said that if you fear God, then you have nothing else to fear.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
When we walk through dark seasons of life, we need to be assured that God’s rod and staff are not vindictive tools for our punishment, but are loving tools for our comfort. We aren’t even aware of the thousands of ways that God using his rod and staff to ward off threats from entering into our lives. He is not against us; He is for us. “For He does not afflict from the heart or grieve the children of man” (Lam. 3:33).
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
When hardship and opposition surround you, God has prepared a unique time for you to feast. These are not moments to fret and starve, but opportunities to feast in on God’s steadfast love and constant provision for you like never before. Let His Word be your daily bread.
You anoint my head with oil;
This phrase is lost in translation to our modern culture. We don’t exactly dump oil on anyone… I hope. But in biblical times, when you anointed someone’s head with oil, you were effectively declaring them to be set apart for some specific purpose. In the Bible, people (like prophets, priest, and kings) and even inanimate objects were anointed with oil, in token of their being set apart for religious service. So when you are going through a season of darkness, God is anointing your head with oil—setting you apart for a special purpose. Be confident in that.
My cup overflows.
He gives us no lack. Whatever your circumstances may be, He has given you everything for life and godliness. And He doesn’t just provide enough… He causes you to overflow.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
Goodness and mercy shall follow us because we following the One who is good and merciful. And I love the word ‘all’—even on the hardest of days, He is constantly being good and merciful to you.
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
And ultimately, He is leading us home. “Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory” (Ps. 73:23-24). Wherever He is leading you now, and however bleak the situation may be… you are headed to a better destination regardless. One without pain or tears, hurt or fears. In the grand scheme of things, He is leading you towards a better place. And for that reason, you can always have hope.
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I hope this was helpful and gave you a more enriching appreciation of the passage.
Truly, God is a Shepherd we can trust with every detail of our lives.
