(1) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
"The LORD is my shepherd" - *YOU, LORD JESUS*... Our Precious Redeemer, are the Good Shepherd of our lives! Dear Lord, we know there are only two shepherds, from which to choose. The other... seeking to lead us... is evil, appealing to our flesh and deceiving many with his lies! We know he is only seeking to ravage and destroy us! We have chosen to follow YOU, Lord Jesus... the *ONLY* Good Shepherd, the Shepherd who *loves* his lambs! YES... *YOU* Lord are our Shepherd!
"shall not want" - Therefore... we *know* from the uttermost depths of our hearts... we SHALL NOT WANT! We are in *Your* care Lord Jesus and we eagerly submit to Your pleasure for our lives. We are Yours... Lord Jesus!
(2) He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
"lie down in green pastures" - O'Father we praise you for that quiet part of our Christian walk. When we lie down in those "green" (healthy) pastures... reflecting upon You! Sheep will eat anything, they will eat weeds that will kill them. We are no different... but You have protected us and led us only to that which is good for us! Without Your lead, we would fill our hearts with such filth!
"he leadeth me" - Other times, when we are in motion, *You* lead us! O'Holy Lord... may we always follow Your lead! We know You are the Good Shepherd and we want to stay in *YOUR* care! Help us, we pray.... to always follow Your lead!
"the still waters" - We find that the still water is a sheep's "living water". Sheep are afraid of moving water... so afraid they would parish from dehydration while standing next to a moving stream. Sheep must have still waters. Standing water requires constant replenishment and the shepherd must take great care to "freshen" the water! You dear Lord provide our "Living Water" and being the Good Shepherd, You provide the replenishment as we need it! YOU have given us of Your "Living Water"!!! O'Thank you... LORD God! Thank You for *always* being there... to replenish us, when we feeling as though our souls have run dry!
(3) He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths
of righteousness for His name's sake.
"restoreth my soul:" - You've restored our souls... forgiveness ALL of our sins!!! Complete restoration!!! You've reclaimed our souls from certain damnation... paid our redemption fee! We have been declared "NOT GUILTY" by the King of Kings! Indeed we have been restored!!!
"he leadeth me" - The result.... having hearts eager to follow, You then graciously *lead* us in the direction of righteousness! When we fail and come crawling back to You... we *know* we are still loved! For You have imputed to *us*... the righteousness of Jesus Christ! For *HIS* name's sake we are led... Father God, how we praise and worship You!
(4) 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.
"through" - First, Father we see we are on a walk *through* the valley! As we go through these valleys, we ask, please help us remember that word *through* When we're told this is a going "through"... we have to come out the other side!
"death" - And LORD God, in describing death as a valley... how peaceful and beautiful... thank you! The "shadow" of death. Abba Father, can we possibly be afraid of a shadow? Indeed not.
"for thou art with me" - The fact that there is shadow indicates there has to be light!!! Let us always look to the light! We know of only "one" light of the world... and HE is with us always! Glorious eternal LIGHT, without which... no shadow could be cast! How can we fear... Your love is eternal and your protection supreme!
"thy rod" - A good shepherd can throw his rod from some distance, with great accuracy to hit the predator, and drive him off!!! What comfort and how we love Your protection!
"thy staff" - Your staff is used to gently guide back *out* of the thickets we find ourselves in. Sheep are always wandering off, they want desperately to get to the "other" side! But, when they get there and find only dirt to eat, they stand and bawl. They don't have the sense to go back!
"comfort" - The shepherd has to come and rescue the stranded sheep. O'Father small wonder we are called sheep! We thank You LORD God, for your faithfulness... what a comfort it is to know You will *ALWAYS* bring us back!
(5) Thou preparest a table before me in the presence
of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.
"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:" - The (table) plateau area is abundant with food... but is wide open and favored by predators. The Shepherd must be very loving and extremely watchful of his sheep to bring them to the plateau, where they may enjoy it's bounty! *YOU* Father God, have prepared our place... here *amongst* our enemies where we may enjoy "Your many blessings" while under Your protection. You continue to prepare the table before us... You prepare ALL that is before us!
"thou anointest my head with oil;" - You've anointed our heads with "The Oil of The Holy Spirit". The Oil protects the sheep from parasites and flies which would burrow in causing "a once healthy sheep"... to become sickly ! Could it be any accident that Satan is called "Beelzebub" in the Bible... which means "lord of the flies" ?
"my cup runneth over" - From our *worst* enemy... we have YOUR anointing and protection! We have Salvation! We have Your protection! We have all of our daily needs met! We have Your guidance and peacefulness! We have Your promise of eternity "with Your"! O'Father God... Our cup truly runneth over!!!
(6) 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.
"goodness and mercy" - Father God... how beautiful! How wonderful! This speaks of Your goodness and mercy towards us... and now You tell us it will follow us ALL the days of our lives!!! Your goodness in care and love beyond anything we could ever earn or deserve. Your mercy and gracious forgiveness... the restoration of our souls!
"in the house of the LORD for ever" - And after this life is over we shall dwell in the house of our LORD for ever! We'll be with YOU Jesus... the one who redeemed us, the one who loves us more then any other... Who has loved us beyond all human understanding! "Forever!" Your Words and promises are so very precious to us... how we love YOU!!! O'Dear Sweet Savior... we bow our heads and our hearts in deepest gratitude... before YOU... our precious Lord and Savior! AMEN.
Sheila Lee
Note:
Hope you enjoyed digging deeper into an old favorite,
Reasons (personally) I believe this is a prophetic Psalm
1- it follows the 22 Psalm, which is the prophetic Psalm of the crucifixion. 2- I don't think the Holy Spirit does anything by accident! 3 - We are living after the crucifixion, having been restored (v.3) 4 - death is conquered (v4) 5 - walking through life *with* Jesus (v3), 6 - anointing with oil - "Holy Spirit" (v5) 7 - Eternal life with the Lord is now assured. (v6)
I may be over spiritualizing, but I feel this is prophetic of our stand in Jesus now.. * after * the cross... hence back to back with Psalm 22. No need to agree or disagree, it's not doctrine, it's just a thought. Love and Prayers, Sheila