A Sheep Looks at the 23rd Psalm

  • Mike Rydman
  • Oct 16, 2006

A Sheep Looks at the 23rd Psalm

 

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name' sake.

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.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

 

Maybe like you, Psalm 23 was one of the first passages of Scripture I ever memorized. As a little kid at church I can remember gluing cotton balls to pictures of sheep, and going home with that precious (to me) work of religious art and the requisite glue on fingers that transferred to clothes, parents and car seats. The picture of cotton ball sheep being led by a loving and protective shepherd is comforting to a child. I had no arguments with it then, nor do I now.

 

At the same time, it can seem like this picture of pastoral bliss comes up against the hard realities of life. As we get older we find our lives to be more complicated, more challenging, and filled with an increasingly array of unanswered questions, unmet personal expectations and dreams left disappointed. It is rare to find an adult in a church fellowship or outside of one claiming that his/her life is best described as "lying down in green pastures beside quiet waters."

 

While I've read this psalm over and over many times, and read the treatise commentary of several scholars, a couple of things have recently jumped out at me.

 

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death." It's almost like, "since I will become familiar with living with reminders of the curse of sin upon the world I can know I do not have to fear the disappointments and failures around me, (or even those I cause myself) because I have a Shepherd who will not abandon me when it seems the darkest. While it seems we can read into this text a reference to our own physical death, it seems that because we "walk through' this dark valley, we must somehow come out on the other side.

 

The ‘valley" has more to do with what we are to die to: our own agendas and the plans each of us may have to falsely promote our own self-image. We all have ideas of how the world should respond to us, and cooperate with us for our own benefit. We are born with a natural predisposition toward our own comfort, our own felt security and a need to feel significant in the eyes of others. It is this sin of self-interest, this root sin of pride that we are called to die to. It is the sin in us that must meet its death.

 

The Apostle Peter tells us that "He (Jesus) bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the shepherd and Overseer of your souls." (1 Peter 2:24-25.) Jesus died for our sin, and he asks us to die to our sin as well, so we can be free to live for his righteousness.

 

I've never talked with anyone who has died, (at least as far as I know.) I cannot imagine a physical death being enjoyable or pain-free; nor, I suppose is dying to sin. It is not fun and it is never in the absence of pain, loss and a new sense of grieving over our propensity to be wicked and in contrary rebellion against God.

 

Psalm 23 mentions two tools the Shepherd uses to shepherd us, a rod and a staff. The rod was used by shepherds to discipline and correct. The staff was used to lift sheep out of holes and place them on a more level path. The Good Shepherd frequently uses both on me.

 

"He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies" is a phrase that has taken on new meaning for me. It tells me that while I may be feasting at the Lord's banquet table of delighting in His presence, the "enemies" do not necessarily go away. They're still present and watching, watching the delight I have in my Lord. I have yet to see in Scripture where the Lord says "he will take all the bad circumstances out of our lives." What I do see is that "I will fear no evil, for (He) is with me." Jesus promises us that He will never abandon us, even when we are going through the painful process of dying to ourselves and taking on a true humility before Him. It is a process He walks us through so we can reflect His glory and emulate His character. The process may be stern, but He lovingly and graciously walks with us.

 

Soteria Church is going through this painful process of dying to self. Many of us are being grieved by our own sin, and newly humbled by the presence of a holy Christ in our lives. This is not fun; it is in fact painful. Evidently, the Good Shepherd loves our church so much that He is willingly walking us through these shadowy valleys of death so we can know those green pastures, those quiet waters and the restoration of our souls in Him.

 

I want that, and I know you do, too.