Part 1
A Study of Psalm 23
Scripture: Psalm 23 (NIV)
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, 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 your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
1. The External Context—The connection between Psalm 22, 23, and 24.
Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. 8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delight in him.”
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. 15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. 17 All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.
22 I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you. 23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. 25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him—All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28 for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. All the rich of the all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—those who cannot keep themselves alive. 30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. 31 They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!
Psalm 24
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; 2 for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters…. 7 Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—he is the King of glory.
Psalm 22 is Mount Calvary; Psalm 24 is Mount Zion; and between them is the lovely valley of Psalm 23. Put differently, in Psalm 22, the Messiah died for us; in Psalm 23, He lives for us; in Psalm 24, He is coming for us.
2. The Internal Context—The flow of Psalm 23 follows the migratory pattern of shepherds with their sheep seen in Genesis 37.
Genesis 37:12-17
12 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 13 and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.” “Very well,” he replied. 14 So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?” 16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?” 17 “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.
3. The Author of Psalm 23 – David
· 1 Samuel 16
· 1 Samuel 17
· 2 Samuel 7:8
4. Nature of Psalm 23
· Personal
· Singular
5. The Lord is My Shepherd
· Companionship
· Feeding
· Guiding
· Guarding
· Tending
· Seeking the lost
6. I Shall Not Want
· He meets our external needs,
· He meets our Internal needs.
· He meets our eternal needs.
Conclusion: Maurice Pink: “There are times in your life when things don’t go right and you feel all alone. That happened to me on December 10, 1941, when I was on the battle cruiser HMS Repulse with the nearby HMS Prince of Wales. We were attacked by the Japanese Air Force, which resulted in both ships being sunk. I found myself alone in the water not able to see anyone else. It was then that the Twenty-Third Psalm came into my head and I realized I was not alone. I had a Shepherd. The Lord was my Shepherd; I did not need to want. I was not in green pastures but in oily waters; but He restored my soul. Even though I was walking in the shadow of death, I was to fear no evil for He was with me. The rod and staff did not ring a bell with me until voices above me were shouting. Looking up there was a big destroyer alongside me, HMS Electra, with nets over the side, which allowed me to climb up to safety. That was my rod and staff. I didn’t have a table set before me, but I did get a cup of the ship’s kye (or cocoa). Since that day goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life; and when I think back to that day, I wonder what would have happened if I had died. There again, the Psalm had the answer: I would dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Thank you, Lord, for being my Shepherd and for the Twenty-Third Psalm.”