Psalm 23, Part 2
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Scott Downing Christ Conversation 10/30/2016
Christ Conversation Sunday, October 30, 2016 Psalm 23, Part 2
Psalm 23 A Psalm of David. (ESV) 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. Psalm 23:3 Consider the punctuation of verse three in various translations: He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (KJV) . . . 2b he leads me beside quiet waters, 3a he refreshes my soul. (NIV) He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. (NASB) He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. (NLT) Biblical Hebrew did not have punctuation. When you see punctuation in your Bible, be it Old or New Testament, the punctuation characters, chapter and verse markings, and most chapter subheadings are added by the translators. At times, such as in Psalm 23:2-3, we can see the struggle to properly translate. How does the placement of punctuation impact your reading of verse 3? _______________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
Some key words: Restores – to turn back. Return Soul – that which breathes; the inner being of a person – the imagery of a person who has stopped breathing and is revived, brought back. The imagery of a “cast sheep.” A sheep resting in some small hollow stretches out, but in so doing, its feet leave the ground. The sheep panics, kicking its legs to straighten out. This often makes it worse: the sheep ends up on its back with legs straight up, losing blood flow. The sheep will die within hours. The sheep needs restoring and brought to strength.
Paths of righteousness.
The Shepherd gathers us and takes us to the places he would have us be. Refer to the earlier discussion on punctuation.
For his name’s sake
We do not revive ourselves from the hollow. We do not save ourselves from death. This is the work of the Shepherd and it is to his glory and grace that we were restored. See Judges 7:2; Isaiah 48:3-5 Psalm 23:4 This valley is not accidental. It is not plan ‘B.’ The Shepherd has brought us into it. Shepherds moved flocks much as cowboys move cattle: seasonally to differing ranges. The sheep spend the winter in the lowlands and are moved to the high pastures in the spring and summer. To get to the highlands, the sheep go through valleys. The valleys have canyon walls that create shadows and ridges where wild animals, predators, can lay in wait. The valley of the shadow of death.
I fear no harm for You are with me.
Let’s talk about Shepherds in a nuance we did not discuss before: the incarnational presence of Christ identified as Shepherd. One of the wonderful passages of Christmas is the angelic announcement to the shepherds. Following their visit
with Jesus, they went forth testifying about what they had seen. See Luke 2:8-20.
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Jesus is born in a place for animals, so it makes sense that shepherds would be the first witnesses. But did it?
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We romanticize these men who sat through the night on the hills to guard their sheep, but the people of those days had a very different view of shepherds. Shepherds were not trusted. They were considered dishonest and unreliable, and caring for animals made them unclean before the law. So, no-one mixed with them, no-one liked them, no-one respected them. Most people were glad they spent their time out on the hills.1
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Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd. This did not impress the crowds since shepherds were thought of as, well, what is described above. But it is Jesus in the valley of the shadow of death. Our safety, our life, depends on Him being with us. Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). This thought of Christ as Shepherd speaks to the depth of Christ’s incarnation and presence to the very least of us. The least are most vulnerable to danger and harm. They have no other resources other than the Shepherd.
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for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The resources that the Shepherd brings: His Presence o All the personal pronouns in Psalm 23; Matthew 28:20 His familiarity with the terrain o Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 Corinthians 10:13 His Rod o To beat back the predator, the enemy. Isaiah 49:24-25 His Staff o To bring us back into the path of righteousness. Bring us into alignment. Isaiah 53:6; Psalm 23 _______________________________________________
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1
Northern Seminary, The First Witnesses of the Good News.