Psalm 23/Commentary

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Psalm 23

“Shepherd and Friend” “Depth and strength underlie the simplicity of this psalm. Its peace is not escape; its contentment is not complacency: there is readiness to face deep darkness and imminent attack, and the climax reveals a love which homes toward no material goal but to the Lord Himself” (Kidner p. 109). “Some suspect that David penned this psalm in his youthful days while tending the flock belonging to his father. However, most agree that these words were written by an older David as he had already experienced the ins and outs of life…Others speculate that David wrote these stirring words while seeking refuge from Absalom” 1 “Alexander Maclaren said that ‘the world could spare many a large book better than this sunny little psalm’” (Boice p. 207).

The Shepherd 23:1 The Lord, as often in the psalms, occupies here the first and emphatic place. The word “Lord” here is the English translation of “Yahweh”, the great Old Testament personal name of God, which was first disclosed to Moses in Exodus 3. The name literally means, “I am who I am”. “Chiefly, it refers to God’s timeless, on the one hand, and to His self-sufficiency, on the other” (Boice p. 207). This means that God is self-existent and doesn’t need anything and doesn’t depend upon anything for His existence or significance. God is also timelessness, and therefore He always remains the same. 23:1 Boice notes that in ancient times, the “shepherd” and his work was often considered the lowest of all works. If a family needed a shepherd, it was always the youngest son, like David, who got this assignment. Shepherds had to live with the sheep twenty-four hours a day, and the task of caring for them was unending. “Day and night, summer and winter, in fair weather and foul, they labored to nourish, guide, and protect the sheep. Who in his right mind would choose to be a shepherd? Yet Jehovah has chosen to be our shepherd…The great God of the universe has stooped to take just such care of you and me” (Boice pp. 207-208). In the New Testament, Jesus is called our shepherd (John 10; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:4). Here is just one more bit of evidence that 1

The Book Of Psalms, The Eighth Annual Southwest Lectures, Bill Jackson Editor, pp. 130-131. 1


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