Psalm 23 Study Part 1

This is a study on what most believe to be the most famous Psalm...

Psalm 23
A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 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. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Many people can quote the whole Psalm from memory. Sure, the words are beautiful and poetic, but have you ever stopped to think: exactly what did David mean by these words he wrote so long ago? Well, we know that David was a shepherd and that this Psalm is about the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep. The interesting thing about this Psalm is that David writes from the perspective of the sheep rather than the shepherd. I believe that David realized while working as a shepherd (and all it entailed) that it painted a perfect picture of our Lord. To fully understand what all David meant when writing this beautiful Psalm, we should put ourselves in the "sheep" frame-of-mind. Use your imagination and let the Holy Spirit reveal to you who your shepherd is and what it means to you, personally, to have the Lord as your shepherd.

Let's break it down, verse by verse...

Psa 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Imagine you are a sheep. What does it mean to you to have a shepherd?

Someone to lead you, someone to protect you, someone to provide food/water/medical care/etc.?

According to The Strongs, "want" means "to lack"

-- I shall not lack...Anything.

This one little verse can mean the absolute World to so many people!

Psa 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Just look at that sheep! I want to lay down with it! It looks so peaceful, but why? What would it mean to you, as a sheep, to lay down in green pastures? Abundant food, cool grass to lay in and comfort?
What would it mean to you, a sheep, to be led beside still waters? Peace, you never have to worry about thirsting, a place to cool off, or how about a place to be cleansed? Yeah, let the Holy Spirit help you get that one to sink in! ;-)

Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
According to The Strongs, "restoreth" can mean: to turn back, draw back to, to fetch home again, recover, refresh, relieve, rescue...I think one of my favorites is "He rescues my soul" How precious is that? Of course from a sheep's perspective, to be restored can mean the difference between life and death--If you aren't home with the shepherd, you have no one to guarantee your livelihood.
But our shepherd doesn't stop there. He goes on to lead us in the paths of righteousness. What would that mean to a sheep, to be led in the path of righteousness? Safety comes to mind first.
And one of the coolest parts of this Psalm, to me, is the last part of the verse:
"For His name's sake."
This means so many things to me that I don't even know where to begin! Strictly going on a sheep frame-of-mind, I'd have to say: If the shepherd doesn't do a good job taking care of his flock, everyone would witness his unfaithfulness/laziness/apathy when caring for his sheep. His name would be slandered. It's the same thing when raising children. If your children aren't taken care of, people will think and say completely horrible things about you. Even more so, if you lead them into danger, your children/sheep could be taken from you and cared for by another.
Thankfully, our shepherd cares for us for the sake of His name. He's not going to allow anything to discredit His name...the Name above All Names!
What would sheep have to worry about with a shepherd like That? They'd have absolutely no cares/worries at all! People see sheep as dumb, but really, they are just completely trusting in their shepherd. In that sense, we should start thinking more like sheep!

--I have to add in here...what would it be like if WE did everything for His Name's Sake? Or if WE cared for the flock like He does? That's what we're called to do--to be who we are In Christ; to be Like Jesus. ...Toes get a little sore with that one!

Oh, I could go on and on about this verse, but I'll end the study here. I'll post the second half of the study tomorrow. In the mean time, enjoy thinking like a sheep! And let me know if the Holy Spirit reveals something "cool" to you while you read this Psalm and think like a sheep.