Psalm
23:1-6
Psalm
of David
-
- 23:1
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be
in want.
-
- 2 He makes me
lie down in green pastures,
- he leads me
beside quiet waters,
- 3 he restores
my soul.
- He guides 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 love will follow me
- all the days
of my life,
and I will
dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to
change the way that we think, and the way
that we live.
Commentary
by Bob
Pardue
Psalm 23: Psalm
of David
David was speaking
in terms of experience when he called the
LORD his shepherd.
During his youth,
David had cared for sheep and he knew that
the sheep were completely dependent upon
the shepherd.
Just as the sheep
were dependent, David depended on God to
provide for him and to protect
him.
Most of us today
like to think that we can depend upon
ourselves and we make decisions we feel
will produce the best results for us and
our families.
The only problem
with this way of thinking is that we make
plenty of wrong decisions which lead us,
and our families, away from
God.
God has a plan for
our lives and if we ask Him, He will
reveal this plan.
If we rely on God to
give us answers we will find contentment
in life.
Jesus is called the
good shepherd in the New Testament (John
10:11) because He is like a shepherd to
us. He will watch over us and keep us on
the right track if only we will accept
Him.
This is not to say
that Christians don't have problems. We
have the same problems as everyone else;
sickness; death of loved ones; depression;
financial ailments; divorce; and the list
goes on..
But, what we do have
is the comfort Christ gives during the
hard times to help us through them just as
the shepherd finds the lost sheep and
brings her back to the flock for
protection.
It's really
difficult to explain if you haven't
experienced it but it is the greatest
feeling in the world if you
have.
If you accept Christ
as your savior life won't all of a sudden
turn into a bed of roses for you but you
will become more focused on what's really
important in this life.
And, what's really
important is that we love God with all our
hearts and all our mind.
He will definitely
love us back tenfold and only then will we
find true contentment.
Is the LORD your
shepherd?
Love in
Christ
- Bob
If you have never made
the commitment to receive the love and
life-changing experience of Jesus Christ,
please take a moment to go
here and
take the first
steps to
salvation.
Bob
Pardue is a
member of First
Baptist Church
in Lancaster, SC. He is ordained from Rich
Hill Baptist in Lancaster.
Want
to place this passage and commentary on
your website or e-zine for
content?
This article may be
freely reprinted or distributed in its
entirety in any e-zine, newsletter, blog,
or website. The author's name, bio, and
website links must remain intact
and be included with every
reproduction.
Bob
Verses are from Life Application
Study Bible: New International
Version
Comments are welcome. Please
email
me with any questions or
comments you may have.
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