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 sometime leads us, and our
families, away from God.
God has a plan for our lives
and if we ask Him, He will reveal this plan.
Ask God
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 can be really difficult to
explain if you haven't experienced it but it is the
greatest feeling in the world if you have God to
lean on.
If you accept Christ as your
savior life will not all of a sudden turn into a
bed of roses for you but you will become more
focused on what is really important in this life.
And, what is 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? Do you want Him to be?
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.
Verses quoting the 23rd Psalm including "The
Lord is my shepherd" 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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