Base text:
Psalms 23
Introduction:
Our constant goal is to grow in grace and in knowledge, however it would make no sense at all if there were no dissemination of what we have learned, which is why we have made, to the best of our ability, publications with diverse subjects, related to Christian life, so that in this way we can reach the unity of faith, and also contribute to those who are aligned with this same purpose.
We will guide our study based on one of the most beautiful and well-known hymns ever composed, Psalms 23, inspired by the psalmist David, also known as the man after God's heart.
Throughout the study we will understand the true meaning of being a Shepherd, as well as how we can apply the lessons learned from this wonderful hymn in our lives, having today, Jesus as Our Lord and Shepherd.
You will encounter something tremendous, which could change your life, if you apply what you learn in a practical way.
We know that Psalm means “Praise” and it is the book of hymns and prayers of the Bible. Each psalm is a hymn that was written in that era, a collection of Sung Prayers (Psalms comes from a Greek word meaning a song sung with the accompaniment of a stringed instrument). The Hebrew title of the book means “Song of Praise”. Psalms is full of praises that express the greatness and mercy of God. The psalms were written by different authors over a period of about eight hundred years and were used by the people of Israel in their worship meetings with God. Jesus sang psalms and cited them several times. In Psalms we have 150 prayers and they encompass the entire field of human emotions, from joy to hatred, from hope to despair.
It is not merely a matter of spiritual issues:
There are some who want only to spiritualize this psalm, suggesting that God has no concern whatsoever with our material life, and that He makes no interference in the lives of those who are faithful to Him, in relation to this matter.
Regarding this, it is necessary to point out that these are uninformed people, often wanting to pass themselves off as completely detached from earthly things, and also as too holy and spiritual.
Many times there are also those who simply prefer to ignore the Biblical truths on the subject.
An argument that invalidates all of this discourse and thinking is: Why do we pray for God to open a job opportunity for us, when we are unemployed? Is it not so that He interferes and acts in our favor? Are jobs not so that we have our material needs secured? Did not the Apostle Paul say: ”if anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat either. 2 Thessalonians 3:10”?
Before man was created, everything he would need had already been made by God:
God has always been concerned with the comfort of His children from the beginning, so much so that man was only created on the last day, in short, after everything we would need was already ready. In Isaiah 64:4 it says: “For since ancient times no one has heard, nor perceived with the ear, nor seen with the eyes a God besides You who acts for those who wait for Him.”
In Psalms 37:25,26 it also says: “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always merciful and lend, and their children are blessed.”
Thus, there is no doubt that God cares for His children in all respects, for He is always working, acting and interfering when necessary on behalf of those who have given their lives to Him, and are with Him.
It is not merely a matter of material issues:
Although it has become evident that our material life is a constant matter before God, it is fitting to say the reason, and the primary reason why the Lord Jesus acts in our favor, is so that we may be faithful to Him, with our spiritual lives, so that we dedicate ourselves to His Work, seeking to focus first on His Kingdom and His Righteousness.
A little about David, the author of Psalm 23:
By analyzing David's life we understand why this Psalm is so rich, with so many lessons to be learned, for in his youth, David tended his father Jesse's sheep, as he himself tells us in 1 Samuel 17:34-36, where he also mentions that he defended the sheep, freeing them from fierce animals such as lions and bears, risking his life, but nevertheless defeating both with the help of God.
Through the narrative made by him himself, in relation to his care for the sheep, showing how fearless he was, and how willing he was to risk himself to defend his father's sheep. This helps us understand why he was chosen by God to be the king of Israel, and care for His people, a task that was neglected by king Saul, who lost his place.
Being recognized demands dedication, preparation, time and effort:
David, contrary to what many imagine, did not receive the kingdom of Israel for free, even though he had been anointed by God, he needed to conquer and earn the position, and he actually needed to count on allied soldiers, who placed themselves at his disposal, to help him conquer it, as is reported in 1 Chronicles, 340,800, (Three hundred and forty thousand and eight hundred soldiers) helped him conquer the kingdom, by recognizing him as their leader and king.
Certainly this great army, willing to help him, began to form through his influence and dedication to the limited men that God sent to him, when he was in the cave of Adullam.
All of this happened to David, even after being anointed at age 12 by the prophet Samuel, still he had to wait for about 18 years, according to some scholars. Years in which he was shaped for the function to which God had entrusted him.
What is the meaning of Shepherd, what are his responsibilities?:
Etymologically the word shepherd means “One whose occupation consists of guiding animals to pasture”, for in etymology (origin of the word). The word shepherd derives from the Latin “pastor,oris”, with the sense of guide of flocks to pasture. Source: https://www.dicio.com.br/pastor.
A shepherd exercising his functions:
The function of a shepherd is nothing easy, nor glamorous, as some even want to be, and title themselves as such, ignoring its true meaning.
David as a shepherd, had to wake up in the cold early mornings of the desert, gather the sheep and lead them to pastures that were capable of nourishing them, in short, green pastures, since dry pastures have already lost their nutrients, and the liquids that help hydrate, in summary, shepherds are never comfortable, for they always need to be focused on providing nutritious food, thus ensuring the health of their sheep.
Observation regarding those who should take care of Christ's flock:
Making a parallel with those who have this position in congregations, if they do not read the Bible, do not seek sanctification, nor are concerned with the message they must minister, they need to question themselves, whether they are truly shepherds before God.
Shepherds know their sheep, and do not leave them behind:
Another observation is that shepherds when they take the sheep to pasture, they count all of them when leaving, and when returning to the fold, for if they forgot a sheep behind without going to pasture, it could weaken and die, and if they left any in the pasture without returning to the fold, it would be without protection, and could be eaten by some beast like a wolf, lion or bear.
This is the greatest responsibility of a shepherd, not to abandon his sheep.
Shepherds also discern and know very well how to differentiate, sheep from goats, bucks or wolves.
A shepherd must be equipped with a staff, and use all the functions of this tool:
Another curiosity is that shepherds also carried a tool in hand, which had three functions, being: “rod or staff”, to touch the sheep keeping them with the flock, “spear” at one end of the staff, so if necessary they could face and kill animals that wanted to attack any sheep, and “Hook” at the other end of the staff, for when there was need, to be able to rescue sheep that could eventually fall into some cliff or ravine, on the way to or from pasture.
Thus we can assure that they had tremendous responsibility to ensure that the sheep remained fed and above all safe from any danger, for without a doubt God is thus with all of us, when we make Him our Shepherd.
A shepherd in the spiritual sense:
In the spiritual sense, the true shepherd is one who has the duty to guide, instruct people, leading them along the path of salvation given by Jesus Christ, and feeding them with the Word of this wonderful God.
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In the spiritual world it is impossible to be a true pastor without loving Jesus with all your strength:
The basic condition that Jesus demands to place someone with the responsibility of taking care of his sheep, is that they love him above all things, and thus they will dedicate themselves as much as necessary to fulfill this duty, and since it will be out of love, it will not be a burden to them.
See: "And it was now the third time that Jesus manifested himself to his disciples, after he had risen from the dead.
And after they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter: Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? And he answered: Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He said unto him: Feed my lambs.
He said to him again the second time: Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He said unto him: Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He said unto him: Feed my sheep. He said unto him the third time: Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Simon was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him: Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus said unto him: Feed my sheep. João 21:14-17"
Detailed breakdown of each passage cited:
In this passage the verses will be detailed, with the interpretation obtained analytically in each one of them.
Beforehand I emphasize that it is the right decisions, made in the present moment, that will be able to guarantee us sustenance and security in future times.
Psalms 23
Detailed breakdown of the verses:
1) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
This passage refers to an attitude of faithfulness of David, at the moment, that is, in his present days in which he was living, in short, in his present, but not only that, it is also a future projection, or a promise for the time to come, in maintaining faithful to what was already decided.
With the understanding of the meaning of shepherd, we can assure that in this verse the psalmist David is stating, that because he had the Lord Jesus as his Shepherd in the present moment, there would be no reason for any worry about his provision and sustenance in relation to the future, since he was decided, determined, and for that reason he declared that in his life he would have Jesus as his Shepherd in the present time, that is why he said "the Lord is my Shepherd", and that he would remain faithful until the end, also declaring "I shall not want" which is a decision to remain firm, with faithfulness to the Lord, throughout his life.
It is not enough to just have a picture or sign with this text, hanging on the wall, commitment to the Lord of the psalm is needed:
Thus, we learn that if we want this verse to also be a truth in our lives, it is not enough to just have a picture or sign with this text, but rather to be decided to be a sheep of the spiritual flock of the Lord Jesus, today and always, that is, in the present and in the future one must be committed to the Lord of the psalm.
The Kingdom of God and his righteousness, the nourishment of the soul, this must be our focus before all else:
It is also good to observe that although the text makes a direct reference to material nourishment, it does not mean that we should go to Jesus for this reason, quite the opposite, when the matter is Jesus and his kingdom, the greatest concern we should have, not to say the only one, is with his Kingdom, since he guided us not to worry about clothes, food, drink or anything of that sort, but rather to seek first his Kingdom, and all these things would be added to us.
If we make the Lord our Shepherd, being faithful to him, prioritizing his Kingdom, we can be assured that he provides the rest, with the opening of job doors, we see a case in which Elijah was beaten down, unable to work, fleeing, but because of his faithfulness, the Lord sent him food and drink, guaranteeing him sustenance.
2) He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside the still waters.
In this declaration we understand that it is a wonderful experience of abundance, lived by the psalmist, in his present moment, an abundance not only of food, but also of drink. We see here a deep expression of gratitude, because the Lord supplies him with everything he needs. He literally says that he is being supplied with food, and that because of this he is rested, to the point of being able to lie down, and it is obvious that he is speaking as if he were a sheep, because they also lie down on the grass, and can even feed themselves while they are lying down on the green pasture.
David also said in another psalm, about the care of the Lord in relation to him, declaring: "But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me Psalms 40:17". The care of the Lord Jesus in relation to us, is not limited to feeding us physically, but mainly spiritually, so that we have our salvation guaranteed.
His mention of still waters, is because the sheep is an animal that is frightened very easily, to the point of not drinking water in a stream, if it is noisy, in these cases some shepherds almost always lead their sheep to waters that are not noisy, so that the sheep are not frightened and drink peacefully. There is a case where some shepherds take water in their own hand, and bring it to the sheep's mouth, so that they drink.
Can you understand how committed the Lord Jesus is with the well-being of his children?
3) He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
As said in the previous topic, sheep are animals that are frightened very easily, and so the shepherd always needs to ensure that they are calm, peaceful, for their own good, and also so that the relationship of trust between the sheep and the shepherd is not broken, and they flee for any reason.
David here speaks of the peace that God gives him, and how he led him through paths or roads that were just and safe, all of this Our Lord does, for the sake of his Own Name.
Many do not care about their names, but Jesus has tremendous zeal and love for his Holy Name, a Name that is above all names, by which we are saved and have victory guaranteed. Jesus himself said that everything we ask in his name, believing we will receive.
Jesus spoke about granting tremendous peace to his disciples, a peace different from that of the world, true peace and not deception, saying: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you João 14:27".
The assurance we have while being with Our Lord, although we pass through adversities at times, still, we must not lose sight of deliverance from God, so that our anguishes and momentary sufferings are ended, have an end. We have this guarantee in the Name of Jesus, which is: "Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaías 9:6".
4) 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.
We know that having the Lord Jesus as Shepherd does not mean being free from the possibility of going through some hardships and difficulties while we live, even trusting in him. David makes a point of emphasizing his confidence in the Lord, even though there is a chance that in the future, something challenging may arise, situations that for him could be considered out of control, dark and fear-causing, but by the certainty that the Lord was with him, there would be no reason to fear any evil.
David is also affirming that the Lord who is with him in the present time, guaranteeing him security every day, will remain with him in the future, and if any future adversity comes to arise, he would be delivered by God from all of them. It is without a doubt his way of affirming that he will not distance himself from God at any moment, and thus can count on his protection at all times, in the present and in the future.
5) Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
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This alludes to, or refers to the abundant support he found in the desert, despite the efforts of his enemies to afflict him. You anoint my head with oil means: “you treat me as a welcome guest at this table that you prepared for me”; referring to a custom of oriental nations that anointed the heads of their guests with perfumed oils, as shown in Amós 6: 6-7. We can through Salmos 45:7 conclude the following expression, my cup overflows, from Salmos 23:5, refers in the same way to the abundance of good things that God had so graciously given him, to cause him joy, see: “You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy more than your companions. Salmos 45:7”.
But if we concentrated our efforts only on materializing this passage, thinking of feasts with food and drink, without a shadow of doubt we would be committing a tremendous error, given that the abundance guaranteed by our Lord is not so that our focus is on earthly things, on the contrary, it is so that we have the certainty that even surrounded by enemies, wanting our harm, we are still protected and provided for by God, so that in us the desire for his Kingdom is awakened, to have an overflowing cup is not limited to perfuming ourselves to participate in earthly feasts, but in being filled with the Holy Spirit, for we well know that our place is not here, and that our spiritual life is what will define where we will go when we end our passage through the earth.
We see that David was provided for by God, but his heart never became proud, but remained faithful until the end, acknowledging that he owned nothing, and affirming that everything belonged to the Lord, which is why he considered himself poor and needy, in Salmos 40:17, even though in human eyes he was seen as rich and wealthy.
6) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Once having the spiritual life settled and dedicated to pleasing the Creator of the Universe every day, there is no doubt that we can count on his goodness and mercy in equal measure.
The same certainty, of being cared for by God, of not being owners of anything, must also be in our hearts, for when we judge ourselves as proprietors of something, we want to act our own way, without answering to God who is the True Owner of Everything, such an attitude would be stupid, for it opens the way for pride and arrogance to come, and as it is written: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be humble in spirit with the meek, than to share the spoils with the proud. Provérbios 16:18,19”.
Here it closes all the gaps, for it proves that David was not focused on material things, pursuing them with all his might, instead he desired to be in the house of the Lord forever.
In David's heart there was certainly no thought that it was enough to be in worship on Sundays and from that time, perhaps he also participated on Saturday, but there was a tremendous desire for worship, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to learn in the holy temple.
Someone with such a posture would never be forgotten, nor neglected by God as far as earthly things are concerned, since his thoughts were in the heavens, doing what God has always required which was to have faithfulness to him.
If we apply our hearts to the Lord, make him our Refuge and Fortress, worshipping him, living a righteous, holy life, for as we know, without holiness no one will see the Lord. Acting thus, every day, we can be certain that we will be followed by the goodness and mercy of the Lord Jesus, Savior, Creator of the Universe, all the days of our life.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd:
Many are those who have left, and still leave the ways of the Lord, for having had frustrations with some pastors, forgetting that people are subject to failure, and likewise pastors, for above all, they are common people, subject to errors as well. And I refer to people of character, committed to the Word of God, even these people will certainly cause sadness to some, at some point, and this is due to their limitations. These need our support, and all help so they can exercise their gift.
As for charlatans, deceivers, I will not waste time here, but it is worth noting that their followers take great care, for these have no care even for their own souls, let alone for the souls of their followers. Their god is the belly, so those who follow them may go together with them to the lake of fire if they do not turn away from their evil ways.
Even though there are sincere pastors, we cannot be founded on them, for the reasons already addressed, their limitations and possibility of frustrating us. Jesus is the only one who has never caused, nor will cause frustrations to any of his disciples, all those who place their trust in him have the assurance of protection, guarantee of salvation, and rest for their souls.
There were countless times when I witnessed people saying that they did not have their expectations regarding pastor A or B met, the answer to this is: “They created expectations in limited people, they did not focus on the good Shepherd”.
There are many pastors, but only Jesus is the good Shepherd, for good is only God, as he is:
Jesus said: “I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. João 10:11” do we need greater proof than that? He not only spoke, but also fulfilled his promise on the cross of Calvary. And his death was so that we could in his blood have our sins forgiven, and live with him in glory forever.
It is for this and other reasons, that we can indeed trust in the God of creation, for he is love, and demonstrated this with his sacrifice for us, even though we are unworthy.
Conclusion:
At the end of the study we could observe that the psalmist was able to enjoy and live a prosperous life on this earth, but with his focus on eternity.
This was due to a decision of his, which changed his entire history.
When David decided to remain committed to the Lord Jesus while he lived, he was also guaranteeing his salvation, his success and security for all his days of life. In his heart there was no greater desire than to be in the house of the Lord forever.
May we be able to apply these teachings also to our lives, for our decisions today will influence all of our future.
May God bless you, and grant you peace, and may his goodness and mercy follow you all the days of your life; and may you remain in the house of this Lord Jesus forever, worshipping and exalting him with a life right and pleasing to Him.