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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
Psalm 23. This hymn is usually classified as a psalm of confidence in the Lord's care. It uses two images: the Lord as Shepherd who cares for the sheep (vv. 1-4), and the Lord as Host who cares for his guest (vv. 5-6). These images would be familiar from everyday experience (for David's own, cf. 1 Sam. 17:34); but they also evoke other ideas common in the ancient Near East (including the OT), with the deity as shepherd of his people and the deity as host of the meal. In worship, the faithful celebrate God's greatness and majesty; and when they sing this psalm, they see his majesty in the way he personally attends to each of his covenant lambs. He is the shepherd for Israel as a whole; and in being such, he is the shepherd for each faithful Israelite as well.
23:1-4 The Lord as Shepherd. Just as a shepherd cares for his sheep, so the Lord cares for his people, providing for their needs, guiding them, and protecting them.
23:1 shepherd. The deity-as-shepherd motif is common in the Bible (e.g., Gen. 48:15; 49:24; Ps. 28:9; 80:1; 95:7; 100:3; Rev. 7:17; cf. Ps. 49:14). The Lord is the Shepherd of the people as a whole, as well as individual members; and in this psalm the particular member is in view. want. That is, to lack what one needs.
23:2 Green pastures and still waters are peaceful places for rest and feeding.
23:3 The restoration, refreshment, or revival of the soul (or life) indicates the returning of life or vitality (cf. 19:7; Ruth 4:15; Prov. 25:13; Lam. 1:19). The paths in which God leads his faithful are the basic moral direction of their lives, toward righteousness (seen here as a blessing, not a burden). for his name's sake. That is, in order to preserve his reputation for being true to his revealed character (cf. 1 Kings 8:41; Ps. 25:11; 31:3).
23:4 The shadow of death may be the shadow that death casts, or it may be, as the ESV footnote has it, "deep darkness." Perhaps the idea is that in a valley in the desert (or wadi) in Judah one can encounter deep shadows, and cannot know for sure who (bandits) or what (animals, flash floods) lurks in them; even in such periods of suspense and danger, the faithful find assurance that God is with them, and thus they need not fear.
