Psalm 23 – an Encouragement for the Living

The Twenty-third Psalm is one of the most familiar of all the Psalms – even to the unbelieving world.  It would be hard to find a person who has attended a funeral who does not remember the Twenty-Third Psalm appearing on the remembrance card for the departed one.  This has led to the idea that the psalm relates to death more than life.  But nothing could be further from the truth.  Psalm Twenty-Three presents a number of different facets that relate to the believer’s life here on earth and, in doing so, paints a beautiful picture of GRACE in action.

From the Passion Translation:

V1 – The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd. I always have more than enough.  The psalm starts with one of the greatest truths that we as believers can ever get a revelation of – that God is interested in being intimately involved with each of His children; and, that the by-product of that intimate relationship is an overflow in every area of our lives.

V2 – He offers a resting placed for me in his luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss. Verse two reveals that with a revelation of God’s Love comes His Rest.  When we are in His Rest, we experience peace regardless of what is going on around us. With that peace comes a “brook of bliss” – an experience of joy that is beyond understanding or explaining.

V3 – That’s where he restores and revives my life. He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasure and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness.  In this life, there will be opportunities to get weary and quit.  It is God Who picks us up and revives us during those times and guides us back to the direction He wants us to take; that being, walking in the revelation of our right-standing before Him.

V4 – Lord, even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have! You remain close to me and lead me through it all the way. Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of your love takes away my fear. {I will never be lonely, for you are near.} There will be times where life throws us a “gut-punch”, those things that have the potential to make us question if God is there and if He really cares? Yet it is the realization that the Creator of Heaven and Earth has chosen to have an intimate relationship with us, and, indeed will never leave or forsake us, that gives us strength and peace to go through that valley of deepest darkness.

V5 – You become my delicious feast even when my enemies dare to fight. You anoint me with the fragrance of your Holy Spirit; you give me all I can drink of you until my heart overflows. God has provided for our complete victory over whatever comes against us.  The “feast” before us is enjoyed when we partake of the promises of God for whatever situation we are facing – healing, provision, deliverance, or restoration.  We partake of that feast every time we choose (with the help of Holy Spirit) to stand on God’s Word rather than to focus on the circumstances that challenge His Word.

V6 – So why should I fear the future? For your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life.  Then afterward, when my life is through, I’ll return to your glorious presence to be forever with you!  Verse six brings us full circle back to the truth revealed in Verse one. God is intimately involved in our lives, and as a result, we are always secured between His Goodness and Love. With our lives firmly entrenched between those two things, our future is bright.  Fear has no hold on us.

While Psalm twenty-three is a comfort to those who have lost loved ones, it is even more meaningful when viewed as a beautiful picture of God’s intentionality toward His family here on earth.  Each verse addresses a different way in which He provides for the challenges we are likely to face at one time or another during our lives on this earth.  His provision is called GRACE, and it knows no boundaries!

5/20