Our Good Shepherd: Help in the Valley of Death (Ps 23)

Read Psalm 23:

A Psalm of David

¹ The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. ³ He restores my soul. He leads 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 mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Understand Psalm 23:

I. Our Good Shepherd Provides the Abundant Life (vv. 1-3)

Peruse Psalm 23 through the eyes of a sheep.[1] Sheep lack a sense of direction. They are witless and defenseless, easily frightened and unclean by nature. They cannot locate food and water by themselves or harvest their own wool. Yet David compares us to these helpless creatures and marvels that the unchanging, self-sufficient, eternal, covenant God of creation would stoop to care for us. In his presence, we never have need (v. 1b). He knows our greatest good and often makes us rest (v. 2). His pastures are green and his life abundant. He gives us the best food to eat (see Matt 6:11; John 6:35) and leads us to quiet places of nourishment (Ps 1:3). He restores our soul (23:3a; 19:7) and brings us to repentance when we sin (Luke 15:4-7). His righteous path is always the right path (Ps 23:3b). And he does all this “for his name’s sake” because his reputation is on the line (v. 3c).

II. Our Good Shepherd Accompanies the Protected Life (v. 4)

Our Good Shepherd also comforts us by his presence in the valley. David recalled how Israel’s rugged terrain and crushing heat often made it necessary to travel through narrow wadis. Seasonal torrents might unleash flash floods and wild animals often lurked in the shadows. Yet shepherds would lead their sheep into these dangerous valleys to cut through the desert wilderness. So also, we don’t always know where our Good Shepherd is taking us, but we trust him to lead us even through the valley of death’s shadow (v. 4a). We too will fear no evil because our God is always with us (v. 4b).

The shepherd’s tools were designed over centuries for the well-being of the sheep (v. 4c). The rod was a two-foot wooden club to be hurled as a weapon at wild beasts (e.g. 1 Sam 17:35), whereas the staff was an instrument of guidance. The staff was long and straight, but crooked at the top in order to pry sheep loose from thickets, nudge them along narrow paths, push thorny branches aside, or drive off snakes.

Likewise, our Good Shepherd protects us from enemies and often from ourselves. Yet there was a time in history when even that was not enough. Centuries before Jesus ever walked the earth, we are told that the Shepherd would be struck on behalf of his sheep (Isa 53:6-7; see Zech 13:7; Matt 26:31). He would die for the sins of many and become like a lamb himself “that is led to the slaughter.” Yet he would stay silent before his accusers and trust his Father even in the valley of death’s shadow. He would not lift his rod against his enemies as he perished on the cross (1 Pet 2:21-25).

Today, when we walk through the valley of death’s shadow, we can trust that God loves us and that he has never left us. In truth, he sent his Son to die for us on a cross (Rom 5:8) and he will always be our Good Shepherd whether in green pastures or in the darkest of valleys. He then shows us, by example, how to fear no evil, how to walk in faith, and how to trust him as our Good Shepherd.

III. Our Gracious Host Honors the Faith-Filled Life (vv. 5-6)

David changed the metaphor in verses 5-6 to describe our Lord as a gracious host. He soothes our dry skin with oil and wets our parched throats with wine. He prepares a table in heaven (Rev 19:9) just as he set a table for Israel in the wilderness (Ps 78:19). David was looking back at God’s past faithfulness, while also looking forward to God’s eternal promises (Rev 7:15-17). He anticipated the day when he would dwell in the house of the Lord forever and worship around the throne of Christ. On that day, there would be no more sickness or suffering, tears or death when God’s people dwell eternally with the Lamb who is our Shepherd King. Surely goodness and mercy will follow us daily.

Apply Psalm 23:

Do you demonstrate full trust in God to meet all your material and spiritual needs? Can you testify that you have never lacked (v. 1)?
What concerns might hinder you from resting in Christ: spiritual, relational, emotional, physical? How does the Lord make you lie down in green pastures (v. 2)? Consider how Jesus is your Good Shepherd both personally and in the church (John 10; 1 Pet 5:4).
Meditate on Psalm 23 set to music, then memorize it. Is this the song you sing in the darkness?
Do you daily seek God’s guidance to lead you along right and righteous paths (Ps 23:3; Prov 3:5-7)? Do you faithfully listen to God’s voice in his Word (John 10:27)? How does it help you as a leader in your home or church to remember you are still a sheep under the care of your Good Shepherd?
Consider how Jesus, our Good Shepherd, was also the sacrificial Lamb who died in our place (Isa 53:6-7; 1 Pet 2:21-25). How is his death both a comfort and a challenge to believers today?
When walking through the valley of death’s shadow, do you look back to God’s past faithfulness (Exod 15:13; Ps 77:20) and also forward to his eternal promises (Rev 7:15-17; 19:9)?

Pray Psalm 23:

Lord, you are my Shepherd. With you, I lack nothing (v. 1).
You make me lie down to rest even when I resist (v. 2).
Forgive me when I sin and restore me to the abundant life (v. 3).
Remain with me in the darkest of valleys and in the greenest of pastures (v. 4).
You pursue me with your goodness and steadfast love (v. 6).

Counsel Psalm 23:

Psalm 23 has ministered to countless Christians throughout history encountering all manner of suffering. Consider it one of your go-to passages when caring for hurting people. Read David Powlison’s Antipsalm 23 as a study in contrast when showing counselees the choices they have in life.[2]

[1] For further insights, read Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 (Chicago: Moody Press, 1970) and A Shepherd Looks at the Good Shepherd & His Sheep (Chicago: Moody Press, 1978).

[2] See also Max Lucado’s “Psalm of Self-Reliance” in Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Bear (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001), 27-28.