How do you view God?  How do you view His effect in or impact on your life?  If you’ve never really thought about it, well, David did.  And he put down his thoughts on the matter in what we call Psalm 23.

Of all the psalms in the book of Psalms, Psalm 23 is probably the best known.  You might even be able to recite it from heart.  I can’t, but that’s okay.  I can also look it up.

Psalm 23 is often recited, in whole or in part, at funerals.  When my dad died, it was offered as something to be put on a card with his picture on it.  I chose something else, in part because “everyone knows Psalm 23,” and I like to be different.  So I chose a different psalm that few are familiar with(Ps. 34:1-8 – as I felt it better described my dad’s life).  But what was on David’s mind as he penned Psalm 23?

Good Times

Psalm 23 can be easily divided into two parts:  the first part(vv. 1-3), which looks at the good times; and the second part(vv.4-6), which looks at more difficult times.  Let’s turn our focus to the good times first.

It almost seems like someone asked David what role God played in his life, because that is what he tells us over the first three verses.  David tells us that God was going to be the One to lead David through life.  Calling God his Shepherd was David’s way of telling us that God was the One Who would lead David.  As we will see in the latter half of the psalm, this will include bad times as well as good.  But for now, we are just looking at the good.  David also tells us that God is going to provide what David needs.  That is why David says that he will not want.  Following with the shepherd and sheep theme that he started the psalm with, David says that God will have him lie down in green pastures.  For a sheep, this would be the best place to rest(personally, I wouldn’t mind resting in a green pasture – sounds beautiful and peaceful).  In addition, God would lead him to water that was still.  This refers more specifically to the fact that sheep do not like to drink from fast running water(they are likely afraid of it).  This just adds to the fact that God is taking care of David, providing for his needs(water being symbolic of basic needs), but also God understands what David needs mentally, not just physically(calm water to drink from – also being symbolic of calm in general).  God would also restore David.  This is when you’re tired, worn out.  Who’s there to lift David up when he’s worn down . . . God.  Continuing with God’s leadership in David’s life, David lets us know that God would not just lead him anywhere; God was going to lead David down the path(or way) of righteousness.  This would be beneficial for David because David wanted to be righteous(do what was right in his life), and God was the only One Who could do that for David.  And all of these good things God was doing for David would bring glory to God.

Bad Times

David understood that in life, there are good times and there are bad times, so he mentions what God’s effect in David’s life would be during the more difficult times.  He starts out with about as bad as it gets . . . fear or dread of dying.  David tells us that even if it gets that bad, if he’s in fear of his life, it doesn’t matter because David will not be afraid of any evil that might befall him(Ps. 23:4).  Does this mean that he will naively whistle his way through life, oblivious to any possible dangers that might befall him?  No.  His statement is not that he would ignore dangers, but rather that he would not be afraid of those dangers.  Why would he not be afraid of those dangers?  Because God was going to be with him.  David knew that as long as God was with him, he had nothing to fear(Ps. 23:4).  This does not mean that nothing bad would ever happen to him.  Saul tried to kill David on several occasions(I Sam. 19, esp. vv. 1, 10).  Goliath tried to kill David(I Sam. 17:41-50).  David’s own son, Absolom, tried to take David’s throne and his life(II Sam. 15:13-14).  David had a son, who died days after being born(II Sam. 12:13-19).  David’s intended wife, Michal, was taken from him and given to another man(II Sam. 3:14-15).  The list goes on.

There would be times in his life that David would need both direction and correction.  David knew that God would provide both: the staff to lead and the rod to correct(when David was not doing what was right).  Throughout the course of David’s life, he developed a lot of enemies, but he also knew that God would bless him, and that his enemies would see that God blessed David.  That is why he says that God would prepare a table for David(meaning God would provide blessings to David), and He would do so in the presence of David’s enemies.  God was going to rub their noses in it!  Even during difficult times, it would be God who would do things like anointing David’s head with oil(a blessing).  God would also make sure that David had more than what he needed(his cup would overflow).  Even during bad times in David’s life, God would make sure that David received good things, and that David would experience mercy(that’s when you do not get the bad thing that you rightfully deserve).  This would take place all the days of David’s life.  So God wouldn’t just be with David occasionally.  God would be there with David through the good and the bad.

David ends the psalm by stating that he would live with God forever(Ps. 23:6).  This is likely not just an allusion to eternal life with God in heaven, but rather that David is telling us that he was going to live his life in a way that was pleasing and acceptable to God.  He would live his life in a way that would allow him to be in God’s presence always.  That would mean not just in eternity, but also all the days he lived in this physical world.  David was not going to live one way during this life, and expect to live differently in eternity.  He was going to be the same person, and that person was going to be someone who would be led by God.  God would provide for David, sustain David, lead David to live righteously, be with David when things were bad(God would not spare him from bad things happening, but would be there with him to help him get through those rough times), correct him, be good to him and have mercy on him.  This is the effect that God would have in David’s life . . . and David wouldn’t want it any other way.  And neither should we.  We should long for God’s guidance.  We should desire God’s correction, even though correction is rarely pleasant.  We should want God to be with us during good times and bad, instead of cursing Him for those bad times.  We should realize that God is the One who provides all the good things in our lives.  We should acknowledge that He knows what we need(not what we want, but what we need), and He will provide us with that.

Pulling Back

Let’s pull back and get a better “big picture” understanding of what David is trying to tell us.  Quite simply, David was going to follow God.  He would follow God during both good and bad times, which means all the time.  And God would be with David during both good times and bad times, which means all the time.  This was comforting to David.  And if we will follow God, always, He will be with us, always.  Let’s dedicate ourselves, our lives, to doing that . . . to following God . . . to letting Him lead the way in our lives.  If we do, we can have the same comfort David experienced.