Psalms

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Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.

He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.

You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.

Commentary

This most popular and best-loved of all the psalms was written by David, the “sweet singer of Israel” (see 2 Samuel 23:1). It has gained immortality by virtue of its childlike expressions, and the sweet charm of its train of thought and imagery. It expresses the serene joy of a soul that has found peace of mind and heart in its union with God. His faith matured by many trials, the poet now rests in complete trust in his Lord, whom he found utterly faithful in his time of need.

The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.

He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.

You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
                                   (vv. 1-6).

To express his relationship with God David chose the very popular image of the shepherd-king. He had spent his youth as a shepherd himself, and so understood all the love, concern, compassion and selfless giving required of a shepherd. He now utilizes this knowledge to proclaim God’s goodness to us. Since I have spent time in dialogue with David in this psalm, and hopefully with the Holy Spirit too, I hope that the dialogue which follows with you, the reader, will enable you to appreciate from a New Testament angle what the poet expressed in the idiom of his own day.

The whole message of the psalm is contained in the first verse: “The Lord is MY shepherd.” If we grasp the implications of this statement, we shall understand all that follows, for it flows from it. In the ancient world every person was under authority to someone else. It was the pater familias for the family, and the elders of the town, or the local chieftain, the priests in the Temple, and over all others was the king. The opening question of the psalm is: “Who is your shepherd?” My reply may take you a little by surprise. It is the Lord God Himself: He takes personal care of me. He guides, teaches and protects me just as shepherds do their sheep. And I am privileged to enjoy His indwelling mystic presence always (see John 14:20, 23). It is because of this I declare I am lacking in nothing, since He takes care of all my needs (see Matthew 6:11). You may ask: “When did God become your shepherd?” I reply, joyfully, that He has loved me ever since my life began in my mother’s womb (see Psalms 22:10,
139:13-15). He has been my unseen friend all my life, and He is my shepherd now in a living, on-going relationship of two persons interacting with each other in loving intimacy (see John 14:20, 23, 26, etc.). In surprise, maybe even disbelief, you ask: “Do you mean that the great transcendent God, who revealed Himself to Moses in cloud and fire and terrible awesomeness, is relating to you, a mere nobody, in this way?” Joyfully I reply: “Yes!” Because Jesus, God’s Son, came to us in the incarnation, because He died for us in order to redeem us, I can call the great God of creation, the ruler of the universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob my Daddy. And I have claims upon Him as His redeemed adopted child. With Jesus His beloved Son I have become a co-heir to His Kingdom in glory. Right now I enjoy the privileges of a member of His family (see Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15, 17, 21).

You may object that the shepherd image is too lowly to express such an exalted privilege. Yet you will agree that we must use images that mean something to us. In his many years minding sheep, David learned the constant care that these fairly helpless animals needed, in a country where wild animals roamed freely, and sheep and lambs were easy prey, even for relatively small animals, and he applied that knowledge to our relationship with God. For one thing a shepherd had to live among his sheep, he had to watch over them day and night, and this for the whole of their lives, from birth to death. Therefore, each sheep was known personally and intimately. Each one was called by its own name. It was never just one of a crowd. The very first lesson for the sheep was to recognize the shepherd’s voice and to learn to respond only to that voice; as well as to recognize its own identity, and respond to its own name when the shepherd called. The shepherd had to provide both food and protection, while taking personal
care of the health of his flock. In short, he took care of everything, so that the sheep could live a care-free life in a world full of danger and trouble.

Now God is all this to us and much more, so you will understand why I go on to say that I lack nothing, because God’s divine providence takes care of all my needs (see Matthew 6:25-34). All God asks of me is that I submit to His perfect will and plan for my life, given to me out of infinite love. The image of the sheep tells me that I am not very important of myself, and have no great value in the eyes of the world. It is God’s love that clothes me with greatness. Everything I am, everything I have, whatever I shall become, comes from Him, hence my boast is not of myself: my boast is of Him. I have a great Shepherd. (See John chapter 10, where Jesus uses all these ideas to explain our relationship with Him. See also Psalm 34:2; 2 Corinthians 10:17.)

God who sees everything, knows what is best for me. He chooses the pastureland I am to graze in. Being a stupid little sheep I would wander off anywhere I saw grass, thinking that all grass must be good. He knows differently; so He chooses the circumstances of my life very carefully, making sure that all my needs will be taken care of, and that I shall be nourished on food that leads to eternal life. Otherwise I should be in danger of being led astray, or even poisoned by false doctrines. When I stay in His pasture, I grow to full stature and reach the place of true rest for my soul. My food is to draw life from prayer, from His Word in the Holy Scriptures, and from Himself in the Eucharist. In this way I learn at the highest level of my being. I find that the more I nourish my soul, the more peace and repose I experience in the depths of my being, even though there may be trouble and turmoil on the surface of my life. To empower me to cope with the storms of life, He teaches me to drink deeply from the waters of His grace and life that flow abundantly to all thirsty souls (see John 7:37). As I learn to draw power and grace from Him in all the daily events of my life, I find that He heals and restores me at an ever deeper level of my being, so that joy overflows into every part of my life. Thus He keeps me pure and free from evil, while protecting me from the contamination of a world ruled by atheistic humanism.

Besides, I discover that in relating to Him I enter into a training programme for life, where He continuously shows me the right path to follow. There are many paths to follow in this world, and many ways to God. He reveals the right one for me. To hear His guidance I must learn to live in an attitude of listening and obedience to His will. I must allow Him to correct me when I go astray, for sheep wander off easily, allowing their attention to be caught by useless, even harmful things. They forget that they are surrounded by spiritual enemies who can injure or even destroy them. My protection lies in staying close to my shepherd, and keeping my eyes on Him, following His footsteps, and answering to His call alone.

Amazingly His reputation is at stake in this relationship. When others look at me and see a healthy, well-nourished sheep which is growing to its full potential, they will say that He is a good shepherd. But the reverse is also true: if they observe me sickly, weak and miserable they will say that He is a bad shepherd. In a very real sense I am His advertisement to the unbelieving world. He not only wants me redeemed but looking and acting redeemed! (see Romans 2:24). I have a responsibility to respond to His grace offered to me.

Fully surrendered to His will now, and to His guidance, I do not fret or worry over those difficult times in life which otherwise might drag me down into depression, or even breakdown. Neither do I fear the changes of life or the onset of old age and death, because in all these events I am protected by the shepherd’s crook and staff. The crook is a short cudgel which He uses to defend me against enemy attacks, be they fear, anxiety, depression or anything else. I run to Him who is my shield, my defence, my protector, and I am unafraid. His staff is His walking stick, which He frequently uses on the sheep to discipline them; in this way He brings me back when I wander off in anger, rebellion or unbelief from His perfect will for my life. Between that crook and staff I know that I am safe from any foe, either inside or outside myself. You will see, therefore, that He is a great shepherd.

Not only am I unafraid of trials ahead or any lurking danger from enemies, but I am so secure in His love that He allows me, even during this earthly pilgrimage, to feast at His table, the table of His Word, the table of the Eucharist, and the table of His own Heart (see John 13:25). I know that this is a foretaste of the messianic banquet in Heaven. What a joy for me, a poor sinner! Can you see now why I said that, if you understood the meaning of “the Lord is my shepherd”, you would grasp everything else?

His love is so great that He gives me even more gifts, with the anointing of His Holy Spirit, and with the oil of salvation. Now my cup of joy brims over. Gratitude knows no bounds in my heart; it just bubbles up like a heavenly champagne!

My expectation for the future, under such a loving Master, is bright indeed, for I shall experience His loving-kindness and His infinite goodness all my days. I also look forward to the heavenly mansion He has prepared for me when my pilgrimage on earth is over. There I shall rejoice in His presence always. Because the Lord is my shepherd I lack nothing good in this life or the next. If only our poor grief-stricken world could hear this good news! Then they, too, could hear His voice, and follow my shepherd to green pastures until there is but one fold and one shepherd (John 10, 14:2).

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