The Shepherd-psalm

Psalms 23

It is with this Psalm in the light of Christian experience that I now wish to concern myself. The first impression which the reading of the Psalm produces upon the sympathetic soul is that of a wondrous soothing. If you ask, whence came this Psalm, I know of but one adequate reply. It came from a soul God filled; it came from the lips of a man to whom the cardinal reality of life was Jehovah. It presents two thoughts of God; in the first four verses Jehovah is Shepherd of His Sheep; in the last two He is King entertaining a highly favoured subject. About these two ideas we will group what we have to say.

I. 'The Lord is my Shepherd,' not merely a shepherd having a hundred sheep, with an interest only in the flock as a whole, but the Shepherd who cares for me, though I be the solitary wanderer, and His flock scarcely reduced by my absence. From the Divine Shepherd this member of His flock receives three priceless gifts—rest, restoration, guidance.

(a) Rest: the thought appeals to us all. Rest from the continuous battle with temptation, peace from the confusions of tempestuous trials, some cessation from the tiring monotony of the daily journey. All these, affirms the Psalmist, he finds in God.

(b) The Shepherd is the Restorer. Men forsake God, but they do not escape Him. They desert Him, but He refuses to abandon them. They act mercilessly to themselves; He cares for them with a wiser and stronger love. 'Restoreth;' yes with infinite grace and with infinite wisdom.

(c) Guidance is the other great benediction which the Psalmist recognizes as he meditates on his experience. We still lack wisdom, and the counsel and guidance of the Father are still freely available. 'He guideth me in the paths of righteousness.' He is my Teacher and Leader in goodness. Before I pass from the study of the Shepherd let me emphasize one outstanding word. It is 'for His name's sake,' that He guideth me in the paths of righteousness. 'For the sake of His name' God acts thus—that is for the sake of His character. Because He cannot be other than He is—'The Lord gracious and merciful, slow to anger, plenteous in mercy'—He acts as He does.

II. Consider the other picture presented in the closing verses. The singer has changed the figure. No longer does he behold Jehovah the Shepherd, but Jehovah the King. He is not now one of His flock, but one of His subjects, a servant who has striven to be faithful in spite of many enemies, and one to whom His Royal Master is showing singular favour. Even in the presence of jealous foes, helpless before the King, the banquet is set, and the servant honoured with every token of royal approval. How true a picture of Christian experience—triumph even in the presence of the foe. Not transference to new conditions. It is the presence of the enemies, the harassments and temptations, the doubts and hindrances, that makes goodness possible.

—J. Rushbrooke, The Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxxii. p. 21.

References.—XXIII.—T. Sadler, Sermons for Children, p. 180. G. H. Hepworth, American Pulpit of Today, vol. i. p. 23. T. Arnold, The Interpretation of Scripture, p. 101. J. Burnet, Penny Pulpit, No. 1628, p. 73. C. and E. Briggs. International Critical Commentary, p. 207. A. Maclaren, Sermons Preached in Manchester, p. 341. A. Maclaren, Life of David, p. 37. M. R. Vincent, Gates Into the Psalm Country, p. 53. I. Williams, The Psalms Interpreted of Christ, p. 421. Preacher's Monthly, vol. ii. p. 419. XXIII. 1.—J. G. McFadyen, The City with Foundations, p. 201.

Psalms 23

When Edward Irving was on his deathbed, he repeated the 23rd Psalm in Hebrew. His last words were, 'In life and in death I am the Lord's'. He had the conviction for a time that he would certainly remain till the coming of Christ; but he realized at length the approach of death.

Ver. 4. 'Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me,' were the dying words of the great Scottish philosopher, Sir William Hamilton.

When Dr. Alexander Duff, the Indian missionary, was travelling in the Himalayas, he saw a native shepherd followed by his flock. The man frequently stopped and looked back. If he saw a sheep drawing too near the edge of the precipice, he would go back and apply his crook to one of the hind legs, and gently pull it back till the animal joined the rest. Going up to the shepherd, he noticed that he had a long rod, as tall as himself, and twisted round the lower half a thick bar of iron. The region was infested with wolves and other dangerous animals, which in the night-time prowled about the place where the sheep lay. With his long rod the shepherd could strike the animal such a blow as would make it flee. This brought to the remembrance of the traveller the expression of David the shepherd, 'Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me,' and saved it, as he thought, from the charge of tautology, the staff referring to God's hold of the sheep, the rod to his defence against enemies. When he himself lay dying, and apparently unconscious (Feb. 1878), his daughter repeated to him the 23rd Psalm, and he responded at the end of each verse.

—John Ker.

In Green Pastures

Psalm 23:2

It is only when the Spirit of God has given us spiritual eyesight, has led us to feel and confess our natural blindness, our inability to see light in God's light, has led us, like Bartimaeus, to Christ, the Healer of nations, to cry, 'Lord, that I may receive my sight'; it is only, in short, when we have been brought to, and made to lie down at, the foot of His Cross, that we may reach the new standpoint and can say, 'Thy mercy, O Lord, is' (like a rainbow) 'in the heavens'. I. Take the words in their literal or natural sense; God has included temporal as well as spiritual blessings in His covenant with His people. The inheritance of His children is not all reserved for the afterlife. Godliness has the promise of the life that now is, as well as that of the life to come. But let us 'take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth'. If we have received 'a hundredfold more' than we gave up 'in the present time,' it is only that we may dedicate to God a hundredfold more than we have been doing in the interests of His kingdom, in the service of the poor, and in the cause of the Gospel at home and abroad.

II. Take the words in their figurative and symbolical meaning. The Eastern shepherd leads his sheep into green pastures, not only that they may find food there in greater abundance, but that also of the sweetest and pleasantest quality. And that had been David's experience from his youth upwards. Jehovah had been his Shepherd and had supplied all his need. Jehovah had been his Guide and had led him in the paths of righteousness.

III. Let us take the words in their spiritual significance. It was David's lot to begin his reign in revival times. This 23rd Psalm is a song of the springtime; it is also a revival hymn of the Church. Nature was rejoicing over her awakening from winter sleep, and David and Israel were rejoicing over Jehovah's return as the Shepherd-King of His people. It was a happy synchronism: the springtime of the year and the revival of the Church. David's cup was overflowing. The angels of his youth had returned to follow him, and his dwelling-place at last would be in God's House for ever. God had made him to lie down in green pastures.

—R. Balgarnie, The Christian World Pulpit, vol. LXXV. p. 36.

References.—XXIII. 2.—S. Home, The Soul's Awakening, p. 31. J. Vaughan, Sermons (10th Series), p. 29. Bishop Thorold, The Presence of Christ, p. 39. M. G. Pearse, Some Aspects of the Blessed Life, p. 213.

The Soul's Master, Leader, and Restorer

Psalm 23:2-3

Christ, by promising to be the Good Shepherd of our souls, has absorbed all the teaching of this shepherd-Psalm of David into himself, and when we think of David's shepherd we have a vision of Jesus Christ.

I. There is first of all a thought of mastery in our text, 'He maketh me to lie down in green pastures'. The sheep does not lie down where he pleases, but where the shepherd sees fit. The first supreme characteristic of Christianity is this recognition of Christ as the soul's Master. There are those who boast their independence even of Jesus, but it is a lonely and hazardous undertaking.

II. We have also a thought of leadership. 'He leadeth me beside the still waters.' Christ is the only Leader of the human soul who always leads to peace. Life is a tragedy always to a thoughtful man who looks at it without hope in Christ. There is no situation this side of perdition so terrible that a man or a woman under the leadership of Jesus Christ may not find in the midst of all the storms and dangers of life the still waters of heavenly peace.

III. There is a thought of restoration. 'He restoreth my soul.' David knew by personal experience what that meant. I think there must be some deep meaning in the order of our text First the soul is mastered by the Divine love. Then it is surrendered to the heavenly leadership. Then comes restoration. Mastery, leadership, restoration, that is God's order. But it is only in Jesus Christ that the sinner finds any promise or hope of restoration. The man who closes the Bible has no hope for the sinner.

—L, A. Banks, Sermons Which Have Won Souls, p. 397.

References.—XXIII. 2, 3.—G. Matheson, Moments on the Mount, p. 67. G. Bainton, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xii. p. 5.

Guided By God

Psalm 23:3

In this world of dimness and disorder we are not wise enough to guide ourselves. The old pagans confessed as much when they watched the stars, if perchance they might spell out some secret of their own destiny, and knelt by the oracles to catch some whisper of Divine purpose which might shape their course.

I. People cling to the faith that there is a Guide. Our popular English Creed has for its chief article the reality of Providence—that power above us who hedges the paths and numbers the years of man. And all Christians believe in One who is in this very nature the Provider, the Father, the Shepherd—the Leader of faithful souls.

II. There are various methods and degrees of guidance. A rider guides his horse with bridle and whip and spur. A shepherd will guide his dog with his voice and his gestures. Signor Marconi can flash wireless messages of guidance to the captain of a ship hundreds of miles away on the sea. Yet when we consider the channels of communication between two personalities, we realize that there must be mutual sympathy between them, before one can effectively guide the other.

III. Clearly the highest guidance implies far more than an exercise of authority. Indeed the true use of human authority is to educate us until we can do without it, because we are become a law unto ourselves. How does a wise father desire to guide his child? At first it may be, perhaps it must be, by his definite directions and commands. But he is not content until these are superseded by the free choice of the child's own nature, which spontaneously reflects and expresses the father's character and will. Even so, God desires to make us not slaves, but sons.

IV. God's inward leaning is not independent of the guidance which comes of the use of our natural faculties. He has granted us all some amount of reason and experience and common sense. We recognize certain practical duties. And we dare not expect any direct illumination of spirit unless we use to the full whatever outward illumination has been vouchsafed to us. We dare not shut an eye, and expect God to keep us from falling into the ditch. The gift of the Holy Ghost comes to supplement, not to supersede, our ordinary, everyday way of learning God's will. These two are not contrary but co-ordinate.

V. Doubtless this doctrine of supernatural guidance involves subtle perils of its own. Some Christians grow intoxicated with the idea of a private and personal illumination. They lose sight of the New Testament and common sense, and the judgment of their fellow-Christians. They sometimes even imagine that the Divine Guide leads them into the paths of unrighteousness. They pay no heed to anything except inward feelings, which may be just their secret preferences distinguished and canonized. They mistake the murmurs of their own restless self-will for the voice of the authentic will of God. Nevertheless Divine guidance remains the corollary and consequence of Divine communion.

—T. H. Darlow, The Upward Calling, p. 73.

References.—XXIII. 3.—J. Vaughan, Sermons (10th Series), p. 37. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xix. No. 1149. Bishop Thorold, The Presence of Christ, p. 83.

Psalm 23:4

We have always associated the word 'rod' with chastisement. Herein we have deprived ourselves grievously of great comfort. Will the preachers collate the passages in which the word 'rod' occurs? they will find material there for a never-ending course of lectures, full of sap and encouragement and profitable gladness.

I. 'And the Lord said unto Moses, Take the rod.' Even Moses was nothing without the sign; Moses, greatest, strongest of lion-hearts, was only a layman when he had no rod in his hands. God always gives a sign; there is always a Divine mark; whatever it may be, it is of God's choice, and only when we hold that mantle or rod or staff are we mighty with omnipotence. The rod was in a sense the Lord Himself; the mantle was a token of the Divine presence and inspiration. The rod is done away, but the thing signified abides for ever. When Moses is called upon today to do any great work, the Lord always says to him, Take My Word, take the Bible, take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of truth. So even we, the modern and latest descendants of Moses, have our rod, our sign of commission, our seal and pledge of being no laymen in the sense of not being initiated into the mystery of the heart of God. When the Lord calls a man from sheepfold or orchard or harvest-field, He does not send him empty-handed to do His work. He says, Take the rod. Lord, what is the rod? The Book. What book? My Book; the Book of inspiration, the Book that holds in it the germs, the beginnings, of that great tree which is to overshadow the whole earth and form a cathedral of singing delight.

II. 'And Elisha said unto Gehazi, Take my staff.' Could not the man walk without the staff? He could not; there is a sense in which the staff makes the man; there is another sense in which the staff tries the man, pulls his muscle to know if it is aught but gristle. Set a man with the Bible in front of him, and you change his whole relation, you change and you test the man himself. Take away the Bible and leave him to the riot of his own fancy, and he might say many beautiful and graphic things; put before him the Bible which he is called upon to interpret, and he cannot interpret a word of it unless the Spirit be in him, the inner light, that throws its blaze of splendour upon the outward and visible sign. Gehazi took the staff, what became of his doing so? Nothing; he could wake no child from the dead. Why? Because he was a bad man. The good staff in the bad hand means failure the world over.

III. 'And the Lord said unto Moses, Take the rod;' 'And Elisha said unto Gehazi, Take my staff'; and the greatest, sweetest of all the minstrels said, 'Thy rod and Thy staff,' I will take them both, they comfort me, and thus prove that they are the Divine rod and the Divine staff. Still you see the same idea penetrates the whole thought of this discourse—that we must have, so to say, something. You will find the rod and the staff of God everywhere if you look for them with the right eyes and the pure intent. Everything in all nature is the rod or the staff, comforting human souls, and bringing God quite near. Sometimes we cannot see God Himself, but we can see the rod, and we know it to be His rod; we can see the staff, and we know it to be His staff. Rod and staff are written all over with a cipher which the inspired and sanctified heart alone can interpret and apply.

IV. Thy rod, and Thy staff, and Thy promise. We have exceeding great and precious promises at our command; God has placed them at our disposal. There is nothing that can occur in your experience personally, domestically, or otherwise, that is not provided for in the Bible. The promises—you do not know how sweet they are until you need them. They are delightful companions; they take up no room, they make no noise, they never fret or vex the soul by calling attention to their claims. They are never out of the way, yet never in it; they are like the atmosphere, they are like the summer weather; the light fills all space and leaves plenty of room for every little child to sit down in.

—Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. v. p. 175.

The Table Prepared in Presence of Foes

Psalm 23:5

There are three points of resemblance between the provision made for David and the provision made for us. These are its Divine preparation, its abundance and suitableness, and its being made in the presence of our enemies.

I. The enemies in whose presence our table is prepared—human as well as natural. The harvest will not give us its blessing without a stern struggle with hostile elements.

II. The table prepared before us. This table is wisely adapted to our necessities as human beings. And what a table is thus spread for us every year! What sacred memories gather round the table thus so richly furnished!

III. The preparation of the table. The harvest is the subject of a Divine covenant engagement. Never once has the pledge given five thousand years ago been violated.

IV. The fruits of the harvest should be used in the work and for the glory of God.

—Hugh Macmillan, Harvest and Thanksgiving Services, p. 1.

References.—XXIII. 4-6.—S. A. Brooke, Sermons, p. 71. J. Vaughan, Sermons (6th Series), p. 133. XXIII. 5.—H. Bell, Sermons an Holy Communion, p. 77. F. Corbett, The Preacher's Year, p. 164. XXIII. 6.—H. Woodcock, Sermon Outlines, p. 98. S. A. Tipple, Sunday Mornings at Norwood, p. 233. S. Martin, Comfort in Trouble, p. 70. H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 1848. Bishop Thorold, The Presence of Christ, p. 217.