PSALM 23
Gordon E. Ellis
May 2, 2004
REFLECTIONS ON THE 23rd PSALM
It was near the TWILIGHT of his life, and quite possibly, AS he sat there on one of the curvaceous hillsides of Judea, looking out into one of the nearby valleys, King David saw a VERY common SITE in HIS day (and still TODAY in the Holy Land): a flock of SHEEP being led through the valley by a faithful and loving SHEPHERD. And maybe, as he watched this sight, David had FLASHBACKS to his OWN days as a young shepherd tending the flocks of his father. And it DAWNED on him: AS that SHEPHERD is to those SHEEP, SO has the LORD been to ME. And David said: The LORD is my shepherd; I SHALL not want. He maketh me to LIE down in GREEN pastures. You know: there’s something CHALLENGING about that phrase, isn’t there? It almost SOUNDS as if we are being FORCED to lie down against our WILLS. But then again, MAYBE God knows that there is a SHEEP in ME, and that there’s something about my SHEEPNESS that would cause me to TROT right on BY the GREEN pastures of life, just as I OFTEN trot right on by ROSES, without stopping to SMELL them. But GOD, says David, is SO committed to BLESSING us with the blessings of GREEN pastures, that WHEN God HAS to, God even FORCES us to lie down. God MAKES us stop TROTTING through life, and MAKES us LIVE in a certain PASTURE for a time. Sometimes there ARE certain PERIODS in our lives, certain SEASONS, when we don’t SEE the BLESSINGS at first. When I was first married, and we had our first CHILD, I remember LONGING, at first, for the FREEDOM of my college years. But soon, I realized what a GREEN pasture I was LIVING in. The EMPTY NEST felt that way at first too. But NOW, I realize that it’s a GREAT time of life! There are many BLESSINGS in these green pastures of my 50’s. And I’m GLAD that God is FORCING me lie down HERE.
David ALSO said: He leadeth me beside STILL waters. He RESTORETH my soul. It seems strange but in fast-moving water, sheep CANNOT feel their wool getting HEAVY. Therefore, they sometimes go into the water TOO far and end up DROWNING. In STILL waters, however, they can FEEL their wool getting HEAVY, and move back toward shore. Well, I WORRY that WE are the SAME. I mean: our SOCIETY has gotten SO fast-paced, and it’s SO easy to get SO caught UP in it all, that we miss OUT on what RESTORES our souls, even though I believe God is constantly CALLING us to it. There’s a constant HUNGERING in our SOULS for it. After all: we can only be CREATIVE for so LONG, before we NEED a break from it, just as GOD rested in the story of creation. We NEED refreshment time, SABBATH time; and we need it REGULARLY. And it CAN’T be filled UP with activities, TV and all sorts of INPUT. On our Confirmation Retreat, I try to TEACH the kids the art of MEDITATION, contemplation and PRAYER. And they’re always AMAZED at how MUCH they ENJOY that experience and the SILENCE. And these are tools that we ALL need to learn.
David also said: Yea, though I walk through the VALLEY of the SHADOW of death. Now notice that it’s not DEATH that David is talking about; it’s the SHADOW of death. You see: God doesn’t just make us LIE DOWN in GREEN pastures. God also ALLOWS us to sometimes WALK through the VALLEY of the SHADOW of death. It’s those times when we experience things in our lives that SEEM overwhelming to us. For ME personally, it’s often when the BURDEN, the WEIGHT, the CHALLENGE or the CHORE of leading God’s people has me feeling like I’m about to be CONSUMED. It’s when the WEIGHT of leadership, and the responsibilities of being a PASTOR, WEIGH me down to the point where I FEEL like I’m walking in the very SHADOW of death. BUT, notice that the KEY word here is the word, VALLEY. I’m walking in the VALLEY of the shadow of death. Tell me: WHAT is the definition of a VALLEY? Well, you CANNOT be in a VALLEY unless you are POSITIONED between TWO hills or mountains. SO, whenever I’M in a VALLEY, I have to TELL myself that THAT’S because I just left ONE mountaintop and I’m HEADING for ANOTHER. But in BETWEEN, there’s this VALLEY that seems to OVERWHELM me. It’s a valley of DISCOURAGEMENT! It’s a valley of RESPONSIBILITY! It’s a valley of carrying a LOAD or burden! It’s a valley that has me WONDERING and STRUGGLING, examining and reexamining, analyzing and reanalyzing, my CALLING to be a SHEPHERD: HOW did I get HERE? BUT, the CATCH is that you can’t STOP in the valley. David said: Yea, though I walk THROUGH the valley…. Notice that he DIDN’T say: Yea, though I walk IN the valley…. We came in ONE side, and if we keep on WALKING, we’re going to walk OUT the OTHER side. You see: our journey CONTINUES, EVEN when we’re in a VALLEY, EVEN when we’re in a FUNK, and even there, God is WITH us.
And you know: EVEN when we’re IN a valley, God BLESSES us, and not JUST with God’s presence. As DAVID says: Yea though I walk THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death, I fear NO evil, for THOU art WITH me: Thy ROD and THY staff, THEY comfort me. And then he goes ON: Thou preparest a TABLE before me in the presence of mine ENEMIES. You see: the FLOW of this text IMPLIES that, EVEN in the valley, EVEN with the SHADOWS lurking around us, EVEN in the face of decisions, or in the midst of depression or confrontation, challenge or failure, God BLESSES us. To understand this, we need to think about the word, BEFORE. In ENGLISH, the word before can be one of TWO parts of speech. It can either be a PREPOSITION of LOCATION, or an ADVERB of TIME.
First, let’s look at it as a preposition of LOCATION. If you were invited to DINNER in that culture, you would RECLINE at a long, low table. And EATING was an EXPERIENCE. It was a time for FELLOWSHIP and sharing. It was a very LONG, drawn-out time of INTERACTION with those around you. Remember: they didn’t have TELEVISION and all the distractions that WE have. This MEAL was their EVENING’S entertainment. And DURING this time of fellowship, the ENTRÉE would actually be prepared in FRONT of you. In MIAMI, when we go to see our SON and daughter-in-law, we sometimes go to a JAPANESE restaurant near their home. And the COOK comes out with these KNIVES and he’s throws them around, FLIPPING them and CATCHING them. He’s a wonderful CRAFTSMAN, a real ARTIST! And AS we watch, he prepares the most LUSCIOUS meal, before our very eyes. And it’s GREAT entertainment! But HERE’S the CATCH. We KNOW that the main ENTRÉE is coming. We WATCH him go through all these very SHOWY preliminaries, and we HAVE some appetizers along the way. But in our minds, we KNOW that the main course is COMING. He sometimes even slices it up and puts it to the SIDE, and we can SEE it simmering there, and we KNOW that it’s coming soon. Well, THAT’S the way GOD moves in the midst of our VALLEY times, in the midst of our struggles. We don’t always know what God is UP to, but we KNOW from past experience that, WHEN we’re in a valley, God goes to WORK. God MOVES in the midst of it! God PREPARES something for us, SOMETHING positive and GOOD. FROM our crucifixions, we KNOW that God makes RESURRECTIONS happen. And SO, we TRUST, even as we walk through the valley, that God is ABOUT to BLESS us. We have SEEN God’s POWER to heal and deliver and save, and SO, we TRUST God to USE that power as WE walk through the VALLEY of the shadow of death. We just KNOWthat GOD is preparing a table BEFORE us. It’s a preposition of LOCATION.
But it’s ALSO an ADVERB of TIME. In DAVID’S culture, it was not unusual for the shepherd to BED DOWN the sheep as it got to be toward evening. And WHILE they were resting, HE would go down the road to SPOT OUT a location TO which he could bring the sheep the NEXT day. And when he found a good SPOT, he would CLEAR the debris from it and prepare a SPACE for his sheep to GRAZE. He would prepare a TABLE for them, so to speak. THEN, the next DAY, he would LEAD his sheep to this place that he had already PREPARED for them. Now, the SHEEP had no clue WHEN they would stop AGAIN. NOR did they know WHAT they would EAT when they DID stop. BUT, their SHEPHERD knew, because HE had gone BEFORE them, and HE had prepared the TABLE. And so, the CHALLENGE for the SHEEP was to TRUST their shepherd, and simply to FOLLOW their shepherd until they got to their next TABLE. And the SAME is true for US. Maybe we don’t SEE where God is LEADING us, because WE’RE in a VALLEY, and WE can’t see our way OUT. All we can see is the challenge, or the dilemma. But GOD knows WHERE we’re heading! And GOD will LEAD us there, IF we will just watch and listen, TRUST and FOLLOW. Yes, GOD prepares our NEXT table even BEFORE we GET to it. And so, WE just need to walk with GOD to the place of our next BLESSING, and NOT give IN to the temptation to STOP where we ARE, out of FEAR.
Now: not only does God prepare a table BEFORE me, but God prepares a table before me in the presence of mine ENEMIES. You see: whenever FLOCKS were around, there were ALWAYS wolves, coyotes and other PREDATORS. And WHEN the shepherd was there, the shepherd’s ROD and staff PROTECTED the sheep. The ROD was a CLUB that he used to chase AWAY predators. And the STAFF was a long stick with a HOOK on the end of it, and he USED it to HOOK the necks of STRAYING sheep, OR sheep that slipped off the path, in order to PULL the sheep back into the FLOCK. But IF the shepherd went off to prepare the NEXT table, those predators would have made EASY prey of the SHEEP, EXCEPT that the shepherd ALWAYS left his sheep with UNDER-SHEPHERDS, with young boys, with shepherds-in-training, whose JOB it was to GUARD the sheep, ESPECIALLY when the SHEPHERD was AWAY. Well, GOD does the same for US. When WE are confronted by OUR enemies: enemies like LAZINESS and addiction, illness and grief, pride and envy, and SO many more, IF we ALLOW God to, God will PROTECT us from them. God will CHASE them away. Furthermore, God gives us EACH OTHER, in this blessed COMMUNITY, as UNDER-SHEPHERDS for one another, that we might protect and help each other, day by day. And that’s VERY precious, and we need to CHERISH it and TRUST it.
And finally, says David: He anointeth my HEAD with OIL. You see: in those days, and in that DRY, dusty terrain, sheep would OFTEN run into briars and sticks that would CUT their unprotected heads. After all, they had WOOL to protect the REST of their bodies, but NOTHING to protect their heads. And these cuts, in that climate and terrain, would EASILY become INFECTED. SO, EVERY night, the shepherd would take OIL, and he would MASSAGE it INTO the HEAD of each and every sheep and lamb. And it would be a moment of INTIMACY between EACH and every animal and its beloved SHEPHERD. Well, God WANTS to be JUST as intimate with each and every one of US. But how MANY of us will SLOW DOWN? How MANY of us will MAKE the TIME in our busy, stressed-out lives to OPEN ourselves to an INTIMATE with God. And the STRANGE thing is that, IF we WOULD, we would have FAR less STRESS and far MORE peace, EVEN in the VALLEYS of life.
Friends: the 23rd Psalm, the most beloved of ALL the Psalms, is a VERY powerful and meaningful psalm, with MANY lessons to TEACH us. May EACH of us PRAY on it and MEDITATE on it, and LEARN from it the LESSONS it provides. Because David was RIGHT: the Lord IS our shepherd. IF ONLY we would learn to TRUST our shepherd. Amen.