| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Psalm Three-three
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 23
A Psalm of David.
Thus psalm was written by David, either when he was in distressed
circumstances, being persecuted by Saul, and was in the forest of Hareth, 1
Samuel 22:5; as some thinkF18Jarchi & Kimchi. ; wherefore he
comforts himself with the Lord's being his shepherd, so that he should not
want; nor would he fear, was he in worse circumstances than he at present was;
or rather, when he was settled upon the throne of Israel, and in the most
prosperous and flourishing state of his reign, as the latter part of the psalm
shows; he speaks not in his own person only, but in the name of all believers;
for Christ, who is the shepherd spoken of, is a common shepherd to all the
saints, who are all the sheep of his pasture, as well as David; and the prophet
here makes use of similes very familiar with him; he having been a shepherd
himself, and knew what it was to do all the parts of that office, which are
herein expressed; and very pertinently does this psalm follow the former; for
as there Christ is prophesied of as laying down his life for the sheep, as the
good shepherd does; and of his being brought again from the dead, as the great
shepherd of the sheep, as Christ has been; so here of his performing his office
as such, in all its parts, to the great comfort, refreshment, and safety of his
people.
Psalm 23:1 The
Lord is my
shepherd; I shall not want.
YLT
1A Psalm of David. Jehovah
[is] my shepherd, I do not lack,
The Lord is my shepherd,.... This is to be understood not of Jehovah the Father, and of his
feeding the people of Israel in the wilderness, as the Targum paraphrases it,
though the character of a shepherd is sometimes given to him, Psalm 77:20; but
of Jehovah the Son, to whom it is most frequently ascribed, Genesis 49:24. This
office he was called and appointed to by his Father, and which through his
condescending grace he undertook to execute, and for which he is abundantly
qualified; being omniscient, and so knows all his sheep and their maladies,
where to find them, what is their case, and what is to be done for them; and
being omnipotent, he can do everything proper for them; and having all power in
heaven and in earth, can protect, defend, and save them; and all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge being in him, he can guide and direct them in the best
manner; wherefore he is called the great shepherd, and the chief shepherd, and
the good shepherd. David calls him "my shepherd"; Christ having a
right unto him, as he has to all the sheep of God, by virtue of his Father's
gift, his own purchase, and the power of his grace; and as owning him as such,
and yielding subjection to him, following him as the sheep of Christ do
wheresoever he goes; and also as expressing his faith of interest in him,
affection for him, and joy because of him: and from thence comfortably
concludes,
I shall not want; not
anything, as the Targum and Aben Ezra interpret it; not any temporal good
thing, as none of Christ's sheep do, that he in his wisdom sees proper and
convenient for them; nor any spiritual good things, since a fulness of them is
in him, out of which all their wants are supplied; they cannot want food, for
by him they go in and out and find pasture; in him their bread is given them,
where they have enough and to spare, and their waters are sure unto them; nor
clothing, for he is the Lord their righteousness, and they are clothed with the
robe of his righteousness; nor rest, for he is their resting place, in whom
they find rest for their souls, and are by him led to waters of rest, as in
Psalm 23:2, the words may be rendered, "I shall not fail", or
"come short"F19לא אחסר "non deficiam", Pagninus,
Montanus. ; that is, of eternal glory and happiness; for Christ's sheep are in
his hands, out of which none can pluck them, and therefore shall not perish,
but have everlasting life, John 10:27.
Psalm 23:2 2 He makes me to lie down in
green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
YLT
2In pastures of tender grass
He causeth me to lie down, By quiet waters He doth lead me.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures,.... Or "pastures of tender grass"F20דשא
"tenerae herbae", Piscator, Amama, Gejerus, Michaelis; "in folds
of budding grass", Ainsworth. ; this is one part of the shepherd's work,
and which is performed by Christ, Ezekiel 34:14; by these "green
pastures" may be meant the covenant of grace, its blessings and promises,
where there is delicious feeding; likewise the fulness of grace in Christ, from
whence grace for grace is received; also the flesh and blood, righteousness and
sacrifice, of Christ, which faith is led unto and lives upon, and is refreshed
and invigorated by; to which may be added the doctrines of the Gospel, with
which Christ's under-shepherds feed his lambs and sheep, there being in them
milk for babes and meat for strong men; and likewise the ordinances of the
Gospel, the goodness and fatness of the Lord's house, the feast of fat things,
and breasts of consolation: here Christ's sheep are made to "lie
down", denoting their satiety and fulness; they having in these green
pastures what is satisfying and replenishing; as also their rest and safety,
these being sure dwellings and quiet resting places, even in the noon of
temptation and persecution; see Song of Solomon 1:7;
he leadeth me beside the still waters, or "waters of rest and quietness"F21מי מנוחת
"aquas requietum", Pagninus, Montanus; "quietum", Vatablus,
Michaelis; "vel quietis", Gejerus; so Ainsworth; αμπαυματος,
Apollinar. ; not to rapid torrents, which by reason of the noise they make, and
the swiftness of their motion, the sheep are frightened, and not able to drink
of them; but to still waters, pure and clear, and motionless, or that go
softly, like the waters of Shiloah, Isaiah 8:6; and the "leading" to
them is in a gentle way, easily, as they are able to bear it; so Jacob led his
flock, Genesis 33:14; and Christ leads his, Isaiah 40:11; by these "still
waters" may be designed the everlasting love of God, which is like a
river, the streams whereof make glad the hearts of his people; these are the
waters of the sanctuary, which rise to the ankles, knees, and loins, and are as
a broad river to swim in; the pure river of water of life Christ leads his
sheep to, and gives them to drink freely of: also communion with God, which the
saints pant after, as the hart pants after the water brooks, and Christ gives
access unto; moreover he himself is the fountain of gardens, and well of living
waters, and streams from Lebanon; and the graces of his Spirit are also as
rivers of living water, all which he makes his people partakers of; to which
may be added, that the Scriptures, and the truths of the Gospel, are like
still, quiet, and refreshing waters to them, and are the waters to which those
that are athirst are invited to come, Isaiah 55:1; and in the immortal state
Christ will still be a shepherd, and will feed his people, and lead them to
fountains of living water, where they shall solace themselves for ever, and
shall know no more sorrow and sighing, Revelation 7:17.
Psalm 23:3 3 He restores my soul; He
leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
YLT
3My soul He refresheth, He
leadeth me in paths of righteousness, For His name's sake,
He restoreth my soul,.... Either when backslidden, and brings it back again when led or driven
away, and heals its backslidings; or rather, when fainting, swooning, and ready
to die away, he fetches it back again, relieves, refreshes, and comforts with
the discoveries of his love, with the promises of his word, and with the
consolations of his Spirit, and such like reviving cordials; see Gill on Psalm
19:7;
he leadeth, he in the paths of righteousness; in the plain paths of truth and holiness, in which men, though fools,
shall not err; in right ones, though they sometimes seem rough and rugged to
Christ's sheep, yet are not crooked; there is no turning to the right hand or
the left; they lead straight on to the city of habitation; and they are
righteous ones, as paths of duty are, and all the commandments and ordinances
of the Lord be; moreover, Christ leads his by faith, to walk on in him and in his
righteousness, looking through it, and on account of it, for eternal life; see
Proverbs 8:20; and all this he does
for his name's sake; for his own glory and the praise of his grace, and not for any merits or
deserts in men.
Psalm 23:4 4 Yea, 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.
YLT
4Also -- when I walk in a
valley of death-shade, I fear no evil, for Thou [art] with me, Thy rod and Thy
staff -- they comfort me.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death,.... Which designs not a state of spiritual
darkness and ignorance, as sitting in the shadow of death sometimes does, since
the psalmist cannot be supposed to be at this time or after in such a
condition; see Isaiah 9:2; nor desertion or the hidings of God's face, which is
sometimes the case of the people of God, and was the case of the psalmist at
times; but now he expressly says the Lord was with him; but rather, since the
grave is called the land of the shadow of death, and the distresses persons are
usually in, under apprehensions of immediate death, are called the terrors of
the shadow of death; see Job 10:21; the case supposed is, that should his soul
draw nigh to the grave, and the sorrows of death compass him about, and he
should be upon the brink and borders of eternity, he should be fearless of
evil, and sing, "O death! where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy
victory?" 1 Corinthians 15:55, though it seems best of all to interpret it
of the most severe and terrible affliction or dark dispensation of Providence
it could be thought he should ever come under, Psalm 44:19. The Targum
interprets it of captivity, and Jarchi and Kimchi of the wilderness of Ziph, in
which David was when pursued by Saul; and the latter also, together with Ben
Melech, of the grave, and of a place of danger and of distress, which is like
unto the grave, that is, a place of darkness; and Aben Ezra of some grievous
calamity, which God had decreed to bring into the world. SuidasF23In
voce σκια. interprets this phrase of danger leading to death; afflictions
attend the people of God in this life; there is a continued series of them, so
that they may be said to walk in them; these are the way in which they walk
heaven, and through which they enter the kingdom; for though they continue
long, and one affliction comes after another, yet there will be an end at last;
they will walk and wade through them, and come out of great tribulations; and
in the midst of such dark dispensations, comparable to a dark and gloomy
valley, covered with the shadow of death, the psalmist intimates what would be
the inward disposition of his mind, and what his conduct and behaviour:
I will fear no evil; neither the evil one Satan, who is the wolf that comes to the flock to
kill and to destroy, and the roaring lion that seeks whom he may devour, since
the Lord was his shepherd, and on his side: nor evil men, who kill the body and
can do no more, Psalm 27:1; nor any evil thing, the worst calamity that could
befall him, since everything of this kind is determined by God, and comes not
without his knowledge and will, and works for good, and cannot separate from
the love of Christ; see Psalm 46:1;
for thou art with me; sheep are timorous creatures, and so are Christ's people; but when he
the shepherd is them, to sympathize with them under all their afflictions, to
revive and comfort them with the cordials of his love and promises of his
grace, to bear them up and support them with his mighty arm of power, to teach
and instruct them by every providence, and sanctify all unto them; their fears
are driven away, and they pass through the dark valley, the deep waters, and
fiery trials, with courage and cheerfulness; see Isaiah 41:10;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me; not the rod of afflictions and chastisements, which is the sense of some
JewishF24Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 9. 2. Jarchi & Kimchi in loc.
as well as Christian interpreters; though these are in love, and the saints
have often much consolation under them; but these are designed by the valley of
the shadow of death, and cannot have a place here, but rather the rod of the
word, called the rod of Christ's strength, and the staff of the promises and
the provisions of God's house, the whole staff and stay of bread and water,
which are sure unto the saints, and refresh and comfort them. The Targum
interprets the rod and staff of the word and law of God; and those interpreters
who explain the rod of afflictions, yet by the staff understand the law; and
Jarchi expounds it, of the mercy of God in the remission of sin, in which the
psalmist trusted: the allusion is to the shepherd's crook or staff, as in other
places; see Micah 7:14; which was made use of for the telling and numbering of
the sheep, Leviticus 27:32; and it is no small comfort to the sheep of Christ
that they have passed under his rod, who has told them, and that they are all
numbered by him; not only their persons, but the very hairs of their head; and
that they are under his care and protection: the shepherd with his rod, staff,
or crook, directs the sheep where to go, pushes forward those that are behind,
and fetches back those that go astray; as well as drives away dogs, wolves,
bears, &c. that would make a prey of the flock; and of such use is the word
of God, attended with the power of Christ and his Spirit; it points out the
path of faith, truth, and holiness, the saints should walk in; it urges and
stirs up those that are negligent to the discharge of their duty, and is the
means of reclaiming backsliders, and of preserving the flock from the ravenous
wolves of false teachers: in a word, the presence, power, and protection of
Christ, in and by is Gospel and ordinances, are what are here intended, and
which are the comfort and safety of his people, in the worst of times and
cases.
Psalm 23:5 5 You prepare a table before
me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs
over.
YLT
5Thou arrangest before me a
table, Over-against my adversaries, Thou hast anointed with oil my head, My cup
is full!
Thou preparest a table before me,.... In a providential way granting a sufficiency, and even an affluence
of temporal good things; the providence of God lays and spreads a table for his
people in the wilderness, and sets them down at it, and bids them welcome to
it; see Psalm 78:19; and in a way of grace, the Lord making large provisions in
his house for them, called the goodness and fatness of his house, and a feast
of fat things; and under the Gospel dispensation, the table of the Lord, on
which are set his flesh and blood for faith to feed upon; see Proverbs 9:2; and
also in heaven, the joys of which are compared to a feast, and the enjoyment of
them to sitting at a table, and which are prepared by the Lord for his people,
from the foundation of the world; and of which they have some foresight and
foretaste in this world; see Luke 22:30; and all this
in the presence of my enemies; they seeing and envying the outward prosperity of the saints, whenever
they enjoy it, and their liberty of worshipping God, hearing his word, and
attending on his ordinances, none making them afraid; as they will see, and
envy, and be distressed at a more glorious state of the church yet to come,
Revelation 11:12; and even, as it should seem from the parable of the rich man
and Lazarus, the glory and happiness of the saints in the other world will be
seen, or by some way or other known, by wicked men; which will be an affliction
to them, and an aggravation of their misery; though here it seems chiefly to
regard the present life. Some have thought there is an allusion to princes,
who, having conquered others, eat and feast at a well spread table in the
presence of the conquered, and they being under it; see Judges 1:7;
thou anointest my head with oil; giving him an abundance of good things, not only for necessity, but for
pleasure and delight; especially pouring out largely upon him the oil of
gladness, the Spirit of God and his graces, the anointing which teaches all
things, and filling him with spiritual joy and comfort; for this refers not to
the anointing of David with material oil for the kingdom, by Samuel, while Saul
was living, or by the men of Judah, and afterwards by all the tribes of Israel,
when Saul was dead. The allusion is to the custom of the eastern countries, at
feasts, to anoint the heads of the guests with oil; see Ecclesiastes 9:7. It
was usual to anoint the head, as well as other parts of the body, on certain
occasions; hence that of PropertiusF25"Terque lavet nostras
spica cilissa comas", l. 4. eleg. 6. v. 74. : and in the times before
HomerF26Iliad. 10. v. 577, 578. Odyss. l. 3. v. 466. & l. 8. v.
454. & l. 10. v. 450. it was usual both to wash and anoint before meals,
and not the head only, but the feet also; which, though PlinyF1Nat.
Hist. l. 13. c. 3. represents as luxurious, was in use in Christ's time, Luke
7:38; and spoken of as an ancient custom by AristophanesF2Vespes, p.
473, 516, 517. his Scholiast for daughters to anoint the feet of their parents
after they had washed them; which may serve to illustrate the passage in the
Gospel; see Ecclesiastes 9:8;
my cup runneth over; denoting an affluence of temporal good things, and especially of
spiritual ones, which was David's case. Such who are blessed with all spiritual
blessings in Christ, to whom the grace of the Lord has been exceeding abundant,
and the Lord himself is the portion of their cup, their cup may be said to run
over indeed.
Psalm 23:6 6 Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell[a] in the
house of the Lord
Forever.
YLT
6Only -- goodness and
kindness pursue me, All the days of my life, And my dwelling [is] in the house
of Jehovah, For a length of days!
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me,.... Either the free grace, love, favour, and mercy of God in Christ,
which endures continually, and is always the same from everlasting to everlasting;
or the effects of it; and these either temporal good things, which flow from
the goodness and mercy of God, and not the merits of men; and which are in
great mercy and loving kindness bestowed on his people, and which follow them:
they do not anxiously seek after them; but seeking the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, these are added to them, they trusting in the Lord, and he
caring for them: or spiritual good things, which arise from the mere grace and
mercy of God; such as the blessings of the covenant, the sure mercies of David,
the discoveries and instances of the love of God, and the provisions of his
house, which follow them, being undeserving of them; and even when they have
backslidden from the Lord, and in times of distress, when his grace is
sufficient for them; and of all this the psalmist had a comfortable assurance,
depending upon the promise of God, arguing from the blessings he had already
bestowed, and from the constant care he takes of his people, having in view his
unchangeableness and faithfulness, the firmness of his covenant, and the
irreversibleness of the blessings of it: the words may be rendered "only
goodness and mercy", &c.F3אך "nil nisi", Junius
& Tremellius; "certe vel tantum", Cocceius. nothing but mere
mercy and kindness; for though afflictions do attend the children of God, yet
these are in mercy and love; there is no fury in the Lord against them; there
is nothing comes in wrath to them, throughout the whole course of their lives;
wherefore it is added,
all the days of my life; the mercies of God are new every morning, they continue all the day
long; temporal goodness abides as long as life lasts, and ends with it; and spiritual
blessings are for ever, they are the gifts of God, which are without
repentance;
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for
ever; which may denote his constant attendance on
the public worship of God, of which he had been deprived in time past, being
driven out from it, but now he enjoyed it, and believed he ever should; or it
may design his being a member of the church of God, and a pillar in the house
and temple of the Lord, that should never go out; see Revelation 3:12; or it
may regard the assurance he had of dwelling in the house not made with hands,
eternal, in the heavens, Christ's Father's house, in which are many mansions,
sure dwellings, and quiet resting places for his people, and that to all
eternity. The Targum interprets it of the house of the sanctuary; and Kimchi
expounds the whole verse in a petitionary way, "may goodness and
mercy", &c.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)