A psalm of David.
As a child, David was a shepherd. As a king, he was the shepherd of Israel. The kings of Israel were called by God to shepherd their people.
Sheep are dumb animals. A sheep is so dumb, that he will walk right off of a high cliff and fall to his death. They have no sharp teeth or claws to protect themselves. They have no great strength. They cannot outrun their enemies. They have no body armor. They cannot survive without a good shepherd.
The good shepherd feeds the sheep, protects the sheep, and leads them down the correct path. The false shepherd starves the sheep, ignores the sheep, and leads them down the crooked path. As a shepherd, David learned how to take care of dumb animals who could not defend themselves. In these long days in the fields, David must have used his time to meditate upon the Word of God. He learned the mind of God and became “a man after God’s own heart.”
23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
David was nothing but a dumb sheep, but he has a Good Shepherd. This Good Shepherd provided everything that he needed.
23:2 He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water.
The lush pastures and refreshing waters are the food and drink of the sheep. To David, it was the Word of God. Good shepherds feed their flock the Word of God.
23:3 He restores my strength. He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation.
The Good Shepherd gave David the strength to accomplish his destiny. The Good Shepherd led David down the true path of wisdom. The Good Shepherd did this so that others would learn of his good reputation.
23:4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me.
As a shepherd and as a king, David was walking in the darkness of the satanic world system. This brought no fear to David, because he knew that the Good Shepherd was with him. The Good Shepherd used the rod and staff to make sure that David stayed on the right path. The rod was used to gently nudge the sheep in the right direction. The staff was used to protect the sheep from wild beasts. In Scripture, the wild beasts were metaphors for satanic Gentile nations who wanted to devour Israel. While David was king, the Good Shepherd protected Israel from these wild beasts. After Israel filled their cup of wrath, the Good Shepherd told the prophet Daniel that He was going to turn Israel over to the wild beasts for a while (Daniel 7). The wild beasts were the Babylonians, Medes-Persians, Greeks, and Romans.
23:5 You prepare a feast before me in plain sight of my enemies. You refresh my head with oil; my cup is completely full.
Even though David was walking in the danger and darkness of the satanic world system, the Good Shepherd still prepared a feast for David. The Good Shepherd prepared this feast in the presence of all of David’s enemies. Israel cornered the gold market in David’s day and exacted tribute from the other nations. All of the other nations knew that Israel was blessed by the Good Shepherd. During the reign of Solomon, kings from all over the world traveled hundreds of miles to see Solomon’s kingdom. It was David who made Solomon’s kingdom great. It was the Good Shepherd who made David into a great king over the mightiest nation in the world.
23:6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days, and I will live in the Lord’s house for the rest of my life.
The Good Shepherd will continually care for David until the end of his days. David knew that he was secure, because he was led by the Good Shepherd.
Many ignorant Christians memorize this psalm and quote it when they get in trouble. This is Christian superstition. It is the study and application of Bible doctrine, not the recitation of Psalm 23, which prepares the mature believe to meet the challenges of the satanic world system.