SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/13/2012 8:29:07 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm 23 PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 23:4-6
Message of the verses: “1 Psalm of David: The LORD is my shepherd, I
shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside
quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they
comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You
have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and
lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the
house of the LORD forever.”
In the Valley—Serenity (v.-4): “4 Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your
staff, they comfort me.”
We see in this
verse that the personal pronoun changes from he to you and this
conveys that David is no longer talking about the Shepherd, but he is now talking to the
Shepherd. David is saying that
the Shepherd is not before us when we go through troubles, but beside us and
because of this it gives comfort to those who belong to the Shepherd.
Sheep
do not like darkness, sheep do not have good eyesight, and sheep do not like
new circumstances and therefore they need the shepherd to walk along side of
them to calm their fears.
Dr.
Wiersbe explains that “the rod was a heavy cudgel with which the shepherd could
stun or kill an attacking beast, and the staff was the shepherd’s crook, which
he used to assist the individual sheep.
At evening, he would have the sheep pass under the crook one by one so
he could count them and examine them (Lev. 27:32). It gave the flock peace knowing that the
shepherd was there and was equipped for any emergency. He is ‘Immanuel..God with us’ (Matt. 1:23).”
We
can see from Jesus’ teaching in John 10 that He is not the hireling who would
run away at the sign of any danger; Jesus is the true Shepherd who will lie
down His life for the sheep. What is it
that we need in times of trouble is that the Shepherd can provide for us? Peace is what we need and according to Romans
5:1 those who belong to the Shepherd have peace with God, but we also have the
peace of God: “6 Be anxious for nothing,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all
comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil.
4:6-7).”
Dr.
Wiersbe writes: “the closer we are to
our Shepherd, the safer we are and the more His peace will fill our hearts.
(See Isa. 40:9-11; 43:1-3; Rev. 1:17-18)”
In the Fold—Certainty (v.5): “5. You prepare a table before me in the
presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.”
There are some who
believe that the metaphor changes here from the shepherd and his sheep to a
host with a guest, but that is probably not the case, although I have heard
stories of people who had been captured by their enemies and one man was
reading his Bible and the person who had captured him asked him if how he could
believe something like that. The man was
being feed by those who captured him and he was reading Psalm 23.
Table
does not necessarily refer to a piece of furniture for the word simply means
“something spread out.” There are flat
places in the hilly terrain that are called tables and this was a good place
for the sheep to feed because of the flatness of it. It was also a good place for the sheep to
rest after eating.
There
were times when the shepherd would put food in a trough when he got the sheep
back to the sheep fold and after eating they would get sleepy and lie down and
sleep for the night knowing that they were safe because of the shepherd being
there. The sheepfold was made up of
stones and had a kind of “doorway” that led into it and that is where the
shepherd would lie down for the night and so the sheep were protected. Jesus said in John 10 that He was the door to
the sheepfold. “So Jesus said to them again, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 “All who came before Me are
thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 "I am the door; if anyone enters through
Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture (John 10:7-9).”
As
the sheep were entering the sheepfold the shepherd would examine them to make
sure all were okay and if some of them were cut he would put oil on them, and
make sure that they had water to drink.
I
think that I failed to mention yesterday that sheep do not like to drink in a
stream that is moving fast for it frightens them and so there were times when
the shepherd would have to make a dam in the stream in order to slow the flow
of the water so that the sheep could drink.
In the Father’s House—Eternity (v.-6): “6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will
follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.”
At the end of the
day when all was quiet the shepherd could look back at the day and see that the
Lord had given him a good day, and so it was with David as when he was older he
could look back at his life and see how the Lord had taken care of him
throughout his life and had given him goodness and loving kindness throughout
his life even though there were many difficult times and times when David had
sinned, but knowing that God had forgiven him.
The word “surely”’ can be translated as “only” and that makes it more
understandable when only is used here.
David
looked forward to being with the Lord at the end of his life, for David knew
the Lord in a way that most don’t and this can be seen by his life and also by
the Psalms that he wrote that bring glory to the Lord.
The
house of the Lord was not a reference to the temple and here is what Jesus said
about a house: “1 "Do not let your
heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it
were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "If I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 4 “And you know the way where I am
going." 5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are
going, how do we know the way?" 6 Jesus *said to him, "I am the way,
and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
This
is a fitting end to this wonderful Psalm knowing that all who have trusted the
Shepherd will be with Him forever in the house He provides for us.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I think that we can see from the verses in
John 14 that Jesus’ death on the cross was the way that He prepared a place for
us, for without His death on the cross there would be no way for anyone to be
with Him forever. David knew that and so
can we.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
1. Study
to show myself approved unto God, being a workman who does not have to be
ashamed.
2. Continue
to be ready to tell others of the hope that lies in me.
3. Continue
to learn contentment.
1/13/2012 9:56:56 AM
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