Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

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.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

Who is my Shepherd? 

The LORD - Jehovah, the Existing One. He cares for His people, He tends His precious flock. In Isaiah 40:11 it says:

He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.

He provides His sheep with everything they need. Food and water, safety, compassion, guidance etc. He isn't a harsh Shepherd, He will gently lead those who are with young - young = baby Christians, newly converted and in need of guidance from their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ! He gave His life for His sheep. John 10:14,15

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

He knows His sheep and His sheep know Him. No harm will come to His sheep and no sheep will ever want for anything. The Good Shepherd, leads His sheep into green  pastures - a place of peace, calm, tranquillity and sustenance. Our souls rest in Him because He is our peace, He is our calm. He leads His sheep by the still waters, calm waters not tempestuous seas. If chaos rages around us, it isn't there because Jesus put us there - no, His leading and guiding takes us from a place of storm to a habour of calm. He anchors us in His love! 

Our souls may be filled with sin and torment, but He restores them and He leads us into the paths of righteousness. Without peace, calm, tranquillity, guidance, righteousness we are in spiritual turmoil, our hearts aren't right with our Shepherd, but don't despair, He takes us again in His arms, He leads us again into those green pastures by still waters. Why does He do this? For His name's sake. He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. He is with us to the end of time. 

This Psalm switches to the peace and tranquillity of green pastures and still waters to the valley of the shadow of death, but even in these circumstances - not necessarily literal death, but sometimes our trials and tribulations can feel so black, it's like death has come upon us. The coldness of our souls at times, the sins which over take us - Jesus Christ is LIFE and the opposite of these cold and dark times in our lives, and the opposite of life is death! Even when our sins, trials and tribulations feel like they are swallowing us up in confusion, fear, anxiety, depression etc we mustn't fear those times, because Christ, our Shepherd is with us.

The Lord's rod - this was used by a shepherd to protect the sheep from wild animals, it symbolises strength and protection. The staff was used to guide the sheep and speaks of the Lord's guidance. So often we wander from the path, but the Lord, if we are His, brings us back onto the path and if we seek His guidance He will give it to us! It's good to have boundaries because they offer protection and the Lord gives His own people boundaries on how to live their lives to come under His protection and care. Sometimes we kick against these, but they are there to protect us from harm, from guilt, from pain, from anguish. God's commands are to comfort and keep us safe. 

Psalm 91:1,2 says

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”  

If we abide in Him, if we allow the Lord to lead and guide us into green pastures, by still waters. If He restores our souls then we dwell in the secret place of the Most High and we learn to trust in Him in all things. 

The Lord loves His sheep so much - the animals may be set to pounce, devour and overcome us, but He provides so much for us. A table laden with spiritual fruit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and pure living water - the Shepherd Himself. 

John 4:14

“…but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” 

There are accounts of starving prisoners of war, who have their tables laden with spiritual food - they were filled with the fruit of spirit, even in the midst of their enemies' vileness. The Lord has anointed them as His messengers in such dark and unholy places, yet they have stuck to serving Him, worshipping Him. The Hebrew word in the original for 'anointed' can mean to make or grow fat - even in adversity many of the Lord's people have grown fat spiritually (in a good way). Sometimes we can be spiritually lean, but only when we feed on God's word can we grow as Christians. There is an abundance here with the cup running over. The cup of the Lord's blessings and care runs over - it doesn't stop running over because those blessings never ever end. In the Christian life there is an abundance of all the Lord gives - He isn't miserly or mean - He gives grace, faith, blessings, life, love etc abundantly out of His never ending storehouse in glory! 

After reading this Psalm, no wonder David could conclude:

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

When we have a generous Shepherd giving His own life for His sheep, giving out of the abundance of the storehouses of grace in heaven - the only conclusion we can draw from this IS that goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Not only that BUT I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Being in Christ doesn't just mean all of these things end when we die, but they continue in even more abundance in heaven where we shall be forever with the Lord. 

Revelation 22:1-5 give us a glimpse of what we can look forward to if we are in Christ:

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.  They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

What a glorious future we have if belong to the Shepherd!