Written by Tyler S. Fulcher | The Pastor's Resource
I'm sure you've preached from Psalm 23 before. It's one of those passages that we go back to time and time again. The words and images in the psalm stir the soul and encourage us to trust the Lord.
If you've preached from Psalm 23 before, I'm sure you'll preach from it again at some point in the future. Here are a couple of ideas on how you might approach it next time.
Tyler S. Fulcher writes about the Bible, Theology, and Church History. He is a biblical scholar based in Springfield, MO. Click here to contact.
Psalm 23 (WEB)
A Psalm by David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still 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 will 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 anoint my head with oil.
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the LORD’s house forever.
*FWIW: I use the World English Bible because it is the only public domain version of the Bible. Unfortunately, most Bible translations are held under copyright by whichever company pays for the translation. As a result, I cannot legally copy their text and send it out to people. The World English Bible is an updated version of the American Standard Version. You are welcome, encouraged even, to trade it out for your favorite version of the Bible to study.
Where do we find Jesus when we read the psalter?
It's an important question that has numerous answers. If we approach the question from a Trinitarian perspective, we can certainly identify Jesus with the LORD. Whenever the psalmist speaks to God, in a very real sense, we can and should think of God and Jesus as one.
At the same time, Christians have always understood David as a foreshadowing of Jesus (see this article for more). On several occasions, Jesus utters David's words from the psalter as his own (Psalm 2:1-2; 22:1; 31:5)
When we read the Psalms, especially those associated with David, the canon and Christian tradition invite us to hear the voice of Jesus in these poems.
So, what might it look like to preach Psalm 23 as the words of Jesus?
First, let's remember Jesus's comments in John 10. In this passage, Jesus famously describes himself as the Good Shepherd. As you can tell, this passage invites us to read Psalm 23 as a prayer to Jesus. Most sermons take this type of approach to the passage, and I’ll talk about this in the second sermon idea below.
If we remember vv. 14-15, however, another way of reading Psalm 23 opens.
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father..."
Jesus equates his relationship with the Father with the shepherd’s relationship with his sheep.
We might helpfully expand Jesus’s words in the following way:
“I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father (aka my shepherd) knows me (as a sheep) and I (as a sheep) know the Father (as my shepherd).”
Remember, God the Son became human so that he could identify with us in every way (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus knows what it is like to relate to the Father as his shepherd.
So, while we rightfully adopt Psalm 23 as our prayer to God, we can and perhaps should also hear these words as Jesus’s prayer to the Father.
There are three stories from Jesus’s life against which we might hear echoes of Psalm 23.
1. Jesus in the Wilderness
After his baptism, the Spirit of God drove Jesus into the wilderness. While there, he fasted for forty days and nights.
At first glance, this scene seems to be the opposite of Psalm 23’s idyllic green pastures. Yet, throughout the Old Testament, the words translated as "pastures" and "wilderness" frequently appear together (Jer 9:10; 23:10; Joel 1:19–20; 2:22).
This word pair suggests that a wilderness is not a place of lush, grassy terrain but a good shepherd can find those spots and lead his sheep to them. The implication of Psalm 23:1, then, is that God has provided ample food in a place that is not known for abundance (Goldingay, 349).
While Jesus wandered in the wilderness, Satan tempted him with food. Satan assumed that Jesus lacked sustenance and so would give in to that temptation. Jesus responds that physical food is not sufficient for survival. Even in the wilderness, Jesus could claim the words of Psalm 23: he lacked nothing.
2. The Passion Week
After describing God as a shepherd, David shifts the metaphor to a banquet. Strangely, the banquet takes place in full view of David’s enemies. God, acting as the host, sets the table for David and ensures he has everything he needs.
We might helpfully imagine Jesus’s final week and the crucifixion as a real-life reenactment of Psalm 23:4-5.
Jesus walked through the shadow of death when he entered Jerusalem on a donkey. Yes, the people celebrated, but the religious leaders plotted.
Jesus journeyed to Golgotha under the shadow of death as the sun shone down on and cast the image of his cross on the ground he walked.
Of course, we might hear a tragically ironic echo of David’s overflowing cup (Psalm 23:5) when we listen to Jesus’s request that God remove the cup from him (Mark 14:36). The word Jesus uses for the cup matches that found in the Septuagint’s translation of Psalm 23 (ποτήριον).
Jesus submitted to his Father’s will and drank every drop contained in the cup. The consequences of sin weighed fully on his shoulders as he hung upon the cross.
3. The Resurrection and Ascension
If Jesus’s final week and crucifixion might be seen as an enactment of Psalm 23:4-5, we should see his resurrection and exaltation as the fulfillment of Psalm 23:6.
David proclaimed that God’s mercy and goodness would pursue him and he would live in God’s presence all the days of his life. Some translations render the final phrase of the poem as “forever.” A more literal translation is “length of my days.” To be clear, the length of a human’s life is in view with this final verse. David along with every other person who has prayed this psalm died… and stayed dead.
Except Jesus.
Yes, Jesus died, but he rose again on the third day. As a result, the length of his days has no end.
To hear Jesus pray Psalm 23:6, we must remind ourselves that Jesus sits even now at the right hand of God the Father.
Conclusion
If we hear Psalm 23 as a prayer of Jesus, we should be moved to worship.
We serve a God who knows our full experience. He has wandered through the wilderness and journeyed under the shadow of death. Yet even in those places, he lacked nothing. God the Son trusted fully in God the Father.
We follow Jesus in his journey with the Father.
In Christ, we lack nothing.
In Christ, we are well-fed in the presence of our enemies.
In Christ, we drink whatever cup God sets before us.
Finally, in Christ, we dwell in the presence of God for all our days, which will last into eternity.
The more traditional reading of this psalm sees it as a prayer to God.
This is the approach you have likely taken before, and for good reason.
Here are four thoughts for how you might connect the details of this Psalm to the life of the believer.
1. The LORD is my shepherd, and The Lord is MY SHEPHERD.
First, what does David mean when he says “the Lord is my shepherd”?
We often think of this phrase as describing God’s nature. By identifying God as a shepherd, we can then reflect on the ways he leads and guides us.
This observation is undoubtedly good and correct.
We can think of it in a slightly different way. Instead of focusing on the description of God as a shepherd, we can focus on the identification of God as our shepherd.
By shifting our emphasis to the first half of the phrase, we recognize that someone or something will guide us in life.
For David, living in ancient Israel, his shepherd could have been Baal or Yam or Mot.
For modern Christians, we may be shepherded by the news, entertainment, or celebrities.
Heard in this light, v. 1 becomes a declaration that God alone will be our guide.
2. The Shepherd and the Host
Psalm 23 is famous for the image of the shepherd, but the metaphor changes halfway through the poem.
Instead of a shepherd, David imagines God as a banquet host.
The banquet does not take place in a fancy location. Rather, the fine dining occurs in the middle of conflict.
The contrasting image of David sitting at a table while surrounded by his enemies is intentionally sharp.
The two halves of the psalm are not unrelated, however. We know that the shepherd has given his sheep rest just as the banquet host has wined and dined the attendee. The enemies may be seen as both the lion and wolf threatening to attack the sheep and David’s mortal enemies seeking his life.
In both instances, the comfort of the Lord secures David and ensures his peace.
3. The Unexpected Pursuers
Given the image of a vulnerable sheep and David surrounded by his enemies, we are surprised to learn that no hostile force pursues David.
Instead, God’s goodness and mercy pursue David.
Some translations say that goodness and mercy “follow” David, but this is a poor translation.
The word translated as “follow” is more aggressive. It’s used in chase scenes throughout the Bible (see Gen 14:14; Exod 14:4; Josh 2:5).
So, instead of being chased by his enemies, God’s goodness and mercy chase David.
Instead of fear, David finds relief when he turns to see if he has escaped his pursuers and discovers only God behind him.
4. The Table
While the above observations flow nicely together, a fourth observation invites us to reflect upon this psalm within the context of the canon in a more imaginative way.
Several Church Fathers understood David’s reference to a table and an overflowing cup as a typological foreshadowing of the Lord’s Supper.
Through the death and resurrection of Christ, God prepared a table for the church. No matter the circumstances around us, we can partake in communion. We can experience the goodness and mercy of God by remembering Jesus’s sacrifice.
Our cup overflows because of the efficacy of Jesus’s sacrificial death, and through his death we are brought into the kingdom of God where we can well forever.
Conclusion
These four ideas offer points of departure for your own thinking about the psalm. They invite the hearer to explore what it might mean to declare God as their shepherd above any other option. They remind the hearer that God cares for them and provides them security even in hostile situations.
Ultimately, this prayer invites us to put our trust in the Lord Jessu Christ, our Savior. As he claimed, he is our good shepherd.