From The Flyleaf of My Bible - Entries from May 2012

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

-Hebrew scholars point out the Hebrew word for death does not appear in this verse, though the Arabic root does.  The Hebrew text has the idea of walking through the deepest, darkest difficulties of life.  For some, it may be death, for others it may be the loss of health, family members, friends, employment, home, or some other prized possession, relationship or position.  It may be some heart-wrenchingly, difficult decision or any kind of extreme challenge.  When the shepherd leads the sheep toward the pasture for the morning feeding, they may have to go through narrow ravines or on dangerously narrow paths with steep and deep drop-offs just beside them, with natural enemies such as lions, bears, wild dogs, etc. nearby hoping to snatch them for a meal.

I will fear no evil;

- Bill Hull, in his book Choosing the Life, says that the most frequent command in the Bible is “Fear not”.  He states that it is included 366 times, once for every day of the year, including leap year.  Perhaps that reveals our greatest temptation.  David says that in his most difficult circumstances he will not fear any evil.  Evil surely includes anything that would keep me from fulfilling my highest purpose of pleasing my Great Shepherd (God) referred to earlier in verse 1.

 
for You are with me; 

-David then explains why he will not fear any evil.  His Great Shepherd, his Righteous God, is always with him.  He is omnipresent, not just as an observer but a participant in whatever is going on. He is an active perfect Shepherd, protecting, guiding and providing for us, His sheep or children. 

Your rod

-The rod of God is used by the Shepherd to defend the sheep by beating off their enemies to God’s wise distance.  There are many Biblical examples like Job.

and Your staff,

-The staff is the shepherd’s tool used to “tap” the straying sheep into the safety of the line following the shepherd or to draw the fallen sheep up from its dangerous “fallen into” place out of reach of the shepherd’s hands.

they comfort me.  Psalm 23:4

Again, our Great Shepherd provides the very comfort that we need when we are tempted to be overcome with fear.

He restores my soul;

-Although we do not have space in these brief comments to share it, each of these truths can be applied to the literal shepherd-sheep relationship, the Great Shepherd’s care for each of us and all shepherding relationships, such as parents, pastors, teachers, leaders of any group, etc.  Due to limited space, we often touch on only one or two of these vital truths.

-By taking me to a safe and secure “sheep pen” and protecting me through the night, my Great Shepherd gives me a good night’s sleep, which restores my soul.

-Hebrew scholars say that the word here translated “soul”, in Hebrew poetry, rather consistently refers to the inside of the person - mind, heart, soul and spirit - as related to the outside of the person - the body.

-Have you ever noticed how that a good night’s sleep restores your mind to think more clearly, therefore the oft repeated advise when facing a challenging decision, “Sleep on it” first.  After a good night’s sleep we are restored emotionally and better able to respond to situations which if faced at the end of an exhausting day, are more difficult to control our emotions from sinfully directing our responses. And our body, after a good night’s sleep, is ready to do things we were too exhausted to do just a few hours earlier, before we slept.  Therefore, after a good night’s sleep we can think more clearly, make decisions better, control our emotions better and do more physically than we could before the sleep.  When our “soul” is restored by a good night’s sleep, we are restored inside and out and better ready to serve our Great God and others more faithfully in a new day.

-We are truly thanking God for a lot when we thank Him for a good night’s sleep, which is one way that “He restores our soul.”