RRB Notes on Psalm 23

Psalms 23 KJV

A Psalm of David

1. The LORD is my shepherd; [1a] I shall not want.

[1] You can make beautiful spiritual application of this by lining it up with John 10:1-30. A boy once quoted the verse as, “The Lord is my shepherd; I’ve got all I want.”

[a] 1 Peter 2:25, 5:4; Heb. 13:20.

2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: [2] he leadeth me beside the still waters.

[2] Lesson 1: My meat and my mattress are the same. Lesson 2: If you cannot sleep, don’t count sheep; talk to the Shepherd.

3. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me [b] in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

[b] He leads me; I don’t lead Him.

4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, [c] I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod [3] and thy staff they comfort me. [d]

[c] See note on Job 17:14: 

The verse is more than a dramatic, figurative statement, as the BIble-correcting scholars and teachers pretend. They forgot that Jesus Christ called Himself the same thing in Psalm 22:6 and warned about being the condition of a man in Hell (Mark 9:44, 46, 48). Jesus extended the classification to a “serpent” in John 3:14. Jesus Christ warned that a man had better not lose his soul (Mark 8:36). When God made Christ to become sin (2 Cor. 5:21), He “lost” His soul (Isa. 53:10); it was made “an offering for sin” (John 18:11; Heb. 5:7).

 and comments on John 3:14 (Num. 21:8-9).

 Mark 9:44, 46.

[3] “The rod of God” (Exod. 4:20) turns out to be Satan (Job 9:34; Isa. 10:5-15; Lam. 3:1; Ezek. 21:13; Mic. 5:1; Rom. 8:28). God uses the Devil to accomplish His own purposes, as He did in the case of Job. No Christian would doubt this if he read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.

[d] Heb. 12:11; Psa. 119:67 -71.

5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; [e] my cup runneth over. [f]

[e] Literal in the case of David, figurative in the case of a Christian.

[f] Source of the song “Fill My Cup, Lord” by Richard Blanchard

6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me [4] all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. [5]

[4] Lester Roloff (1914-1982) used to say, “The Shepherd has two dogs that follow the flock. The name of one is Goodness, and the name of the other is Mercy.

[5] Here is another example of a passage that is literal historically and doctrinally when applied to David, but figurative and devotional when applied to the Christian in the Church Age. “The house of the LORD” is a reference to the Tabernacle during David’s time (1 Sam. 1:9, 2:22). Prophetically, it’s a reference to the Millennial Temple (Ezek. 46). For the Christian, it’s a reference to the New Jerusalem (John 14:2-3), but if you listen to the average preacher, it’s a reference to a church building. Can you imagine living in your church building forever?