Psalm 23

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Key Verse:
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Key Outline:
All the ways the Lord is my Shepherd.

Key Observation:
This is the second of three shepherd psalms. In each psalm Christ is presented as some sort of shepherd. In psalm 22, he is the Good Shepherd; in Psalm 23, he is the Great Shepherd; in Psalm 24, he is the Chief Shepherd.

Memory Verse:
Like Psalm 1, this Psalm should be memorized in its entirety. But if you have to choose one:
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Devotion:
J. Vernon McGee really has great things to say about Psalm 22, 23, and 24:
"To put it succinctly, in Psalm 22, we see the cross, in Psalm 23 the crook (the Shepherd’s crook), and in Psalm 24 the crown (the King’s crown). In Psalm 22 Christ is the Savior, in Psalm 23, He is the Satisfier; in Psalm 24 He is the Sovereign. In Psalm 22 He is the foundation; in Psalm 23 He is the manifestation; in Psalm 24 He is the expectation. In Psalm 22 He dies; in Psalm 23 He is living; in Psalm 24 He is coming. Psalm 22 speaks of the past; Psalm 23 speaks of the present; and Psalm 24 speaks of the future. In Psalm 22 He gives His life for the sheep; in Psalm 23 He gives His love to the sheep; in Psalm 24 He gives us light when He shall appear."

I have made a table so that the beauty of the Shepherd Psalms may be more apparent.

In Psalm 23 I know that one reason the Great Shepherd carries the crook is to catch up an individual sheep—perhaps one that has fallen into a hole. But another reason the Great Shepherd has a crook is to discipline His sheep. Suppose there is a wayward sheep that keeps straying from the flock. The patient shepherd will go after the sheep several times, but then in exasperation, will pick the sheep up, break and set his leg with a tap from the crook, and carry the sheep around with him while the leg is healing. By the time that leg heals the sheep is so bonded that he will never again leave the side of his shepherd.

What a glorious picture that is of the way that God disciplines me! Sometimes I need the broken leg because I am not listening. How good it is to know that He will deal with me, remonstrating me in love that I may learn to love The Great Shepherd.