Meditating on "God is our Provider"
A Bible Study on Psalm 23:2-3
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In the last edition, we explored the phrase ‘The Lord is my Shepherd.’ (If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to do it.)
Meditating on "The Lord is my Shepherd"
Psalm 23 is one of the most known Bible passages in the world. And it is well-known not just among Christians; even the non-Christians seem to know about this passage. But why is that the case?
In this edition, we will look at the following two verses: Psalm 23:2-3.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
(Psalm 23:2-3)
Grammatically speaking, in all four clauses, the Shepherd is the subject: “He makes me… He leads me… He refreshes my soul… He guides me… for His name’s sake.” This means that it is less about the sheep (David) and more about the shepherd (God). The focus of this psalm is on God. Let’s unpack both verses one at a time.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, (v 2)
The analogy of Shepherd-sheep is still in place. What David is trying to say here is that just like a sheep doesn’t know how to take care of itself, he is helpless without God. And this verse is a prime example of it.
A sheep needs green pastures as its food. It is healthy for them. ‘Green’ pastures suggest freshness; It is not stale. This shows that the shepherd of this psalm doesn’t just know what his sheep eats but also knows and provides what is best for his sheep. So, we derive that the Lord is our ‘Provider’.
The way in which ‘lie down’ is used in Hebrew suggests a sense of lying down in grass after the sheep have been fully fed. This shows that when the Lord feeds, there is satisfaction.
In the second half of the second verse, the shepherd is again looking after the sheep by providing water to drink. Again, the picture of the provider shepherd is painted. But wait, there’s more.
The adjective ‘quiet’ attached to water suggests that there is another kind of water, namely ‘not-quiet’ water. It has been noted that the rapid torrents of the ‘not-quiet’ water may scare the sheep. And so, the ‘quiet’ water is where the shepherd is leading the sheep.
So, the attribute of the shepherd-God that is repetitively portrayed is that of a ‘Provider’.
He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
From the third verse onwards, the analogy of shepherd-sheep is more subtle and less explicit. Also, David has moved from the material dimension (v 2) to the immaterial dimension (v 3).
God is the refresher of the soul of David. According to Kidner, “It may picture the straying sheep brought back.” This shows the loving and tender care that the shepherd has for his sheep.
A shepherd does not leave his sheep unattended. He makes sure that they are well-fed and well-led. He knows that they will likely go astray if he doesn’t lead them, and so he leads. What’s worth noting is that he would never lead his sheep in the wrong ways but along the right paths.
Did you notice the tense of ‘refreshes’ and ‘guides’? It is present continuous tense. This means that God leading David (and now us) is not a one-time thing. It is continuous. Hence, we serve a God who constantly cares for us, feeds us, leads us, refreshes us, and guides us. And this caring includes both material and immaterial aspects; God cares for our entire being.
The purpose of doing all of this is for the shepherd’s name’s sake. It is the shepherd who gets all the glory. To repeat again what I said at the start, the focus of this psalm is on God.
Application:
Is your focus on God? Is God the shepherd of your life? Because if He is, He will surely provide!
Until next time, keep on feeding the words of our Shepherd.
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