The Swan Song of the Old Shepherd: An Exposition
of Psalm 23
THIS 50-page book reproduces a four-part series first preached by the author in July 2010. While it takes only about 40 seconds to read its 118 words, Psalm 23 is among the most comforting passages in all of Scripture. Its language is not scientific, philosophical, legal, or even all that theological. It is short, simple, and sweet, but, oh, so sublime! Oddly, sermons on Psalm 23 are often preached only at funerals, for here are truths that are not for the dead but for the living. David refers to the LORD as his Shepherd (Jehovah-Rō‘iy), and a Shepherd is for the living sheep, not the dead ones. This psalm is for every child of God for every aspect of life now. So, “using common ancient near-eastern images,” one expositor observes, “David progressively unveils his personal relationship with the LORD.” In beautiful poetry, David provides us with five emphases. After first speaking of the Shepherd’s person, he then exults in what he receives from his Shepherd: provision, paths, protection, and permanence.
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Contents
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Psalm 23............................................................................
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8
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Historical Introductions to Psalm 23..............................
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9
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Introduction.......................................................................
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13
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1
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The Shepherd’s Person.....................................................
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17
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2
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The Shepherd’s Provision.................................................
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23
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3
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The Shepherd’s Paths........................................................
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31
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4
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The Shepherd’s Protection...............................................
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33
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5
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The Shepherd’s Permanence............................................
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39
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Conclusion.........................................................................
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47
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Notes..................................................................................
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49
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About the Author...............................................................
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53
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Introduction
Psalms
22, 23, and 24 have been called the “Shepherd
Trilogy.” In Psalm 22, which focuses on the Cross, the Great Shepherd redeems the sheep.
Likewise, our Lord declared, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth
his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). In Psalm 23, which focuses on the provision
and protection of the sheep, the Shepherd rescues the sheep. The Apostle
John also wrote of our Lord, “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne
shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Rev. 7:17). Finally, in Psalm 24,
the Shepherd rewards the sheep with blessing. Likewise, Peter wrote of
the Lord Jesus, “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a
crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Pet. 5:4). The beloved J. Vernon McGee
wonderfully summarizes this trilogy:
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. What a wonderful picture we have of Christ in these three psalms!1
While no more inspired than any other Scripture, of course,
Psalm 23 is, indeed, one of its crown jewels. It is among the most beloved
passages of Scripture. It is, therefore, a little odd that we predominately
hear sermons on Psalm 23 only at funerals. This is sad because Psalm 23 is a
psalm for the living. Yes, death is referenced in this Psalm, but that
reference is still a picture of the living sheep walking through the
valley of the shadow of death (v.4). This psalm is for every child of God
for every aspect of life now.
As we approach this Psalm, however, I believe a word of
caution is needed. There is an old saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt,” which
simply means that if we know someone very well or experience something too
much, there is the danger that we can stop respecting that person or appreciating
that thing. The origin of this saying is actually one of Aesop’s fables, the
Fox and the Lion:
When first the Fox saw the Lion he was terribly frightened, and ran away and hid himself in the wood. Next time however he came near the King of Beasts he stopped at a safe distance and watched him pass by. The third time they came near one another the Fox went straight up to the Lion and passed the time of day with him, asking him how his family were, and when he should have the pleasure of seeing him again; then turning his tail, he parted from the Lion without much ceremony.
We also see this illustrated in
Scripture in Matthew 13:57, where Jesus’ own townspeople did not respect Him,
which prompted His words, “A prophet is not without honour, save in his own
country, and in his own house.”
The same thing can happen even with Scripture. We can become
so familiar with certain portions—such as Psalm 23, Matthew 6:9–13 (the Model
Prayer), and John 3:16—that we begin to think we know all there is to know
about that text. When this happens we tend to overlook messages and
applications that are quite obvious.
For example, have you ever noticed in verse 4 how David’s
addressing of God changes? In the first three verses, He refers to God as He:
He maketh
me to lie down; He leadeth me; He restoreth my soul. In verses 4 and 5,
however, He refers to God as Thou and Thy: Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff,
they comfort me; Thou preparest a table before me; Thou anointest my head with
oil. But he then switches again in verse 6: I will dwell in the house of
the Lord.
Does this not teach us a profound lesson? Does it not
demonstrate that we should not talk for very long about God without talking to
God? A primary lesson this psalm teaches us is that our study of Scripture
should always lead us to prayer.
Turning to this Psalm, then, one commentator writes: it is
“unrivalled for calm serenity and perfect faith. Under Jehovah’s loving care
the psalmist knows neither want nor fear. His words admit of the most universal
application to all needs temporal and spiritual, in every age.”2
In his own unequalled work on the Psalms, The Treasury
of David, Charles Spurgeon wrote: “It is David’s Heavenly Pastoral; a
surpassing ode, which none of the daughters of music can excel.”3
Another writer calls it “the nightingale of the Psalms,”4 for it
sings even as it sits in the dark and shadowy places. Still another writes: it
“may be compared to the fairest flowers that grew around [the Tree of Life]” as
well as “the richest of the constellations, even the Pleiades themselves!”5
The ancient Targums were oral Aramaic “interpretive
renderings”6 (not translations) of the Old Testament (OT) made from
the 2nd-century AD to about the 7th-century. One Targum
of this Psalm explains it as God’s care for Israel. While that is certainly
true as a secondary application, it is hardly the primary meaning. As the
personal pronouns make obvious, it is strongly personal, so each and every
sheep “can claim the care which is promised to the whole flock.”7
Oh, how personal Psalm 23 is!
This leads to another feature of this Psalm. There is little doubt that
David wrote not when he was young but when he was older. Some believe he wrote
it during the time of the rebellion under Absalom, while others submit it was
even later. One writer dubs it: “The Song of the Old Shepherd,”8
which we have adapted into The Swan Song of the Old Shepherd for the
title of our study.
Why this title? The expression “swan song” is based on an ancient
legend that the Mute Swan is completely mute during its lifetime until just
before it dies, when it sings one beautiful song. In reality, however, Mute
Swans are not mute during life, since they make various sounds such as snorts,
grunts, and hisses; neither do they sing as they die. The legend, therefore,
has been refuted, but the folktale has remained so appealing that it has
continued to appear in various artistic works over the centuries, such as
Aesop’s fables, Chaucer, and Tennyson.
I borrowed this term, therefore, for emphasis. David certainly
wasn’t mute during his life, but he does, indeed, sing a beautiful song near
his end. He looks back over a life filled with both good and bad. In any case,
when one reads this Psalm, it is clear that he is not reading the immature rambling
of a young man, rather the mature rhetoric of a wise sage and saint of
God as he looks back upon decades of both victories and defeats. One expositor
puts it well, “He knew song and shadow. He was tested and tried.”9
And as a result, he shares his wisdom, wisdom that is, we repeat, not for the
dead but for the living.
One other thing should strike us about this Psalm as we
approach it—its brevity. In Hamlet, Shakespeare’s character
Polonius makes the now famous statement, “Since brevity is the soul of wit, And
tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief” (I.2.90). While
“wit” today means saying something cleverly humorous, in the 17th-century
it referred to wisdom. The idea then is that since being brief is the
core of wisdom, and long explanations and swelling words are boring, brevity is
better.
That was certainty the case at the Gettysburg battlefield on
November 19, 1863. While Edward Everett’s
two-hour oration was polished, elegant, and recorded in history books, who
actually remembers even a syllable of it? In contrast, Abraham Lincoln’s
two-minute, 271-word “Gettysburg Address” is written on the hearts of millions
of Americans.
That is what we see in Psalm 23. It only takes about 40
seconds to read its 118 words. Its language is not scientific, philosophical,
legal, or even all that theological. It is short, simple, and sweet, but, oh,
how sublime!
So, as another expositor well puts it, “Using common ancient
near-eastern images, David progressively unveils his personal relationship with
the Lord.”10
David refers to the Lord
as his Shepherd (Jehovah-Rō‘iy), and to reemphasize once again, a Shepherd is for the living
sheep, not the dead ones. In beautiful poetry, David provides us with five
emphases. After first speaking of the Shepherd’s person, he then exults
in what he receives from his Shepherd: provision, paths, protection, and permanence.
Dr. J.
Vernon McGee recounts: “A friend of mine who moved to Oregon once heard me talk
about sheep. He said to me later, ‘Dr. McGee, you gave me the impression that
sheep are nice, sweet little animals. You made them appear so helpless. I want
to show you some sheep.’ He invited me to dinner. He gathered several sheep
together, and after dinner we went out to look at them. As we watched them, he
told me, ‘These sheep are stubborn, hardheaded, and pigheaded animals. Besides
that, they are dirty and filthy.’ I said, ‘That’s a picture of the human race.’
They do set us forth!”
Notes
1 J. Vernon McGee, Thru the
Bible Commentary (Thomas Nelson, 1981), comment on Ps. 23:5
2 A. F. Kirkpatrick, The
Book of Psalms (Cambridge University Press, 1906), 124.
3 Charles Spurgeon, The
Treasury of David (public domain; electronic edition) comment on Psalm 23.
4 Henry Ward Beecher, Life
Thoughts, cited in Spurgeon.
5 John Stoughton, The
Songs of Christ’s Flock (1860), cited in Spurgeon.
6 Bruce M. Metzger,
“Important Early Translations of the Bible,” Bibliotheca Sacra 150 (Jan.
93), 35. He goes on to explain: “The Targums are interpretive renderings of the
books of the Hebrew Scriptures (with the exception of Ezra, Nehemiah, and
Daniel) into Aramaic. Such versions were needed when Hebrew ceased to be the
normal medium of communication among the Jews. In synagogue services the
reading of the Scriptures was followed by a translation into the Aramaic
vernacular of the populace. For a reading from the Pentateuch the Aramaic
translation followed each verse of the Hebrew; for a reading from the Prophets
three verses were followed by the Aramaic translation. At first the oral Targum
was a simple paraphrase in Aramaic, but eventually it became more elaborate and
incorporated explanatory details inserted here and there into the translation
of the Hebrew text. To make the rendering more authoritative as an interpretation,
it was finally reduced to writing.”
7 Kirkpatrick, The Book of
Psalms, 124.
8 Dr. Frank Morgan, cited in
McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary.
9 McGee, Thru the Bible
Commentary.
10 George Zemek, Road Maps
for the Psalms (The Master’s Academy International, 2006), “Psalm 23” (no
page numbers).
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