Psalms 23:1 I. The beauty and power of this verse lie very much in its composure. There is a calmness in it which almost reproduces itself in the mind whenever we say it. The calmness lies in the assurance. It is a fact, and a conclusion which springs out of that fact by a mathematical consequence;... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 23:1 The whole sentiment and scenery of this poem seems to prove, by accumulative evidence, that it was written at the time when the forty-second Psalm was written: when David had taken refuge from Absalom among the wide uplands which lie around the city of Mahanaim. I. This poem is impregna... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 23 This Psalm falls into two halves, in both of which the same general thought of God's guardian care is presented, though under different illustrations, and with some variety of detail. The first half sets Him forth as a Shepherd, and us as the sheep of His pasture. The second gives Him as... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 23:2 We have now to do only with Christ in waters of quietness, those which He makes for us, which He chooses for us, and to which He only He guides us. I. You have had to do with painful changes. Faces have altered; many are gone. There have been strange removals. There have been reversals... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 23:3 It is very pleasant to walk on the bank of the still waters. But still waters have their dangers. He who wrote this Psalm had found one "in an evening tide." Therefore no one need be surprised at that otherwise strange order of thought. "He leadeth me by the still waters; He restoreth m... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 23:4 I. The place where the words come in the Psalm would of itself be sufficient to refute that interpretation. The Psalm is a series of pictures of a believer's life and confidences, and after "the valley of the shadow of death" come the prepared table, and the anointed head, and the mantl... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 23:4 I. David's refuge in the valley of the shadow of death was faith in God, the ever-near. David had entered the valley of the shadow of death of the heart. He had been betrayed, insulted, exiled, by the one whom he had loved best. It was enough to make him disbelieve in Divine goodness an... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 23:5 I. The table here comes in after the valley of sadness. Is there not a preparation even in that fact? When do we so want the table as when we have just been through severe experiences? It is true spiritually, as it is physically, and it is the law of God's government, "If any man do not... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 23:6 _(with Isaiah 52:12)_ These two passages are the expression by different men, in different ages, of the same religious confidence, namely, confidence in an unseen Presence shielding from harm and ensuring blessing, in an unseen Presence encompassing the weak during their exposure to da... [ Continue Reading ]