Psalm 23: I Shall Lack Nothing, Verse by Verse

Introduction

"Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing." Jason Procopio, pastor of Église Connexion in Paris, says that Psalm 23 was "the lullaby of his childhood": the first passage of the Bible he memorized, the one his father kept repeating to his children. He has a few ideas about why his father insisted so much, and he comes back to it at the end of the message.

The title of the message, "I shall lack nothing," may seem out of place after a lost semi-final and an inglorious third-place match. Above all, it seems hard to say in the face of the suffering that some in the church are going through, or have seen with their own eyes this week. It is one thing to hear this sentence as a lullaby when you are a child. As you grow up, it is no longer so easy to believe. And yet, the pastor says, "it is wonderfully true."

To truly believe it, you have to accept being a little humbled by this psalm of King David. For it to console us, it must first attack our idea of self-sufficiency, of our own power. The message goes through the six verses, one by one, with this conviction: everything that belonged to David in this psalm is ours in Jesus Christ.

Message Outline

1. A Victorious King Who Describes Himself as a Sheep

Psalm 23 is one of the best-known psalms in the whole Bible. Its comfort is undeniable, but if we take it to heart, it challenges our own power. While others celebrate the strength of King David, victorious on the battlefields, David describes himself as weak and dependent on God for all the comfort he enjoys.

• This psalm is extremely personal: David does not say "we" or "our," but "I" and "my." "Yahweh is my shepherd." He is speaking about himself.
• If this psalm is so well known, it is because we want what David describes. We want to live the same experience he did, to have what he has.
• In verses 1 to 4, David compares his relationship with God to that of a sheep with its shepherd. He was himself a shepherd in his youth: he knew the needs of the sheep and what the shepherd provides for them.
• Now he is king. He has risen to the top of power, and he is also a formidable warrior. And yet he says that Yahweh is his shepherd, which makes him, this glorious and victorious king, a sheep. "It is not the most flattering image."
• It does not matter: the subject of the psalm is not the sheep, it is the shepherd.

The pastor quotes the commentator Derek Kidner: with the word "shepherd," David uses the most complete and intimate metaphor in the Psalms, which usually prefer more distant images such as the king, the deliverer, the rock or the shield. The shepherd, for his part, lives with his flock and means everything to it: he is its guide, its doctor, its protector.

2. Verse 1: He Provides, I Shall Lack Nothing

"Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing" (Psalm 23:1). This is the first truth we find hard to believe. Even as Christians, even with faith in Jesus Christ, we do not always feel that we lack nothing.

• Hence an important distinction: if Yahweh is our shepherd, we shall lack nothing. This is the absolute truth of this text. He will always give us everything we need, but not necessarily everything we want.
• Jason Procopio takes up an illustration from John Piper. Your child asks you for a cake. You go to get it because you love him, no problem. But the package is already open and the cake is moldy. You tell him: "I'm sorry, I can't give you the cake, it would make you sick. Here is an apple."
• The pastor uses the example of his own daughter: if she asks for a cake and receives an apple, she will not be happy, she does not like apples. But when he does not give her what she wants, it is not because he does not love her, it is precisely because he loves her. It is the most loving thing he can do in that situation.
• John Piper sums it up this way: God always gives us what we ask for in prayer, or he gives us something better. It is one or the other.

Whatever our situation, wherever we find ourselves, we have the assurance of having everything we need. As hard as it is to believe, it is true. Charles Spurgeon said: "Old age with all its weakness will make me lack nothing, and even death will not leave me poor." I have all things in abundance, not because I have money in the bank or the intelligence and know-how to earn my bread, but because Yahweh is my shepherd.

3. Verse 2: He Gives Me Peace

First God provides, then he brings peace. "He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters" (Psalm 23:2). The shepherd gives his sheep absolute and perfect peace.

• Every parent knows the suspense of bedtime. "I see a few babies here," the pastor says in passing. We do everything to create a calm environment around the baby, a room as peaceful as possible.
• And if the baby falls asleep before we put him down, that is when the stress begins. We move forward like soldiers sent to defuse a bomb: no movement, no noise, so as not to wake him.
• God is not like that. He is not stressed, he is not a nervous God. But David is speaking here of the same kind of peace that parents want for their babies, in an infinitely deeper and more lasting way.
• He gives us his Word with all its promises. When we lean on these promises and remember everything God says about himself, we remember that we have no reason to worry.

"God is never flustered. God is never anxious. God never panics." Those who find rest in him can rest in his own assurance. His Word assures us of our peace, and the knowledge of his presence restores us. When we are with him, we are perfectly safe, so we can rest.

4. Verse 3: He Restores My Soul and Guides Me in the Paths of Righteousness

"He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake" (Psalm 23:3). A small clarification from the pastor: the paths of righteousness are not the corridors of a courthouse. David is speaking of the life of a child of God, of the paths where we walk if we belong to him.

• When God saves us, he does not just save us. He gives us the strength to follow him, and he leads us on these paths: he brings us to act according to his will, to do what is right.
• The more the shepherd leads us, the more we look like him. And in the context of the psalm, we look more and more like him in green pastures, beside a peaceful stream.
• These paths of righteousness are not a burden. Sanctification, that is, the process by which we become more and more like God, is one of the most beautiful gifts of salvation.
• How often do we look at what God calls us to do while thinking of everything we will lose if we obey, of everything it will cost us? We rarely think of everything we will gain. "There is no better rest than that of a clear conscience."
• Our Father, our shepherd, is the perfect Father, and he leads us to imitate his Son. He gives us his strength by his Spirit so that we may be like his Son.

But this reflection of God's righteousness in us is not there to draw attention to ourselves, so that people say: "Look how righteous he is." He guides us in the paths of righteousness "for his name's sake." The righteousness we cultivate, the salvation we work out "with fear and trembling," as Paul says (Philippians 2:12), is his righteousness. Every step of progress we make draws our eyes and the eyes of others to his perfect righteousness. What God does in us, he does for his glory. And it is our joy, our pleasure and our peace to glorify God in our lives.

5. Verse 4: He Is With Me in the Valley of the Shadow of Death

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4). This one, the pastor admits, is perhaps a little harder. Up to this point, we might imagine that the Christian, under the leading of his shepherd, is totally protected from all suffering. This is, incidentally, what many false preachers say today: if someone has faith in Christ, and if that faith is strong enough, their problems will disappear.

• This verse directly contradicts that idea. David does not say: "He leads me in the paths of righteousness so that I will not walk in the valley of the shadow of death." He says: "Even though I walk through" this valley. In other words, we are going to go through it. This valley awaits us.
• What protection is he speaking of, then? Clearly not protection from suffering. David himself suffered a great deal in his life, even when he was obedient, even when he was doing what is right. And our own experience tells us the same thing.
• Back to babies: when a baby is teething, it is not easy to watch. They say the pain he feels would be unbearable for an adult. And yet, no parent in the world would choose to spare him this process. Why? Because we want him to be able to eat and keep on living.
• In the same way, God's love for us does not spare us all suffering or all pain. But in the pain, he remains our Father, he remains our shepherd. He still protects us, always and in spite of everything. He is always with us, not only in front of us to lead us, but at our side.
• We have nothing to fear, because God will never allow anything that is not for our greatest good and for his greatest glory.

The psalmist's confidence rests on a simple truth: the valley is dark, it is black, but darkness does not harm anyone. We can be surrounded by darkness, but darkness cannot destroy us. "God's presence does not keep us from going through the dark valley. It frees us from the fear of the valley. That is not the same thing." In the hands of the good shepherd, nothing that happens will be an evil for you, but a good; a good that may be incomprehensible as long as we are on this earth, but a good.

The basis for this confidence is given in the phrase that follows: "your rod and your staff, they comfort me." The rod was a short club carried at the hip, used to defend against wild animals; the staff, long, was used for walking and for guiding the flock.

The pastor remembers a news report he saw long ago: in the United States, a couple had lost their three-year-old son, struck by a car. The driver was a young man from their church. Their pain was immense, and that of the young driver unimaginable. What struck him was not the tragedy, but what the parents said. Interviewed by the local channel, they were able to look into the camera and say with incredible assurance: "Our comfort comes from knowing that God is a good God, who set the number of days of our son's life. God has a plan. We trust him. We know that we will see our son again." They were not happy as they said this, they had tears in their eyes, they were grieving. But these parents, and this young driver, in the midst of unfathomable pain, knew intimately that they were in the hands of the good shepherd.

If we believe what David says here, we know that God is at our side, that he defends us from everything that can truly destroy us and that he guides us where we need to go. Even death is not to be feared by the one who belongs to God, because he knows that even in death, God is with him. God has set his affection on him and will not abandon him.

6. Verses 5 and 6: The Table Prepared, the Cup That Overflows, the Grace That Follows Me

Derek Kidner again: it is one thing to survive a threat, as in verse 4; it is another to turn it into victory. That is what happens in verse 5. David moves from the image of the shepherd and his sheep to that of a host who sets the table for his guests: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over" (Psalm 23:5).

• This image of the feast, we perhaps understand better than that of the shepherd. And here, God goes far beyond a simple meal: he does not merely put food on the table.
• At that time, inviting someone to dinner was an extremely intimate act. In the Old Testament, eating and drinking with someone represented a bond between the guest and the host, a bond of loyalty that was often sealed by a covenant.
• We remember Jesus' last meal with his disciples: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). This is the image we see here. Being a guest at God's table is an intimate exchange where God serves us and where we are bound to him by the love he shows us there.
• He covers us with his grace and does not give us only what we need: he makes our cup overflow. "There are no half measures with God. What he gives, he gives in abundance."
• The same goes for the oil poured on the head. It is no longer a practice today ("thankfully," the pastor quips), but in David's time, it meant setting someone apart for a special honor: the crowning of a king, the consecration of a priest or, as in the Gospels, the preparation of a burial.
• The table is set, honor is granted to the guest, and God gives in abundance. He makes the cup overflow not for someone very important, not for someone who would deserve this honor, but for those he has chosen.

Verse 6 sums up everything that precedes: "Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in Yahweh's house forever" (Psalm 23:6). Our salvation is so sure that we do not need to run after goodness and grace: they are the ones following us. Whatever happens to us, even at the bottom of the valley of the shadow of death, every minute of our life is a moment when God's goodness and grace pursue us, and this will continue forever.

• We are secure in God's goodness, forever. He is the generous host who never stops pouring out on us "grace upon grace" (John 1:16).
• We are secure in his mercy, his compassion, his forgiveness, forever. However little we deserve his grace, however many times we have had to run to his throne to receive his forgiveness, we discover that his compassion got there before us.
• We are secure in our adoption by God, forever. We will dwell in Yahweh's house for eternity, not as visitors in a hotel or mere guests at a dinner, but as the children of a loving Father.

7. All of This Is Ours in Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd

And we are secure in all these things thanks to the life, death and resurrection of whom? Of the good shepherd (John 10:11), whose passage the congregation had just read. This is exactly how this text should be read. David knew nothing of Jesus Christ at the time, but, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he was describing well in advance the hope that God's people would find in the good shepherd, in Jesus Christ.

• The provision offered in verse 1 annihilates our anxiety.
• The peace offered in verse 2 destroys our restlessness.
• The strength and righteousness offered in verse 3 fight our weakness and our sin.
• The courage offered in verse 4 banishes our fear.
• The abundance of his grace in verses 5 and 6 puts our weariness to death.

"In him, we truly and eternally have everything we need."

The pastor then returns to his childhood. This psalm is the first biblical passage he memorized, and it is the one he recently had his own children memorize. Why? Every parent wants their children to feel safe, to be happy, to lack nothing. But every parent also carries, deep down, this realistic worry: he is not able to guarantee that security himself. "I am not able to ensure the perfect happiness and safety of my children."

He imagines that this is the reason his parents had him learn this psalm. For if we belong to God, it does not matter that we, as parents, cannot guarantee these things to our children. "I want my children to know that everything I want to give them does not come from me, but from their heavenly Father, who is a much better father than I am."

But to truly believe it, a few obstacles still stand before us. When you look at this psalm, it can seem too good to be true. [À COMPLÉTER : la transcription disponible s'arrête ici, la fin du message sur ces obstacles n'est pas retranscrite.]

Key Takeaways

• The subject of Psalm 23 is not the sheep but the shepherd: David, king and warrior, recognizes that he is weak and dependent on God for all his comfort.
• "I shall lack nothing" means that God always gives what we need, not necessarily what we want: he answers our prayers or gives something better.
• The paths of righteousness are not a burden: sanctification is one of the most beautiful gifts of salvation, and God leads us there for the glory of his name.
• God does not spare us the valley of the shadow of death, but he goes through it with us: his presence does not remove the valley, it removes the fear of the valley.
• Goodness and grace follow us all the days of our life, and everything that belonged to David is ours in Jesus Christ, the good shepherd.

Personal Application

1. In what area of your life do you struggle today to believe that you will lack nothing? What might God have given you that is better than what you were asking for?
2. When you think about what God asks of you, do you first count what obedience will cost you or what it will gain you?
3. Are you going through a dark valley right now? What changes if you believe that God is not only in front of you, but at your side?
4. How do the table prepared and the cup that overflows change the way you receive God's forgiveness after a new fall?
5. What passage of the Bible could you memorize, alone or with your children, to remind yourself that your security comes from the heavenly Father and not from you?

Verses Quoted

• Psalm 23
• Philippians 2:12
• Luke 22:20
• John 1:16
• John 10:11

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "I shall lack nothing" mean in Psalm 23?

For Jason Procopio, this is the absolute truth of this text: if Yahweh is our shepherd, he will always give us everything we need, but not necessarily everything we want. Like a parent who refuses a moldy cake to his child and hands him an apple instead, God gives what we ask for or something better.

Does Psalm 23 promise a life without suffering?

No. David does not say that the shepherd spares him the valley of the shadow of death, he says "even though I walk through" this valley. The protection spoken of in verse 4 is not protection from pain, it is the presence of God that frees us from fear: the valley is dark, but darkness cannot destroy us.

Why read Psalm 23 in the light of Jesus Christ?

Because everything that belonged to David in this psalm is ours in Jesus Christ, the good shepherd. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, David was describing in advance the hope that God's people would find in him. We are secure in his goodness and his grace thanks to the life, death and resurrection of the good shepherd.