3 Locations Of Psalm 23

Psalms 23:1-2 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”


We see God in different ways and he appears to us in different ways. The Lord is revealing himself as a triune God or as a friend or a comforter or a shepherd. Therefore God is seen in various ways. Today let’s focus on God, the Shepherd. Psalms 23 is the best place where it indicates God as a shepherd. David writes from his own personal experience as well as divine revelation. The Lord who is the shepherd is acting as a guiding force in our lives. God being seen as the shepherd was not something new to old testament times. We see Jacob mentions the Lord as “Shepherd” even in Gen 49:24 while blessing Joseph. It is very important that we are led by our heavenly father who is our shepherd. In Psalm 23, we see three locations through which the shepherd leads the sheep.They all represent different seasons. Let us meditate the significance of each and their blessings. A Shepherd leads his flock in these three places and we are going to meditate on the same.


1. Pastures

Psalms 23:2 “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”

The first location led by the Shepherd is the pastures. The Shepherd leads us through the Pastures. We can immediately imagine a luscious green meadow that will satisfy the flock’s hunger.
Sheep love the pastures and they are happy to be in that place. Pastures not only denote a place of wandering and grazing. Metaphorically it means a place of rest or a sense of “home”. Pastures show us divine care and provision of God. This can be compared with the eden-like experience. Sheep do not naturally lie down in places when things are not feeling right. Sheep feel they are at peace when they are in the pastures and they lie down. It is a safest place for them. Only the shepherd makes them lie down in pastures. This indicates the shepherd makes all the arrangement and chooses the right place for the sheep to graze. Even in our lives, the Lord who is our shepherd will make all arrangements for us before we could reach the place.

Philip Keller says 'Sheep do not lie down if there is fear, friction, flies or famine.' Considering the characteristics of the sheep, the Shepherd deals with all these 4 ossues and brings a sense of rest to the sheep so they lie down peacefully. The Shepherd can make you lie down in green pastures and still waters. Shepherd knows the right time to go to the pastures and to the waters. Pastures teaches us to trust in the Shepherd’s timing. When we are led by the Shepherd in the pasture, we receive the divine restoration and God’s leading. We read in Psalms 23:3 “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.” From this verse we can understand the restoration of God is found in pastures.

2. Valley


Psalms 23:4 “Yea, 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.”

The second location led by the Shepherd is the valley. The Shepherd leads us through the Valley. Valley is a low place in between two or more high places. In spiritual terms, valley depicts the experience of being “surrounded” by the enemies. In the Bible, the word valley is used sixty times. In majority of the places, the valley represents judgment & conflict. There are few differences between the location of pastures and valley. The Lord makes his children rest and lie down in pastures. However the Lord wants his children walk through the valley. This is very different from the pasture season it is not about lying down but a movement where we walk.

Generally, if there is a mad dog chasing us in the street, we will not walk but run for life. Same way when we have situations of valley of the shadow of death, walking is not the solution. If we know that our Shepherd is there with us, we will fear no evil. Hence walking in a scary place shows sense of calmness. This calmness and security comes from the shepherd being with us. There is not only sense of calmness, but the comfort of the Lord is revealed through his rod & staff. “Shepherd’s presence does not eliminate presence of evil but removes fear of evil”. Many believe that “rod” & “staff” were the same instrument with different functions. It is used to beat the enemy while also used to guide the flock. In the valley was have the shepherd’s presence and his comfort.


3. Table

Psalms 23:5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.”

Thirdly, the Shepherd leads us through the Table. We see the table is a very personal experience with God. In Old testament times, tables were not the same height as ours. They were much shorter roughly around 2.5 Feet. The Table represents fellowship and most importantly covenant. Each and every month we are observing the holy communion which is the table of the Lord where we remember the sufferings of the Lord. We observe the Lord’s Table in remembrance of God’s covenant. If the Shepherd is taking us to the table which means he expects to have a fellowship with us. We have two parties in the table which is the Shepherd and the Enemies. These enemies are not threats, they are witnesses in this scenario. Our enemies would have spoken many things against us and they gave us threats. But the Lord the shepherd will make our enemies sit in our table so that they observe our exaltations. The Lord will set the table, He will anoint us and our cup will run over. When our cup is full, we will be blessed but when our cup is running over , it will also bless others around us.

After all these locations, the final location of Psalm 23 is the house of the Lord which is our Eternal dwelling. The Shepherd’s leading is eternal. The Lord leads us from the pastures till the house of the Lord. When we make it a point to remain with the Shepherd, Goodness and mercy will follow us. May the shepherd lead us to the table He has set for us. Amen.