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 

Fear has a powerful effect upon us. The presence of our enemies would naturally cause us to lose our appetite. David goes so far as to say that Christ, his Shepherd prepares a table before him in the presence of his enemies. Because Christ is with him, not only does he not fear that they will do evil to him, but he is calm enough to eat bread in their very presence. Christ wanted him to be so calm and composed that he would function in spite of the fact his enemies were in front of him. Christ prepared the table and bade him eat. Christ would have us without fear, even in the presence of our enemies. Then they would paralyze us with their fearful intimidations, He prepares a table before us. We know they are there. We hear their clamoring and shouts of hatred. We see the sunlight flash off their swords and hear their horses snort in anticipation of the battle. Yet we, the sheep of His pasture, eat at the table He has prepared for us. We are unfazed, unshaken, and unmoved by their threatening. Christ is with us. He does more than stand up to defend us. He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. If He left us to ourselves we would lose our appetite and freeze or flee. Because He is our Shepherd we eat at His table.  

Our Gracious Master and our God, 
we rejoice that You deliver us from fear. 
We praise You that You provide for us 
in abundance, even in the presence of our enemies. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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.  

Psalm 23:4 

Christ our Shepherd uses the tools of the trade. When He was upon earth, He used the tools of a carpenter. As the Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd, He uses the rod and staff. The rod is a short, rather heavy, club-like tool. It is for defending the sheep from predators. The staff is long, slender, and often has a curved end. If a sheep has gotten itself into a bad situation, say, down an embankment or in a hole, the shepherd uses the staff to assist with the rescue. These tools are a comfort to the sheep, as David  himself said. In the valley of the shadow of death he did not fear evil because Christ, his Shepherd had His rod to defend him from his attackers and His staff to pull him out of entrapments. If Christ is our Shepherd, we may have the same confidence as David did. We cannot control the circumstances we will encounter. We may find ourselves walking through the valley of the shadow of death on more than one occasion. We do not need to fear because Christ, our Shepherd is there with us. He has His rod to defend us from our attackers. He has His staff to pull us out of perilous situations. We are as safe as David was. Christ is as much our Shepherd as He was David’s. These truths are our comfort.  

O, Christ, our Shield and our Defender, 
we rejoice that You defend us from all who would do us evil. 
We praise You that You employ all the means necessary 
to preserve us. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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.  

Psalm 23:4 

Nothing else comforts us in the midst of different circumstances as much as the presence of Christ.  David articulated this in our text. He spent a considerable portion of His life in the valley of the shadow of death, where situations could have become terminal quickly. As a young person he encountered a lion and a bear. He had to confront them and kill them to protect his flock. As a young man he engaged in single combat with Goliath, the Philistines’ giant. He fought battles where the arrows flew. The field was full of spears, swords and angry, desperate men. His father-in-law, the king pursued him as an enemy of  the state. Later in life his own son would overthrow him and his trusted general would seek to destroy him. What was David’s comfort in all these perilous situations? He said, ‘I will fear no evil; for you are with me.’ When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in the burning fiery furnace, Christ was there. When Daniel was in the lion’s den, Christ was there. When we face the most fearful, trying situations of life, our comfort is that Christ is with us. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us so that we may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I shall not fear. What can man do to me?’ The presence of Christ delivers us from fear. 

Our Gracious Savior and our God, 
we rejoice that You deliver us from fear. 
We praise You that where we go, 
You are there.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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.  

Psalm 23:4 

The path of life has many circumstances that are part of the whole experience. At times it is relatively smooth, the sun is shining and we can see the way forward. Other times the path is uphill and filled with obstructions. Still, other times the path before us is obscured in darkness with shadows, mists, and mystery. These are the times that are likely to disturb us most deeply. What lies before us does not look encouraging or inviting. We find it disturbing, unsettling, and fearful. Realistically we know this is just part of life, yet we would prefer not to have to go that way. David realized all these things about the path of life. He lived through some challenging experiences. He found himself from time to time in the valley of the shadow of death. How could he calm his fears? Christ is the answer. When he encountered Goliath Christ was with him. When Saul the king pursued him, Christ was with him. When evil men sought to do evil to him Christ was with him. He did not fear to walk through the valley of the shadow of death because Christ was his Shepherd. He would not leave him. Nor will Christ leave us. He is as much our Shepherd as He was David’s. He is ours and we are His forever. 

Our Gracious Guard and Guide, 
we rejoice that You defend us. 
We praise You that we can trust in You, 
in the hardest circumstance of life.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. 

Psalm 23:3 

God gets the glory. Christ, the Good Shepherd, acts toward us in every way to do us good. He provides for all our most basic necessities. He sees to it that we lack for nothing. He gives us food, water, rest, and restores our depleted souls. He leads us along the right path to our desired haven. Why does He do all these things? He does them, ‘for His name’s sake.’ Because God is God with all that entails, He is worthy of all the glory for all He does. The psalmist put it this way, ‘Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth.’ This includes all the ways in which He deals with us. Our natural inclination is to want some of the credit for our own self-care, preservation, or inclination toward spiritual things. David understood that the reason he could survive and thrive was because Christ was his Shepherd. Apart from Him there is no thriving or surviving. In our most spiritual moments we want God to have the glory He deserves. We want all the saints and angels to worship Him. We want to behold Christ, sitting on the Throne, high and lifted up. We know He is worthy. Therefore when we come to a text that tells us He does what He does, ‘For His name’s sake.’ Our response is, ‘Amen.’ We want Him to have all the glory He deserves both now and forever. 

Our Glorious Living God, 
we rejoice at what You do for Your Name’s sake 
We praise You that for Your Own glory, 
You will lead us to a good end. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning