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

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

Psalm 23:3 

Christ leads us along the right path. Life is a journey. The paths we tread may be rough or smooth; uphill or down; hard or relatively easy. These paths are all going to some destination. Because Christ is the Shepherd He knows the paths, what we will encounter along them, and where they will take us. David, having been a shepherd himself knew that allowing a sheep to choose its own path could end in disaster. It is important for the sheep’s well-being that the shepherd choose the path and, as in the custom in the Middle East, walk before them. This is immensely important for us who look to Christ as our Shepherd. Choosing our own path will bring us to misery, failure, and a disastrous end. Like sheep, we do not have the wisdom to choose the best way. David had confidence in Christ, his Shepherd, to lead him aright. He knew that regardless of what difficulty he encountered along the way, his Shepherd had gone before him and was leading him in the path of righteousness. This is the way that is good and leads to a good end. We have confidence in Christ, Our Shepherd. He leads us in the path of righteousness. He will bring us to our desired haven.   

O, Great Shepherd of the sheep, 
we rejoice that You have gone everywhere we will go in life. 
We praise You that You will continue to lead us 
in the way we should go. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning