8.21.2026 - Matt Hekman
August 21
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Today we finish our study of the gentleness of God with Psalm 23. Surely you have read, recited, or heard this Psalm countless times. You may even have it memorized. If you do, what a great piece of God’s word to have in your heart. It tells us so much of the character of God. And it points to the true shepherd, Jesus, who cares for his flock, the church.
You have probably heard that sheep are not that bright. It is true. They need a shepherd to protect them and to guide them to places where they can have their needs met. You may have in image conjured in your mind of a shepherd carrying a young lamb on his shoulders, something you’ve seen in stained glass or a children’s bible storybook. It’s an appropriate image of a gentle shepherd caring for his sheep. As we consider this passage through the lens of gentleness, we’ll focus on the first three verses.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” (v.1)
Indeed, we are the sheep of the great shepherd. Not the brightest, and not able to do for ourselves all that we need. Yet, in his gentle care we lack nothing.
“He makes me lie down in green pastures”
God gives us sustenance, not just sufficient, but plenty and good. God doesn’t give us only enough to survive, he gives us an abundance of good things. James tells us “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…”
“he leads me besides quiet waters”
Literally the phrase “quiet waters” reads, “waters of resting places”. Not only does this image give us the idea that we have our thirst satisfied, but that we find rest and rejuvenation at gentle hand of our shepherd.
“he refreshes my soul.”
In other versions you may see this written as “he restores my soul.” In either case it conveys the idea that after our gentle shepherd has met our needs, we are revived and our strength is renewed. In fact, this same idiom is translated “to revive their strength” in Lamentations 1:11 and 19.
Psalm 100:3 says, "Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture."
I hope that you know the good shepherd, that you are one of his sheep, and that you find all that you need in his gentle care.