Psalm 23:1-3

Psalm 23:1-3 NASB: A Psalm of David The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads be beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in paths of righteousness For the sake of His name. This psalm is a continuation of the Holy Spirit guiding Jesus on the cross. This particular section is generic shepherd imagery. It begins with the psalmist declaring that the Lord is his shepherd. The word Lord in small caps is a translation of Yahweh, a name of God, which means the self-existing one. It declares that the self-existing one is our shepherd king. Kings were called shepherds, as they were supposed to provide and protect. Jesus trusted God to provide and protect Him while on the cross. This meant that after Jesus died, he would be raised. God shared His self-existence with Jesus in the resurrection by giving Jesus' body immortality.

The psalmist goes on to declare that he shall not be in need. What we really need is eternal life. That is, eternal existence in union with God. On the cross, Jesus knew that immortality was His, even if He did not see it yet. He knew that He would be resurrected in an immortal body.

The line about lying down in green pastures is one of rest as well as sustenance. Lying down means we can rest. We don't have to do any work because God has taken care of us. On the cross, Jesus was able to be at rest because he knew that God would raise Him from the dead. God's immortality is the sustenance that the green pastures talks about. It is His immortality that sustains the body of Jesus. It was this promise that carried Jesus through the cross while He was dying. It is promise that puts us to rest in the troubles of the world.

The water is a symbol for God's life. In Psalm 42, our desire for God is compared to a deer's desire for water. In John 4, Jesus says He gives living water and those who drink it will never thirst. This living water is eternal life, which satisfies our hearts unlike the things of this world. Psalm 1 says that the person who meditates on God's instruction is like a tree planted in water. He bears fruit.

The final part of this section deals with paths of righteousness. God's righteousness is His goodness to save us from death and give us immortality. On the cross, Jesus saw the righteousness of God as God's promise to raise Him from he dead. This promise is also God's righteousness. God does it for the sake of His name. The name of God basically means who God is. Doing something for the sake of His name means doing something because of who He is.

The paths of righteousness invoke shepherd imagery that influences the rest of the psalm. In ancient Israel, shepherds annually led their sheep up mountains to grass lands on top. These grasslands on top of the mountains can be seen as eternal life. On the cross, Jesus saw this as His resurrection.As the next section of the psalm shows, there is darkness before we are resurrection. This is discussed in the article on Psalm 23:4.