The Lord Is My Shepherd (Psalm 23:1-6)

The Lord Is My Shepherd (Psalm 23:1-6)

 
In Psalm 23, David uses two imageries: in verses 1-4 the imagery of shepherd-flock and in verses 5-6 the imagery of host-guest. That is, God is a Shepherd who leads us, the flock, and a gracious Host who prepares a table with abundant food and drinks for us, and lets us dwell in His place forever.

1. The LORD is My Shepherd
    As the LORD, our Shepherd, provides us with green pastures and fresh water, we shall not want. He restores our soul and guides us in His righteous paths, and protects us from all kinds of enemies.
    David who was a shepherd himself, knew the relation- ship between a shepherd and the flock. As David himself had experiences of providing his flock with green pastures and waters, leading them in right paths, and protecting them from attacks of wild animals, he compares the LORD, God who leads and protects Israel to a Shepherd. God protects, guides, and provides them whom He loves with abundant things. God, who had guided, protected, and provided Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and the Israelites through Moses with abundant blessings, is a Shepherd for us, the Christians, His people.

2. He Makes Me Lie Down in Green Pastures
    A sheep is an animal with little talent and ability. As a sheep's sense of smell is less developed, it cannot find food by itself. A sheep cannot distinguish edible grasses from inedible grasses. The sheep definitely need a shepherd who guides them to green pastures and still waters. When the sheep have a good shepherd beside them, they shall not want.

3. He leads Me in Right Paths
    A sheep does not have a sense of direction. A cat or a dog who is far away from home finds its way back to home. But a sheep easily gets lost and wanders about. A sheep who turns aside from right paths cannot return to the right paths. Thus, the sheep absolutely need a shepherd who leads them in right tracks.

4. My Shepherd Comforts Me with His Rod and Staff
    The sheep sometimes need to go up to steep mountains and down into deep valleys to find green pastures, but
they do not fear, because they wholly lean on their shepherd.
    The sheep do not have a power to protect themselves from attacks of wild animals. However, their shepherd does. A shepherd guides the sheep by making paths through bushes with his rod, and protect them by driving away wolves and other wild animals with his staff.

5. My LORD Prepares a Table Before Me; My Cup Overflows
    God prepares a table for David in the presence of his enemies who despises him and his LORD. The LORD lets the enemies know that He is always with David.
    God treats David as an honored guest, by anointing his head with oil. God provides him with abundant blessings. His cup overflows.

6. I shall Dwell in the House of the LORD Forever
    To become a God's honored guest means more than an invitation to a banquet on a special occasion. In Jesus' parable of the wedding banquet in Matt. 22, the guests who are invited to the wedding banquet are those who will stay with the master forever in the master's house. David's hope to dwell in the house of the LORD is not a static expression but a dynamic and progressive one that is being realized.

7. Epilogue
    Jehovah, our LORD, is a good Shepherd who has led the Israelites, the foolish and untalented flock. Whenever they were hungry and thirsty, He made them eat manna and quails and drink water from rocks. He led them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Whenever they went astray, He guided them in the right paths with His rod, protected them from the attacks of their enemies with His staff.
    The LORD is still a good Shepherd for us, the Christians who live today. Our Shepherd knows us by names, calls us to come back when we go astray, guides us in the right tracks with his rod and protects us from Satan's all kinds of temptations with his staff. Even when we think that we walk through the dark valley of death, God walks beside us and protects us. When we lift up our eyes to the LORD for help in all our circumstances, we will know that his grace and mercy are boundless. Then, we will hope to dwell in the house of our good LORD forever, and our LORD will accept us as His honored guests into His house.

Blessed Is The Man (Psalm 1:1-6)

Blessed Is The Man (Psalm 1:1-6)

       
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When we start a new year, we greet each other, saying "Happy New Year," or "May you receive many blessings in this New Year" in a Korean way of expression.
But, they are almost the same wishes as happiness is directly related to blessings.
"Happiness" is the state of mind or life as a result of (God's) blessings.
"A blessed life" may be a life in good health bodily and spiritually, in peace, and in prosperity. It may also be a worry-free, pain-free, and sorrow-free life.
How can you live such a blessed life?
When God, the Fountain of blessings, guarantees it, you may be able to live a blessed life.
God guarantees you such a blessed life not only in this present world but also in the world that is to come.
As a matter of fact, God's blessing upon you in the life that is to come, that is, in His Kingdom is much more great.
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There are two Hebrew words in connection with "blessing": The word "baruch" means "God's blessing is bestowed" and the word "ashrei" means "to be in the state of happiness as a result of God's blessing" or "the mind seeking happiness."
The Psalmist in Psalm 1 is talking about the blessing of "ashrei," that is, the state of happiness of the righteous one as a result of God's bestowment of His blessings.
How can we attain "the state of happiness"?

Verse 1.  Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor in the seats of scoffers;
                                                  
The Psalmist emphasizes that for a man to be blessed, he needs to separate himself from the wicked, sinners, and scoffers (or mockers).
The wicked may include sinners and scoffers, but the Psalmist distinguishes three kinds of the unrighteous people for the purpose of emphasis and contrast.
"The wicked" points to all unrighteous persons who are away from God, deny God's work, and do not have intention to obey God's law.
"The wicked" in a narrow sense are those who commit sins in their minds and thoughts. "To walk in the counsel of the wicked" means "to conceive sinful mind and thought." The blessed one is a person who does not conceive sinful mind and thought.

The sinners are those who violate against the law of God in their conducts.
They actively convey their sinful mind and thought to practice.
Their sins are no longer stayed within their minds and thoughts but are expressed in their conducts. Those external wrong-doings are called trespasses in the Bible whereas internal wrong-doings in mind and thought are called sins.
"To stand in the way of sinners" means "to commit trespasses in conduct caused by sinful mind and thought."
The sinners live by their fleshly desires.
Paul in Galatians 5:19-21 tells us: "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God."

"The scoffers" or "the mockers" are the ones who stick out their lips, look down upon others, and make fun of others.
Their sins and trespasses are chronic and most serious.
As their sins are chronic, they are not conscious of their sins any more.
They do not have any guilty feelings.
When you commit a sin or a trespass for the first time, you may be fearful or trembling. Yet, if you repeatedly commit sins and trespasses, your fear will be gone away and you will not be afraid of anything -- even God.
Above all, they are arrogant before the Word of God. They are not fearful or trembling before the Word of God.
Blessed is the one who does not join the group of scoffers.
                                                  
Verse 2.  But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His Law he meditates day and night.

The man who is blessed has his delight in the law of the LORD.
Psalm 112:1 says, "Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands."
The blessed one meditates God's law day and night. The law or instruction of God is given to be meditated and kept by the people of God.
Psalm 119:1-2 says: "Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their hearts."

There are 613 commandments in the Torah which is also called Pentateuch.
Among them, 365 are don'ts and 248 do's. Among 10 Commandments, 8 are don'ts and 2 do's. People try to keep don'ts and they feel guilty if they do not keep don'ts. But they feel not guilty even if they do not keep do's.
Yet, the greatest commandments that Jesus taught his disciples are two do's -- love your God with your whole heart and love your neighbor as you love yourself.
However, our meditation and observance of the law are not from the duty feeling but from the mind of the love of God.

Verse 3.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

When a person does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but meditates on the law of God, he is like a tree planted by streams of water.
Jeremiah in his book 17:7-8 tells his people: "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

We, Christians, are like trees planted by the river of the water of life, which yield their fruits in season, and our souls will never be dried out.
Jesus in John 15:5 also tells us: "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
You were withered grass in the desert before you knew God and when you disobeyed Him. But, when you confess that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior and meditate on his teachings, you are transplanted by streams of water.
As God bestows His abundant blessings upon you, you prosper in all that you do.

Verses 4-5.  Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

The Psalmist contrasts the unhappiness of the wicked with the happiness of the righteous.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
The wicked are those who deny God and do whatever they want to do, but their destination will be the judgment.
Sinners are those who are away from God and do not accept Jesus as their personal Savior. They cannot enter the assembly of the righteous.

Verse 6.  For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
God's bountiful love and mercy are limited only to those who acknowledge God and follow His law out of their faith. God will watch over the way of the righteous.
But God gives the wicked over to their sinful nature and so they will eventually perish in judgment.
As God acknowledges the way of the righteous, He will place them on His right -- the seat of glory, life, and blessings. Yet, as God dislikes the way of the wicked, He will place them on His left -- the seat of disgrace, death, and condemnation.

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Don't you desire for the seat of the righteous and God's blessings upon them?
You can be the blessed one by not walking in the counsel of the wicked, by not standing in the way of sinners, and by not sitting in the seat of scoffers.

You may find your delight in the law of our LORD and thus you will meditate it day and night, and keep it in the days of your life.
Let us all be the blessed ones before our God.
And let us please our Lord more by giving ourselves more to Him.
May God bestow His abundant blessings upon you all throughout this year of 2013.