- Overcomer Literature Trust
- Swindon
- Wiltshire
4. THE GUIDE AND THE PATH Ps. 23.
1. The Guide along the pathway.
“The Lord is my Shepherd” (v1).
Note the personal ‘my’ and compare John 10 v1-18 for the description of the sheep and the Faithful Shepherd.
2. The certainty of all-sufficiency.
“I shall not want” (v1).
The Shepherd will assuredly see that the soul shall “not want any good thing” as it follows Him obediently.
3. The earlier stages of the pathway.
a) Taught to lie still.
“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures” (v2).
b) Led by quiet ways so as to mature in growth.
“He leadeth me beside the waters of quietness” (v2).
c) Restored and renewed in every time of need.
“He restoreth my soul” (v3).
d) Taught the righteousness of God in details of life.
“He guideth me in the paths of righteousness” (v3).
e) The object of His careful training.
“For His Name’s sake” (v3).
Taught to lie still in the hand of God, and trained by the Shepherd to know what is according to His righteousness in the outward manner of life, the guided soul is then led on “from faith unto faith”, as it is written, “But the righteous shall live from faith” (Rom. 1 v17).
4. The deeper path in the fulness of time.
a) Step by step through deep darkness.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of deep darkness” (v4).
Note that it is a walk through, for there is a way out the other side. A quiet steady walk with God in bare faith is the Lord’s delight. “The proof of your faith . . . more precious than gold” (1 Peter 1 v7).
b) The valley and its shadow.
“The valley of the shadow of death” (v4).
The actual cup of death was drained to the dregs by the Shepherd Himself, and He is a tender Guide for the sheep as they are led through what is spiritually as a shadow compared with His passage through the reality of death at Calvary.
c) The faith of the faithful soul.
“I will fear no evil” (v4).
In the green pastures, and by the still waters, the soul learnt to know the heart of the Shepherd. Now it can follow and trust Him without fear.
d) The unseen Presence in the valley of darkness.
“Thou art with me” (v4).
Compare Isa. l v10. “Let him trust . . . and stay upon his God.”
e) The support of the trusting heart.
“Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me” (v4).
Thus is the soul taught to live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Gently weaned from all reliance upon experiences, emotions, or outward supports, “the word of the Lord” becomes its rock ground, for the “word of the Lord shall endure for ever”.
5. The life in the Sanctuary realized.
a) The banqueting house.
“Thou preparest a table before me” (v5).
b) The Anointing Spirit.
“Thou hast anointed my head with oil” (v5).
c) The overflowing heart.
“My cup runneth over” (v5).
d) The assurance of faith.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me” (v6).
e) The decision of faith.
“I will dwell in the house of the Lord” (v6).
Compare Psalm 66 v10-12. “Thou broughtest us into . . . But Thou broughtest us out.” Again Psalm 84 v6-7. “Passing through the valley . . . they go from strength to strength, every one of them appeareth before God in Zion.”