Psalms 23:4-6

4 Even though I ¹walk through the valley of ²the shadow of death,^[a] I will ³fear no evil, for ⁴you are with me; your ⁵rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You ⁶prepare a table before me in ⁷the presence of my enemies; you ⁸anoint my head with oil; my ⁹cup overflows.

6 Surely^[b] goodness and mercy^[c] shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall ¹⁰dwell^[d] in the house of the LORD ¹¹forever.^[e]

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Fear

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Psalms 23:4-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 23

\\<>\\. Thus psalm was written by David, either when he was in distressed circumstances, being persecuted by Saul, and was in the forest of Hareth, 1Sa 22:5; as some think {r}; wherefore he comforts himself with the Lord's being his shepherd, so that he should not want; nor would he fear, was he in worse circumstances than he at present was; or rather, when he was settled upon the throne of Israel, and in the most prosperous and flourishing state of his reign, as the latter part of the psalm shows; he speaks not in his own person only, but in the name of all believers; for Christ, who is the shepherd spoken of, is a common shepherd to all the saints, who are all the sheep of his pasture, as well as David; and the prophet here makes use of similes very familiar with him; he having been a shepherd himself, and knew what it was to do all the parts of that office, which are herein expressed; and very pertinently does this psalm follow the former; for as there Christ is prophesied of as laying down his life for the sheep, as the good shepherd does; and of his being brought again from the dead, as the great shepherd of the sheep, as Christ has been; so here of his performing his office as such, in all its parts, to the great comfort, refreshment, and safety of his people. {r} Jarchi & Kimchi.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible