Psalm 23 (King James Version)
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
COMMENTARY by Lemuel Baker
Verse 1 The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. He is JEHOVAH-ROHI or God is Shepherd. One of Gods attributes inherent within Him is His ability to watch over, keenly observe us and intricately tend to us and to all of our affairs. He cares about us and will do all within His unlimited power to display His inherent ability to protect, to provide, to make happy and contented. To begin with we are required to take several steps backward and make Jesus Christ Lord of your life.
Verse 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He restoreth my soul. As Shepherd God knows how you as an individual ticks and He knows where the best spiritual, soulical and physical nutrition is consequently He leads us to those situations so that we can be fed and nourished well according to His highest standards of spiritual health and wholeness.
Verse 3 He restoreth my soul. When Adam and Eve fell in the "garden of eden" they fell spiritually, soulically and physically. All three aspects of their life began to die thus mentally or in our soul realm we declined and since then require daily restoration provided by the Holy Spirit Himself. Before man fell God ministered to Adam and Eve daily in the cool of the day and so God desires to restore our soul daily and especially on the sabbath when God focuses on communion with mankind, a day set aside for God to commune intensely with man.
Verse 3b He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake. God has a "good life" prepared and waiting for each of us after we come to Christ actually prepared before you were born. As a Shepherd He gently leads us into every bit of the good life uniquely made for you that will bring you full satisfaction and the deep desires of your heart. He has places for each of us where we feel secure and safe and yields the highest degree of mental, spiritual and physical health. He has a place of deep rest and peace for each of us.
Verse 4 Yeh, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. When life yields a turn in the road, an attack of satan remember the darkness of the attack will not kill you and only has an appearance of death. The strategy for this period of time is to keep moving using faith keenly to navigate to still waters. Use the rod of the scriptures, the staff of the Holy Spirit and Yeshua Himself who is with you to navigate to safety. Jesus Himself is with you seeing what you cannot see at the moment clearing the path to the light speaking softly to you and keeping you calm in the process. Jesus is extremely active as a Shepherd for you during the valley of the shadow of death keeping you every step of the way. Never give up, stop or quit in the valley of the shadow of death but keep moving having faith in Ha Shem.
Verse 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. When satan and evil men attack you this is Gods set opportunity to show off and to show out on your behalf for his name sake. His reputation as JEHOVAH-ROHI and JEHOVAH-NISSI is on the line. God wants a spiritual banner over your life for satan and all men to see which says you have the victory through Jesus Christ in every and all situations. (See The Lords Prayer Tab for all the names of God). God also lubricates us with his Spirit so that satans works cannot gain traction against us. This supernatural work of God yields happiness to the full till it overflows as we have all victory through Jesus Christ.
Verse 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. As we walk with God daily, yearly we discover he has a perfect track record and now are able to forecast safely He will continue to be faithful in granting mercy, and goodness consistently all the days of my life. Logically you can make a decision to follow Christ by staying in His house forever because this is the best place to be. Gods character is proven and you appreciate Him as the "Good Shepherd."
Chinese Version
詩篇 23（欽定版） 1耶和華是我的牧者；我不會想要的。 2 他使我躺臥在青草地上，領我在可安歇的水邊。 3 祂使我的靈魂甦醒，為自己的名引導我走義路。 4是的，雖然我走過死蔭的幽谷，我也不怕遭害：因為你與我同在；你的杖和你的杖都安慰我。 5 在我敵人面前，你為我擺設筵席，用油膏了我的頭，我的杯子溢出來了。 6 我一生一世必有恩惠慈愛隨著我；我要住在耶和華的殿中，直到永遠。 雷米爾貝克的評論 第 1 節 耶和華是我的牧者，我必不致缺乏。他是耶和華羅伊（JEHOVAH-ROHI）或神是牧者。神與生俱來的屬性之一就是祂有能力看顧、敏銳地觀察我們，並精心照顧我們和我們所有的事務。祂關心我們，並會在祂無限的能力範圍內盡一切努力來展現祂與生俱來的保護、供應、使人快樂和滿足的能力。首先，我們需要退後幾步，讓耶穌基督成為你生命的主。 第2節 他使我躺臥在青草地上；他使我的靈魂甦醒。作為牧者，上帝知道你作為一個個體的運作方式，他知道最好的精神、靈魂和身體營養在哪裡，因此他引導我們到這些情況，以便我們可以根據他的精神健康和完整的最高標準得到良好的餵養和滋養。 第 3 節 祂使我的靈魂甦醒。當亞當和夏娃墜入「伊甸園」時，他們在靈性、靈魂和身體上都墮落了。他們生命的所有三個方面都開始死亡，因此在精神上或在我們的靈魂領域中，我們衰落了，從那時起，我們每天都需要聖靈親自提供恢復。在人類墮落之前，神每天在涼爽的日子裡服事亞當和夏娃，所以神渴望每天恢復我們的靈魂，特別是在安息日，神專注於與人類的交通，這一天是為神專門與人類密切交通的。 第 3 節下半節祂為自己的名引導我走義路。在我們來到基督面前之後，神已經為我們每個人準備好了“美好的生活”，並且在我們出生之前就已經準備好了。作為牧羊人，祂溫柔地帶領我們進入為您精心打造的美好生活的每一點，這將為您帶來充分的滿足和內心深處的渴望。他為我們每個人提供了一個地方，讓我們感到安全，並獲得最高程度的心理、精神和身體健康。祂為我們每個人提供了一個深度休息與平安的地方。 第 4 節 是的，你，我走過死蔭的幽谷，我不會害怕邪惡，因為你與我同在，你的杖和你的杖都安慰我。當生命的道路出現轉折時，撒旦的攻擊要記住，黑暗的攻擊不會殺死你，只有死亡的外表。這段時間的策略是繼續前進，用敏銳的信念航行到平靜的水域。使用聖經的杖、聖靈的杖和與你同在的耶穌自己來引導你到達安全的地方。耶穌親自與你同在，看到你目前看不到的東西，清理通往光明的道路，溫柔地對你說話，並在這個過程中讓你保持平靜。在死亡陰影的幽谷中，耶穌作為你的牧者非常活躍，守護著你前進的每一步。在死亡陰影的幽谷中，永遠不要放棄、停止或退出，而是對 Ha Shem 充滿信心，繼續前進。 第5節 在我敵人面前，你為我擺設筵席；你用油膏了我的頭；我的杯子溢出來了。當撒旦和惡人攻擊你時，這是神安排的炫耀機會，為了祂的名而代表你炫耀。他作為耶和華羅希和耶和華尼西的聲譽岌岌可危。神希望你的生命上有一面屬靈的旗幟，讓撒旦和所有人都能看到，這面旗幟表明你透過耶穌基督在任何情況下都獲得了勝利。 （有關上帝的所有名字，請參閱上議院祈禱表）。神也用祂的靈潤滑我們，好讓撒旦的行為無法吸引我們來攻擊我們。神的這項超自然的工作帶來了完全的幸福，直到我們透過耶穌基督獲得了一切勝利為止。 第6節 我一生一世必有恩惠慈愛隨著我；我要住在耶和華的殿中，直到永遠。當我們日復一日、年復一年地與神同行時，我們發現祂有著完美的記錄，現在我們可以安全地預測祂將繼續忠實地在我一生中持續地賜予憐憫和良善。從邏輯上講，你可以決定永遠住在祂的家裡來跟隨基督，因為這是最好的地方。神的品格已被證實，你會欣賞他為「好牧人」。
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