Psalm 23:4
Even in the valley of the shadow of death, He is with us. His rod and His staff will comfort us!
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
Psalm 23:4
In this Psalm, King David tells us that the LORD is his Shepherd. Today’s verse can be comforting when we are in trouble, for example when Satan is attacking us. Let’s dive into the text!
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;”
David will fear no evil, even though he walks through the “valley of the shadow of death”. The Hebrew word צַלְמָ֡וֶת [ṣal·mā·weṯ] is also translated as “deep darkness”. It means a dangerous and dark place, where all hope is lost. It is in this place that God will be with you. He will shine His light upon you.
- Psalm 44:19: “But You have severely broken us in the place of jackals, and covered us with the shadow of death.”
- Psalm 107:13-14: “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces.”
- Isaiah 9:2: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.”
“For You are with me;”
David will fear no evil, because the LORD is with him. Those who trust in the LORD will be safe in His presence. Neither human nor devil can hurt you when the LORD is your Shepherd. This does not mean that nothing will happen to you. People may hurt your body, but in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. You may go to sleep in the knowledge that He will sustain you.
- Psalm 91:1-2: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’”
- Psalm 118:6: “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
- Romans 8:36-39: “As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- Psalm 3:5: “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.”
“Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
The rod and the staff of the Shepherd comfort us. The rod and staff were used to lead and protect the flock. The staff had a slightly curved end that could be used to grab a sheep by its leg, so that it could not wander off and get lost. The rod was often used against wild animals that wanted to attack the flock. The LORD will both protect and guide His people. He will lead them beside still waters, and make them lie down in green pastures.
- Micah 7:14: “Shepherd Your people with Your staff, the flock of Your heritage, who dwell solitarily in a woodland, in the midst of Carmel; Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in days of old.”
- Psalm 23:2: “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”
Today’s lesson: Even in the darkest valley, we may trust God. He will be with us through the pain, sorrow, and sadness. He will guide us and keep us safe. He was with David, and He will be with us. He was the Shepherd of David, is He your Shepherd too?
God is not only called our Shepherd, He is also called our Rock. Read our Bible study about Deuteronomy 32:4 to learn more!