Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 23:4

Yea, 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.

4. The figure of the shepherd is still continued. “The sheep districts [in Palestine] consist of wide open wolds or downs, reft here and there by deep ravines, in whose sides lurks many a wild beast, the enemy of the flocks” (Tristram, Nat. Hist. p. 138). Even in such a dismal glen, where unknown perils are thickest, where deathly gloom and horror are on every side, he knows no fear. Cp. Jeremiah’s description of Jehovah’s care for Israel in the wilderness (Psa 2:6). Bunyan’s development of the idea in the Pilgrim’s Progress is familiar to everyone.

the shadow of death ] The word tsalmveth is thus rendered in the Ancient Versions, and the present vocalisation assumes that this is its meaning. But compounds are rare in Hebrew except in proper names, and there are good grounds for supposing that the word is derived from a different root and should be read tsalmth and explained simply deep gloom (cp. R.V. marg.). It is not improbable that the pronunciation of the word was altered at an early date in accordance with a popular etymology (like our causeway, originally causey, from Fr. chausse).

for thou art with me ] God’s presence is His people’s strength and comfort. Cp. Gen 28:15; Jos 1:5 ff.; &c. &c.

Thy rod and thy staff ] The shepherd’s crook is poetically described by two names, as the rod or club with which he defends his sheep from attack ( Mic 7:14 ; 2Sa 23:21; Psa 2:9); and the staff on which he leans. The shepherd walks before his flock, ready to protect them from assault; they follow gladly and fearlessly wherever he leads.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death – The meaning of this in the connection in which it occurs is this: God will lead and guide me in the path of righteousness, even though that path lies through the darkest and most gloomy vale – through deep and dismal shades – in regions where there is no light, as if death had cast his dark and baleful shadow there. It is still a right path; it is a path of safety; and it will conduct me to bright regions beyond. In that dark and gloomy valley, though I could not guide myself, I will not be alarmed; I will not be afraid of wandering or of being lost; I will not fear any enemies there – for my Shepherd is there to guide me still. On the word here rendered shadow of death – tsalmaveth – see Job 3:5, note; and Isa 9:2, note. The word occurs besides only in the following places, in all of which it is rendered shadow of death: Job 10:21-22; Job 12:22; Job 16:16; Job 24:17 (twice); Job 28:3; Job 34:22; Job 38:17; Psa 44:19; Psa 107:10, Psa 107:14; Jer 2:6; Jer 13:16; Amo 5:8. The idea is that of death casting his gloomy shadow over that valley – the valley of the dead. Hence, the word is applicable to any path of gloom or sadness; any scene of trouble or sorrow; any dark and dangerous way. Thus understood, it is applicable not merely to death itself – though it embraces that – but to any or all the dark, the dangerous, and the gloomy paths which we tread in life: to ways of sadness, solitude, and sorrow. All along those paths God will be a safe and certain guide.

I will fear no evil – Dark, cheerless, dismal as it seems, I will dread nothing. The true friend of God has nothing to fear in that dark valley. His great Shepherd will accompany him there, and can lead him safely through, however dark it may appear. The true believer has nothing to fear in the most gloomy scenes of life; he has nothing to fear in the valley of death; he has nothing to fear in the grave; he has nothing to fear in the world beyond.

For thou art with me – Thou wilt be with me. Though invisible, thou wilt attend me. I shall not go alone; I shall not be alone. The psalmist felt assured that if God was with him he had nothing to dread there. God would be his companion, his comforter, his protector, his guide. How applicable is this to death! The dying man seems to go into the dark valley alone. His friends accompany him as far as they can, and then they must give him the parting hand. They cheer him with their voice until he becomes deaf to all sounds; they cheer him with their looks until his eye becomes dim, and he can see no more; they cheer him with the fond embrace until he becomes insensible to every expression of earthly affection, and then he seems to be alone. But the dying believer is not alone. His Saviour God is with him in that valley, and will never leave him. Upon His arm he can lean, and by His presence he will be comforted, until he emerges from the gloom into the bright world beyond. All that is needful to dissipate the terrors of the valley of death is to be able to say, Thou art with me.

Thy rod and thy staff – It may not be easy to mark the difference between these two words; but they would seem probably to refer, the latter to the staff which the shepherd used in walking, and the former to the crook which a shepherd used for guiding his flock. The image is that of a shepherd in attendance on his flock, with a staff on which he leans with one hand; in the other hand the crook or rod which was the symbol of his office. Either of these also might be used to guard the flock, or to drive off the enemies of the flock. The crook is said (see Rosenmuller, in loc.) to have been used to seize the legs of the sheep or goats when they were disposed to run away, and thus to keep them with the flock. The shepherd invariably carries a rod or staff with him when he goes forth to feed his flock. It is often bent or hooked at one end, which gave rise to the shepherds crook in the hand of the Christian bishop. With this staff he rules and guides the flock to their green pastures, and defends them from their enemies. With it also he corrects them when disobedient, and brings them back when wandering. (The land and the book, vol. i., p. 305.)

They comfort me – The sight of them consoles me. They show that the Shepherd is there. As significant of his presence and his office, they impart confidence, showing that he will not leave me alone, and that he will defend me.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Psa 23:4

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

Valleys of the shadow

The royal poet is putting a spiritual meaning into the various experiences of his shepherds life; and as he once led his flock to the green pastures and by the still waters, so he ascribes whatever of peaceful happiness, his own life had known, to the kindly guidance of God. Today let us give Davids metaphor a practical application to our own character and fate. No man knows what is the real meaning and worth of life till he has consciously passed through the valley of the shadow of death. All healthy life is at the beginning unconscious. The analogy of the body helps us to understand this. A happy child lives without at all thinking of life–what it is, when it begins, how it must end. One can conceive of such a life as this prolonged through manhood and old age; but there would be something less than human in its unconsciousness. And there are lives, far more frequent, which are unconscious in another way, because today they eat and drink, and tomorrow die, and never know that there is anything more in existence than this; which are below the consciousness of sin, and never rise to a knowledge of their own wretchedness. So much is common to these two kinds of unconsciousness, that they can only be startled out of themselves by a touch of pain. The consciousness of sin can alone reveal the infiniteness of duty, the pangs of sorrow make plain the depth and compass of life. But no one of us ever goes down into the valley of the shadow of death of his own accord. We are willing to live the unconscious life if we can. We know the depths that lie below, but none the less rejoice to skim lightly over the surface. By and by God comes, and with His own Fatherly hand He leads us into the gloom, and leaves us there awhile alone. There is not one of us who would not rejoice in life-long exemption from bitter bereavement, who would not, if he could, choose this form of blessing almost before shy other. And yet it is far better that Gods visitation should come this way than not at all. If the soul has in it a certain capacity of education into the likeness of God, and can acquire a strength and a sweetness that were not in it at the first; if, moreover, this growth into a finer force, and symmetry is to be manifested upon a larger than any earthly scale,–then these blows of fate are not mere subtractions from the sum of happiness, and therefore to be wholly deprecated, but stages of discipline, states of training to be accepted, when they come, as part of the tuition of life. There are troubles and distresses the characteristic of which is to recall us to God from the mere external shows and shadows of life, and so out of seeming darkness to bring us into real light. But sometimes a darkness falls upon us which will not lift, and whose peculiar horror it is to rob us of the belief that there is any light at all. It may be the result of misfortune; it may come from reasoning overmuch; it may be the dizziness of the imagination. Every day men go down into this darkness, not knowing it, and able, almost content, to live in it. Can anything be so truly pitiable as to be altogether without lifes divinest thirst, as never to know the desire which transcends all others, as to be wholly unconscious of the satisfaction which, once felt, is recognised as including all strength and all happiness? It would not be good for us never to go down into the valley of the shadow of death until we were called upon to make the inevitable transit from this life to another. Until we are shaken out of our moral unconsciousness by some great shock and conflict of the spirit we cannot tell what nobleness of strength, what debasement of weakness, lie concealed within us. Our faith is never firmly rooted in our hearts till we have looked out upon life and faced what it would be without faith. We never know what God is, and may be, to our spirits till we have gone down with Him into the valley of the shadow, and there in the thick darkness felt the stay of His presence and the comfort of His love. (C. Beard, B. A.)

Fearless in dangers

I. That great calamities, and terrible dangers, even the shadows of death may befall the people of God. For the understanding of this assertion premise these particulars, namely, that there are several shadows of death, or terrible dangers; some are–

1. Natural: as grievous diseases and sicknesses, which do even close up the day of life.

2. Malicious: which arise from Satan and from evil men, his instruments.

3. Spiritual: these dangers of all others are the most sore. These shadows of death, or great and near dangers, do cause them to shake off their great security. When a storm ariseth it is time for the mariner to awake and look to his tackling, and when the city is beleaguered it will make every man to stand to his arms. Standing waters gather mud, and disused weapons rust. They do demonstrate the solidity and validity of true grace. They increase the spirit of prayer more. They do dissolve and loosen the affections more from the world. Shadows of death make us better to discern the shadows of life, the poor empty vanities of the world, and set the heart more on heavenly purchases.

II. That righteous persons are fearless even under the shadows of death. And the reasons or causes of this fearlessness of man, or dangers by man, are these–

(1) God hath wrought in them a true fear of Himself; He hath put His fear into their hearts (Jer 32:40). Now, the true fear of God purgeth or casteth out all vain fear of men.

(2) They know that the originals of fear are not in the creatures. Men are afraid of men because they take them to be more than men.

(3) They are in covenant with God, and God with them, therefore they fear no evil.

(4) They have much clearness in conscience; and integrity in conscience breeds audacity in conscience.

(5) They have faith in them, and can live by faith. The just shall live by his faith (Heb 2:3).

(6) Lastly, they may be fearless notwithstanding all dangers, forasmuch as those dangers shall never do them hurt, but good. And who is he that will harm you if ye be followers of that which is good? (1Pe 3:13.)

III. That God is present with His people in all their dangers and troubles, and that presence of His is the ground of their confidence.

(1) That God is present with His in all their dangers.

(2) Divine presence is the ground of Christian confidence. Some distinguish thus; there is a fourfold presence of God–

(1) One is natural. And thus is He present with all creatures. Whither shall I flee from Thy presence (Psa 139:7).

(2) A second is majestical. And thus is He said to be present in heaven; and we pray to Him as our Father which is in heaven.

(3) A third is His judicial presence. And thus is He present with ungodly men.

(4) A fourth is His gracious or favourable presence.

Consider the qualities of His presence with you, and it may yield you singular comfort and support.

(1) It is the presence of a loving God.

(2) It is the presence of an Almighty God.

(3) It is the presence of an active God.

At such times you will certainly need the presence of God. Our affections are apt to be most impatient. Our fears are apt to be most violent. Our unbeliefs are apt to be most turbulent. Our consciences are apt to be most unquiet. And Satan is most ready to fish in troubled waters. (O. Sedgwick, B. D.)

Light in a darkened way

I. A picture of the way of life darkened. When this will be we know not. Bunyan puts it midway, but sometimes it is nearer the beginning than the end. Childhood knows it not; gladsomeness and enjoyment are his of right. But later on life darkens. But come how and when it may, it will come at the right time and in the right way. If it ever work evil, the fault will be ours. Sometimes the shadows are those of sorrow. At others, of doubt. At yet other times it is the result of some sin. The sorrow of wasted power, of lost confidence, of violated vows, is a pang which wrings the human heart with an agony it knows not how to bear. Such experiences are stern and solemn realities.

II. No man need go down the valley alone. There is light in the darkened way. Thou art with me. And He is with us to help and protect. Augustine would leave Carthage to go to Rome. His pious mother, fearing the snares of Rome for her wayward boy, begged him not to go. He promised to remain, but in the night stole away. But there, where his mother feared he would be lost, he was saved. Years after he wrote thus, Thou, O God, knowing my mothers desire, refusedst what she then asked, that Thou mightest give her what she was forever asking. (George Bainton.)

The valley of the shadow of death

I. The pass and its terrors. The valley of the shadow of death. Get the idea of a narrow ravine, something like the Gorge of Gondo or some other stern pass upon the higher Alps, where the rocks seem piled to heaven, and the sunlight is seen above as through a narrow rift. And so troubles are sometimes heaped one upon another, pile on pile, and the road is a dreary defile. It is exceedingly gloomy. Some of you dont know such troubles. Do not seek to know. Keep bright while you can. Sing while you may. Be larks and mount aloft and sing as you mount. But some of Gods people are not much in the lark line; they are a great deal more like owls. But desponding people, if to be blamed, are yet much more to be pitied. Still, the covenant is never known to Abraham so well as when a horror of great darkness comes over him, and then he sees the shining lamp moving between the pieces of the sacrifice. And there are parts of our life which are dangerous as well as gloomy. The Khyber Pass is still terrible in mens memories, and there are Khybers in most mens lives. No doubt the Lords ways are ways of pleasantness, but for all that there are enemies on the road to heaven. And then its solitude. This is a great trial to some spirits, and mingling in crowds is no relief, for there is no solitude of the spirit so intense as that which is often felt in crowds. Still, this valley is often traversed. Many more go by this road than most people dream. But it is not an unhallowed pathway, for our Lord Jesus Christ has gone along it.

II. The pilgrim and his progress.

1. He is calm in the prospect of his dreary passage.

2. And is steady in his progress. He walks through, does not run in haste.

3. And he is secure in his expectancy. There is a bright side to that word through. He expects to come out into a brighter country.

4. And he is free from fear. I have read of a little lad on board a vessel in great peril. Everybody was alarmed. But he kept playing about, amused rather at the tossing of the ship. When asked what made him so fearless he replied, My father is the captain. He knows how to manage. Let us so believe in God. Yet–

5. He is not at all fanatical. He gives a good reason for his fearlessness. Thou art with me!

III. The soul and its shepherd. Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. The rod and the staff, the tokens of shepherdry, are the comforts of the saints.

1. The rod is for the numbering of the sheep.

2. For rule.

3. Guidance.

4. Urging onward. I have had to lay on the rod at times on certain fat sheep not so nimble as they ought to be. But their wool is so thick that I can scarcely make them feel. But the Great Shepherd can, and will.

5. For chastisement.

6. For protection. How David defended his sheep. May God give us all the faith expressed in our text. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The path of life

I. The path of life as shadowed by death. The valley of the shadow of death. David does not speak of the article of death here as some suppose. He does not say, though I may walk, or though I should walk, or though I must walk, but though I walk. He is speaking of his walking it now. There is a bright sun, it is true, in the sky of life, otherwise there could be no shadow: but the figure of death is so colossal that its shadow covers the whole sphere of our existence.

II. The path of life as trod with a fearless soul. I will fear no evil.

1. Some tread the valley of life with a stolid indifference. They seem utterly regardless of the dark shadows on the path, and whither the path conducts them. Like brutes they live.

2. Some tread the path of life with a giddy frivolity. The everlasting jest and ceaseless round of hilarious excitement indicate that they have never been penetrated with a true idea of life.

3. Some tread the path of life with a slavish dread. They are afraid of their end.

4. Some tread the path of life with moral bravery. Thus did David.

III. The path of life as walked in companionship with God.

1. Thou art with me as the infallible Guide in the ever-thickening gloom.

2. Thou art with me as a safe Protector from every conceivable evil. (Homilist.)

The valley of the shadow of death

Preparation for death is two fold–of state and of susceptibility. We may be prepared in state, as David was when he cried, Oh, spare me that I may recover strength before I go hence and be no more seen, but he was not prepared in feeling. But here in our text he is prepared in both ways. I will fear no evil; his experience was ripe for death, and he could anticipate the event with confidence. The Psalmist looked upon the Shepherd in this place as the Master of death, and so feared no evil.

I. To some the valley of the shadow of death is a place of danger and alarm. That one could say he feared no evil is no proof that there is no evil for others. For the ungodly there is. For–

1. He must feel the sting of death, which is sin. That removed, death is no more dangerous than a serpent whose sting is withdrawn.

2. Then, too, conscience will be roused, and there will be no means to pacify it. Conscience cannot sleep then, though they have dozed and slumbered undisturbed by the thunders of Sinai, and the noise of death cutting down some old barren fig tree in their neighbourhood.

3. Then, too, Mercy will depart forever. She outstays all others, but now even Mercy says, Good-bye forever. Thou didst never see a morning when I did not meet thee with my arms full of kindnesses toward thee. Thou art now going where I have not been and whither I shall never come–Good-bye! And the hope of man is lost!

3. There also must he meet the wrath of God without a hiding place. It had been declared many times that it was approaching; but there was no way of escape. But now it is too late to turn back. Gods wrath must now be faced. The terrors of God array themselves against the ungodly men.

II. The godly mans confidence in the face of death. I will fear, etc. Yet how terrible the description of death.

1. A valley–a deep and dismal place. Some live their lives in the hilltops of prosperity, others in the vales of adversity and sorrow, but this valley lies lower than these. Yet the godly man fears not.

2. A dark valley–a valley of shadow, the shadow of death where the light is as darkness.

3. A dreadful valley–for it belongs to death. This is its home, here its court and throne. Some have fainted at the sight of some of its subjects; what of the King Himself? But here is one going down into its domains. It is probable that he will run silently through, and as swiftly as he possibly can, until he is nearly breathless. No. He intends walking slowly through, as if resolved to view it well, the only time he shall go that way. Probably he intends crossing it in the narrowest place. No. He speaks of walking the whole length of the valley. Is he afraid he may fail and faint half way? No. He confidently trusts that he will reach the farther end.

III. The grounds of his confidence. Gods presence. Thou art with me. No one is so timid as a godly man without God. He will go nowhere without Him. But with Him he will go anywhere. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. (David Roberts, D. D.)

The valley of the shadow of death

I. the circumstances in which the believer is placed. The valley of the shadow of death has been supposed to describe a gloomy defile in which the traveller sees, as it were, the image of death depicted wherever he turns his eyes. Others, again, and perhaps with greater simplicity of interpretation, have found the idea of dark shadow, impenetrable gloom cast by some overhanging object which shuts out all light. The natural effect of peril is to create alarm; and it is nothing less than a signal triumph over the strongest instincts of the human constitution for a man, when he walks through the valley of the shadow of death, to fear no evil. It is, however, a triumph over nature, to which the religion of the Bible frequently calls, and for which she abundantly prepares her followers.

II. The feelings which in these circumstances he is able to entertain. The Psalmist does not say, I will not fear, though even had he said so we should have known how to interpret his words with due restrictions; but he says, I will fear no evil, that is, I will apprehend no real or ultimate injury. The Psalmist had made too enlarged an observation, he had passed through too varied an experience of life, to suppose that the clouds which lowered upon the scene before him would always pass away innocuous. Exactly so the Christian now has no reason to expect that he will be spared the suffering–and that to the extremity of mortal endurance–of what is painful, and desolating, and agonising; but every Christian may be assured that all these things shall fail to do him real evil. And while this is the feeling which every child of God may be expected to entertain, in every condition in which he can be placed of deadly gloom and peril, so it is peculiarly the sentiment which he is called upon to cherish when treading in particular that dreary path which, to most minds, Is suggested by the appellation, the valley of the shadow of death. A sharp thrill of undefined yet overwhelming terror is apt to shoot across his soul that, in the words of the Psalmist, he exclaims, My heart is sore vexed within me, and the fear of death is fallen upon me. But it will be but for a moment that the Christian, trusting in his Redeemer, will suffer such gloomy thoughts as these to involve his spirit; presently, as he proceeds deeper and deeper down the perilous descent, you will hear a voice of solemn yet not desponding melody ascending from the shades, I will trust and not be afraid; Yea, though I walk through, etc.

III. The reasons on which the Psalmist grounds and justifies his persuasion. That, with whatever circumstances of direct and most deadly peril he might be environed, no real evil should befall him.

1. The fact of Jehovahs friendly presence.

2. The fact of Jehovahs pastoral care: Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. The Scriptural expression, to be with one, denotes the special presence of Jehovah with those whom He loves, to guide, to help, to protect, to favour, and to bless them; as when Abimelech, for example, congratulated Abraham on the manifest tokens which his history presented that he was the object of Almighty favour, by saying, The Lord is with thee in all that thou dost,–when our Lord, in order to encourage His apostle amidst the arduous toils and trials that awaited him at Corinth, spake to him in vision,–Fear not, for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee. (T. B. Patterson, M. A.)

A funeral sermon

Death is what human nature is prone to dread. Most men shrink, as long as they are able, from the entrance into the valley of the shadow of it. Let us consider what are the evils to he encountered in passing through the valley of the shadow of death.

I. In the first place, the pains of death must be encountered by us; and these fill many minds with dismay. God has been pleased, notwithstanding the redemption of our race from utter destruction, to leave in the world demonstrations of their fall, and amongst these are the anguish and manifold distresses which accompany our mortality.

II. The valley of death is rendered terrible to man, because it interrupts and terminates all his earthly pursuits and expectations.

III. The separation from the objects who were endeared to us, and the scenes and pleasures which delighted us in the present world. But how happy those who in this solemn hour can entrust not only themselves, but all whom they love, to the tender and faithful protection of God.

IV. Another thing which renders death terrible to many is the darkness with which it is encompassed. Shadows, clouds, and gloom rest upon it. To the infidel it is dismally obscure. Bones and ashes are all he can discover. Conscience fills it with ghosts and spectres and images of terror. They shudder as they enter. They cry aloud for light.

V. But the greatest of all the causes of anxiety and fear which the children of men encounter at the approach of death is the apprehension of the judgment which will ensue. (Bishop Dehon.)

Through the dark valley

Observe that dark valley attentively. Consider what it is; whither it leads; what its shadow means; what are its evils; what its security in the midst of those evils. You are daily approaching it.

I. A gloomy shadow.

II. A fearless traveller.

III. A present God. (R. Halley, M. A.)

The valley of the shadow

We are debtors, every one of us, to that old poet, whoever he was, who, in ransacking a teeming brain–teeming with images of idyllic peace and happiness, and also with images, of nameless dread and gloom–lighted upon the valley of the shadow of death, as Bunyan afterwards lighted upon a place where was a den, and gave to all that in human experience which before death is worse than death itself, a local habitation and a name. Different forms of the religious sentiment have their different values in regard to the dismal experience thus happily named. None of them has actually the value assigned to it. Religion, natural temperament, courage, cheeriness, all mingle in the confidence of him who here says I will fear no evil. For aught we know, there may have been as much of the one as of the other. Natural temper and disposition count for much, usually for more than anything else, in the most trying moments of human life. Then, the natural man is apt to part company with his costume of habits and customs, and to show himself as he was born, the bravest of the brave or the weakest of the weak. It is not the most pious man in the regiment, I suppose, who is always the coolest in the forlorn hope. Some men, like John Wesley, are brave on land who are great cowards at sea; others, like some of Elizabeths buccaneers, are timid in regard to the least adversity occurring in a hospital, but undaunted in regard to it if it threatens in a gale. Not according to differences of religious belief, but according to idiosyncrasies of disposition or accidental habits of mind, the valley of the shadow of death varies its character. As regards the last fact of all, which makes all human life a tragedy, we who look forward to it with a shudder cannot help envying the coolies of St. Helena and elsewhere, who lie down to die as peaceably as if it were to sleep; or the Turkish soldiers at Plevna, who preserved such coolness in presence of the horrors there. You can scarcely call their fatalism religious sentiment, yet it did that for them. Some surgeons say that there are people without nerves. What is a terrible ordeal to some in the way of pain, to others is a mere trifle. Now, though religious people will hardly allow, it, it is a fact that natural temperament has far more to do with heroism in its most striking forms than religion has. But religion has to do with it, and different forms of the religious sentiment have, therefore, different values in this respect. That it is glorious to die for ones country was an idea with which the whole Greek and Roman life was saturated in a way unknown to the Hebrew race. That sentiment produced its natural effect in Plutarchs Lives, the reading of which is like reading the Charge of the Light Brigade. But it is when you come down to Christian times that you have the religious sentiment, the rise of which takes you back to this Psalm and earlier, and we find it so pervading the lives of multitudes of common men and women that they are found to be instinct with a courage and patience which can hardly be matched in Plutarch. It is a heroism, not of the general and his staff, but of plain people. And we have it here in this Psalm. The trust in the Divine Shepherd is an antidote to all alarm. What that sentiment has done to lighten, for countless multitudes of human beings, all adversity, and the last adversity of all, to make the unendurable tolerable or even welcome, may be partly imagined but cannot certainly be told. It is still what it has been–to multitudes it is still what nothing else is or could be in the way of solving the enigmas of life and making the heavy and the weary weight of it intelligible and supportable. (J. Service, D. D.)

Deep shades

The image of Davids Heat distress, the valley, or ravine, of the shadow of death, or, as it may be translated, of deep shades, can, without any fancifulness, be connected with the scenery through which he passed in his flight. He must, after crossing Olivet, have descended to the fords of the Jordan by one of the rocky passes which lead from the tableland of Jerusalem. These deep ravines are full of ghastly shadows, and David passed down one of them as the evening had begun to fall, and waited by the ford of Jordan till midnight. It is not improbable that we have here the source of the image in this verse. Such a march must have impressed itself strongly on his imagination. The weird and fierce character of the desolate ravine, the long and deathly shadows which chilled him as the sun sank, the fierce curses of Shimei, the fear behind him, the agony in his own heart repeating the impression of the landscape, fastened the image of it in his memory forever. He has thrown it into poetry in this verse. For now, when be mused upon his trial, he transferred to the present feelings of his heart at Mahanaim the agony of that terrible day, but added to it the declaration of the faith in God which his deliverance had mane strong within him. And his words have become since then the expression of the feelings of all men in the intensity of trial. Not merely in the last Heat death trial, for God knows that there are valleys of the shadow of death in life itself which are worse than death a thousand times. Thousands welcome death as the reliever, the friend,–they who have seen every costly argosy of hope sink like lead in the waters of the past, and whose future stretches before them a barren plain of dreary sea on which a fiery sun is burning; and they who look back on a past of unutterable folly and darker sin, and who know that never, never more the freshness of youths early inspiration can return. The innocent morning is gone, and they hide their heads now from the fiery simoom of remorse in the desert of their guilty life. It is the consciences valley of the shadow of death. There are times, too, even in youth, when, by a single blow, all the odour and colour have been taken out of living, when the treachery of lover or friend has made us say, as we were tortured and wrung with the bitterest of bitterness, that all is evil and not good. It is the hearts valley of the shadow of death. And there are times in the truest Christian life when all faith is blotted out, and God becomes to us a phantom, a fate, impersonal, careless, and we cry out that we have no Father in Heaven; and of our prayer, too, it may be said though we have prayed, oh how fervently, He answered never a word. It is the spirits valley of the shadow of death. Now, what was Davids refuge in one of these awful hours? It was faith in God, the Ever-Near. David had entered the valley of the shadow of death of the heart; he had been betrayed, insulted, exiled by the one whom he had loved best. It was enough to make him disbelieve in Divine goodness and human tenderness, enough to harden his heart into steel against God, into cruelty against man. In noble faith he escaped from that ruin of the soul, and threw himself upon God–I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. The next verse, supposing the Psalm to have been written at Mahanaim, is at once comprehensible. For far away in the Eastern city there came consolation to David, through the visit and help of Barzillai, who brought him food. Thou preparest a table for me, etc. One of the sad comforts of trial is this, that it is the touchstone of friendship. We realise then who are true gold. We often lose in trial what is calculable; we oftener gain what is incalculable. Precisely the same principle holds good in the spiritual world. The blessing of all trial is that it disperses the vain shows of life on which we rested, and makes Christ, the eternal Certainty, more deeply known. But how? How do we know another? Only by entering into his spirit, by sharing in his life. There is a broad distinction between an acquaintance and a friend. We may see an acquaintance every day, but we never see his heart. We hover with him over the surfaces of things, touching, it may be, now and then the real inward life as a swallow touches a stream in its flight, but we never dwell with him within the temple of inward thought or enter with him into the inner shrine of feeling. A friend–how different! one to whom your heart has opened itself freely, to receive from whom is pleasure, for whom to sacrifice yourself is joy. So we become at home in his nature, and so is it with Christ and the Christian man. If you would be the friend of Christ you must partake of His life–the life of self-sacrifice. (A. S. Brooke. M. A.)

The shadow of death

This valley, in Bunyans dream, lies about midway in the journey of life. This is one of those revelations of the souls experience which makes Bunyans book a mirror. If this valley lay right across our path at the outset it would wither our life at the spring. While if it came too near the end it would be too late to bless our souls. No, not near the beginning is that valley. I have often seen a little child sit beside the coffin that held its mother, with as fair a light on its face as I hope to see in heaven. And I have said, there is no valley and shadow of death for these little ones. Nor, either, for those who are still young. Sorrow comes, but they recover. They soon resume the natural habit of their life if you let them alone. They break out into the warm bright world again, like a Norway spring, and it is by the tender mercy of God that they do so. And in old age that valley and shadow lie behind us. When a great English painter in water colours was past work, and was waiting for his summons to depart,–for he was ninety-one,–he told his servant to bring in his masterpiece, that he might see it once more before he died. It was a picture of a shipwreck. He looked at it a good while and then said, Bring me my pencils and lift me up; I must brighten that black cloud. It used to seem just right, but I see now it is too dark, and I must brighten it before I go. And when it was done he died. Now, I doubt not that when he painted that picture the cloud was not one shade blacker than be felt it ought to be; because true painters always dip their pencils first in the water of their own lives, and press the pigments out of their hearts and brains. But the way from middle age to ninety-one had lain upward into the light, the sweet, calm sunset of his life. And so it is with every healthful old age. Travelling into these high latitudes we touch at last a polar summer, where the morning twilight of the new day comes out of heaven to blend with the evening twilight of the old. The fear of what death may do, and the awful sense of what death can do, falls on us most heavily, through the prime of our life, when all our powers are sturdiest. It is in mid-ocean that the storms come. And this experience is universal. I notice it in all the saints whose lives are revealed to us in the Bible. And Christ Himself passed through it. Bunyan makes all his pilgrims who come to any good go down into it. But with a wonderfully sweet pathos, he makes it easier for the lame man who is getting on in years, and for the maiden, and for the mother with her children, than he will ever allow it to be for stout stalwart souls like his own. If a man should come to me and say, I have never been down there, I know nothing about it, then his future is a sorry one. It is because we bare a soul and a future that we have to go through all this. But for this man would be mere vanity and hollowness. And there is a great growth of goodness down in that valley. Do not go alone, then. Have God with you as David did. Muster all the promises you can hold in your heart. I would try to trace the beatitudes even in the flames of hell. And look on to the dawn of the new day. (R. Collyer.)

The valley of the shadow of death

This hymn is the pilgrims song of the soul on its way to eternity. The Psalm is beautiful and impressive, if we take the central death as its keynote. Then all that goes before is the preparation for that dark crisis which is the turning point of endless joy. The valley rules the whole; what precedes is its anticipation, and itself is the anticipation of heaven.

1. Mark with what exquisite simplicity the anticipation of the valley is introduced. The idea of death is inwrought into the habitual thought of the godly man. There is a sense in which life is a continual alternation of light and shade, of open pastures and shaded valleys. The whole of our probation may be said to be spent under the shadow of the great death that sin hath begotten, of the terrible cloud that has come between us and God. True religion is a constant and distinct realisation of the fact that we live to die, and must so live as not to be taken by surprise. This will give to life a certain solemnity and pathos which nothing else will give. It is, nevertheless, certain that the expectation of the valley cannot really distress the religious soul. It is very different from that horror which the ungodly and the unsanctified feel. There are, indeed, some who are all their lifetime in bondage, though true Christians, through want of trust in the resources of the Gospel. Many reasons conspire to this palsy of their faith. They love the world too much, they do not drink deeply enough of the river of life, they do not meditate as they ought on eternal things, and thus they cannot join the chorus of our hymn. But the anticipation that makes this Psalm so glad is better taught. The Christian singer is one who lives under the powers of the world to come; and those powers are to him the working forces of the present state. He lives in a supernatural world, and regards everything in its relation to that world. The thought of the valley becomes the familiar and cheerful habit of the soul. It does not diminish the energy of life nor blunt the appetite for such pleasures as God does not interdict.

2. The singer sings his way into the valley that he had predicted for himself. The language of his poetry blends the future and the present, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. The pilgrim is guided into the valley by the Good Shepherd Himself. Here is the secret link between death and preparation for death. The blessedness of all our religion, whether in life or death, is union with Jesus. Our preparation to die well is the habitual communion of our soul with God. Jesus went that way of sorrows before us. We may be sure that the Saviour is most intimately with and in His dying servant. His rod is the symbol of His authority in the domain of death: it is His alone. The staff is the symbol of the strength He gives the dying saints. The pastors crook, the shepherds rod, is no other than the Redeemers mediatorial sceptre swayed over one special region of His vast empire, that which is under the shadow of death. We may interpret the staff as that special support which the Redeemer affords to every dying saint when his heart and flesh would otherwise fail. (Mr. B. Pope.)

I will fear no evil.—

On the fear of death

Fear, though a natural passion, becomes the occasion of innumerable disquietudes and infelicities. It has the same effect upon the real evils and calamities of life which a misty air has upon the objects of sight: it makes them appear confused and indistinct, and at the same time much larger than they are in reality. The object most universally dreaded is death. It requires all the aids of philosophy and of religion to enable the wisest and best of us to look forward to this event with composure. Give some general directions which may enable us in measure, to overcome the fear of death.

1. That we maintain a virtuous habit of mind and course of life, and exercise ourselves to have a conscience void of offence, both towards God and towards man.

2. Make the idea of death familiar to our minds, by frequently considering our latter end. Many of the usual terrors of death appear upon examination to be imaginary, or of very little moment.

3. Reflect that this is a natural and unavoidable event which is common to all the human race.

4. We should preserve in our minds a lively conviction and devout sense of the wise and righteous government of Almighty God, and cheerfully resign ourselves and all our concerns to His direction.

5. Look forward, with joyful expectation, to a state of perfect and endless felicity in the life to come. (W. Enfield.)

Courageous faith

That true faith is a courageous grace; it inspires the soul with a holy and undaunted boldness amidst the greatest of dangers.

1. Some of those evils that are ready to intimidate and discourage the hearts of the Lords people in a time of danger. Their own weakness and insufficiency. The might and multitude of their enemies. A sense of guilt and fear of wrath. The prevalence of indwelling sin. The black clouds of desertion. The wrath of man, and fury of the persecutor. The dangerous situation of the Church and cause of God, and the approach of death.

2. Some account of that faith which fortifies the soul against the fear of these evils. Sometimes it is called a trusting in the Lord, or a looking to the Lord, or a staying ourselves on the Lord, or a casting of our burden on the Lord. Some of its ingredients are–a knowledge and uptaking of a God in Christ, revealing Himself as reconciled, and making over Himself to us in a well-ordered covenant. A firm and fixed persuasion of the truth and certainty of the whole revelation of Gods mind and will in the Word. An application of the promises to the soul itself in particular. A persuasion of the power, love, and faithfulness of the Promiser. A renouncing of all other refuges. Some concomitants of this faith. A blessed quietness and tranquillity of soul. A waiting upon the Lord in the way of duty. Earnest prayer at a throne of grace. A holy obedience or regard unto all Gods commandments. Often with a soul-ravishing joy in the Lord. The courage of faith appears from the serenity with which it possesses the soul; the hard work and service it will adventure; the bold and daring challenges it gives to all enemies and accusers; the weapons which it wields; the battles it has fought and the victories it has gained; the heavy burdens it will venture to bear; the hard and difficult passes that faith will open; the great exploits which it has performed, and the trophies of victory and triumph which it wears.

3. That Christian fortitude and boldness which makes a believer fear no evil. The seat and subject of this Christian fortitude is the heart of a believer, renewed by sovereign grace. This fortitude consists in a clear and distinct knowledge and uptaking of the truth as it is in Jesus. It makes Gods Word the boundary of faith and practice. A tenacious adherence to truth and duty. A holy contempt of all a man can suffer in this present world. Cheerfulness and alacrity of spirit.

4. The influence faith has upon this boldness. It inspires the soul by presenting God to the soul; by enabling the soul to make right estimate of truth, and by curing it of the fear of man. It views the inside of troubles for Christ, as well as the outside of them. And it keeps the eye of the soul fixed on Jesus. (E. Erskine.)

On death

This Psalm exhibits the pleasing picture of a pious man rejoicing in the goodness of heaven. He looks round him on his state, and his heart overflows with gratitude. Amidst the images of tranquillity and happiness one object presents itself which is sufficient to overcast the mind and to damp the joy of the greatest part of men; that is, the approach of death. With perfect composure and serenity the Psalmist looks forward to the time when he is to pass through the valley of the shadow of death. The prospect, instead of dejecting him, appears to heighten his triumph, by that security which the presence of his Almighty Guardian afforded him. Such is the happy distinction which good men enjoy in a situation the most formidable to human nature. That threatening aspect which appalls others, carries no terror to them. Let us consider what death is in itself, and by what means good men are enabled to meet it with fortitude. It may be considered in three views. As the separation of the soul from the body. As the conclusion of the present life. As the entrance into a new state of existence. The terrors of death are, in fact, the great guardians of life. They excite in every individual that desire of self-preservation which is natures first law. They reconcile him to bear the distresses of life with patience. They prompt him to undergo its useful and necessary labours with alacrity; and they restrain him from many of those evil courses by which his safety would be endangered. If death were not dreaded and abhorred as it is by many, no public order could be preserved in the world . . . To preserve it within such bounds that it shall not interrupt us in performing the proper offices and duties of life is the distinction of the brave man above the coward, and to surmount it in such a degree that it shall not, even in near prospect, deject our spirit or trouble our peace, is the great preference which virtue enjoys above guilt. It has been the study of the wise and reflecting, in every age, to attain this steadiness of mind. Philosophy pursued it as its chief object; and professed that the chief end of its discipline was to enable its votaries to conquer the fear of death. In what lights does death appear most formidable to mankind.

1. As the termination of our present existence; the final period of all its joys and hopes. The dejection into which we are apt to sink at such a juncture will bear proportion to the degree of our attachment to the objects which we leave, and to the importance of those resources which remain with us when they are gone.

2. As the gate which opens into eternity. Under this view it has often been the subject of terror to the serious and reflecting. We must not judge of the sentiments of men at the approach of death by their ordinary train of thought in the days of health and ease. Their views of moral conduct are then too often superficial. Here appears the great importance of those discoveries which Christianity has made concerning the government of the universe. It displays the ensigns of grace and clemency. What completes the triumph of good men over death is the prospect of eternal felicity. To those who have lived a virtuous life, and who die in the faith of Christ, the whole aspect of death is changed. Death is no longer the tyrant who approaches with an iron rod, but the messenger that brings the tidings of life and liberty. (Hugh Blair, D. D.)

Facing death

When Sir Henry Havelock lay dying he said to his friend and fellow soldier Sir James Outram, For more than forty years I have so ruled my life that when death came I might face it without fear.

Looking into the great abyss

How we die is certainly of much less importance than how we live; but still it strengthens faith to see the hope and courage that are sometimes, but by no means always, felt by Gods own people at the last. During the sixteen weeks in which Sir Bartle Frere was dying, though he was nearly always in great pare, not one murmur escaped him. Just at the end he said, I have looked down into the great abyss, but, God has never left me through it all. Name that Name when I am in pain, he once said to his wife; it calls me back. (Quiver.)

The power of the presence of Christ

Thou art with me. I have eagerly seized on this; for out of all the terrors which gather themselves into the name of death, one has stood forth as a champion fear to terrify and daunt me. It is the loneliness of death. I die alone. Now, loneliness is a thing which we must learn to face in our work, in the separations of life, and in times of quiet. Certainly, whether we like it or not, we must be alone in death, as far as this world is concerned. And men preach to us detachment. Sit loosely to the world, they say, that the wrench may be less when it comes. But the Good Shepherd says rather, learn attachment. It is His promise, Fear not; I will be with thee. It is our confidence, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me. Nay, more; it is our joy, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? And is not this the true answer to our fears: How call I go to meet that shadow? How will my faith stand its cold embrace? How shall I ever believe in the bright promise of a land beyond, when here all is dark? Let us ask rather: How am I going to meet the duty just before me? Is He with me now? Have I learned to find Him in the quiet hours of the day? Have I found His presence in desolating sorrow? Have I felt His hand in darkness and doubt? If so, I need not look forward. He is leading me on, step by step and day by day. He is habituating me, little by little, to the withdrawal of the light, and to utter trust in Him. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Thou art with me. Now is the time to make firm that companionship. To be still, and know that He is God. To find the guiding Hand in all its strength and security amid the death and life of each days hopes and fears. And then, when we enter the shadow, still it will be with God onwards. (W. C. E. Newbolt, M. A.)

Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.—

Comfort through the rod and staff

What is the shepherds rod? It is the symbol of his defending power. It is the weapon by which our Shepherd strikes down our adversaries. He is ever on the alert to ward off from us threatening ills. What is the staff? We would rather call it the shepherds crook, which is often bent or hooked at one end. Beneath it the sheep pass one by one to be numbered or told. By it the shepherd restrains them from wandering, or hooks them out of holes into which they may fall; by it also he corrects them when they are disobedient. In each of these thoughts there is comfort for the tried child of God. We are numbered amongst Gods sheep as we pass one by one beneath the touch of the Shepherds crook. By the Shepherds staff we are also extricated from circumstances of peril and disaster into which we may have fallen through our own folly and sin. By the staff the shepherd also corrects his sheep. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)

The wonderful staff

I. It is wonderful for its power to protect. David had found this as a shepherd when, by means of his staff, he vanquished the lion and the bear. So the Bible is our defence against our souls enemies. See how Jesus used it (Mat 4:1, etc.). It is wonderful for its power to protect.

II. It is wonderful for its power to comfort. Well, Gods Word is like a staff for this reason. It gives strength to His people when they feel weak and ready to faint under their labours or their trials.

III. It is a wonderful staff, because of its power to save. (Jam 1:21.) The Word of God is able to save the soul. (R. Newton.)

The shepherds rod and staff

In 1849 Dr. Duff was travelling near Simla under the shadow of the great Himalaya mountains. One day his way led to a narrow bridle path cut out on the face of a steep ridge; along this narrow path that ran so near the great precipice he saw a shepherd leading on his flock following him, but now and then the shepherd stopped and looked back. If he saw a sheep creeping up too far on the one hand, or going too near the edge of the dangerous precipice on the other, he would at once turn back and go to it, gently pulling it back. He had a long rod as tall as himself, round the lower half of which was twisted a band of iron. There was a crook at one end of the rod, and it was with this the shepherd took hold of one of the hind legs of the sheep to pull it back. The thick band of iron at the other end of the rod was really a staff, and was ready for use whenever he saw a hyena or wolf or some other troublesome animal coming near the sheep, for especially at night these creatures prowled about the flock. With the iron part of the rod he would give a good blow when an attack was threatened. In Psa 23:4, we have mention made of Thy rod and Thy staff. There is meaning in both, and distinct meaning. Gods rod draws us back, kindly and lovingly, if we go aside from His path. Gods staff protects us against the onset, open or secret, whether it be men or devils which are the enemies watching an opportunity for attack. (Life of Dr. Duff.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death] The reference is still to the shepherd. Though I, as one of the flock, should walk through the most dismal valley, in the dead of the night, exposed to pitfalls, precipices, devouring beasts, c., I should fear no evil under the guidance and protection of such a Shepherd. He knows all the passes, dangerous defiles, hidden pits, and abrupt precipices in the way and he will guide me around, about, and through them. See the phrase shadow of death explained on Mt 4:16. “Thof I ward well and imang tha, that nouther has knowyng of God, ne luf or in myddis of this lyf, that es schadow of ded; for it es blak for myrkenes of syn; and it ledes til dede and il men, imang qwam gude men wones: – I sal nout drede il, pryve nor apert; for thu ert with me in my hert, qwar I fele thu so, that eftir the schadow of dede, I be with the in thi vera lyf.” – Old Psalter.

For thou art with me] He who has his God for a companion need fear no danger; for he can neither mistake his way, nor be injured.

Thy rod and thy staff] shibtecha, thy sceptre, rod, ensign of a tribe, staff of office; for so shebet signifies in Scripture. And thy staff, umishantecha, thy prop or support. The former may signify the shepherd’s crook; the latter, some sort of rest or support, similar to our camp stool, which the shepherds might carry with them as an occasional seat, when the earth was too wet to be sat on with safety. With the rod or crook the shepherd could defend his sheep, and with it lay hold of their horns or legs to pull them out of thickets, boys, pits, or waters. We are not to suppose that by the rod correction is meant: there is no idea of this kind either in the text, or in the original word; nor has it this meaning in any part of Scripture. Besides, correction and chastisement do not comfort; they are not, at least for the present, joyous, but grievous; nor can any person look forward to them with comfort. They abuse the text who paraphrase rod correction, c. The other term shaan signifies support, something to rest on, as a staff, crutch, stave, or the like. The Chaldee translates thus: “Even though I should walk in captivity, in the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear evil. Seeing thy WORD ( meymerach, thy personal Word) is my Assistant or Support thy right word and thy law console me.” Here we find that the WORD, meymar, is distinguished from any thing spoken, and even from the law itself. I cannot withhold the paraphrase of the old Psalter, though it considers the rod as signifying correction: “Sothly I sal drede na nylle; for thy wande, that es thi lyght disciplyne, that chasties me as thi son: and thi staf, that es thi stalworth help, that I lene me til, and haldes me uppe; thai have comforthed me; lerand (learning, teaching) me qwat I suld do; and haldand my thaught in the, that es my comforth.”

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Through the valley of the shadow of death; through a dark and dismal valley, full of terrors and dangers, as this phrase signifies, Job 24:17; Psa 44:19; 107:10,14; Jer 2:6.

I will fear no evil; I will not give way to my fears, but confidently rely upon God.

Thy rod and thy staff; two words noting the same thing, and both designing Gods pastoral care over him, expressed by the sign and instrument of it.

They comfort me; the consideration thereof supports me under all my fears and distresses.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

4. In the darkest and mosttrying hour God is near.

the valley of the shadow ofdeathis a ravine overhung by high precipitous cliffs, filledwith dense forests, and well calculated to inspire dread to thetimid, and afford a covert to beasts of prey. While expressive of anygreat danger or cause of terror, it does not exclude the greatest ofall, to which it is most popularly applied, and which its termssuggest.

thy rod and thy staffaresymbols of a shepherd’s office. By them he guides his sheep.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,…. Which designs not a state of spiritual darkness and ignorance, as sitting in the shadow of death sometimes does, since the psalmist cannot be supposed to be at this time or after in such a condition; see Isa 9:2; nor desertion or the hidings of God’s face, which is sometimes the case of the people of God, and was the case of the psalmist at times; but now he expressly says the Lord was with him; but rather, since the grave is called the land of the shadow of death, and the distresses persons are usually in, under apprehensions of immediate death, are called the terrors of the shadow of death; see Job 10:21; the case supposed is, that should his soul draw nigh to the grave, and the sorrows of death compass him about, and he should be upon the brink and borders of eternity, he should be fearless of evil, and sing, “O death! where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy victory?” 1Co 15:55, though it seems best of all to interpret it of the most severe and terrible affliction or dark dispensation of Providence it could be thought he should ever come under, Ps 44:19. The Targum interprets it of captivity, and Jarchi and Kimchi of the wilderness of Ziph, in which David was when pursued by Saul; and the latter also, together with Ben Melech, of the grave, and of a place of danger and of distress, which is like unto the grave, that is, a place of darkness; and Aben Ezra of some grievous calamity, which God had decreed to bring into the world. Suidas w interprets this phrase of danger leading to death; afflictions attend the people of God in this life; there is a continued series of them, so that they may be said to walk in them; these are the way in which they walk heaven, and through which they enter the kingdom; for though they continue long, and one affliction comes after another, yet there will be an end at last; they will walk and wade through them, and come out of great tribulations; and in the midst of such dark dispensations, comparable to a dark and gloomy valley, covered with the shadow of death, the psalmist intimates what would be the inward disposition of his mind, and what his conduct and behaviour:

I will fear no evil; neither the evil one Satan, who is the wolf that comes to the flock to kill and to destroy, and the roaring lion that seeks whom he may devour, since the Lord was his shepherd, and on his side: nor evil men, who kill the body and can do no more, Ps 27:1; nor any evil thing, the worst calamity that could befall him, since everything of this kind is determined by God, and comes not without his knowledge and will, and works for good, and cannot separate from the love of Christ; see Ps 46:1;

for thou [art] with me; sheep are timorous creatures, and so are Christ’s people; but when he the shepherd is them, to sympathize with them under all their afflictions, to revive and comfort them with the cordials of his love and promises of his grace, to bear them up and support them with his mighty arm of power, to teach and instruct them by every providence, and sanctify all unto them; their fears are driven away, and they pass through the dark valley, the deep waters, and fiery trials, with courage and cheerfulness; see Isa 41:10;

thy rod and thy staff they comfort me; not the rod of afflictions and chastisements, which is the sense of some Jewish x as well as Christian interpreters; though these are in love, and the saints have often much consolation under them; but these are designed by the valley of the shadow of death, and cannot have a place here, but rather the rod of the word, called the rod of Christ’s strength, and the staff of the promises and the provisions of God’s house, the whole staff and stay of bread and water, which are sure unto the saints, and refresh and comfort them. The Targum interprets the rod and staff of the word and law of God; and those interpreters who explain the rod of afflictions, yet by the staff understand the law; and Jarchi expounds it, of the mercy of God in the remission of sin, in which the psalmist trusted: the allusion is to the shepherd’s crook or staff, as in other places; see Mic 7:14; which was made use of for the telling and numbering of the sheep, Le 27:32; and it is no small comfort to the sheep of Christ that they have passed under his rod, who has told them, and that they are all numbered by him; not only their persons, but the very hairs of their head; and that they are under his care and protection: the shepherd with his rod, staff, or crook, directs the sheep where to go, pushes forward those that are behind, and fetches back those that go astray; as well as drives away dogs, wolves, bears, c. that would make a prey of the flock and of such use is the word of God, attended with the power of Christ and his Spirit; it points out the path of faith, truth, and holiness, the saints should walk in; it urges and stirs up those that are negligent to the discharge of their duty, and is the means of reclaiming backsliders, and of preserving the flock from the ravenous wolves of false teachers: in a word, the presence, power, and protection of Christ, in and by is Gospel and ordinances, are what are here intended, and which are the comfort and safety of his people, in the worst of times and cases.

w In voce . x Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 9. 2. Jarchi & Kimchi in loc.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Rod and staff are here not so much those of the pilgrim, which would be a confusing transition to a different figure, but those of Jahve, the Shepherd ( , as in Mic 7:14, and in connection with it, cf. Num 21:18, as the filling up of the picture), as the means of guidance and defence. The one rod, which the shepherd holds up to guide the flock, and upon which he leans and anxiously watches over the flock, has assumed a double form in the conception of the idea. This rod and staff in the hand of God comfort him, i.e., preserve to him the feeling of security, and therefore a cheerful spirit. Even when he passes through a valley dark and gloomy as the shadow of death, where surprises and calamities of every kind threaten him, he hears no misfortune. The lxx narrows the figure, rendering according to the Aramaic , Dan 3:25, . The noun , which occurs in this passage for the first time in the Old Testament literature, is originally not a compound word; but being formed from a verb , Arab. dlm (root , Arab. dl ), to overshadow, darken, after the form , but pronounced (cf. , Hadra – mot = the court of death, in-God’s-shadow), it signifies the shadow of death as an epithet of the most fearful darkness, as of Hades, Job 10:21., but also of a shaft of a mine, Job 28:3, and more especially of darkness such as makes itself felt in a wild, uninhabited desert, Jer 2:6.

After the figure of the shepherd fades away in Psa 23:4, that of the host appears. His enemies must look quietly on ( as in Psa 31:20), without being able to do anything, and see how Jahve provides bountifully for His guest, anoints him with sweet perfumes as at a joyous and magnificent banquet (Psa 92:11), and fills his cup to excess. What is meant thereby, is not necessarily only blessings of a spiritual kind. The king fleeing before Absolom and forsaken by the mass of his people was, with his army, even outwardly in danger of being destroyed by want; it is, therefore, even an abundance of daily bread streaming in upon them, as in 2Sa 17:27-29, that is meant; but even this, spiritually regarded, as a gift from heaven, and so that the satisfying, refreshing and quickening is only the outside phase of simultaneous inward experiences.

(Note: In the mouth of the New Testament saint, especially on the dies viridium , it is the table of the Lord’s supper, as Apollinaris also hints when he applied to it the epithet , horrendorum onustam .)

The future is followed, according to the customary return to the perfect ground-form, by , which has, none the less, the signification of a present. And in the closing assertion, , my cup, is metonymically equivalent to the contents of my cup. This is , a fulness satiating even to excess.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

4. Though I should walk. True believers, although they dwell safely under the protection of God, are, notwithstanding, exposed to many dangers, or rather they are liable to all the afflictions which befall mankind in common, that they may the better feel how much they need the protection of God. David, therefore, here expressly declares, that if any adversity should befall him, he would lean upon the providence of God. Thus he does not promise himself continual pleasures; but he fortifies himself by the help of God courageously to endure the various calamities with which he might be visited. Pursuing his metaphor, he compares the care which God takes in governing true believers to a shepherd’s staff and crook, declaring that he is satisfied with this as all-sufficient for the protection of his life. As a sheep, when it wanders up and down through a dark valley, is preserved safe from the attacks of wild beasts and from harm in other ways, by the presence of the shepherd alone, so David now declares that as often as he shall be exposed to any danger, he will have sufficient defense and protection in being under the pastoral care of God.

We thus see how, in his prosperity, he never forgot that he was a man, but even then seasonably meditated on the adversities which afterwards might come upon him. And certainly, the reason why we are so terrified, when it pleases God to exercise us with the cross, is, because every man, that he may sleep soundly and undisturbed, wraps himself up in carnal security. But there is a great difference between this sleep of stupidity and the repose which faith produces. Since God tries faith by adversity, it follows that no one truly confides in God, but he who is armed with invincible constancy for resisting all the fears with which he may be assailed. (535) Yet David did not mean to say that he was devoid of all fear, but only that he would surmount it so as to go without fear wherever his shepherd should lead him. This appears more clearly from the context. He says, in the first place, I will fear no evil; but immediately adding the reason of this, he openly acknowledges that he seeks a remedy against his fear in contemplating, and having his eyes fixed on, the staff of his shepherd: For thy staff and thy crook comfort me. What need would he have had of that consolation, if he had not been disquieted and agitated with fear? It ought, therefore, to be kept in mind, that when David reflected on the adversities which might befall him, he became victorious over fear and temptations, in no other way than by casting himself on the protection of God. This he had also stated before, although a little more obscurely, in these words, For thou art with me. This implies that he had been afflicted with fear. Had not this been the case, for what purpose could he desire the presence of God? (536) Besides, it is not against the common and ordinary calamities of life only that he opposes the protection of God, but against those which distract and confound the minds of men with the darkness of death. For the Jewish grammarians think that צלמות, tsalmaveth, which we have translated the shadow of death, is a compound word, as if one should say deadly shade. (537) David here makes an allusion to the dark recesses or dens of wild beasts, to which when an individual approaches he is suddenly seized at his first entrance with an apprehension and fear of death. Now, since God, in the person of his only begotten Son, has exhibited himself to us as our shepherd, much more clearly than he did in old time to the fathers who lived under the Law, we do not render sufficient honor to his protecting care, if we do not lift our eyes to behold it, and keeping them fixed upon it, tread all fears and terrors under our feet. (538)

(535) “ Celuy qui est arme d’une constance invincible pour resister a toutes les fraycurs qui penvent survenir.” — Fr.

(536) “ Car s’il n’y eust point en de crainte, a quel propos desireroit il la presence de Dieu ?” — Fr.

(537) “The original, כניא צלמות, is very emphatic, ‘In or through the valley of death-shade.’ This expression seems to denote imminent danger, (Jer 2:6,) sore affliction, (Psa 44:19,) fear and terror, (Psa 107:10; Job 24:17,) and dreadful darkness, (Job 10:21.) — Morison’s Commentary on the Psalms.

(538) “ Si non qu’eslevans la nos yeux et les y ayans fichez, nons foullions aux pieds craintes et espouantemens.” — Fr.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(4) The valley of the shadow of death . . .This striking expression, to which the genius of Bunyan has given such reality, was probably on Hebrew lips nothing more than a forcible synonym for a dark, gloomy place. Indeed, the probability is that instead of tsal-mveth (shadow of death), should be read, tsalmth (shadow, darkness), the general signification being all that is required in any one of the fifteen places where it occurs. It is true it is used of the grave or underworld (Job. 10:21-22). But it is also used of the darkness of a dungeon (Psa. 107:10), of the pathless desert (Jer. 2:6); or, possibly, since it is there parallel with drought, of the blinding darkness of a sandstorm, and metaphorically of affliction (Isa. 9:2), and of the dull heavy look that grief wears (Job. 16:16).

By valley we must understand a deep ravine. Palestine abounds in wild and gloomy valleys, and shepherd life experiences the actual peril of them. Addisons paraphrase catches the true feeling of the original

Though in the path of death I tread,
With gloomy horrors overhead.

Thy rod and thy staff.Used both for guiding and defending the flock.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

4. Shadow of death Being so near to death that its shadow falls over him. “For he is not far from the substance who has come up with the shadow.” Bythner. The “valley of the shadow of death,” seems to have been suggested by those deep mountain gorges through which David was sometimes obliged to lead his flocks, though at the hazard of death from the wild beasts, who made the caves therein abounding their shelter. When the walks of duty lie along through dangers which fall around like death shadows, then I will not fear evil. Such confidence has he in his Shepherd. But the “shadow of death” may also mean the darkness of sheol, or region of the dead, as Job 10:21-22; and this gives an outlook of confident hope upon the dying hour and the future life. This entire psalm must be understood, not of the providential life of David only, but of his spiritual life and relations as well.

Rod and staff The emblems at once of the office of the shepherd and his protection of the sheep.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Yes, 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.’

In the seemingly calm and peaceful mountains of Israel danger ever threatened. There were hidden deep ravines where wild beasts lurked, or into which wayward sheep could fall. The lion and the bear and the wolf were ever ready to tear the heart out of the flock. But the sheep who remain close to the Shepherd have no need to be afraid. When the lion or the bear suddenly arise from their hiding place, the Shepherd will seize them by the beard, and smite them and slay them (see 1Sa 17:34-35). And those who walk close in His footsteps will avoid the treacherous ravines. Their ways may lie in the valley where death lurks, and they may constantly be under its shadow, but they do not need to be afraid, for the Lord of life is with them. Thus can they say, ‘I will fear no evil, because You are with me’.

‘The valley of the shadow of death.’ This translation was obtained by pointing (putting consonants into) zlmwth and making it zalmaweth. But it could equally well be made into zalmuth (a dark shadow), treating the waw as an ancient vowel. But the meaning is little different apart from the fact that the actual mention of death seems to be slightly ill fitting. On the other hand the shadows certainly did threaten death.

And one reason for their sense of total security is His mighty club and great staff, in the latter case to assist the sheep that have got themselves into trouble in some hidden crevice, lifting them out to safety, and in the former case to drive off the enemies that come against them. ‘They will never perish, and none shall pluck them from MY hand’ (Joh 10:28). They have seen them many times in action and they know how powerful they are. For the effectiveness of such a rod see 2Sa 23:21; Psa 2:9; Mic 7:14.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Psa 23:4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death Yea, though I should stray into the valley of the shadow of death; a valley overspread with the horrors of darkness and of death, being thickly shaded with trees, and infested by wild beasts. Dr. Delaney thinks this a noble reference to the dismal forests of Hareth. “Surely,” says he, “the valley of such a forest, with all its gloomy horrors, inhabited only by bears, and lions, and tygers, whose dens are in the deepest shades, is, with infinite beauty, stiled the valley of the shadow of death. Thy rod, signifies ‘thy protection, which will keep me, as a shepherd does his sheep with a crook, from straying from thee:’ Thy staff, signifies ‘thy defence, which will guard me from all mine enemies, as a shepherd with his staff defends the sheep from the wolves.'”

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Hence the soul, resting upon Jesus, can and will look forward to the hour of death with perfect composure and serenity. It is but a valley, not a dwelling place, he hath to enter. And though he enters it, it is not to abide there. Moreover, it is not death, but the mere shadow of death, the true believer in Christ hath to pass through. The sting of death, which is sin, is taken out by the blood of Christ. The cause, which is to be brought before the Judge after death, hath been already before him, in which the accusations of the law, and Satan, and conscience, Jesus hath answered; and God hath declared himself to be well pleased. Hence, therefore, there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Rom 8:1 . So that death, and the valley of the shadow of death, have lost all their terrors to a true believer in Jesus, who is relying wholly upon the glorious person, and the finished and approved righteousness of the Mediator.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Psa 23:4 Yea, 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.

Ver. 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death ] In the most dark and dangerous places, where there is Luctus ubique, pavor, et plurima mortis imago, those dark places full of cruelty, Psa 74:20 , where wolves wait for me. Though I walk (not step) through (not cross) the valley (not a dark entry only) of the shadow of death (the darkest side of it, death in its most hideous and horrid representations), I will not fear; for I fear God, and have him by the hand; I must needs be tutus sub umbraleonis, safe by his side, and under his safeguard. If God be for us, who can be against us?

For thou art with me ] Hence my security. See a promise answerable to it, Joh 10:28 . Christ is not to lose any of his sheep, Joh 17:12 . Having therefore this ark of God’s covenant in our eyes, let us cheerfully pass the waters of Jordan, to take possession of the promised land. Cur timeat hominem homo, in sinu Dei positus? saith a Father.

Thy rod and thy staff ] He pursueth the former allegory; shepherds, in driving their flocks, have a rod or wand in their hands, wherewith they now and then strike them; and a staff or sheep hook on their necks, wherewith they catch and rule them. Of Christ’s rods and staves, see Zec 11:7 , &c.; foolish shepherds have only foreipes et mulctram, Zec 11:15 . R. Solomon by rod here understandeth afflictions, by staff support under them, a good use and a good issue.

They comfort me ] God’s rod, like Aaron’s, blossometh; and, like Jonathan’s, it hath honey at the end of it.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 23:4-6

4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You have anointed my head with oil;

My cup overflows.

6Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psa 23:4

NASB, NKJVthe valley of the shadow of death

NRSVthe darkest valley

TEVthe deepest darkness

NJBa ravine as dark as death

LXXdeath’s shadow

JPSOA, REBa valley of deepest darkness

This is a construct of valley (BDB 161) and darkness, deep shadow (BDB 853). Many scholars think comes from and .

1. shadow, gloom, darkness BDB 853, KB 1024

2. death, dying BDB 560, KB 563

It is used eighteen times in the OT (ten in Job) for

1. death Job 10:21-22; Job 38:17; Psa 107:10; Psa 107:14

2. distress Job 16:16; Job 24:17

3. often in context with contrast to light Job 3:5; Job 12:22; Job 24:17; Job 28:3; Job 34:22; Jer 13:16; Amo 5:8

It is used figuratively of the fearful, distressing, and fatal experiences of fallen humanity in this fallen world. Life is fearful but God is with us (cf. Psa 23:4 b,c; Deu 31:6; Deu 31:8; Mat 28:20; 2Co 4:9; Heb 13:5).

fear. . .comfort What a contrast! Faithful ones face trials with confidence because God is with them (i.e., symbolized with the Shepherd’s rod and staff, His instruments of care and protection).

Problems will come! We never face them alone! Never! He will never forsake us or leave us (cf. Deu 31:6; Jos 1:5; Heb 13:5).

Psa 23:5 Not only is God with us and for us, He will vindicate us in the very presence of those who would harm us. The culturally expected hospitality is used to demonstrate the extravagant abundance of God’s love.

1. table prepared

2. anointed head

3. overflowing love

overflows This is a rare word (BDB 924, saturated) found only here in the OT. Psa 66:12 has place of abundance (slightly different spelling). The LXX translates it as Your cup cheers me like the best wine or Your cup was supremely intoxicating, which obviously takes the idea from saturated as intoxicated.

Psa 23:6 goodness The verb (BDB 373), adjective (BDB 373 II), and noun (BDB 375III) all denote that which is good, pleasing, beneficial. They are used extensively in Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. This is what God wanted to do for His covenant people (i.e., Deu 30:9; Deu 30:15).

NASBlovingkindness

NKJV, NRSVmercy

TEVlove

NJBfaithful love

JPSOAsteadfast love

REBlove unfailing

This is the special covenant noun hesed (BDB 338), which denoted YHWH’s faithful, undeserved covenant loyalty (see Special Topic: Lovingkindness ). The covenant loyalty is all the more striking in light of Israel’s disobedience (cf. Neh 9:6-38).

NASB, NKJV,

NRSV, REBfollow

TEVwill be with me

NJB, LXX,

JPSOApursue

This verb (BDB 922, KB 1191, Qal imperfect) has a more aggressive sense than follow. It denoted active pursuit. Just think, God’s covenant love chased the Israelites. It is a

1. military word

2. hunting word

3. judicial word

Stop! Turn around! Look who is pursuing you, yes you!

The last line in this OT context does not denote eternal life (other texts do, cf. Rev 21:3-7; Rev 22:1-5) but a life of covenant goodness (cf. Deu 30:3; Deu 30:15; Deu 30:19). This was to be lived out in daily life and regular tabernacle/temple worship.

The verb (BDB 996, KB 1427, Qal perfect with waw) can denote

1. to sit down with (ancients)

2. to return (Hebrew)

forever See Special Topic: Forever .

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. How is YHWH like a shepherd?

2. How do the verbs of Psa 23:1-3 apply to the daily life of faithful followers?

3. Define the valley of the shadow of death.

4. Does this Psalm foreshadow an afterlife?

5. Why is the Psalm so meaningful to believers of all ages?

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

Yea = Moreover.

through. Not into; but “through”, and out of it, into resurrection life.

valley, &c. = a valley of deep shade: may include (but not necessarily) death’s dark valley.

evil. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44.

Thou art with me. JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH. App-4.

rod and . . . staff = club and . . . crook. The only two things carried by the shepherd; the former for defense, the latter for help. The club for the sheep’s enemies, the crook for the sheep’s defense. A lesson for pastors to-day.

comfort = gently lead. Same word as “leadeth” in Psa 23:2.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

through: Psa 44:19, Job 3:5, Job 10:21, Job 10:22, Job 24:17, Jer 2:6, Luk 1:79

I will: Psa 3:6, Psa 27:1-4, Psa 46:1-3, Psa 118:6, Psa 138:7, Isa 41:10, 1Co 15:55-57

for thou: Psa 14:5, Psa 46:11, Isa 8:9, Isa 8:10, Isa 43:1, Isa 43:2, Zec 8:23, Mat 1:23, Mat 28:20, Act 18:9, Act 18:10, 2Ti 4:22

thy rod: Psa 110:2, Mic 7:14, Zec 11:10, Zec 11:14

Reciprocal: Num 23:21 – the Lord Job 13:15 – he slay me Job 29:3 – by his light Job 38:17 – the shadow Psa 46:2 – will Psa 48:14 – guide Psa 73:23 – Nevertheless Psa 91:15 – I will be Pro 10:9 – that walketh Pro 14:32 – the righteous Isa 9:2 – in the land Isa 35:8 – but it shall be for those Isa 50:10 – that walketh Jer 38:28 – General Zec 11:7 – staves Joh 14:18 – will not

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

THE ABIDING PRESENCE

I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me.

Psa 23:4

We are indebted to David for the suggestion of the greatest, the only real preservative from fearthe realisation of a Presence. I will fear no evil: for thou art with me. But what is Presence? In the Old Testament it was God for us. In the Gospels it is God with us. In the Acts of the Apostles, and in the Epistles, it is God in us. We have all three. The Fatherhood of God for us; the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, God with us; the Holy Ghost, working in the heart, God in us. And the three make Presence. Let us look at the three.

I. God is for me.If God be for us, who can be against us? The Lord is on my side; I will not fear what man can do unto me. No shaft can reach me till it has passed through Him! And if it has passed through Christ, that can turn the poisoned arrow into a life-giving and healing sweetness! Our cause is the same, for my safety and my happiness are Gods glory. And He has undertaken for me in everything. Whatever happens to me, it will come covenanted. The year will only be a copy of a chart which is drawn within the veil; and, as Moses made everything according to the pattern shown him in the mount, so all events that happen in this world are only a copy of that great original which lies, from all eternity, in the mind of God. No temptation, no sorrow can visit me, but it has been in the prayers of Jesus first. I have prayed for thee.

II. God is with me, more real, more near than a brother at my side. I can tell Him everything. I can hear His still small voice. I can hold communion with Him all the way. I can lean on Him for strength. I go to sleep, and still He is at my side! I wake, and lo, He is there! When I go up in the high places of my joy I meet Him on the mount; when I go through the deep waters He sustains me. In the valley, His rod and His staff they comfort me. Others come and go; but He goes never! Alone of all I love, alone of all who love me, He says, Lo, I am with you always. I shall find Him in every position. Where no human hand can help me, and when no human voice can cheer mewhen the dearest cannot go another step with meI shall have Him, nearer and dearer than ever: for this God is our God for ever and ever; and He will be our Guide unto death.

III. God is in me.Oh, the thought is wonderful! God in me! It is a fact!no language can exaggerate it! Words cannot exceed what Christ Himself said and prayed. And what He said and prayed must be, I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one. As Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us. Then my whole life is hid with Christ in God. And where He is I must be. How safe! Bound in the bundle of life! And what can ever divide us? Some things will fade, and some will go; but this is for ever and ever.

The Rev. Jas. Vaughan.

Illustrations

(1) A counterpart to Psalms 6, as the waters of Siloah that go softly to the well of Marah. It has a long history where it sparkles to the open daylight, and it would have a longer still if we could follow it into all its quiet resting-places in hidden hearts, which only the day of God will declare.

(2) As a brook among the hills, making music through the year, and refreshing weary and thirsty wayfarers, so these words have spoken to the heart of many: of the peace of the fold, of the limpid lake, of the green glen, of the cool of overhanging rocks, of the comfort of protectorship, of the home, where the spread table and the anointed head bespeak the days work done and mirror the complete rest and satisfaction of the soul. Then, taking every similitude, the Psalmist flings the necklace of pearls at the feet of Christ, declaring that this would be the condition of soul for all who knew His voice and followed Him as their Shepherd. Every tense may be rendered by the present. I do not want; He leads me; He makes me lie; He refreshes; He guides; I fear no evil; they follow Me. Not in the days that are to be, but to-day. Not in some scene which is yet to unfold or in some distant future, but here and now, if only thou wilt take Him from this moment to be thy Shepherd, and wilt commence to obey His lead and trust His watchful care.

(3) Shepherd in the morning hours, leading me forth to the duties and temptations and difficulties of the day, and Himself going before me. As I gird myself for the activities and perils of my life, I would be sure that He is with me. For apart from Him I can do nothing. Shepherd in the hot noontide too, when the sun beats fiercely down, conducting me to green pastures and along the banks of the waters of quietness. As I ply my daily task with busy feet, I would often come apart to be alone with Him, to ponder His Word, to listen to the whisper of His Spirit. And Shepherd when the night falls, and it is growing dark. You knowdo you not?Sir Noel Patons picture of Lux in Tenebris, the girl who walks through the Valley of the Shadow with her hand clasped in Christs hand. Trust is conquering terror on her face, and she grows confident that no enemy will vanquish her. So may it be with me. The King of Love my Shepherd is. Can I say itthat my, that pronoun of possession? If I can humbly and heartily, then assuredly in life and death and eternity I shall not want.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

Psa 23:4. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death Through a dark and dismal valley, full of terrors and dangers, as this phrase signifies, Job 24:17; Psa 44:19; Jer 2:6; that is, though I am in peril of death, though in the midst of dangers, deep as a valley, dark as a shadow, and dreadful as death itself: or rather, though I am under the arrests of death, and have received the sentence of death within myself, and have every reason to look upon myself as a dying man: I will fear no evil I will not give way to my fears, but will confidently rely upon the word and promise of God, persuaded that his grace shall be sufficient for me, and that he will make even death itself work for my good. Observe, reader, a child of God may meet the messengers of death, and receive its summons, with a holy security and serenity of mind. He may bid it defiance, and say with Paul, O death where is thy sting? For thou art with me Here is the ground of a true Christians confidence when in the valley of the shadow of death, God is with him, and his presence inspires him with confidence and comfort, hope and joy. It affords him light amidst the darkness of the valley, and life in the death of it. Thy rod and thy staff Thy word and thy Spirit; comfort me His gospel is the rod of his strength, and there is enough in that to comfort the saints, both while they live, even in their greatest troubles, and also when they are dying. And his Spirit is the Comforter himself, and where he is, support and comfort cannot be wanting. His rod of chastisement and correction also ministers to the comfort of his people, and much more his staff of support, his upholding grace, which, under all their trials, and even in their last and greatest trial, is sufficient for them. Or the rod may signify his pastoral care, and inspection of the flock, (alluding to the shepherds crook, or rod, under which the sheep passed when they were counted, Lev 27:32,) and the staff, the defence, and protection afforded them, the shepherd with his staff being wont to defend his sheep from the dogs and wolves that would worry them. Or, as others interpret the words, the rod here, in allusion to the rod of Moses, may be considered as an emblem of power, especially as the word , shebet, here translated rod, often signifies a sceptre, or some other ensign of authority. And the word translated staff, , mishgneneh, properly signifies what a person leans upon for support. Thus interpreted, the clause means, The sceptre of thy kingdom, or thy power protects me, and thy support upholds me, and so both minister to my comfort.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the {d} shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

(d) Though he was in danger of death, as the sheep that wanders in the dark valley without his shepherd.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Protection is the fourth blessing for which David gave God praise. The promises of the Lord’s presence assure us of His protection in times of danger when we fear (Mat 28:20; Heb 13:5). The shepherd’s rod (a cudgel worn at the belt) beat off attacking animals, and his staff (walking stick) kept the sheep away from physical dangers such as precipices. [Note: See ibid., "The Imagery of Shepherding in the Bible, Part 2," Bibliotheca Sacra 163:650 (April-June 2006):158-75.] Likewise, God comes to the defense of His people when our spiritual enemies attack us. He also prevents us from getting into spiritually dangerous situations that would result in our destruction (cf. Mat 6:13).

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)