Scripture Reading: Psa. 23; Psa. 24
Psalms 22—24 are a group of psalms revealing Christ from His crucifixion to His kingship in the coming age. In Psalm 22 we see Christ's death, His resurrection, and His many brothers produced in His resurrection to form His church. Psalm 23 is concerning Christ as the Shepherd. This Shepherd today is in His resurrection. Psalm 24 is concerning Christ as the coming King in God's kingdom. Thus, in these three psalms, we have Christ crucified, Christ resurrected, Christ producing the church, Christ being the Shepherd and shepherding His flock, the church, and Christ coming back to be the King.
Psalm 23:1 says, "Jehovah is my Shepherd." Christ is our Shepherd and we are His flock. The church in the Bible is called a flock. In John 10 the Lord said that He was the good Shepherd who would collect the sheep from Israel and from the Gentiles to form them into one flock (vv. 14-16), which is the church (1 Pet. 5:2; Acts 20:28).
Jehovah, of course, is the divine God, and we are mere humans. How can God, the divine One, approach us human beings to be our Shepherd? If God would come to us in a direct way, that might frighten us to the uttermost. The Bible tells us that this happened when God appeared to various people (Rev. 1:17; Gen. 17:3; Dan. 8:17; Matt. 17:6). The Bible also tells us that no one can see God (1 Tim. 6:16; John 1:18; Exo. 33:20). How can the divine Triune God be so close to us, just as a shepherd is to his flock? Furthermore, how can we sinners, the fallen people, be the flock of the divine Shepherd? According to our fallen nature we are snakes, vipers (Matt. 23:33), and "scorpions."
Psalm 23 implies that this Shepherd is the One who became a man, who died for us to redeem us and wash away our sins, and who entered into resurrection to become a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b) to regenerate us. As such a One, He can change our nature. Since He has taken these three steps — 1) incarnation; 2) crucifixion for redemption; and 3) resurrection for regenerating — He is altogether qualified, equipped, and suitable to be our Shepherd. He is not only God but also a man. He is not only divine but also human. He died for our sins, He was resurrected, and in His resurrection He became a life-giving Spirit.
The Lord Jesus today is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). As the life-giving Spirit, He is our Shepherd inwardly. He is not only with us but also within us. We were snakes and scorpions, but we have been redeemed, we have been washed in His blood, and we have been resurrected (Eph. 2:6) and regenerated. As those who have been redeemed, washed, resurrected, and regenerated, we are the sheep of God's flock, the church. By Jehovah, the Triune God, being incarnated, crucified, and resurrected to become the life-giving Spirit, He is qualified to be our Shepherd. By His redeeming, washing, resurrecting, and regenerating us, we are qualified to be His flock. He is qualified to be our Shepherd, and we are also qualified to be His flock. Psalm 23 is altogether a psalm on Christ as the Shepherd in His resurrection.
We can also see Jehovah as the Triune God in this psalm. Verse 2 says, "He makes me lie down in green pastures." The color green signifies the riches of life. When we see the green trees and pastures, we see the riches of life. If the trees are yellow and dried up and the grass is brown, this indicates death.
The green pastures signify the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus spoke concerning this in John 10. He said that His sheep would hear His voice and follow Him out of the fold to enjoy the green pastures as the flock (vv. 9, 16). In John 10, Christ is the door (v. 9), the Shepherd (v. 11), and the pasture (v. 9). Christ Himself is our pasture, our nourishment. He is the feeding place for all the sheep. In John 6 Christ said that He is the bread of life (v. 35) to nourish us (v. 57). The "bread" for the sheep is the green pasture, so the green pasture is Christ. Christ can be our green pasture through His incarnation, death, and resurrection. After His incarnation, death, and resurrection, He is growing here as the green pasture for our nourishment.
Psalm 23:2b says that Christ as our Shepherd leads us to waters of rest. The waters of rest are the Spirit. The Spirit is the water, and Christ is the pasture. Verse 5 says, "You anoint my head with oil." Hebrews 1:9 refers to the oil of exultant joy. This oil signifies the Spirit. John 7:39 says that before Christ's resurrection, the Spirit was not yet. This means that the Spirit was not yet consummated. The Spirit of God has been consummated through Christ's incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. In Christ's resurrection, the Spirit of God became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). Now He is available to us because He has been consummated. In Psalm 23, the Spirit as typified by the waters and the oil signifies the consummated Spirit after Christ's resurrection.
This psalm also tells us that Christ's shepherding of us is in five stages. The first stage is of the pastures and the waters of rest (v. 2). Pasture and waters are for our nourishment, including cherishing and enjoyment. The second stage is the stage of the paths of righteousness (v. 3). The paths of righteousness indicate our walk. After we enjoy Christ, are filled up with Christ, and are nourished by Christ, we walk on the paths of righteousness. The third stage is the valley of the shadow of death (v. 4). The valley, the shadow, and death are not pleasant. Christ's shepherding leads us through the valley of the shadow of death. The fourth stage is the battlefield (v. 5), where we are fighting against the adversaries. At the battlefield a table, a feast, is spread for us. Finally, the last stage is to dwell in the house of God all the days of our life (v. 6).
I would like us to consider what stage we are in among these five stages of Christ's shepherding. The first stage is the initial stage of enjoyment. This is just like elementary school. In our educational system there are five stages — elementary, junior high, high school, college, and graduate school. This is comparable to the five stages of Christ's shepherding in Psalm 23. Many of us are in "elementary school" while others are in "high school" in their experience of Christ. A brother who is more mature in the Lord and who has been a seeking Christian for many years may have passed through all five stages of Christ's shepherding. Now in his present experience, he may say that he experiences all five stages at various times.
The resurrected Christ shepherds us first in the initial stage of enjoyment in green pastures and at waters of rest (Psa. 23:1-2). Because He is our Shepherd, we will lack nothing (Phil. 1:19b). Right after we were saved, we entered into this first stage of enjoyment. In John 21 the Lord Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him. When Peter said that he did love the Lord, the Lord charged him to feed His lambs (v. 15). We need to be like nursing mothers to cherish and feed the little ones under our care (1 Thes. 2:7). Right after a child is delivered, a mother feeds the child so he can grow.
In the initial stage of the enjoyment of Christ, the lambs, the infants, feed on Christ as the green pasture (John 10:9). Infants do not have table manners. All the little lambs lie down to eat the pasture without any thought of manners. Christ makes us to lie down, not sit down in a mannerly way, in green pastures. This kind of eating, without the thought for proper manners, is more enjoyable. The little lamb lying down in the pasture and eating the grass does not have to worry about proper table manners. This is just like an infant lying in the bosom of his nursing mother. No table manners are necessary.
We have been feeding the little lambs, the new ones in the Lord, for many years. They do not have any "manners" in their enjoyment of Christ. It seems that they can say everything. A new one may say, "Yes, I have been saved, but I don't feel much that the Lord is so good." This is not polite. We may be feeding this new one, but he is without "manners." This is because he is a lamb who is "lying down," not "sitting," to enjoy the Lord as the green pastures.
He also leads us to waters of rest (Psa. 23:2b; 1 Cor. 12:13b). The green pastures are Christ, and the waters of rest are the Spirit. The Spirit is the restful waters. When we go to take care of the new ones, we must not only feed them with Christ but also help them to drink of the Spirit. We must help them to call on the name of the Lord and to pray. This is to help them to drink the Spirit by exercising their spirit.
In partaking of a meal, drinking should always go along with eating. When I eat a meal I usually have two glasses of water. Then I have a comfortable and restful time of eating. The waters we drink are very restful. If someone served us food without anything to drink, this would not be so pleasant or restful. We would not have a comfortable feeling. This is why we need Christ as the pasture and the Spirit as the waters of rest. Actually, the pastures and the waters refer to the same person. In one aspect, He is our pasture, our food, to feed us. In another aspect, He is the life-giving Spirit as waters to bring us the proper rest. Both the pastures and the waters are the resurrected pneumatic Christ as the life-giving Spirit.
Psalm 23:3 says, "He restores my soul;/He guides me on the paths of righteousness/For His name's sake." This is the second stage of revival and transformation on the paths of righteousness. To restore our soul is to revive us. Restoring also includes renewing and transforming. This corresponds with the New Testament teaching in Romans 12:2 which says that we need to be transformed by the renewing of the mind, which is the leading part of our soul. Christ in His shepherding restores — revives and transforms — our soul.
He restores us — revives and transforms us — in our soul to make us take His way, to walk on the paths of righteousness. Both the paths and righteousness are Christ. The resurrected Christ today is our paths. In order to be a proper sister or a proper brother, we need Christ as our paths, as our way. A sister who does not behave and walk as a female does not have Christ as her paths. A brother who acts foolishly does not have Christ as his paths. Some brothers need a particular path to be an elder. Others need a path to be a co-worker. We also need a path to act as Christians and another path to work in God's economy. We need many paths, the paths of righteousness, in our Christian life and work.
John 7 says that when we drink of the life-giving Spirit as the living water, we will flow out, not just one river but many rivers (v. 38). There is a river of the proper humanity, a river of kindness, a river of love, a river of patience, etc. We need many rivers. In the same way, we need a path of humility, a path of loving, a path of patience, etc. These are the paths of righteousness.
Righteousness is to be right with people before God according to His righteous and strict requirements. We must admit that we are short of the paths to be right. We have to take the paths of righteousness by being restored — revived and transformed — in our soul, which comprises our mind, our emotion, and our will. We must be proper and balanced in our mind, our emotion, and our will. Otherwise, we cannot be righteous; we cannot be right with man and with God.
Christ shepherds us on the paths of righteousness. A shepherd has a staff to guide and instruct the sheep. Sheep have a tendency to go astray. The shepherd uses his staff to correct the sheep and keep them on the right way with the flock. Quite often our behavior goes astray, so we need Christ's correction.
To be a lady or a gentleman may be difficult, but to be a Christian is much more difficult. Christians should be the highest class of people. Sometimes the sisters do not cut their hair properly, so their hair is not right. If we do not buy the proper pair of shoes befitting a Christian, this shows that we are wrong in our person. We need to be right in everything. The brothers need to be right in the way that they cut their hair and in the kind of necktie they wear.
We have to be right not only ethically, morally, but also materially. Some young brothers who came into the church life in Los Angeles in the late sixties dressed in a wild way. After being in the church life for a period of time, however, the way in which they dressed became proper, and their long hair and beards were cut. One brother came to the meeting and sat on the front row with his bare feet. Within a short period of time, this brother began to wear shoes and later he wore shoes and socks. This was evidence of the Lord's transforming work from within him. These young people changed without any outward correction or adjustment from others.
This shows us that we have to be right not only ethically, morally, but also physically, materially. We Christians are high-class people. In order to minister the Word, the inner law of life requires me to dress in a proper way. Then I appear as a very ordinary, proper person. We all have to be under the Lord's shepherding in all that we do. His shepherding is a kind of balancing, correcting, and adjusting.
He guides us (to walk according to the spirit) on the paths of righteousness (to fulfill the requirement of righteousness — Rom. 8:4). Righteousness can be fulfilled only by those who walk according to their spirit. We have three parts — body, soul, and spirit (1 Thes. 5:23). We should not do things according to our body, because it is full of lusts. We should not do things according to our soul, because it is full of opinions. Instead, we should do things according to our spirit. When we walk according to the spirit, we fulfill the righteous requirement of the law.
Christ as our Shepherd leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake — in the person of the resurrected pneumatic Christ. Matthew 28:19 says that we are to baptize people into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The name indicates the person. For His name's sake is for His person's sake. Today Jesus Christ as a living Person is the pneumatic Christ in His resurrection. He is the life-giving Spirit. He leads us inwardly to walk in the paths of righteousness in Himself as the Person. He is such a Shepherd in us.
The third stage is the stage of the experience of the presence of the resurrected pneumatic Christ through the valley of the shadow of death (Psa. 23:4). Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we do not fear evil, for the pneumatic Christ is with us (2 Tim. 4:22). This means that we experience His presence. For Him to be with us is for us to enjoy His presence. His presence is a comfort, a rescue, and a sustaining power to us when we are walking in the valley of the shadow of death.
We human beings cannot avoid having troubles as we live on this earth. A husband's wife who takes care of him and the children may suddenly become so ill that she is unable to walk. Then this brother gets into the valley, which is under a shadow and full of death. Some saints may have children who are crippled. This brings these saints into the valley. A brother may be an elder in a locality, and the Lord may suddenly bring in another elder, with whom it is difficult for this brother to coordinate. This other elder then becomes the valley of the shadow of death to the first elder. He cannot quarrel with this other elder, or he will offend his spirit. He has to keep the one accord with him. Also, his spirit will not allow him to withdraw. He has to stay in the valley to suffer. These are examples of the valley of the shadow of death.
About five years ago, I was put into a valley. In 1987 I was working in Taipei, laboring day and night on the Chinese Recovery Version of the New Testament. Then at the end of 1987, I returned to the United States and realized that there was turmoil present among us. During this rebellious turmoil, I was put into a valley. When we are in the valley, the best way for us to deal with it is to rest. The tests in the valley always tempt us to do something so that we can come out of the valley. But the more we do, the more the valley extends. We just need to be quiet, to rest.
Our resting in the Lord will shorten the valley, reduce the shadow, and remove the death. We should not talk about our being in the valley. The more we talk, the wider the valley becomes. The best way is for us to forget that we are in the valley, because we have the Lord with us. We do not fear evil, because He is with us. Second Timothy 4:22 says that the Lord is with our spirit. The Lord is not merely within us in a general way, but He is in our spirit in a particular way. If we have had the proper experience in the valley, we can testify that it was a place for us to enjoy the Lord's presence in such a close way.
In 1943 there was a big revival in the church in Chefoo, my hometown in mainland China. At that time we were under the invasion of the Japanese army. They were wondering how I could draw so many people. They studied me secretly for a few months, and then in May of 1943, they came to get me. They brought me to their military police headquarters, and I was put into prison for thirty days. That was a real valley to me. The Japanese invading army killed thousands of Chinese during the war, so I could have been killed by them at any time. I was under their threatening and torture for two three-hour sessions a day.
One day they put a young Greek man into the prison cell with me. He and I both spoke a little English, so we could communicate with each other. The Japanese did not know this. One day they purposely decided not to give me any food. One of them came to me and, not being able to speak Chinese, he pointed up to the heavens, indicating that I should ask my God to give me food. The young Greek man, however, insisted on sharing his food with me. He and I became intimate friends.
After a few weeks, he was taken away, and I was left alone in my imprisonment. One day when I was alone, as I was praying, I had a deep sense that the Lord was there with me in a special, intimate way. I was in the valley, and the Lord caused me not to fear any evil. Eventually, I was preserved and protected by the Lord from being harmed. After thirty days, the Japanese released me. That was a real experience and enjoyment of the Lord's presence in the deep valley of the shadow of death.
In the valley of the shadow of death, the Lord's rod and His staff — His protection, His guidance, and His sustenance — comfort us. The rod is for protection. If a wolf comes, the shepherd uses his rod to protect the flock. The staff is for training, for direction, for guidance, and also for sustenance. The Lord has the rod to protect us, and He has the staff to train us, to instruct us, to guide us, and to sustain us. We experience the Lord's protection and guiding in the valley of the shadow of death.
Now we come to the fourth stage of the deeper and higher enjoyment of the resurrected Christ (Psa. 23:5). The Lord spreads a table — a feast — before us in the presence of our adversaries (1 Cor. 10:21). The Lord's table is a feast. Every Lord's Day when we come to His table to take the feast, it is always in the presence of our adversaries. Every day is a fighting day to us. We Christians have to fight. Otherwise, we will be defeated. There may be adversaries in our business, in our home, and even in the church. On the one hand, we enjoy the feast of the Lord, and on the other hand, we should fight for the victory. If we are defeated during the week, it will be difficult for us to enjoy the Lord's table that much. We need to fight the battle in the Lord all week long before we come to the Lord's table. Then we will be able to have a rich enjoyment of the Lord as our feast at His table.
In the fourth stage of the deeper and higher enjoyment of the resurrected Christ, the Lord anoints our head with oil (of exultant joy — Heb. 1:9); our cup (of blessing — 1 Cor. 10:16a) runs over. To anoint the head is to anoint the whole body. Psalm 133 speaks of the ointment upon the head spreading down to the skirts of the garments. No doubt, this is the anointing of the compound, life-giving Spirit in Christ's resurrection. All the riches of Christ's being and doing are compounded together in this anointing compound ointment.
The Bible uses the word cup to indicate blessing. The cup of blessing runs over. Psalm 23:5 speaks of the table, the feast, which is Christ with His riches for our enjoyment. Then there is the anointing oil, which is the Spirit. Then there is the cup of blessing, which refers to the Father. The Father is the blessing, even the source of blessing. Thus, in verse five there is the Triune God — the Son as the feast, the Spirit as the anointing oil, and the Father as the source of blessing.
Psalm 23:6 speaks of the fifth stage of the lifelong enjoyment of the divine goodness and kindness in the house of Jehovah. Surely goodness and kindness will follow us (the grace of Christ and the love of God will be with us — 2 Cor. 13:14) all the days of our life (in the present age). Goodness refers to the grace of Christ, kindness refers to the love of the Father, and follow refers to the fellowship of the Spirit. Second Corinthians 13:14 reveals the move of the Triune God for us to enjoy all His riches. The grace of the Son, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit are with us. This is the fifth stage of our enjoyment of the Triune God in Psalm 23.
Eventually, this enjoyment will usher us into the house of God. We will dwell in the house of Jehovah (the church and the New Jerusalem — 1 Tim. 3:15-16; Rev. 21:2-3, 22) for the length of our days (in the present age and in the coming age and in eternity). Our days are not only in the present age but also in the coming age and in eternity. We will live for eternity; our days will be that long. Today we are in the church. If we are overcomers, we will be in the kingdom of one thousand years in the New Jerusalem. Eventually, in eternity we will be in the New Jerusalem with all of the chosen and redeemed saints. God's house is our dwelling place where we enjoy the Triune God — the Son's grace, the Father's love, and the Spirit's fellowship. Today we enjoy the Triune God in the church, and in the future we will enjoy Him in the New Jerusalem.
If we are not in the church, we lose the shepherding of Christ. Outside of the church, without the church, there is no way for Christ to shepherd us. This is because He is the Shepherd of the flock, and the flock is the church. To get out of the church is to get out of the flock, and the Shepherd is always with the flock.
To be in the church is an enjoyment. Without the church, I would not like to live on this earth. Without the church, I would not have any enjoyment. Many people like sinful and worldly amusements, so they have parties and go to clubs. We do not do this because the church is our "club," the church is our "party," the church is our amusement. The best place for our amusement is the church life. If we decide to stay home in the evening instead of coming to the church meeting, we will suffer loss. To avoid this suffering, we need to come to the church meetings. In the church meetings, in God's house, we can enjoy the divine goodness (the grace of Christ) and the divine kindness (the love of God) following us (in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit) all the days of our life.
We human beings have to be social. If we are socializing in the wrong place, we will have trouble. The best place for us to be social is the church. The church is the proper society. Eventually, the church will consummate in the New Jerusalem where we will meet together for eternity.
Psalm 24 reveals Christ as the King in God's kingdom. This will be in the coming age.
In Psalm 24:1-2 we see the realization of the earth and the fullness thereof, and the world and those who dwell in it, founded by God upon the seas and established by Him upon the streams, as God's kingdom. The thought in these two verses is very good.
In verses 3-6 we again see the mixtures of David's concept. In these verses, his natural concept returns again. David said, "Who may ascend the mountain of Jehovah,/And who may stand in His holy place?/He who has clean hands and a pure heart,/Who has not engaged his soul in falsehood/Or sworn deceitfully./He will receive blessing from Jehovah,/And righteousness from the God of his salvation./This is the generation of those who seek Him;/Those who seek Your face are Jacob." These verses have nothing to do with the kingdom and are absolutely like Psalm 15.
We should not blame David too much for his natural concept because we are the same as he was. We have to remember that David was still living in the flesh. This is why there are two kinds of concepts in the Psalms — the human concept and the divine concept.
Verses 7-10 are surely a proper continuation of verse 2. These verses show us the victorious Christ as the coming King in God's eternal kingdom. Verse 7 says, "Lift up your heads, O gates;/And be lifted up, O long enduring doors;/And the King of glory will come in." The gates are of the cities of the nations. The doors are of the houses of the people. The long enduring doors indicate waiting and expecting with long endurance (Phil. 3:20; 1 Cor. 1:7). This indicates that the people of the earth have been waiting and expecting Christ's second coming. In Haggai 2:7 we are told that Christ is the desire of all the nations. All the nations, in a general way, are expecting Christ to come, but Christ would not come that quickly according to our human concept. Thus, we need to wait and expect His coming with long endurance.
Because we must wait for His coming with long endurance, we have a tendency to drop our heads in discouragement. This is why the psalmist says, "Lift up your heads." If we expected someone dear to us to come and he does not come, we would drop our heads. But if we received a phone call from him, telling us that he is coming, we would lift up our heads, that is, we would be encouraged to expect his coming.
We have to lift up our heads, because the King of glory will come in (vv. 7, 9; Luke 21:27; Matt. 25:31). We must get ready to welcome Him. Psalm 24:8 asks, "Who is the King of glory?" The King of glory is "Jehovah strong and mighty!/Jehovah mighty in battle!" Jehovah is Jesus, and Jesus is the embodiment of the Triune God in resurrection. He is the One who is strong in fighting and victorious.
Verse 9 says, "Lift up your heads, O gates;/And lift up, O long enduring doors;/And the King of glory will come in." Verse 7 says, "Be lifted up," but verse 9 says, "Lift up." To be lifted up means that we are still weak, needing someone to move us. But to lift up means we have become stronger. We can act to lift up ourselves. The King of glory, whom we welcome, is Jehovah of hosts. Hosts means armies. He is Jehovah of the armies. Jehovah is the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Triune God. He is the One in His resurrection coming back to possess the entire earth, to take it as His kingdom. The King of glory is Jehovah of hosts, the consummated Triune God embodied in the victorious and coming Christ (v. 10).
We have seen that Psalm 23 reveals Christ as the Shepherd in His resurrection, and that Psalm 24 reveals Christ as the King in God's kingdom. Hallelujah for the shepherding Christ, and hallelujah for the reigning Christ! Hallelujah for our Christ being our Shepherd today and our King in the future!
