Psalm 23 concerns Christ as the Shepherd in His resurrection. According to this psalm, Christ shepherds us in five stages:
1) the enjoyment of Christ as the green pastures and of the Spirit as the waters of rest (v. 2);
2) the revival and transformation on the paths of righteousness (v. 3);
3) the experience of the resurrected pneumatic Christ while walking through the valley of the shadow of death (v. 4);
4) the deeper and higher enjoyment of the resurrected Christ in fighting against the adversaries (v. 5);
5) the lifelong enjoyment of the divine goodness and kindness in the house of Jehovah (v. 6).

Psa. 3 title

The fifth stage of Christ’s shepherding is the lifelong enjoyment of the divine goodness and lovingkindness in the house of Jehovah. Under the organic shepherding of the pneumatic Christ, goodness and lovingkindness follow us “all the days of [our] life,” referring to the present age. Goodness refers to the grace of Christ, lovingkindness refers to the love of the Father, and follow implies the fellowship of the Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14). Eventually, this enjoyment of the processed and consummated Triune God ushers us into the enjoyment of God in the house of God (Christ, the church, and the New Jerusalem — John 1:14; 2:21; 1 Tim. 3:15-16; Rev. 21:2-3, 22), where we will dwell “for the length of [our] days,” referring to the present age, the coming age, and eternity.

In the fourth stage of Christ’s shepherding, our cup (the cup of blessing — 1 Cor. 10:16a; Matt. 26:27 and note Matt. 26:27^1a) runs over. In this verse the Triune God is implied — the Son as the table, the feast (1 Cor. 11:23-26), the Spirit as the anointing oil (Luke 4:18), and the Father as the source of the blessing (Eph. 1:3).

The Hebrew word refers to the anointing done at a festal banquet. In the fourth stage of His shepherding, the Lord anoints our head with oil (the oil of exultant joy — Heb. 1:9), signifying the compound Spirit as the compound ointment (Exo. 30:23-26 and note Exo. 30:25¹ and note Exo. 30:26^1a). To anoint the head is to anoint the whole body (Psa. 133:2; 2 Cor. 1:21). This is the anointing of the compound, life-giving Spirit in Christ’s resurrection (1 John 2:20 and note 1 John 2:20^1a).

In the fourth stage of His shepherding, in the deeper and higher enjoyment of the resurrected Christ, the Lord spreads a table, a feast (Christ with His riches for our enjoyment), before us in the presence of our adversaries. If we fight the spiritual battle and defeat the adversaries, we will have a rich enjoyment of the Lord as our feast at His table (cf. Gen. 14:17-18).

The rod is for protection, and the staff is for training, for guidance, and also for sustenance. In the valley of the shadow of death, the Lord’s protection, guidance, and sustenance comfort us.

In the third stage of His shepherding, we experience the presence of the resurrected pneumatic Christ as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i.e., through the troubles and sufferings of life. When we walk through the valley, we do not fear any evil, for the pneumatic Christ is with us (Matt. 28:20b; 2 Tim. 4:22). His presence is a comfort, a rescue, and a sustaining power to us. When we are in the valley, we should simply remain there and rest in the Lord. Our resting in the Lord will shorten the valley, reduce the shadow, and remove the death.

The name indicates the person. Hence, for His name’s sake denotes being in His person. As the pneumatic Christ, the life-giving Spirit, in His resurrection, Christ leads us inwardly to walk in the paths of righteousness in Himself as the person (cf. Col. 3:17).

Both the paths and the righteousness are the resurrected Christ (John 14:6a; 1 Cor. 1:30).

In the second stage of His shepherding, Christ restores (revives and transforms) our soul (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23) and guides us (to walk according to the spirit) on the paths of righteousness (to fulfill the requirement of righteousness — Rom. 8:4). To be righteous, i.e., to be right with persons, matters, and things before God according to His righteous and strict requirements, we need to be revived and transformed in our soul in order to be proper and balanced in our mind, emotion, and will.

The waters of rest signify the Spirit, who was consummated in Christ’s resurrection (John 7:37-39 and note John 7:39^1a). In the initial stage of Christ’s shepherding, the lambs, the infants in Christ (John 21:15; 1 Pet. 2:2), feed on Christ as the green pasture and drink the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13), the resurrected pneumatic Christ, as the waters of rest.

The pastures signify Christ as the feeding place for His sheep (John 10:9 and note John 10:9²), and the color green signifies the riches of life. Christ can be our green pasture through His incarnation, death, and resurrection.

Christ in His resurrection is the Shepherd (Heb. 13:20; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4), and the church produced by Christ’s resurrection is His flock (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2). By being incarnated, crucified, and resurrected to become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), Christ as Jehovah (John 8:24), the Triune God (Exo. 3:14), is qualified to be our Shepherd. By His redeeming, washing, resurrecting, and regenerating us, we are qualified to be His flock. To enjoy Christ’s shepherding, we need to be in the flock, i.e., in the church.