The more I read Psalm 23, especially, verses 1 through 3, the more I see the correlation between them and Psalm 46:10, Be still and know that I am God. I remember learning to memorize Psalm 23, but I can’t remember whether it was at vacation Bible school or in my elementary classroom. It has made a profound impact on me throughout my life.
As I was meditating on Psalm 23 this morning, I began to see a deeper revelation and correlation between verses 1-3’s of Psalm 23 and Psalm 46:10. In Psalm 23, David states in verse 1, The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. David sees the role of God in his life and likens it to his role as a shepherd. He has chosen to follow God as his Shepherd—his master, leader, protector and provider just as the sheep follow him. He realizes that God takes care of every need he has just as he takes care of his sheep. Just as David’s sheep rest in his care, he can rest in the loving care of God, knowing that he can be still and know that he is God. (Psalm 46:0) He surrenders control to God.
Verse 2 continues the narrative of resting and relinquishing all to God. David, like his sheep who find rest in green pastures and by still waters, states that God, maketh me (him) to lie down in green pastures: and leadeth me (him) beside the still waters. (Note that there is a colon after “pastures” in verse 2. That colon means that the information that follows it (the colon) amplifies and explains the information that precedes it.) So, as God is causing David to lie down in green pastures—God is giving him rest beside still waters. So, like his sheep, David relinquishes control to his Shepherd, the Lord.
So, then I realize that as I rest in the Lord, I can surrender and set aside my own agenda and preconceived ideas to God, my protector, my deliverer, my source of all things. Like David, those green pastures and still waters brings rest for my soul. (Psalm 23:2)
Then David moves to verse 3a which reads: He restoreth my soul. David, like his sheep, allowed God to bring healing and deliverance to his weary and damaged soul. Imagine: David’s sheep were finding rest and safety from the grueling weather and treacherous and dangerous animals. We, too, like David, can receive rest from the dangers and storms of life, knowing that God has everything under control.
David notes in verse 3b, that as God takes control of his life, he brings healing and rest from the weariness and storms of life—he leads him in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. We, too, can be led in paths of righteousness.
So, surrendering control—being still and know that God is God, provides a knowing that God is taking us in the right direction. God is in control and leading in the path of righteousness even in difficult times! It is a knowing that all is well with our souls!
A clear example of resting in God is found in the life of Horatio G. Spafford. In the aftermath of traumatic events in his life, he pinned the song, “It Is Well with my Soul” in 1873. Spafford lost his four year old son, Horatio Jr. to scarlet fever in 1870. Then three years later in 1873, he lost his four remaining children, four daughters, when the steamship, Ville du Havre, sank while his children and wife were on their way to England. At that time, his wife was found unconscious; however, his daughters had perished.
Spafford’s faith never faltered. He remained steadfast, he continued to: “be still and know that God is God.” He allowed God to direct his path. He demonstrates this in his return home after getting his wife. Some accounts note that upon passing over the site where the Ville du Havre sank, Spafford went to his cabin and wrote the hymn, “It Is Well with my Soul.” He and his wife ended up having three more children, but one of them, a son, named Horatio, after him and his dead brother also passed away.
Horatio Spafford, like David, truly allowed his Shepherd, God, to take control of his life as he rested in his care. I surmise that Spafford rested and allowed God to restore his soul in a time of trauma. He could only do this by quieting his heart and soul by being by Being still and knowing that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)
I leave you with this stanza from Spafford’s hymn, my friends:
“Whatever my lot (plight), thou hast taught me to know, it is well, it is well with my soul.”
So where are you, my friends? Like Spafford, we can rest, knowing that God is in control. Are you being still and allowing the Lord to take control of your life, knowing that your submission to your Shepherd leads to a path of righteousness? Remember this: God, our Shepherd, will never leave us or forsake us!
Be blessed.
Scripture References:
Psalm 55:18 He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. (This scripture was inscribed in some hymnals after the hymn’s title.)
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will f8nd rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Exodus 33:14 The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.
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