Through The Valley
Psalm 23 - A psalm of David- New International Version (NIV)
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Footnotes: Psalm 23:4 Or the valley of the shadow of death
For the second study in our look at the Psalms, we turn to, perhaps the most famous of them all, Psalm 23. The hymn based on this Psalm, The Lord's my Shepherd I’ll not want, is beloved by many and chosen often to help us as we grieve at funeral services. And yet it is not only poetry for sad and hard times but one to celebrate God’s love and care throughout every aspect of life.
The word “Psalms” is taken from the Greek word “psalmos”, meaning “a stringed instrument,” “a song sung to stringed accompaniment,” or simply “a song,” and Psalms have been used in sung worship over eons in both Jewish and Christian traditions. Hebrew or Aramaic-speaking Jews came to call these 150 songs “tehillîm”, or “Songs of Praise,” and together this “Psalter” became the “hymnal” of the Jewish worshiping community.
The Psalms were divided up into different sections and Psalm 23 was placed in section IV. THANKSGIVING SONGS (or THE TÔDÂH).
Psalm 23 was penned by King David and its words and themes were drawn from his life experiences as both a Shepherd boy, on the Judaean hillsides, and as an adult King, who cared for his people. In both roles, he encountered ‘God with him’ in every aspect of life; when things were easy or difficult; in the darkness of the night, and through the dangers that came his way via mountain lions, wolves, Philistine attack or family betrayal and conflict.
Even when fleeing for his life, in the desert of Judah, David was able to declare “Psalm63v3 - Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you”.
I am reading the book “Evidence not seen” by Darlene Deibler Rose, a missionary who served in the jungles of New Guinea and then as an interned prisoner in a Japanese prisoner war camp for four years during the Second World War. Throughout these privations and the violence inflicted by Camp Officers, Darlene and her fellow internees knew the presence of God and in fellowship and by daily devotions, lived out the truths of Psalm 23. Even upon hearing of her husband's untimely death in the nearby “Men’s internment camp, Darlene was able to share the reality of God with her tormentor. She writes:
“ Late that afternoon, Mt Yamaji (Camp Commander) called me to his office.
‘Njonja Deinbler, I want to talk with you- This is war’
‘Yes, Mr. Yamaji, I understand that.’
‘What you heard today, women in Japan have heard’.
‘Yes, Sir, I understand that too’.
‘Mr. Yamaji, May I have permission to talk to you!’. He nodded, sat down, and motioned next to take the other chair.
‘Mr. Yamaji, I don’t sorrow like people who have no hope, I want to tell you about someone of Whom you have never heard. I learned about Him when I was a little girl in Sunday School back in Boone, Iowa, in America. His name is Jesus. He’s the Son of Almighty God, the Creator of heaven and earth.’
As I spoke, God opened up the most wonderful opportunity to lay the plan of Salvation before the Japanese camp commander. Tears started to course down his cheeks. ‘He died for you, Mr.Yamaji, and he puts love in our hearts- even for those who are our enemies. That’s why I don’t hate you, Mr. Yamaji. Maybe God bought me to this place and this time to tell you He loves you’.
With tears running down his cheeks, he rose hastily and left the room, closing the door behind him. I sat quietly praying for his salvation, that he might go home to share God's love with his wife and family. From that moment on, Mr. Yamaji trusted me and understood why I was in the Dutch East Indies”.
Darlene Deibler Rose is only one of many who truly lived out the truth of Psalm 23. v5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
In more recent times, Christians in North Korea have lived out, and even now, are living out their faith, in trying circumstances.
“ Hae Woo (not her real name) was imprisoned in a North Korean labour camp for crossing the border into China. ‘The days and nights were torture’, she said, ‘with brutal guards, back breaking work and little sleep on the ice cold floor with rats and lice’. ‘But’, she writes, ‘God helped me daily showing me which prisoners to befriend and to share my faith with’.
After she was released from the camp and now living in South Korea Woo reflected on her time of imprisonment, saying that Psalm 23 summed up her experience. Although she had been trapped in a dark valley, Jesus was her Shepherd who gave her peace. ‘Even though it felt as if I was literally in a valley, full of the shadow of death, I was not afraid of anything. God comforted me every day’. Hae Woo experienced God's goodness and love as he reassured her that she was his beloved daughter. ‘I was in a terrible place, but I knew….I would experience God’s goodness and love’. And she knew she would stay in the Lord’s presence forever”.
Amy Boucher Pye, in presenting Hae Woo’s story in this “Our Daily Bread Finding Hope in the Psalms” study writes, ‘We can find encouragement in Woo’s story. Despite her dire circumstances, she felt God’s love and leading; and He sustained her and took away her fear. When we too follow Jesus, He will lead us gently through our times of trouble. We need not fear, for (we) will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
May God bless us as we continue our walk in green pastures, quiet waters, right paths and even through darkest valleys. May we find his table prepared for us, His comfort offered and His anointing Oil so that our cup overflows. Amen.
Points to Ponder: When have you experienced God’s presence in a dark valley?
Who can you encourage today?
A Prayer.
O God, when I walk through the valley, You are near me and take away my fear. You comfort me and set before me a feast, and I will dwell in Your house forever.
Ruby Turner Singing “Peace In The Valley”- https://youtu.be/R3KBqqc7uvg
May God Bless you all.
Colin
Psalm63:3