Category: 2020 – Psalm 23

I started 2020 with “sheep” as my word for the year.  Check out my first post of 2020 for more background.  That led me to study Psalm 23.

Interestingly, as Robert Morgan points out, “Sheep are very much like human beings; and vice versa; they need a good shepherd to tend to them.  We need a Great Shepherd to stay with us through all the experiences in life, someone to hover over us with an extended hand of mercy, someone to tend to us and our families and our needs.”

It’s often during life’s hurts that we come to understand the heart of the Shepherd, as we learn to accept His care and trust His heart. 

In fact, troubles in life have a way of driving us to the Lord’s tender mercies, and we bond with Him through the verses and vigor He bestows.

As a family, we’ve needed that in the past month, as my father-in-law battled COVID-19.  Check out my post honoring his life entitled: Dr. Wayne Cason Smith: He Taught Us How to Live, Love, & Leave.

Dr. Robert McQuilkin wrote, “Our Shepherd gives joy unspeakable and full of glory, and the fullness of power for service…abundant supply of every need…life more abundantly.”

Click here for more on the second half of Psalm 23:5 from Keller, Morgan, and Lucado

As we continue to walk with David through Psalm 23, he says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”  In using the word “table,” David pictured what we would call a “tableland,” which is an elevated and fairly level region, a plateau, a perfect place for summer grazing.

When I think of “tableland,” I can’t help but think of my wife’s home town.  Her home town was named from the Spanish word Mesa—meaning “tableland”—because it was descriptive of the town’s location on the high plateau of the South Plains.  In the early twentieth century, their first committee considered two possible names for the town—La Mesa or Lamesa.  While some preferred the Spanish version, the committee ultimately decided on Lamesa (pronounced la-mee-suh) to differentiate the town from La Mesa, California. 

Now, back to David’s Psalm.  We should recognize that these tablelands don’t just appear on the horizon fully developed.  No—it takes a lot of work to convert plateaus into pastures.  They must be developed, and the groundwork takes years, generations, even centuries.

Click here for more from Keller, Morgan, and Lucado