David, male monarch of Israel is referred to as ‘the Psalmist ‘ . This Psalm, like most of the others is attributed to him. From the oncoming in poetry 1, he acknowledges God as his shepherd. The imagination on usage here is drawn from the existent scene in ancient middle-eastern pattern where the sheep ‘ every demand are met by the lovingness shepherd. The psalmist is the sheep and the Lord, his shepherd. This is a metaphor. God meets all his demands so that nil he wants beyond what the Lord offers is needed. In other words, there is nil he needs that the Lord can non supply. Bible bookmans do sometimes stand for the shepherd-hood elaborated in this Psalm as the public assistance map ancient near-eastern male monarchs demonstrated in the life of their people. For this ground, propositions that suggest that the Psalm may hold been written at about the clip of Jeremiah when male monarchs and other signifiers of leading started presuming some duty for the layperson have emerged. This day of the month would be sometime about 590 B.C. , before the Babylonian imprisonment. This impression does n’t favor the general belief that David wrote it. Surely, Yahweh did reign as a male monarch in the psalmist ‘s life and Israel ‘s nationality but while scholarship may utilize this frequently as an fable to province their place, it is worthwhile to observe that the psalmist most likely viewed the nature of his relationship with God as something much greater than a male monarch ‘s concern for those he ruled. Obviously, God was far much more than a male monarch to him. Otherwise, God would n’t hold to present him from problems human male monarchs would n’t be able to ( see verse 4 ) . Second, the possibility that David is pulling a analogue between his experiences and relationship with God can non be overlooked. He was a shepherd male child in his male parent ‘s house before Samuel anointed him king ( 1 Sam.16:11-13 ) . He decidedly knows what it ‘s like to be a shepherd or to be looked after by one and he shows this in his conversation with Saul, merely before he slew Goliath. He draws inspiration from his experiences in salvaging his sheep from king of beasts and bear onslaughts ( 1 Sam. 17:34-37 ) . Indeed, these past experiences must hold inspired his Hagiographas in this Psalm.
From verse 2, the psalmist begins to explicate how the Lord meets his demands. aˆ¦making him lie down in green grazing lands and taking him besides still Waterss. This is a metonymy. Today, people use the sentence, ‘in hunt of greener grazing lands ‘ figuratively to intend looking for better life. The ‘still Waterss ‘ in 2b is declarative of the peace and tranquility that is expected to attach to the good life, both externally from enemies around and inside. One can readily name to mind that David, the psalmist and popular male monarch of Israel in the Bible was a adult male of war. He spoke of this peace ( 1 Chron. 22:18 ) and craves it here. The full poetry is evocative of the ambiance, frequently of an euphory evoked when reading a typical romantic literature. Because he knows that life in wickedness finally leads to the decease of the psyche ( Ezek.18:4b ) , he acknowledges God ‘s shepherd-hood and righteous nature in conveying him back to the ways of life through making right ( verse 3 ) .
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Clarke ( 1952 ) opts for the position that the vale of the shadow of decease in the 4th poetry is likely one of hostile liquors like a state of affairs experienced in ‘The Pilgrim ‘s Progress ‘ . This is a actual position to take particularly when sing the fact that nil brings one so close to deceasing as the experience of being at war and in danger of an enemy that can kill at any clip. David must hold been hunted by such desperation frequently. He was a adult male of war and must hold had a close shaving with decease sometimes while contending. It is the desperation amidst these brushs of narrow bits off from the stabs of decease that he likely refers to as the shadow of decease. The 2nd portion of the poetry is more telling in this respect, taking into consideration the old use for the word ‘comfort ‘ : to promote and beef up in times of fright or heartache, hurting, anguish, sorrow, disheartenment, or uncomfortableness. Although similar subjects would hold been really much prominent during the reign of Solomon or the epoch of Jeremiah, certain characteristics of this Psalm that make it seem older than these periods.
In verse 5, the psalmist reiterates the declaration he made at the beginning, but this clip making it with a greater confidence that God will run into his demands even in the presence of his enemies, ‘Thou preparest a tabular array before me in the presence of mine enemies ‘ . The in-between portion can non be explanatory of anything else other than the home of God ‘s spirit upon him. Anointing with oil on the caput is normally declarative of the presence of the Holy Spirit, non merely symbolic. This is particularly so in the old testament. It is non clear what is being referred to in the reasoning portion of the poetry ‘my cup runneth over ‘ , whether it is merely the approvals that had been recanted in past poetries or the anointment of the Spirit shortly acknowledged. It likely refers to an copiousness of all of them.
Clarke ‘s Concise Bible Commentary suggests ‘house of the Lord ‘ in versa 6 mentioning to the temple as counteractive to the old belief that David wrote this Psalm, because the temple was non built by the clip of David. God told him that he would non construct His house but his boy shall construct it ( 1 Chron. 17 ) . However, it should be called to mind that even before the temple was built, David referred to God ‘s brooding presence as His temple ( 2 Sam. 22: 7 ) . Therefore, ‘house of the Lord ‘ can non be entirely representative of a physical temple. Even if a physical residence were to be ascribed to it, it certainly had to be the Ark of the compact or Tabernacle which was the lone manner God assured the Hebrewss of his presence with them so. There seems to be a drama of words here. Indeed, David was a adult male of war and blood but what this line of concluding fails to admit is that in his avidity to construct a house for the Lord, he could hold referred to the staying presence of God in his ain life, represented at certain times by the Ark of the compact in the collapsible shelter as the house of God. For him who was used to the presence of God and had enjoyed so much of God ‘s favor upon his life, the house of the Lord may non needfully hold to be a physical temple. It could be the collapsible shelter or the manifest presence of God ‘s spirit. Even Clarke ( 482 ) does non neglect to acknowledge the metaphor that ‘dwell in the house of the Lord forever ‘ could imply. That is, a metaphor for the wider presence of God. In another sense, it could be a prophetic declaration mentioning to idolize in the ageless life to come.
The Psalm would hold been written at approximately 980 B.C. if David wrote it. Solomon ‘s reign at the temple was at about 930 B.C. Some schools of idea are of the position that it could hold been written much later during the expatriate of 722 B.C. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary ( 530 ) for illustration relates the “ dwell ” in v. 6 with that in Psalm 27:4. In a sense, it ‘s used to intend “ return ” , i.e. to the land of Israel from which they have been taken bondage. Therefore, beyond the by and large accepted impression that the house of the Lord is the temple, it could every bit good be symbolic of the full land of Israel. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary ( 530 ) , doing mention to 1 Kings 8: 65-66, draws attending to the manner ancient Near Eastern male monarchs would form munificent feasts on particular occasions as an imagination the author employs to depict the attention and proviso by the Lord, his shepherd male monarch. Although the case cited above took event during Solomon ‘s reign, but even David as an experient male monarch showed he knew this civilization when he allowed the lone lasting member of Saul ‘s household, Jonathan ‘s boy Mephibosheth to continually dine at his tabular array ( 2 Sam. 9 ) . Besides, this poetry could be brooding of the legion approvals and victories the psalmist has enjoyed around and about himself from God in the signifier of all kinds of triumphs from warring with hostile neighbors and the spoils gained from such triumphs. The peace entirely from such conquerings was much solace. By ‘goodness and mercyaˆ¦.days of my life ‘ , the psalmist does n’t look to desire this banquet of favors upon him to come to an terminal. The Psalm shows God ‘s attention for those who truly worship Him.
