Go back! I was dumb and cut verse three in two when it shouldn't ever be separated! Here's a link to part one, verses 1-3.
e. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me;...
Though it may seem hard at times to discern the will of God, we are given much assurance throughout Scripture that His plan is a good one. These promises are as good as gold; they do not depreciate nor do they fail to deliver, for God crosses His heart that He can and will be true to His word.
Do you recall the "wadi" of verse two, the antithesis of the "quiet waters" David speaks of which the LORD leads His flock beside? Wadis are dangerous canyons which, during flood seasons, can overflow at any time with a torrent of death. These may well be the "valleys of the shadow of death" David speaks of now in verse four. David doesn't shrink away from the hardships of the Christian life; he writes that "EVEN THOUGH I walk..." he has confidence in his shepherd. David understands that the path of the Christian is not always beside quiet waters, and he deftly inserts this metaphor that he was so intimately aware of: the treacherous canyons of deep shadows. Because they were so deep, the sun's rays don't strike the bottom for more than a few hours each day, allowing water to pool at the bottom of the valley. Shepherds could take their sheep here, though they were often at risk of being caught in the miry clay (Psalm 40).
What kind of shepherd would subject his sheep to possible destruction? These sheep, remember, were for temple offerings and sacrifices to God, and must have been protected at the shepherd's life. The answer, of course, is that only foolish or wise shepherds would do such a thing. Foolish shepherds, who do not care for their sheep, would be careless in their provision; the wise shepherd, who loves and protects and lays down his life for his sheep, would be careful in his provision and would not ever lead their sheep into danger. Wise shepherds would read the forecast and know when the rain is scheduled, and which wadis would be affected.
But O Christian, our God and Father raised from the dead the Great Shepherd of the sheep through His blood, the true atoning Passover lamb of the eternal covenant of grace, who alone has the power to both lay down and reclaim His life for the sheep. This same Jesus is a wise shepherd, He is wiser than the shepherds and saviors of this world, and He is the wisest of all things. He cares for you. His paths will not destroy you.
And finally, verse four closes with the reason for our comfort in our Good Shepherd. The Christian can have no fear with the psalm-writing king whether he or she is led beside meager green pastures, quiet waters, or dark valleys because the unchanging LORD is with him. He walks before you, He walks beside you, and He is your rear-guard. "The LORD is my light and my salvation;" what's a dark valley and its flood waters got on the LORD who rides on the storm-clouds and who silences the waves of the sea? "The LORD is the refuge of my life;" what kind of force can move me from the stable promises of the love of Christ? No one and nothing, brothers and sisters. No one and nothing can separate us from the love of Christ; yea, not even the total depravity of our own hearts, inherited and perpetuated from the first generation. Yet this is the theme of God's song: that God loves us enough to break Himself so we can be reconciled to God. "God with us" shall be His name, and the covenantal lovingkindness of the LORD shall never depart from the Righteous One, the Lawkeeper, OR HIS DESCENDANTS, even to a thousand generations (which is just fancy-talk for forever!). He won't forsake you and leave you alone when the sun's shining down and you are satisfied with your fill of green pastures, and He sure as hell won't forsake you when you're walking through your valleys of the shadow of death.
f. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me...
A staff is a symbol of power and direction. A shepherd's crook is often a symbol held by the Egyptian pharaohs, as is the rod. These are symbols of what a king does: he guides his people like a shepherd and he destroys his enemies. These tools are used for directing the sheep, for pulling them back to the right paths. The staff is a sign of discipline: tenderly guarding the sheep from harm, both that of outward danger (i.e.-wolves, lions, bears, snakes, traps, environmental dangers) and inward predispositions to preamble away from the Lord who bought them with a heavy price. The staff is a measure in restraint. Romans 1 holds a fearsome picture of the horrors of the ungodly of whom God has since stopped restraining from wickedness: so then, therefore, restraint as discipline can be a very good thing.
The rod is a form of punishment, but is also a form of discipline. "He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently." The rod is a sign of justice: using the analogy of the Egyptian pharaoh once more, the rod symbolized dominion over the living and the dead, for it was said that the pharaoh is a god, or at least the son of a god. The rod is a concise picture of how David begins to speak of how the LORD is his sovereign Lord, the King of kings, because the rod is a sign of judgment. "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
2. The LORD as sovereign king.
a. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;... (parallels to food provision, v.2a)
There is some question as to whether the second portion of Psalm 23 is referring to the high standards of hospitality in Ancient Near East culture (which, by the way, endure to this day) or to the banquets of a king and his diplomatic protection. I don't see why they can't be reconciled, seeing how God drew David from a sheep-herding family and into the position as king over Israel.
From my Land,Culture,Book class, my teacher taught us a vivid picture of the violent love of the Bedouin tribes that still practice this level of hospitality to this day. If a man comes to a family's porch, they will invite him into their house, no questions asked. The children will literally get into fistfights competing over who got a turn to serve the guest. If the police or other men come to the threshold of that house, the family will defend that stranger with the lives of the family members, no questions asked. The police and other mafia groups (or whomever) fully understand this philosophy to the point that they will set up a siege or simply wait outside until that man gives himself up, but the stranger will NEVER be surrendered by the family that is hosting him with their grace.
This is a violent sort of love that doesn't make sense to me. This is the love of Abraham who demanded a miracle from his aged wife when he asked her to prepare three seahs (33 quarts, or 8.25 GALLONS) of flour, and do it quickly! This is the love of Lot who was willing to jettison both of his daughters in order to protect the angels sent to warn him. Regardless of the guilt that rests on the heads of the guests, when David says that "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies," he is resting on the almighty hand of God that protects him from all enemies, for His name's sake. The love of God protects us, O Christians, from the enemies that surround us, from ourselves, and from the demands of justice, for Christ suffered at the hands of all men, was tempted just as we were (yet without sinning!), and fully satisfied the demands of the just Judge. Christ hides us under the healing power of His tassels with the comfort that a mother's skirt-hem imparts to a frightened child, and we are safe in the shadow of His wings like birds under a mother hen's.
b. You anoint my head with oil;...
There are many uses of anointing oil. Anointing oil is often reserved in the Bible to sanctify something in the literal sense of the word: this sort of oil "sets something apart" from the normal uses of oil in cooking or bathing or whatever. As such, it is used in the Bible for prophets, priests, and kings. I'm going to focus on the aspect of the priest, but truly Christ is the great High Priest, and He is the one the psalms point to principally. Truly we are a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation," but even more so are we anointed with Christ, for, speaking of the beauty of unity of the church under the eternal life granted to us by the righteousness of Christ, "it is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard that went down to the skirts of his garments." Christ's anointing overflows and runs down from the Head to the body, which is the Church, and it gets all over the place. God doesn't skimp on blessing His children, and He decks us out with the most beautiful garments and perfumes and jewels. Like the whore who anointed Christ, our dear Lord and Savior condescended to lift up the poor wretched and dejected whores, shedding His blood and tears and He did not count it too shameful to sacrifice His hair that we could receive more beautiful crowns.
c. My cup overflows. (parallels to drink provision, v.2b)
This is my favorite promise in this dear psalm.
(Sidenote: Though I didn't elaborate on this point during my Sunday School lesson, I've since realized something about myself that fits beautifully here. I have trust and abandonment issues stemming [most probably] from my dad's abandonment.)
This promise states that God's lovingkindness will never end. His merciful hospitality, bought with the reconciliation and payment on my behalf by the Christ, the Son of God, is for me! For me! And it won't grow tired of boring me.
Let me tell a couple of short stories to illustrate the opposite. I have a good friend who lives in Sacramento and is double majoring in English and Poli-Sci at UC Irvine. He loves Jesus, His Church, His Word, and even the people of faithful churches. He's a better man than I, and he's a better writer than I. (You should check him out. I didn't provide a link during my Sunday School lesson, though :1) He's opened his small apartment to me on several occasions, and I was almost about to leave my sleeping bag there so I wouldn't have to lug it from my car every week these past two years. He was very hospitable, and we made a deal that I definitely profited more from: I drove him to and from the grocery store and he cooked dinner for me.
I could have pressed him for more hospitality, imposing on him and upon his roommates, other mutual friends of ours. I could have been more demanding. I could have saved a lot of gas by mooching off of his kindness...and his carpet. But he would have been just in eventually turning me out, since I would not be just in withholding wages from the worker. Our free compassion runs dry fairly quickly.
The other story is once again from my LCB class. The Bedouin sojourners would signal to their guests that they had overstayed their welcome by intentionally withholding the sweet honey from the tea they would provide the guests. This was a way of letting them know that their "cup" NO LONGER "overflowed." Once you tasted the bitter tea, you were reminded that this place is not your home.
But dear ones, this is not the case for us. Jesus promised that He would go ahead of us and prepare a place for us within His Father's house; if there were no room in heaven for one more son, He would have told us. He is a kind and considerate Savior, and we are welcome in the house of the LORD. That is our true home and our true rest, after all. As Augustine said, "You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You."
d. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,...
David uses these words "surely" and "will" in order to convey to the singer and reader that we ought to be confident in the promises of the LORD. Some commentators have pointed out that these may be alluding to the images of sheepdogs pursuing the sheep, and I like the image and I think it a biblical one, regardless of whether this passage directly alludes to it. The LORD is our shepherd; yes, but He also promises that "All the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out," and "I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand" (emphasis mine). Just as we are always welcome in the courts of the LORD, His tender mercies never abandon or cease to pursue us. Like a tireless hound of heaven, the sons of God will not be lost. Jesus doesn't lose His sheep like the first anointed king, Saul the Tishbite, lost his donkeys. He is a fierce shepherd who ruthlessly pursues His lost sheepies to the ends of the earth, even going to far as to commission an army of compassion to scour the globe and call out His name and see if it sticks. He, like the prodigious father of Luke 15, strains His eyes and enacts repentance in His sheep who are too busy playing in pig-pens to notice certain wedding bands and wedding bells. (Unlike some friends of mine, who were just engaged in a pigsty!)
e. And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Once again, you can't outstay God's welcome. There is a plaque by my pastor's study that tells of the different labors of the pastor. It ends with those words: "You are always welcome." This breaks my heart in a good way. Because I have some difficulty trusting that people can be genuinely loving, God's promises are sometimes my only sense of stability. Truly He is my Rock and my salvation. "He is my defense; I shall not be moved." They give me hope when hope is lost, and they save me from despair.
Surely the "house of the LORD" finds its fullest expression in the glorious hope of the believer in the paradise of heaven, where Christ, who is our life, is. But what about here and now? Would we want a heaven that exists only here? Or what about a heaven that exists only after this race is run and our bodies inevitably deteriorate and fail? Or, with the Psalmist-King, may we cry "Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. My heart and flesh faileth, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever." The Church is the temple of God, the holy Jerusalem, the city of the living God, and we have a slice of heaven whenever the saints are gathered together for worship, joining with the angels and the company of the saints and martyrs in heaven.
Furthermore, it is good to note that the word "house" is used synonymously with "family." As an example, what's that verse that is hung EVERYWHERE in lots of Christian homes? "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Did Joshua really mean that his doorposts would honor God? No; he speaks for his family as the covenantal head of his house. As this is the case, could David have meant that he joys to rest in the promise that he will dwell in the "family" of the LORD forever? Sure. And this interpretation gives us hope for the immediate fulfillment of this psalm in this life, among the congregation of believers.
"To dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his life" (Ps. 27) was the principal desire of the "man after God's own heart," and because David was a type of Christ, we can see how this desire is fulfilled and appropriately held and succeeded in Jesus, the son of David. Truly Jesus does now dwell in the house of the LORD and more marvelous is His gift of eternal life that made John Newton confess that
when we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,
we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we've first begun.
The day when "I shall not want" will ultimately be fulfilled is the same day we will see our risen Shepherd-King who calls us to join Him without fear at the marriage supper of the Lamb in the house of the LORD forever.
e. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me;...
Though it may seem hard at times to discern the will of God, we are given much assurance throughout Scripture that His plan is a good one. These promises are as good as gold; they do not depreciate nor do they fail to deliver, for God crosses His heart that He can and will be true to His word.
Do you recall the "wadi" of verse two, the antithesis of the "quiet waters" David speaks of which the LORD leads His flock beside? Wadis are dangerous canyons which, during flood seasons, can overflow at any time with a torrent of death. These may well be the "valleys of the shadow of death" David speaks of now in verse four. David doesn't shrink away from the hardships of the Christian life; he writes that "EVEN THOUGH I walk..." he has confidence in his shepherd. David understands that the path of the Christian is not always beside quiet waters, and he deftly inserts this metaphor that he was so intimately aware of: the treacherous canyons of deep shadows. Because they were so deep, the sun's rays don't strike the bottom for more than a few hours each day, allowing water to pool at the bottom of the valley. Shepherds could take their sheep here, though they were often at risk of being caught in the miry clay (Psalm 40).
What kind of shepherd would subject his sheep to possible destruction? These sheep, remember, were for temple offerings and sacrifices to God, and must have been protected at the shepherd's life. The answer, of course, is that only foolish or wise shepherds would do such a thing. Foolish shepherds, who do not care for their sheep, would be careless in their provision; the wise shepherd, who loves and protects and lays down his life for his sheep, would be careful in his provision and would not ever lead their sheep into danger. Wise shepherds would read the forecast and know when the rain is scheduled, and which wadis would be affected.
But O Christian, our God and Father raised from the dead the Great Shepherd of the sheep through His blood, the true atoning Passover lamb of the eternal covenant of grace, who alone has the power to both lay down and reclaim His life for the sheep. This same Jesus is a wise shepherd, He is wiser than the shepherds and saviors of this world, and He is the wisest of all things. He cares for you. His paths will not destroy you.
And finally, verse four closes with the reason for our comfort in our Good Shepherd. The Christian can have no fear with the psalm-writing king whether he or she is led beside meager green pastures, quiet waters, or dark valleys because the unchanging LORD is with him. He walks before you, He walks beside you, and He is your rear-guard. "The LORD is my light and my salvation;" what's a dark valley and its flood waters got on the LORD who rides on the storm-clouds and who silences the waves of the sea? "The LORD is the refuge of my life;" what kind of force can move me from the stable promises of the love of Christ? No one and nothing, brothers and sisters. No one and nothing can separate us from the love of Christ; yea, not even the total depravity of our own hearts, inherited and perpetuated from the first generation. Yet this is the theme of God's song: that God loves us enough to break Himself so we can be reconciled to God. "God with us" shall be His name, and the covenantal lovingkindness of the LORD shall never depart from the Righteous One, the Lawkeeper, OR HIS DESCENDANTS, even to a thousand generations (which is just fancy-talk for forever!). He won't forsake you and leave you alone when the sun's shining down and you are satisfied with your fill of green pastures, and He sure as hell won't forsake you when you're walking through your valleys of the shadow of death.
f. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me...
A staff is a symbol of power and direction. A shepherd's crook is often a symbol held by the Egyptian pharaohs, as is the rod. These are symbols of what a king does: he guides his people like a shepherd and he destroys his enemies. These tools are used for directing the sheep, for pulling them back to the right paths. The staff is a sign of discipline: tenderly guarding the sheep from harm, both that of outward danger (i.e.-wolves, lions, bears, snakes, traps, environmental dangers) and inward predispositions to preamble away from the Lord who bought them with a heavy price. The staff is a measure in restraint. Romans 1 holds a fearsome picture of the horrors of the ungodly of whom God has since stopped restraining from wickedness: so then, therefore, restraint as discipline can be a very good thing.
The rod is a form of punishment, but is also a form of discipline. "He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently." The rod is a sign of justice: using the analogy of the Egyptian pharaoh once more, the rod symbolized dominion over the living and the dead, for it was said that the pharaoh is a god, or at least the son of a god. The rod is a concise picture of how David begins to speak of how the LORD is his sovereign Lord, the King of kings, because the rod is a sign of judgment. "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
2. The LORD as sovereign king.
a. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;... (parallels to food provision, v.2a)
There is some question as to whether the second portion of Psalm 23 is referring to the high standards of hospitality in Ancient Near East culture (which, by the way, endure to this day) or to the banquets of a king and his diplomatic protection. I don't see why they can't be reconciled, seeing how God drew David from a sheep-herding family and into the position as king over Israel.
From my Land,Culture,Book class, my teacher taught us a vivid picture of the violent love of the Bedouin tribes that still practice this level of hospitality to this day. If a man comes to a family's porch, they will invite him into their house, no questions asked. The children will literally get into fistfights competing over who got a turn to serve the guest. If the police or other men come to the threshold of that house, the family will defend that stranger with the lives of the family members, no questions asked. The police and other mafia groups (or whomever) fully understand this philosophy to the point that they will set up a siege or simply wait outside until that man gives himself up, but the stranger will NEVER be surrendered by the family that is hosting him with their grace.
This is a violent sort of love that doesn't make sense to me. This is the love of Abraham who demanded a miracle from his aged wife when he asked her to prepare three seahs (33 quarts, or 8.25 GALLONS) of flour, and do it quickly! This is the love of Lot who was willing to jettison both of his daughters in order to protect the angels sent to warn him. Regardless of the guilt that rests on the heads of the guests, when David says that "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies," he is resting on the almighty hand of God that protects him from all enemies, for His name's sake. The love of God protects us, O Christians, from the enemies that surround us, from ourselves, and from the demands of justice, for Christ suffered at the hands of all men, was tempted just as we were (yet without sinning!), and fully satisfied the demands of the just Judge. Christ hides us under the healing power of His tassels with the comfort that a mother's skirt-hem imparts to a frightened child, and we are safe in the shadow of His wings like birds under a mother hen's.
b. You anoint my head with oil;...
There are many uses of anointing oil. Anointing oil is often reserved in the Bible to sanctify something in the literal sense of the word: this sort of oil "sets something apart" from the normal uses of oil in cooking or bathing or whatever. As such, it is used in the Bible for prophets, priests, and kings. I'm going to focus on the aspect of the priest, but truly Christ is the great High Priest, and He is the one the psalms point to principally. Truly we are a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation," but even more so are we anointed with Christ, for, speaking of the beauty of unity of the church under the eternal life granted to us by the righteousness of Christ, "it is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard that went down to the skirts of his garments." Christ's anointing overflows and runs down from the Head to the body, which is the Church, and it gets all over the place. God doesn't skimp on blessing His children, and He decks us out with the most beautiful garments and perfumes and jewels. Like the whore who anointed Christ, our dear Lord and Savior condescended to lift up the poor wretched and dejected whores, shedding His blood and tears and He did not count it too shameful to sacrifice His hair that we could receive more beautiful crowns.
c. My cup overflows. (parallels to drink provision, v.2b)
This is my favorite promise in this dear psalm.
(Sidenote: Though I didn't elaborate on this point during my Sunday School lesson, I've since realized something about myself that fits beautifully here. I have trust and abandonment issues stemming [most probably] from my dad's abandonment.)
This promise states that God's lovingkindness will never end. His merciful hospitality, bought with the reconciliation and payment on my behalf by the Christ, the Son of God, is for me! For me! And it won't grow tired of boring me.
Let me tell a couple of short stories to illustrate the opposite. I have a good friend who lives in Sacramento and is double majoring in English and Poli-Sci at UC Irvine. He loves Jesus, His Church, His Word, and even the people of faithful churches. He's a better man than I, and he's a better writer than I. (You should check him out. I didn't provide a link during my Sunday School lesson, though :1) He's opened his small apartment to me on several occasions, and I was almost about to leave my sleeping bag there so I wouldn't have to lug it from my car every week these past two years. He was very hospitable, and we made a deal that I definitely profited more from: I drove him to and from the grocery store and he cooked dinner for me.
I could have pressed him for more hospitality, imposing on him and upon his roommates, other mutual friends of ours. I could have been more demanding. I could have saved a lot of gas by mooching off of his kindness...and his carpet. But he would have been just in eventually turning me out, since I would not be just in withholding wages from the worker. Our free compassion runs dry fairly quickly.
The other story is once again from my LCB class. The Bedouin sojourners would signal to their guests that they had overstayed their welcome by intentionally withholding the sweet honey from the tea they would provide the guests. This was a way of letting them know that their "cup" NO LONGER "overflowed." Once you tasted the bitter tea, you were reminded that this place is not your home.
But dear ones, this is not the case for us. Jesus promised that He would go ahead of us and prepare a place for us within His Father's house; if there were no room in heaven for one more son, He would have told us. He is a kind and considerate Savior, and we are welcome in the house of the LORD. That is our true home and our true rest, after all. As Augustine said, "You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You."
d. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,...
David uses these words "surely" and "will" in order to convey to the singer and reader that we ought to be confident in the promises of the LORD. Some commentators have pointed out that these may be alluding to the images of sheepdogs pursuing the sheep, and I like the image and I think it a biblical one, regardless of whether this passage directly alludes to it. The LORD is our shepherd; yes, but He also promises that "All the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out," and "I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand" (emphasis mine). Just as we are always welcome in the courts of the LORD, His tender mercies never abandon or cease to pursue us. Like a tireless hound of heaven, the sons of God will not be lost. Jesus doesn't lose His sheep like the first anointed king, Saul the Tishbite, lost his donkeys. He is a fierce shepherd who ruthlessly pursues His lost sheepies to the ends of the earth, even going to far as to commission an army of compassion to scour the globe and call out His name and see if it sticks. He, like the prodigious father of Luke 15, strains His eyes and enacts repentance in His sheep who are too busy playing in pig-pens to notice certain wedding bands and wedding bells. (Unlike some friends of mine, who were just engaged in a pigsty!)
e. And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Once again, you can't outstay God's welcome. There is a plaque by my pastor's study that tells of the different labors of the pastor. It ends with those words: "You are always welcome." This breaks my heart in a good way. Because I have some difficulty trusting that people can be genuinely loving, God's promises are sometimes my only sense of stability. Truly He is my Rock and my salvation. "He is my defense; I shall not be moved." They give me hope when hope is lost, and they save me from despair.
Surely the "house of the LORD" finds its fullest expression in the glorious hope of the believer in the paradise of heaven, where Christ, who is our life, is. But what about here and now? Would we want a heaven that exists only here? Or what about a heaven that exists only after this race is run and our bodies inevitably deteriorate and fail? Or, with the Psalmist-King, may we cry "Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. My heart and flesh faileth, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever." The Church is the temple of God, the holy Jerusalem, the city of the living God, and we have a slice of heaven whenever the saints are gathered together for worship, joining with the angels and the company of the saints and martyrs in heaven.
Furthermore, it is good to note that the word "house" is used synonymously with "family." As an example, what's that verse that is hung EVERYWHERE in lots of Christian homes? "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Did Joshua really mean that his doorposts would honor God? No; he speaks for his family as the covenantal head of his house. As this is the case, could David have meant that he joys to rest in the promise that he will dwell in the "family" of the LORD forever? Sure. And this interpretation gives us hope for the immediate fulfillment of this psalm in this life, among the congregation of believers.
"To dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his life" (Ps. 27) was the principal desire of the "man after God's own heart," and because David was a type of Christ, we can see how this desire is fulfilled and appropriately held and succeeded in Jesus, the son of David. Truly Jesus does now dwell in the house of the LORD and more marvelous is His gift of eternal life that made John Newton confess that
when we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,
we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we've first begun.
The day when "I shall not want" will ultimately be fulfilled is the same day we will see our risen Shepherd-King who calls us to join Him without fear at the marriage supper of the Lamb in the house of the LORD forever.
