This may completely change your perspective of Psalm 23!

 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.  What are these “green pastures”?

  

The phrase, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures,” is rather ironic, seeing as how there are very few “green pastures” in the land of Israel. There are pastures, to be sure, but generally speaking, they are not what we might think of when we think of “green pastures.”

That phrase tends to provoke the thought of a lush, green carpet of grass, where sheep are grazing to their heart’s content.  But in reality, most of the pastures in Israel are on hillsides, and the grass which feed the sheep usually consists of clumps here and there, which have managed to spring up out of the rocky, desert terrain.

This tells us something about what must have surely been in the mind of David as he wrote this Psalm under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  He was really saying that if the Lord is our Shepherd, that He will provide for us in ways that the natural resources in ways that this temporal life cannot provide. There may not be any truly “green pastures” anywhere to be found with the natural eyes. But when you are in the flock of the Lord, He will, spiritually, “make you lie down in green pastures”.  He will provide things impossible naturally speaking.

Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd

The very fact that our Shepherd has green pastures to lead us into, shows his ability but even more remarkable is that He leads us into them, which shows his goodness.  He does not lead us into pastures that are withered and dry, that would distates us before we taste them; but he leads us into “green pastures”.  They are a comfort to us as soon as we see them.  They are refreshing to us now as soon as we taste them.

In ordinary circumstances the shepherd does not feed his flock, except by leading and guiding them where they may gather for themselves.

The sheep have been eating in these pastures ever since Christ had a church on earth, and yet they are as full of grass as ever. The sheep have been drinking at these streams ever since Adam, and yet they are brim full to this very day, and they will so continue till the sheep are above the use of them in heaven!

Every pasture is so rich that it can never be eaten bare.  The many streams so deep and wide that they can never be drawn dry.

Faith is Rest

The Psalmist writes, “He makes me to lie down . . .”  The Old Testament is filled with the imagery of those who trust the Lord.  Whether it be people or sheep, being able to lie down because they rest in God. When the Bible talks about sheep which “lie down,” it is usually referring to the fact that the sheep are not afraid.  Sheep are not able to defend themselves very well.  Sheep are pretty much at the mercy of any predator which may enter the fold.  That is why the Shepherd has the responsibility of protecting the flock.  Sheep which are laying down are confident that He will do His job.

It is not likely that any flock of sheep is going to “lie down in green pastures,” if they feel as if they are in danger.  No!  The opposite will be true.  The sheep will be standing, on guard, and on edge continually.

This sounds like the Christian life of some people.  They are never at rest.  Physical danger aside, some of God’s own flock are under such continual condemnation, guilt, and fear, that they really are like sheep who are continually afraid.  In Christ, it should not be like this.  And it will not be if we truly trust God

It is time for each of us to start today to trust the Shepherd and let Him lead us into “green pastures”.

Where my faith rests not upon what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ is, in what He has done, and in what He is now doing for me. “Charles H. Spurgeon.