A Psalm to remember - Psalm 23

Today's scripture reading is from the famous Psalm 23.  Over the years I have made numerous commitment to memorize scripture verses and the Psalms are definitely my favourite. There are several Psalms I have managed to memorize in their entirety, at one time or another, for example, Psalms 1, 8, 103 and of course Psalm 23. And here is the version (probably a mix of several versions!) I remember:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pasture, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul.
He leads me in the path of righteousness, for his name sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
   for you are with me,
   your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil,
  my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and
I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

And here is the New International Version (NIV):
Psalm 23
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,
         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.

The few things I appreciate about this Psalm over the years:

• King David started using "He" to address God in the first 3 verses then switched to "You" in verses 4-6. It's like he was telling the reader what he knew about God then he shared from his own experience about his relationship with his God.
• In verse 1, I prefer to say "I shall not be in want" instead of saying "I lack nothing". I think "not being in want" speaks of a deeper acknowledgement of God's provision. He not only provides my daily necessities, he himself is all I need in life!
• Verse 2 speaks of God's daily guidance in my life. As a sheep following the voice of the shepherd, my job is to hear his voice (i.e. reading scripture and praying) and I will find myself in places and situations that restore my inner being. Yes there will be troubles and heartaches, but He is always there to guide me.
• Verse 3 speaks of the assurance we have in Christ through whom we have access to the righteous God. We learn from Christ and we seek to obey him for we know that it is the way to God. "For his name's sake" is also reassuring. We know that God will accomplish this. He has chosen a people he will love and he will not let us go too far astray because his very own name is at stake! This is a recurrent theme in the Old Testament, e.g. "For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own." (1 Samuel 12:22).
• Verse 4 - His presence will take us through the darkest hours of our life. His rod (i.e. his discipline) and his staff (i.e. his support) both serve to comfort me in these situations.
• Verse 5 - What more can I say? We are more than conquerors! If God is for us who can be against us? (See Romans 8:31-39)
• Verse 6 - "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" is definitely an Old Testament idea. In Christ we have the promised Holy Spirit who dwells in us!! "Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?" (1 Corinthians 3:16)