The Birth of the Savior, Scene 1
What is there about this story that so claims the attention of our contemporaries and will continue to claim the attention of many who come after us? Some would point to “the sentimental nature of the story.” Some would say, “It’s a religious story and maybe one of the best. People are kind of religious, that’s all.” I think there is more to it than that. The story is a magnificent one. But above all it is a story of compelling paradoxes.
God My Shepherd, Section 5
Verse 5 deals with provision. We will not lack provision because “you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” David had real enemies. They wanted to kill him. So if God was able to provide for David in a situation like that, He is able to provide for you. And He does! He provides for us very, very well. Oh, we become worried. We begin to imagine what might happen tomorrow or the day after that. There are many difficulties in our day. People are losing jobs. Some are suffering. Nevertheless, even in those difficult situations, even in the loss of jobs or families, God provides for us. The same God who provided for David in the presence of his enemies provides for us in the difficulties of our own time.
 
God My Shepherd, Section 4

Verse 4 deals with safety. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” What is this valley of the shadow of death? The popular way of looking at this is to regard it as a promise of God’s presence in the moments of dying, that is, the shadow just before we actually die. That verse has been used that way many times, helpfully, I believe. But, even though that is true as a principle, I do not think that is what the verse is dealing with. Because, if you follow the flow of the psalm, you find that it covers the progress of the Christian life from the moment of belief in God (at the beginning) to our heavenly home (at the end). And this verse is not the step before the end; it is in the middle. So I think what it is dealing with is not death but the shadow or threat of death, the fact that we go through difficult times, sometimes when even our life is threatened.
God My Shepherd, Section 3

I said earlier that the Christian life also has activity, and that is what comes next. The next portion of the psalm stresses guidance: “He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Guidance is the proper way to approach this matter because activity itself is not everything. This is because a person can be active in a wrong cause as well as in a right one. As you know, in the Christian life there are areas that seem ambiguous. We do not know which way to go. We do not know the right road to take. We do not know the proper direction to turn. We need a guide. We need somebody who knows the way, who has been over this course before. In fact, we need somebody who knows us and knows what he wants to do with us. That is precisely the kind of guide we have in Jesus Christ. He guides us in paths of righteousness. 
God My Shepherd, Section 2
Let us consider some of these aspects. First of all, this matter of rest: “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” It is very significant that the psalm starts with resting in God, because that is how the Christian life begins. We are so restless. Isaiah says in the 57th chapter, “The wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest” (v. 20). When he talked about God’s ability to provide rest, Saint Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.”