The Treasury of David: Second Installment: the 23rd Psalm
- Tony Vance
- May 27, 2016
- 6 min read
This is the second installment of our series on Spurgeon’s commentary on the Psalms. From the first installment I mentioned;
“At various times, for the next few weeks, I want to include some wonderful commentary on the Psalms. One of the most amazing undertakings on the Psalms was by the greatest preacher of the 19th Century- Charles H. Spurgeon. “This work was first published in weekly installments over a twenty-year span in the London Metropolitan Tabernacle's periodical, The Sword and the Trowel. Completed sections were released volume by volume, until the seventh and final volume was released in 1885. Within a decade more than 120,000 sets had been sold. ‘The Treasury of David’ is a superb literary achievement. Eric Hayden, pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle a century after Spurgeon's ministry began there, calls this work "Spurgeon's magnum opus." Spurgeon's wife said that if Spurgeon had never written any other work, this would have been a permanent literary memorial.” [From The Spurgeon Archive, www.spurgeon.org]. I will use as much of Spurgeon’s words as I can get by with, and as little of mine as I can. For the sake of brevity, all quotes by Spurgeon will be from: The treasury of David. containing an original exposition of the Book of Psalms: A collection of illustrative extracts from the whole range of literature: A series of homiletical hints upon almost every verse ; and lists of writers upon each Psalm. Spurgeon, C. H. (1990). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson or The Treasury Of David by Charles H. Spurgeon (Database © 2014 WORDsearch). I will not delineate the difference, as there is little to none.”
We look today at his treatment of the most beloved of the Psalms. The 23rd Psalm may have been read at more funerals, times of trouble, and to children, more than any other passage in scripture. There is a familiarity with the passage that unbelievers and skeptics can almost quote, at least the first verse. This Psalm is the foundational passage of the Psalms. Even saying, “the 23rd Psalm,” will bring from memory of most people you know, even the skeptic, agnostic, and atheist, a recognition of this wonderful passage. Everyone probably has an opinion of this passage, as it is the most familiar, and it will elicit emotional reactions as those who recall it will also recall a time when this Psalm was used in a certain situation. For this article, I want us to listen to the ‘Prince of Preachers’ take on this most beloved passage.
Spurgeon said, in respect to the first verse, “What condescension is this, that the infinite Lord assumes towards his people the office and character of a Shepherd! It should be the subject of grateful admiration that the great God allows himself to be compared to anything which will set forth his great love and care for his own people.” He is speaking to just the very first phrase, “The Lord is my shepherd.” Obviously, in David’s day shepherds were well known, David himself being a shepherd in his younger days. Spurgeon stated, “It is well to know, as certainly David did, that we belong to the Lord.” In the section he called ‘Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings’, he quotes from Henry Ward Beecher’s ‘Life Thoughts’, “David has left no sweeter Psalm than the short twenty-third (Psalms 23:1-6). It is but a moment's opening of his soul; but, as when one, walking the winter street sees the door opened for some one to enter, and the red light streams a moment forth, and the forms of gay children are running to greet the comer, and genial music sounds, though the door shuts and leaves the night black, yet it cannot shut back again all that the eyes, the ear, the heart, and the imagination have seen—so in this Psalm, though it is but a moment's opening of the soul, are emitted truths of peace and consolation that will never be absent from the world.”
As we come to the second verse Spurgeon said, “The Christian life has two elements in it, the contemplative and the active, and both of these are richly provided for.” He describes them, some of the contemplative, “It is the Lord who graciously enables us to perceive the preciousness of his truth, and to feed upon it. How grateful ought we to be for the power to appropriate the promises!” While he explains, at least in part, the active as such, “We not only think, but we act. We are not always lying down to feed, but are journeying onward toward perfection; hence we read, he leadeth me beside the still waters. What are these "still waters" but the influences and graces of his blessed Spirit? His Spirit attends us in various operations, like waters—in the plural—to cleanse, to refresh, to fertilise, to cherish.” I still am condescending much of what Spurgeon said, as there is much we could include, but you can see Spurgeon’s genius in the small sample here.
As we come to our next verse, verse 3, we find Spurgeon declaring, “He restoreth my soul. When the soul grows sorrowful he revives it; when it is sinful he sanctifies it; when it is weak he strengthens it. "He" does it.” Spurgeon centers us into the truth of God’s provision, “His ministers could not do it if he did not. His Word would not avail by itself. "He restoreth my soul." Are any of us low in grace? Do we feel that our spirituality is at its lowest ebb? He who turns the ebb into the flood can soon restore our soul. Pray to him, then, for the blessing—"Restore thou me, thou Shepherd of my soul!"” Spurgeon’s love of God’s grace jumps from the page, as he describes the restoration process David’s beloved Psalm declares. As with all the passages, and with every verse, he includes ‘Hints to the Village Preacher’ that were intended as ‘sermon starters’ for the busy pastor of the small parish churches. Spurgeon summed up verse three like so, “Gracious restoration, holy guidance, and divine motives.” A powerful sermon could be built upon such a fine skeleton.
Time and space limits my comments of the final verses, as we could surely quote Spurgeon verbatim, and you would be much better served. Just as we would see a highlight of the previous night’s ballgame, I will quickly give the best ‘plays’ of the last few verses. In verse 4, he opens with this refrain, “Yea, though I walk, as if the believer did not quicken his pace when he came to die, but still calmly walked with God. To walk indicates the steady advance of a soul which knows its road, knows its end, resolves to follow the path, feels quite safe, and is therefore perfectly calm and composed. The dying saint is not in a flurry, he does not run as though he were alarmed, nor stand still as though he would go no further, he is not confounded nor ashamed, and therefore keeps to his old pace.” Oh the mind of such genius, we are privileged to observe such thoughts. In verse 5 he states in his ‘Hints to the Village Preacher’ his summary, I would surmise;
“The warrior feasted, the priest anointed, the guest satisfied.
The means and uses of the continual anointings of the Holy Spirit.
Providential super aboundings, and what is our duty concerning them.”
As we navigate to the final verse, Spurgeon brings us the words of William Perkins, in his section he titles (on every verse) ‘Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings’ which we will conclude with, “Mark David's resolute persuasion, and consider how he came unto it, namely, by experience of God's favour at sundry times, and after sundry manners. For before he set down this resolution, he numbered up divers benefits received of the Lord; that he fed him in green pastures, and led him by the refreshing waters of God's word; that he restores him and leads him in the paths of righteousness; that he strengthened him in great dangers, even of death, and preserveth him; that in despite of his enemies, he enriches him with many benefits. By means of all the mercies of God bestowed on him, he came to be persuaded of the continuance of the favour of God towards him.” Spurgeon’s summary of the passage is golden, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. This is a fact as indisputable as it is encouraging, and therefore a heavenly verily, or "surely" is set as a seal upon it.” And finally, “While I am here I will be a child at home with my God; the whole world shall be his house to me; and when I ascend into the upper chamber, I shall not change my company, nor even change the house; I shall only go to dwell in the upper storey of the house of the Lord for ever. May God grant us grace to dwell in the serene atmosphere of this most blessed Psalm!”