He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me
beside the still waters. (Psalm 23:2)
With respect to the words, it is in the Hebrew, pastures,
or fields of grass, for grassy and rich grounds. Some,
instead of translating the word neoth, which we have rendered pastures,
render it shepherds’ cots or lodges. If this translation is
considered preferable, the meaning of the Psalmist will be, that sheep-cots
were prepared in rich pasture grounds, under which he might be protected from
the heat of the sun. If even in cold countries the immoderate heat which
sometimes occurs is troublesome to a flock of sheep, how could they bear the
heat of the summer in Judea, a warm region, without sheepfolds? The verb rabats,
to lie down, or repose, seems to have a reference to the same thing.
David has used the phrase, the quiet waters, to
express gently flowing waters; for rapid streams are inconvenient for sheep to
drink in, and are also for the most part hurtful. In this verse, and in the
verses following, he explains the last clause of the first verse, I shall
not want. He relates how abundantly God had provided for all his
necessities, and he does this without departing from the comparison which he employed
at the commencement. The amount of what is stated is, that the heavenly
Shepherd had omitted nothing which might contribute to make him live happily
under his care.
He, therefore, compares the great abundance of all things
requisite for the purposes of the present life which he enjoyed, to meadows
richly covered with grass, and to gently flowing streams of water; or he
compares the benefit or advantage of such things to sheep-cots; for it would
not have been enough to have been fed and satisfied in rich pasture, had there
not also been provided waters to drink, and the shadow of the sheep-cot to cool
and refresh him. (Commentaries)
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