The 23rd Psalm is one of the best-known and most-loved literary works in the world, and it may well be the best poem ever written. It is also a fine example of the power of figurative language: We read deep things into the vision of ourselves as sheep, led to green pastures and good water by a kind shepherd. It’s empowering to feel the confidence to go fearlessly into the valley of the shadow of death, and to feel the love and caring of a table prepared by the Lord and a cup so full it overflows.

What people don’t know, however, is that this language actually has precise internal meanings, and that when we see them there is an even deeper beauty in the poem. That’s because what it actually describes is the path to heaven, and the fierce desire the Lord has to lead us there.

The first step is to let the Lord be our shepherd – to accept His teaching and His leadership. The green pastures and the still waters represent the things He will teach us for the journey. Then He begins working inside is, setting our spiritual lives in order, so that we desire to do what’s good and to love one another. That’s represented by restoring our souls and leading us in the paths of righteousness.

But we will still face challenges. We still live external lives, out in the world, and we are subject to desires that arise in those externals, in our bodily lives. That’s the valley of the shadow of death. But the rod and staff represent truth from the Lord on both external and internal levels, ideas that can defend us against those desires.

And if we keep following, the Lord will prepare a table for us – a place inside us that he can fill with love (the anointing oil) and wisdom (the overflowing cup). Thus transformed, we can enter heaven, with love for others (“goodness”) and love from the Lord (“mercy”) and can love and be loved to eternity.

One of many beautiful things about this is the fact that it is the Lord who really does all the work. In the whole text, the only action taken by the sheep is walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Other than that, they follow the Lord, trust the Lord, accept the blessings of the Lord. And that is really true! In external states (in the valley) we might seem to be doing the work ourselves, but internally, spiritually, we simply need to give ourselves to the Lord and let Him bless us.

The underlying idea here is that the Lord created us so that He could love us, in loving us wants us to be happy, knows that our greatest happiness will come from being conjoined to Him in heaven, and Himself wants nothing more than to be conjoined to us. So everything He does, in every moment of every day for every person on the face of the planet, is centered on the goal of getting that person to heaven. He wants each and every one of us in heaven more than we are capable of imagining. We just need to cooperate.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 375 [34], 727 [2]; The Inner Meaning of the Prophets and Psalms 273)

1928. 'Near the spring on the road to Shur' means that this truth was an assemblage of things which come from facts. This is clear from the meaning of 'a spring', also from that of 'a road', as well as from the meaning of 'Shur'. 'A spring', as has been stated, means truth; 'a road' means that which leads to truth and which comes from truth, as shown already in 627; while 'Shur' means factual knowledge such as is still in the desert so to speak, that is, which has not yet acquired any life. Truths that come from facts are said to acquire life when they ally or associate themselves with truths into which the celestial element of love is flowing, the source of the actual life of truth. Real things, and thus truths, exist joined together in the way that communities in heaven are joined together, to which communities they also correspond; for interiorly man is a kind of miniature heaven. Real things, or truths, which do not exist joined together in accordance with the form which heavenly communities possess have not as yet acquired any life; for prior to this the celestial element of love from the Lord cannot fittingly flow in. They first receive life when a similar form exists on both sides, that is, when the miniature heaven in man is a corresponding image of the Grand [Man]. Prior to that nobody can be called a heaven-like man.

[2] The Lord, who from Himself was to govern the whole of heaven, imposed such order while He was in the world on the truths and goods present with His External Man, that is, with His Human Essence. But because He perceived that such order did not exist with His rational conceived first, as was stated above at verses 4 and 5, He thought about and perceived the reason why. This was that natural truths arising from facts did not as yet have any life in them, that is, that heavenly order had not been imposed on them. Furthermore truths of faith never possess any life unless a person is leading a charitable life, charity being that form from which all truths of faith flow, and that in which they inhere; and when they inhere in and flow from charity they possess life. It is in charity that life resides, never in truths devoid of charity.

[3] That 'Shur' means factual knowledge that as yet has not acquired life is clear from the meaning of this name. Shur was a desert not far from the Sea Suph, and so lay in the direction of Egypt, as is clear in Moses,

Moses made Israel journey from the Sea Suph, and they went out to the desert of Shur; from there they went three days in the desert, and did not find any water. Exodus 15:22.

That it lay in the direction of Egypt is again clear in Moses where the descendants of Ishmael are the subject,

They dwelt from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt. ¹ Genesis 25:18.

And in Samuel,

Saul defeated Amalek from Havilah as you come to Shur, which is opposite Egypt'. ¹ 1 Samuel 15:7.

And elsewhere in 1 Samuel,

David spread out against the Geshurites, and the Gizrites, and the Amalekites, who inhabited the land from of old, as you come to Shur and as far as the land of Egypt. 1 Samuel 27:8.

These quotations show that 'Shur' means primary factual knowledge, in particular such as is still in the desert, that is, not yet joined to all the rest in accordance with the form which heavenly communities possess, for 'Egypt' which it was opposite ² means knowledge in every sense, as shown already in 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462.

Footnotes: