Psalms Chapter 23 Discussion Page 9

Darrin,you misunderstand. "And he(Lord Jesus) saith unto them,Are ye so without understanding also?Do ye not perceive,that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man,it cannot defile him"Mark7:18 The substance of sin comes from the heart of man.

(From earlier comment). Secondly, God is not asleep or disinterested in what goes on here. And we also need to remember that unlike our view of death (its pain & finality), God's regards it as a transition from this life (which He has given anyway) into the next life ( Rev 21:4). Suffering & death comes to ALL of us because of our sin nature (& that includes innocent children). Had sin not come & been imputed upon all, none would suffer & die. So our humanistic view of life is narrow & clouded - we need to see it from God's perspective. So the death of a little child, the mugging & death of an elderly man just for some loose change, or a young bride's life cut short by cancer; what about all the world tragedies over the centuries - where was God in all these events? Could God have prevented all this? Of course. But that's not what a sin sick world is all about - it's about the need for a Saviour, not a cure for our deserved griefs.

(From earlier comment). Secondly, God is not asleep or disinterested in what goes on here. And we also need to remember that unlike our view of death (its pain & finality), God's regards it as a transition from this life (which He has given anyway) into the next life ( Rev 21:4). Suffering & death comes to ALL of us because of our sin nature (& that includes innocent children). Had sin not come & been imputed upon all, none would suffer & die. So our humanistic view of life is narrow & clouded - we need to see it from God's perspective. We see the innocent child in death, the aged man getting mugged & killed for spare change, or the young bride diagnosed with cancer, & we ask, 'where is God in all this, could He not have prevented this from happening?" Could He not prevent other world tragedies from taking place over the centuries? Yes He could but He won't - we reap what we sow & even though deserving of Hell, He still gives a Way of escape.

The other writer (Rei) essentially questioned that a criminal's punishment in this life or hereafter is insufficient to give comfort. Your point (as with his) is that "could not God have stepped in & done something to prevent the crime on the little one?" Well firstly, it's not enough for criminals to only go to their Judge for punishment; they need punishment here on Earth too by the law, which invariably is inadequate & meaningless (I won't go into Capital Punishment). (continued)

Regarding God's will, please read 1 Ti. 2:3-4.

Think Rei was making quite an interesting point.

Why should little children be raped and murdered? How is that suddenly OK because the criminal will be punished in the afterlife. Sounds all very convenient. Its how the churches and politicians have been able to not punish their own kind who have widely abused so many innocents. Sin now, pay later?

I want to know if God is/was asleep, does not care, or is just too busy? Who can explain? Please don't tell me about 'choice'... the little children did not choose. But if God really can see everything, and if he was not asleep, did he simply CHOOSE to stand back and do nothing? And if everything is HIS WILL, then is the rape of little children HIS WILL also?

Getting angry is not a sensible grown up answer. Its what adolescents do when they cannot get their way. Please think about my question and come back when you really believe you have an honest answer. But no shouting please.

Thankyou for giving this some thought.

David

REI,What you don't know is what you need to understand scripture,namely,life,through Jesus and his work on the cross.There is a log in your eye,while you think believers have a splinter in ours,and so it will be,until, the kingdom is come on Earth.Have you come here to teach us God's word,or learn for yourself?

Psalm 23:4-6 Yea, though I walk through the valley of death

(maybe), I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 6: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. However, one needs to be in no hurry to leave your family and friends behind! Get well Mike!!! Hal

Why are you mentioning Covid-19?. Those words never were typed by me. And I NEVER took words out of context. Your cognitive abilities are too low to understand the very FIRST thing I put which means YOU TAKE THINGS OUT OF CONTEXT THAT I NEVER EVEN SAID. I was addressing the fact that a person here saying that basically children will be vindicated if they were raped or murdered and I was saying NO, they will not, that person was saying that evil people's deeds will evenyually go punished when God basically gets ahold of them (hell). And I was basically say "So" what is THAT going to do? A person who gets punished in the hereafter is NOT going to change the fact that a particular child was raped or murdered. God itself should protect little children. It should not be "don't you worry little one, you being raped and murdered will only last a little while and you will die but I your God will punish them when they eventually die." Wow. Stop talking about Covid 19 when I wasn't

Rei, thank you for your response. I will say two things: we are Christians & as those under our Lord's Directive we are to resist taking the offensive (e.g. just see attacks on Jesus by His accusers/enemies; could He not have given them a solid whipping, tongue-lashing or obliterated them off the face of the Earth). Rather, we are to "follow peace with all men & holy living, without these no man shall see the Lord" ( Heb 12:14, Rom 12:18). If we live by the sword, we shall die by the sword. Secondly, Rom 12:19 & Heb 10:30 speak of Vengeance & the right to meet out final judgement, as God's prerogative only & not man's. Yes, we do have the law enforcers on Earth & so we should, but for them to be able to do it perfectly would require a policeman to stand guard outside every house, on every street so as to give us safety. And then, what about the child that runs onto the road in front of a bus, or the young bride just diagnosed with cancer. Needless death?? Where's the comfort here?

Wow, Rei. Just tear any old verse from its context and MISapply it to any old thing, eh. "Hey, what does Ps 23 have to do with COVID 19 China virus?" or "Hey, what does Ps 23 have to do with the International Space Station?" The answer: very little or probably nothing. And that's the answer to your question too, Rei. But if you do HONESTLY want something helpful for 'little children around the world who have been raped and or murdered'" read Lamentations for something really sad, or read Proverbs. I really feel like your question isn't even a genuine attempt to understand Psalm 23 (or any other verse in Scripture).

Rei in Luke 22:36 Then said (Jesus) he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. Jesus told his disciples to buy a sword, not to murder, but to protect themselves and family from the evil ones.

Capitol crimes like rape and murder in scripture were supposed to be punished with death by the Government, but today we have a gov that is filled with satanists from top to bottom that protect the criminals and jail the innocent and victims.

Homeowners to to prison for killing home invaders and this happens more often that most would believe.

When some of our states were founded their state constitution required those who held public office to be professing Christians and today we have antichrists in charge. One day the King shall come in flaming fire to make things right.

Aww, isn't that something, the evil people will be punished. Now, how is THAT supposed to comfort those that have been raped amd or murdered? It doesn't because the punished does not take away the fact the rape or murder happened. There are people on this planet that do a better job if they are diligent. Don't want to be raped or mudered....carry a gun and send children to karate school. The biggest "daddy" of them all does the least. THAT is why we have doctors lawyers and police officers. We as humans are forced to depend on each other. Prayer does nothing. Proof...we have doctors, lawyers, and police officers. Praying is not going to stop raping nor murdering...but a gun will.

Amen. We all have freewill and the evil people choose sometimes affects the innocent. But the Lord will comfort us when we seek His face.

Rei, Psalm 23 was written by King David as a personal testimony of God's faithfulness in his life. David was once a shepherd, but now he says that I am the sheep & rejoicing & confident in my Great Shepherd's love, care & leading. As believers, we use this Psalm joyfully, as we have also proven the faithfulness of the Lord in our lives, or we cling onto its Truths if we are going through some difficulty. When we try to align this Psalm for children who have suffered because of wicked people, we really cannot do it, except to know that these little ones do have a caring, watchful Father ( Mt 18:10: "in Heaven their (the childrens') angels do always behold the Face of My Father Which is in Heaven"). God is mindful of their suffering & these criminals will not go unpunished. We all suffer, even innocent children because of the nature of sin, & even though the scars are lifelong, when we turn & cling to the Lord, He gives healing, real love & comfort.

REI: when you come into this website, go to the search box and type in 'murderers'. We are living in days when we have to know where the kids are every moment. You may be called strict, but that's better than struck with grief.

The Lord is my sheppard. Who is this for because I know it's not for little children around the world who have been raped and or murdered.

Thank you Brook for your powerful testimony. God is indeed faithful and the altogether lovely One to each one of us. May your life be filled with His Love, Presence, and Power & protect you from evil.

I remember as a new convert, in Christ when my spirit was trouble and I ask the Lord to show me what it was, once it was reveal to me I didn't know what to do, but call on the only one who could help me, the Lord comfort me in one of my drakes hour. He lead me where I needed to go and provided for me like know other.

we must remember we are never alone God is always watching over us and always will, I thank the Lord for never given up on me, May will be nine years of never looking back, we need to look forward and let the Lord lead the way Amen.

Yes...rod and staff....one to help stave off predators, one to help corral or move toward saftey the sheep.

Staff and rod to fight off the wolves I assume?

yes GOD Pomes are Beautyful.

Can I read the Bible on the Internet.i know you can now.and that's good.send me Christian stuff.

Psalms 23 brought me through some very terrible times. I love reading the Bible now.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

I like to remember the story of a young woman walking home in the dark street, she was walking down the hill and became afraid, not sure why she was afraid she began reciting Psalms 23 as she walked which seemed to calm her and she finally arrived home and was safe. The next day see read in the paper that another young woman along the same path had been raped and killed just minutes after arriving home. She was disturbed by this and went to the police station to find out more regarding the young woman.The police has already captured the two young men that had assaulted the young woman. She told the police that she has noticed the men at the end of the street, but did not assault her and

Psalm 23 is a classic and very comforting. Read Psalm 125 also.

Praying, also read 2timothy : 1 verse 7, god bless

Beautiful poem, god bless

Me too. I find that if I silently repeat this Psalm on an endless loop that it has a calming effect on me. Even when I am in deep despair and overcome with such anxiety that even breathing is difficult, this Psalm is so powerful that is is sufficient. Thank you Lord. Amen