The Valley of the Shadow of Death — Keith Malcomson

In the Word of God this morning. We just started a new series on the Sundays last week, The God of the Valleys. And last week, we preached our first message called The God of the Valleys. I began to open up onto what it means for God to be the God of the valleys.

He's not only the God of the hills or the mountaintops or the ecstatic experience, He is known as the God of the valleys. And yet most of the church don't think He can be the God of the valleys. They go, they're always trying to stay on the mountain or get back on the mountain because they go, God is God there.

He reveals Himself. He speaks, He does miracles. It's ecstatic. You see everything on the mountaintop, but surely He's not the God of the valley. We've already seen, and I've laid in that foundation last week.

He is the God of the valleys. And we're gonna deal with some of these valleys along the way. I'll be away for two weeks, but I assure you, I'll come back in, just carry on from where I left off. But here this morning, part two, and this is my message, the valley of the shadow of death.

Psalm 23 and the Valley of the Shadow of Death

Reading from Psalm 23. Psalm 23, maybe one of the best known Psalms in the world. Even sinners know this Psalm. I would dare say there's maybe no other portion outside of John 3, 16 that is memorized and known.

In fact, I would dare say maybe, and I could be wrong, but I think I'm right. Maybe Psalm 23 is the best known chapter in the Bible. If John 3, 16 is the best known verse, this Psalm is known. It's known at funerals.

It's known across our world. It's known by the old and by the young. And I guarantee there's people who never darken the door of a church, and they could quote this to you almost word perfect. They've heard it so many times.

They're so familiar with it. And yet I actually believe that can be dangerous. Maybe you're more familiar with this Psalm than any other, but yet you can miss the truth of it, the substance of it, the reality.

And so we're gonna embark on looking at different valleys that the Bible speaks about. And this is the first one specifically I wanna deal with here this morning, the valley of the shadow of death, Psalm 23.

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. I wonder why. For thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.

Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup overfloweth, sorry, runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Let's pray together.

Father, we love you. We bless you. We stand in awe of you that we can call you our shepherd here this morning. You're a good shepherd. You're a great shepherd. You're the great shepherd that watches over our souls, that guides us, that leads us, that protects us, that provides for us.

What a wonderful shepherd you are. And our eye wants to be single upon you this morning. We wanna hear your voice and follow you. We wanna see you and follow you through the storms and even the dark valley of the shadow of death.

Lord God, thank you that you're our shepherd in the valley of the shadow of death. Thank you that you don't ask us to walk through such a dreadful valley unless you're guiding us, leading us, walking ahead of us.

You're with us. You're comforting us. You're providing for us. My God, I stand in awe. Lord God, that you're not a God who simply places us in the fire. You're actually there in the fire with us. You're there before us.

You'll be there after us. But my God, you never ask us to go to a den of lions and to count the cost unless you're there to shut the lion's mouth. We reverence you. We love you. We bless you. We magnify you that your promises are so sweet in the dungeon, in the fire, in the valley of the shadow of death.

And even this morning, I pray, open up the truths of this psalm. Lord God, make them precious and special that when we find ourself in the valley of the shadow of death, we will see it isn't a place of barrenness and deadness and dryness, but actually the most dreadful place can be a place of greatest provision and the greatest manifestation of your care and your kindness and your love and your goodness.

Lord God, we do pray, oh God, that even as we fellowship around the word of God, that you would be ministered onto as our hearts thank you and praise you and adore you and remember all of your goodness that we could even in the preaching of the word minister onto you with thankful hearts.

This preacher is so thankful that you are found, that you are walking with me in the valley of the shadow of death. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Amen. The verse I'm gonna concentrate on is verse four.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff comfort me. I'm gonna point certain things out of this person who is actually walking through the valley of the shadow of death.

Five Things Found in the Valley

I'm gonna point five very remarkable things. I'm not gonna deal with everything in this Psalm. This is not an exposition of Psalm 23. It's an explanation of the valley of the shadow of death. And I'm gonna show you five things that this man who finds himself going through, not sitting, not standing in the valley, passing through the valley, five things that he has in this valley.

Because you know what? These are very real things. And you could find yourself there. But do you know, do you understand what you have in this valley? You may not wanna go there. You may be scared in entering into this valley.

But you need to understand what is there. If all you see is the shadow of the darkness of death, you'll be terrified of this valley. But you won't be if you see what this person has who finds themselves there.

David as the Shepherded Believer

But let me just lay out a picture for you here concerning Psalm 23. And this person who is King David, I wonder if he composed this on the hillside before he was anointed king. I wonder if this rolled within him when he was just a young boy looking after the sheep, protecting from the lamb and the bear.

I wonder if he just sat there forgotten by his brothers, his older brothers and his dad who almost forgot him as well. Oh, he's out on the hillside. And he's there with these sheep that don't even belong to him, but he loves them and cares for them and will risk his life for them.

Here he is, he is the man of Psalm 23. I believe this, he knew something of the character and the nature of God in a very real way. So I believe Psalm 23 is concerning a real, true, genuine believer. And first I wanna take a step back and show you that verse four, the valley of the shadow of death is only a small part of this Psalm.

Don't be thinking this entire Psalm is about the valley of the shadow of death. It actually isn't. It only mentions it incidentally. But I want you to see the person who walks into the valley. The person of Psalm 23 does not live in the valley of the shadow of death.

He is not there perpetually. This is something that can happen to him along life's journey. Notice how this entire Psalm shows that he's a true believer. Look at verse one. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Young David knew that the Lord was his shepherd. It's one thing to talk about God and the Lord and the creator. But to say this creator, this Lord of all things, this majestic God, this one who's sovereign in the nations, to say he is my shepherd, or that this great God of the Bible acts as a shepherd to me, I know it.

I know him as my shepherd. David was able to say it, the Lord is my shepherd. That's very personal. Can I ask you, is he your shepherd? Is he merely God or the God of others or is he your shepherd? If you're ever gonna experience the valley of the shadow of death, you better make sure before you get there that he is your shepherd, that he's the watcher of your soul, that he's guiding you and leading you and caring for you.

Verse two, he maketh me to lie down in green pastures. You know what a shepherd does? He leads you everywhere, every situation. He leads you into green pastures. You know, sheep will just eat and eat and eat if you leave them.

Do you know sheep are colorblind? And remember, you're all picture, you're sheep as Christians. They're colorblind. They actually can't distinguish. They're not very wise in their eating habits. They have to be led into green pastures.

That's why a shepherd goes, if they stay here, they're gonna eat this ground barren. They'll destroy the ground. So that's why a shepherd moves them around, goes, let's move you over here. Oh, I wanna stay with the truth of the love of God.

Yes, you'll destroy that truth. I just have a revelation. He is love, He is grace, He is mercy, He is kind. I just read the Psalms. I just read the gospel of John. You will destroy the gospel of John.

I just keep reading John and keep reading the Psalms. Yes, you'll destroy those truths. So the shepherd has to lead you into the book of Ruth, and then he needs to lead you into Leviticus, and then he needs to lead you into Daniel a bit.

That's what a shepherd does. He actually leads you from pasture to pasture. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. Notice they lie down. A sheep only lies down when it's satisfied and it's well fed.

Starving sheep jump fences. They get into an awful lot of trouble. Remember a few years ago, I sent a picture to all of yous. We went on holiday and we had all these sheep, and I told you about it. When a sheep falls on its back, it wiggles its leg.

It's impossible for a sheep to get back on its feet. It can't, it'll die. If it doesn't have a shepherd, that sheep is gonna die there. And I'll tell you what, if there's 100 other sheep, those sheep can't turn the other sheep over on its four legs again.

You need a shepherd, you need ministry. And so as we were on holiday, and I said to Candice, stop the car, look. And we got out and we took a photograph of this poor sheep with its four legs waggling in the air, and I sent to you all, and I said, I told you it's not a myth, it's not a theory, this poor sheep.

And so David knew he needed a shepherd. The sheep needed a shepherd, he needed a shepherd. And you know what? A good shepherd leads you so that you're eating well, you're eating healthy. He leadeth me beside the still waters.

Sheep are scared of running water, moving water. Notice it's him. He leadeth me beside still waters. He says, now I need to make sure that Larry has still waters. I don't want a whole ravaging stream, storm.

I'm gonna spook them. And so I wanna lead them, I wanna guide them. Notice it's him guiding. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake. And look at the last verse of this.

It's beautiful here in Psalm 23. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. A sinner can't say that. A rebel can't say that. An apostate can't say that. Someone who hates the things of God and hates holiness cannot say that.

You think that goodness and mercy is gonna follow you all the days of your life, right to the end? Only a believer who's following the shepherd can say that. I know that mercy is gonna follow me all my days.

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. There's a lot of people not in the house of God this morning. There's a lot of people who call themselves Christian. He's gonna be my shepherd and provide, but they have no desire to be in the house of God.

What does David say? I will dwell. I will live. I will stay. I will abide in the house of God. Oh, I am the church. No, you're not. No, you're not. It's the gathering, the regular gathering of Christians together.

If you claim to be a sheep and you have no desire to be constantly, regularly in the house of God, I would dare say either you're not a sheep or you're a very sick sheep. You're seriously ill. You're in danger of your very life.

And so we see here in this psalm, it's a beautiful psalm, but it's a psalm for a believer. When I talk about the valley of the shadow of death, I'm not talking to a sinner. I'm not talking of you coming into the valley of the shadow of death because of your sin or your disobedience or your rebellion or because you don't follow Christ.

You actually end up there because you are following the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice as well, this isn't a physical valley in Israel. In the entire land of Israel, there was no physical valley within the land that was called the valley of the shadow of death.

Even in David's time, he knew that it's not a literal valley. It's not a physical place you can visit. This valley is symbolic. It is spiritual. It is internal. And yet everybody knows it exists. I don't even think sinners would deny there's a valley of the shadow of death.

Maybe that's why they like Psalm 23. Everyone's aware there is such a valley. Nobody wants to go to that valley. And yet we see it's not a literal place. It's internal and you can't dictate when it comes.

The Meaning of the Shadow of Death

Notice as well, it says the shadow of death. Let me emphasize this before I go into my points. The shadow of death, what does it actually mean? I am persuaded that the contemporary versions of the Bible don't understand this word.

And the commentators, the great Bible teachers, don't really understand it. Because when you read the new translations, how they translate this word, and when you read all the great Bible commentators, you know what they try to do?

They try to smooth this term down, the valley of the shadow of death. They say, oh, don't worry, it's only a shadow. Then why is he saying I will fear no evil? They try to blend it down. They try to lessen its severity.

They try to say, oh, it doesn't mean death. It just means darkness or gloominess or your worst trial. I disagree with that. I'm telling you what the greatest thinking on this verse is, and I utterly disagree with them as I often do.

You see, the shadow of death, some have said it's only a shadow. The shadow of a dog can't bite you. The shadow of a sword can't pierce you. Neither can the shadow of death harm you. That's a wrong understanding of this.

I want to tell you, this shadow is very serious and extremely dangerous. It is a dark, dark time that can come to a genuine believer. It is a shadow, and notice death is very real. Death is a very real thing.

The death spoken of here actually casts a shadow to fall out over you, a darkness, a gloom. This word, shadow of death, the Hebrew word is used 18 times in the Old Testament, the same word that's used in Psalm 23 and verse 24.

It can mean darkness. It can mean deep darkness, deep shadow, shadow of death, thick darkness, but I believe this term is the correct translation. Shadow of death, the valley, a valley that you walk into that's filled with the shadow of death.

It literally dominates it. Don't try to understand this term by looking at the Hebrew etymology or meaning of the word. I learned how to be taught by the Holy Spirit. Some great Bible teachers who know their Greek and Hebrew don't know to do this.

Do you know how you get the Holy Spirit to teach you? You actually go to that Hebrew word and you look at every single reference, all 18 times. And as you begin to read them and look at the context, you get the mind of the Holy Spirit.

You don't get the etymology of the word and take it out and say, I know it doesn't mean death. It means just a dark shadow. Oh no, you need to go to all 18 verses. And as you begin to read those 18 verses, you go, now I know what the shadow, the valley of the shadow of death in Psalm 23 actually is.

I have a full understanding. Listen, out of 18 times this word is used, 10 times this term is used in the book of Job. So you begin to understand what the valley of the shadow of death is. It's associated primarily with Job's trial.

That gives you a bit of insight. In Job 20, it is used of the darkness of the underworld or the place of death. It's talking about after you die, there is a darkness of the shadow of death. And so it's a real term for the place of death, especially those in the Old Testament.

When you died, that place you go to, the afterlife, when you die, when you depart this physical life, that was a place of the valley of the shadow of death. It was the shadow of death. But here we have in our Bible is there's a valley in the Christian life called the shadow of death.

What the underworld was called, the darkness of that underworld, the feeling of that underworld is actually crammed into a valley that a Christian, unless God very graciously doesn't allow you to go there, there is an entire valley experience that a real Christian can walk into.

And you will walk through a darkness that was only experienced in the underworld. It is internal. It is emotional. It is mental. It is spiritual. It is deep. It is darkness. Let me explain here from a few of these verses what it's like.

Job 10, verse one, my soul is weary of my life. I will leave my complaint upon myself. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. So notice in Job 10, he is tired of life. He wants to die. His body is in pain.

He's going through turmoil in his mind and heart. Then a few verses later, verse 21, before I go whence I shall not return. So he's going, death is hanging over me. He says, even to the land of darkness, and the shadow of death, that's the same term as in Psalm 23, a land of darkness as darkness itself, and of the shadow of death without any order and where there is no light in darkness.

Lots of people have said, oh, to get a shadow, there has to be light. So in the valley of the shadow of death, praise God, there is light there. Yes, thank God there's light. But the valley of the shadow of darkness, here, Job is saying, there's a place you go to where there is shadow, and yet there is no light there, no light.

There's confusion, there's disorder. So you begin to understand, what is this valley of shadow of death? There's confusion, there's disorder. There is great darkness. There is no light in it that you can perceive naturally.

Now you begin to understand, this is not a nice place at all. A land of darkness as darkness itself. Then he says in Job 16, 16, my face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death, the exact same term.

He says, I am weeping, I am crying, and on my actual eyelids, this same shadow of darkness, I can't even see anything. My entire vision, spiritual vision, is dominated by this dark shadow. Oh, what a dark trial Job went through.

Job walked through this valley. In fact, many people in the Bible walked through it. It also says in Isaiah 9, verse two, the people that walked in darkness, talking about sinners who haven't received the gospel yet.

It's before the light comes, before the gospel comes, before relief comes. People that walked in darkness have seen a great light. They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them the light shined.

Notice that sinners are said to dwell there, not walk through it, they dwell there. It's not a valley, it's a land. They live in the entire land of darkness, of the shadow of darkness. Thank God we only visit there in a trial.

Your worst agony as a Christian is far better than the agony of a sinner who's gonna stay there unless the light of the gospel comes. There is torment, there is confusion. But do you know what? God confines us to a valley and an experience for the real believer.

Again, in Psalm 107, verse 10, such as sit in darkness, talking about believers, and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron. So you see, spiritually, when you find yourself in the shadow of death, you feel like you're in affliction, that you're bound, that your hands and feet are held in irons.

This is what the valley of the shadow of death is. Later in Psalm 107, verse 14, it says, and he brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and they break their bands asunder. So there is a valley where you think you're trapped in.

When this darkness falls upon you, it is terrible. There are very horrible things in that darkness. And you know what? Only God can bring light to you in this valley. Only God can break your chains and your fetters.

Only God can deliver you from the affliction of this terrible valley. It says in Psalm 1222, he discovered deep things out of darkness. Notice the condition of a real believer in this valley. He that is God discovereth or revealeth or opens up deep things out of darkness.

See, when you find yourself in darkness, you need to look for what God wants to open up there. You're screaming, get me out of here. Save me, deliver me. Why have you left me here? Don't you know there's things there for God to open up to you in that valley?

It's not gonna finish today or tomorrow. You know why? God has things for you. You're cramped, get me out of here. Why not pray, Lord, show me, open up onto me deep things, hidden things. You know, the word of God says about the treasures of darkness, isn't that beautiful?

Do you know when you find yourself in dark times, there are treasures, but most people don't look for them. You see, you're looking for the mountaintop. I wanna be in the mountain. I wanna get all the treasures of the mountaintop.

Don't you realize there's treasures in valleys? Don't you realize that there's actually treasures in the darkest times in your Christian life that you won't get in the light times or the good times or the blessing times?

You have to be in the valley of the shadow of death and there's things there that God himself actually begins to open up. And it says, and he bringeth light to the shadow of death. It's God who does this.

It's God who brings you out. Amos 5, 8 also says that he, God, the creator, turneth the shadow of death into the morning. So notice how God's hand is upon this, this valley of the shadow of death. It is a very dark, horrible place.

No one wants to go there. Do not pray for this, I assure you. But when you find yourself there, God is in control. Do you remember this entire, Sam, lead me. What's David praying? Lead me by still waters.

He's praying this. He's thankful for this. Lead me in paths of righteousness. But suddenly he says, God is leading me through the shadow of death. So you can see someone who is walking or being led by quiet waters, being led into righteousness is also the same person being led by the same person into the valley of the shadow of death.

If you find yourself in the valley of the shadow of death and God is your shepherd and you are a sheep, do you realize you've been led there? I didn't put myself in the valleys I've walked through in my lifetime.

It wasn't through sin or my foolishness or being reckless and saying, give me this valley. You see, I haven't heard people cry out and say, give me this valley. I want this valley. No, we're like Caleb saying, give me this mountain.

Give me Hebron. I can understand that. I've yet to hear anyone in a prayer meeting pray, oh God, I want to possess the valley of the shadow of death. Lord, will you please lead me into the valley of the shadow of death?

You see this verse four, what does it say? Ye, though I walk through. He's not praying this. He's praying to be led by still waters, but he does not pray, lead me into darkness. He says, but along this journey, as I walk with God and as he's leading me, ye, though.

In other words, if it happens, if God should see fit to lead me into this valley, then Lord, I will fear no evil. And so we see that this is an experience that God watches after. A dark path can still be a led path.

When we get into the valley of the shadow of death, we go, God, where are you? Lord, I've lost you. Lord, why am I here? Lord, something has gone wrong. How do you know it's not perfectly, absolutely in the will of God?

Don't you realize this entire psalm is about the great shepherd leading you? That means he's in front. Who first walked in this valley? How did you get there? Well, I was only following the shepherd. Then trust him.

If you're walking with him, loving him, serving him, following him, obeying his teaching, and suddenly you walk into a dark valley that you do not like, it's horrendous. It's turmoil. It's affliction.

Just keep walking. Keep your eyes on him. If he got you in there by following him, just keep following him through the valley of the shadow of death. You cannot lead yourself. You certainly wouldn't want to put yourself there.

It says in Jeremiah 2 and 6, the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, a land that no man passed through and where no man can dwell.

So we see in Jeremiah 2, he's talking about the 40-year wilderness. God led them. God led them through wildernesses, through the valley of the shadow of death. Do you know that Israel in the Old Testament, God led the entire nation through something called the valley of the shadow of death?

There were no enemies there, no armies there, but there was a valley of the shadow of death, not a physical valley, but it was a very real spiritual experience they walked through. What is this shadow of the valley of death in our lives?

It could be sickness. You could be so sick, you're on the verge of death, and we've had to be familiar with that. It could be old age and going, no, I don't know when I'm gonna die. It could be serious danger.

It could be the loss of your wife. I am walking under the shadow of the valley of death this morning. You know why? Losing Candace, though she has gone, the shadow of that death actually hangs over me.

I'm having to walk through that darkness at this time. It could be some dark trial early in your Christian life, or as you get deeper, God says, let's go a bit deeper here. In Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan writes about Christian on his journey to the celestial city and talks about all the things he goes through.

First, he went through the valley of humiliation, where he was greatly humbled. Then after that, he didn't get off scot-free. What happened? He got led straight into the valley of the shadow of death.

There were some people on the journey as well who began screaming at him, don't go into it, don't go there. And he says, but if I keep following the Lord, I'm gonna have to walk through this valley. They're saying, you're crazy, don't do it.

Don't go in that direction. But if following him puts me in a valley, then in a valley, I will go, I can assure you. You see, it's diverse what this can be. I don't know what it is for you. I know what it is for me.

I am now walking through a valley of the shadow of death that I've never experienced in 50 years, my entire life. I have never walked through anything like this. It's unknown territory. You know, until three years ago, I thought I'd seen everything, been in every valley of the entire Canaan land.

I thought I'd seen it all, possessed it all, walked it all, seen it all. Candice thought that as well. And suddenly we walk into a dark valley and we go, this is unfamiliar territory. We've never been here before.

We've never seen this. I don't even know what the next step is. I can't see, I can't hear. I can't feel. I don't know. I've got no experience of this. But do you know what? I'm there in the will of God.

Just keep the shepherd in front of you. That is absolutely vital. As you begin to read your Bible, you read about men like Job being there, David, Paul, Abraham, and many others. And so I lay out for you the valley of the shadow of death.

Let me give you my five points here because although I want you to see the valley of the shadow of death could bring you to a place, a condition, not for one night, not for one day, maybe not for three days, but for a period of time.

You don't know how long it is. You know, John Bunyan, he wrote, this valley was longer than all the others I'd ever seen. This is an unusual valley. It's a long valley. And I think I'll never come to an end.

This week as I was just praying and thinking, I thought, oh God, you brought me into a valley that has no end here. That's what I'm thinking, I'm overwhelmed. And when every valley I've been through in my life, it's got a finality, it's got an end, I come out of it.

I go, she's not coming back. This particular valley has no end. I'm just telling you what I felt and thought. I'm beginning to pray and I go, this is an endless, until the day I breathe my last breath, I'll never see her again or hear her voice.

This valley that I've been brought into, it has no limits, no depths. It has no boundaries on its darkness. I've never seen anything like this. But do you know what? I'm wise enough in this valley not to trust my own reasoning.

I go, keep your eyes on this good shepherd. He is a good shepherd, a kind shepherd, a great shepherd, a wise shepherd. I'm staying on his heels. Saints of God, I'm not gonna follow men. I'm not gonna follow myself.

I'm following the great shepherd. Here's my five points. Number one, his victory. This man that finds himself in the valley of the shadow of death. The first thing that you see about him is his victory.

Victory in the Valley

There is victory in this valley. Not many people that I've heard of in my entire life have talked about the victory of walking through the valley of the shadow of death. We talk about the terror of it.

We talk about hating it. Or we talk about the end of it. But what about the victory in the valley of the shadow of death? Look what it says in verse four. And though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

When you find yourself there, keep walking. Keep walking, saints of God. I will fear no evil. David is saying this before he's in the valley. Look at the entire Psalm. He's not in the valley when he writes this Psalm.

But he must've known about the valley. He must've been there before. And he's also going, I could end up back in this valley. He understands how terrible it is. It is the valley of the shadow of death.

He has been there. He has seen it. I'm sure at some point he led his sheep into a very dark, dangerous valley. And as he led the little lambs and even the older sheep, you know what I think? I think those sheep, he watched their reaction.

The darkness, maybe the unknown growls and snails from the darkness of the shadows. And these poor sheep are getting irritated, worried, scared. They're trembling, but they keep following the shepherd.

He keeps looking over. Come on, Larry, stay on my heels. Come on, Larry, don't get distracted. Come on, Larry, don't you get scared. Just stay with me. I've always looked after you. I delivered you from the lamb, delivered you from the bear.

I've always led you by still waters. I've always made sure you had green grass. Have I ever failed you? Haven't I looked after you, Larry, from a young lamb? I made sure you were cared for. I'm not gonna leave you now.

More so, the shepherd's gonna be needed in the valley. You see, when we get into this dark valley, we think, shepherd, where are you? Do you think he's gonna be with you in the mountaintop in the daylight and not in the darkness?

Don't you realize, as shepherd's heart, that he says, Larry needs me more now than ever he did in all of the other times of walking? Didn't I lead you in paths of righteousness? Didn't I lead you in the green grass?

Do you think I'm not gonna lead you through the valley of the shadow of death? And yet it's in this valley. You go, I can't hear his voice. I can't see him. Is he still there? Is he remembering me? What's he doing to me?

Why is he bringing me this way? This is scary. Is he leading me to the butcher's shop? I don't know. Sometimes I'm not sure. Do you realize that there is a victory in this valley? Look what David says about this valley.