Young David tending to his flock. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. - Psalms 23:1 (NKJV)
There is no better depiction of the message of the Twenty-third Psalm than a picture of the young shepherd boy, David, tending to his flock. And when you read that most famous of Psalms and really think about, the characterization of God as Shepherd and mankind as sheep is so appropriate. It's just sad that so many of us don't recognize it, thinking that we are capable of doing all and being all on their own.
The beautiful flowing words give such a presentation of God's love for us and what it means and what it tells us if we are attentive to it. Man (and woman, of course) is like a flock of sheep, helpless on their own and needing God as their shepherd to feed them nurture them, keep them out of harm's way and return them to the flock if they stray.
The Twenty-third Psalm also make a great stand alone prayer. Sometimes when we go to pray, we have trouble knowing exactly what to say. It is at times like that when the Lord's Prayer can be very helpful, but so can this beautiful Psalm. It is comforting, dispels fear and worry and makes it very clear that if we love God and worship Him and believe the words of the Bible through faith that we will be afforded the joy of living in the House of the Lord forever. So, for those who might think the Old Testament verses don't directly relate to the gift that was provided by Jesus, who only came later, the Twenty-third Psalm in its finale makes it clear that those ancient prophets knew the future.
Dear Lord, We thank you for the beautiful Twenty-third Psalm and how it can soothe us and allay our fears and help us to use it to strengthen our faith and love for you through its wonderful message. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
There is no better depiction of the message of the Twenty-third Psalm than a picture of the young shepherd boy, David, tending to his flock. And when you read that most famous of Psalms and really think about, the characterization of God as Shepherd and mankind as sheep is so appropriate. It's just sad that so many of us don't recognize it, thinking that we are capable of doing all and being all on their own.
The beautiful flowing words give such a presentation of God's love for us and what it means and what it tells us if we are attentive to it. Man (and woman, of course) is like a flock of sheep, helpless on their own and needing God as their shepherd to feed them nurture them, keep them out of harm's way and return them to the flock if they stray.
The Twenty-third Psalm also make a great stand alone prayer. Sometimes when we go to pray, we have trouble knowing exactly what to say. It is at times like that when the Lord's Prayer can be very helpful, but so can this beautiful Psalm. It is comforting, dispels fear and worry and makes it very clear that if we love God and worship Him and believe the words of the Bible through faith that we will be afforded the joy of living in the House of the Lord forever. So, for those who might think the Old Testament verses don't directly relate to the gift that was provided by Jesus, who only came later, the Twenty-third Psalm in its finale makes it clear that those ancient prophets knew the future.
Dear Lord, We thank you for the beautiful Twenty-third Psalm and how it can soothe us and allay our fears and help us to use it to strengthen our faith and love for you through its wonderful message. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
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