Psalm 23 always seemed a little hokey to me, probably because I remember all those commercials from the 70s advertising some famous actor recording Bible readings, and they used that one in the commercial. I groan a little inwardly when someone quotes it.
I like the dramatic ones like 18, or the fierce ones, like 144.
Still, for some reason it was going through my head like an ear worm on the drive back from Vegas today.
The Lord is my shepherd ... Though I walk through the valley of death, I shall fear no evil... I will dwell in the house of the Lord for endless days...
The Lord is my shepherd. There you have it. I'm a sheep. Sigh.
A priest, who actually had BEEN a sheep-herder as a boy, once said, "We think of sheep as stupid, but they aren't. They are vulnerable, not stupid."
Honestly, that's not a whole lot more comfortable than being thought of as stupid.
SO when I read this psalm once I got home with new eyes, it really is less about the sappiness of the restful waters and verdant pastures, and more about our true safety when we accept our vulnerability and let God shield us. The psalmist tells us that we are so safe in God, that death itself is nothing to fear, and that we are so safe, we can sit down and have a feast right there with our enemies poised!!
I can rest, can stop my constant vigilance, can walk anywhere and be in perfect safety when I let the Lord be my shepherd.
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