Shepherd tending his flock.

Psalm 23 is the most well-known of all psalms – perhaps the only one that many of us know by heart.  It is truly a great prayer and the source of several excellent hymns we sing even today.  The reference to the Lord as the shepherd is most appropriate and carries over to Jesus in the New Testament, for sure.  But it is also used to describe the job of the apostles – we are certainly reminded of Jesus’ words to Peter – “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-19).

The elders of the church are always refereed to as shepherds as well, because they care for the flock – the Christians who they are responsible for in caring for their spiritual nourishment.  In the sense that the term is used here, though, God is the one who brings the care, the restoration of one’s soul- his vitality.  The image of Him as the protector should be of great comfort to us.

The comfort and beauty of these eight verses is stirring for sure.  But it is the opinion of this blogger that one does himself a great disservice by passing over the next 10 verses in psalm 24.  As a prayer, its beauty and poetry are equal in every way to the 23rd psalm.  Read how the last few verses conclude this great benediction:

He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory!

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.