"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 paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
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 they comfort me."
Psalms 23:1-4
This is a pretty well-known psalm, but perhaps because it is so familiar, it isn't one that we talk about a lot in terms of symbolism... and the symbolism is pretty good. Being a sheep might be looked on in a derogatory way by some, but God isn't referring to us as sheep because he thinks that we are dumb or brainless. He's just trying to protect and help us as we learn to be more like him... after all, one of the great images of Christ is the "Lamb of God."
The idea of God as a shepherd is an image where we are the sheep and he is in charge of keeping us safe and well... which is a comforting image. The green pastures and still waters are symbolic of God leading us to exactly what we need to thrive, not just survive.
Then we switch to language that is a little more clearly not just about sheep... he restores our souls. He leads us in the paths of righteousness. This is basically what the last verse already said, but more clearly aimed at us as humans.
The last verse of the selection talks about times when we aren't in the green pastures anymore... but still we don't have to fear because God is there, and his rod and staff--symbolic of his guidelines and boundaries--are comforting because they help us not wander off to get eaten by a wolf, and we can count on the Lord to pull us out of trouble when we inevitably fall into it.
I like that overall idea of God watching our for us, and also on placing value on the things that God uses to guide, correct, and protect us, because those things are all designed to keep us safe.
Today, let's work on letting go of our stubborn rebellion that causes us to separate from the flock and place our souls in danger. Let's turn to the Lord, and be grateful for the guidelines that he gives us to restore our souls and help us be safe while we are learning to walk his path.
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 paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
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 they comfort me."
Psalms 23:1-4
This is a pretty well-known psalm, but perhaps because it is so familiar, it isn't one that we talk about a lot in terms of symbolism... and the symbolism is pretty good. Being a sheep might be looked on in a derogatory way by some, but God isn't referring to us as sheep because he thinks that we are dumb or brainless. He's just trying to protect and help us as we learn to be more like him... after all, one of the great images of Christ is the "Lamb of God."
The idea of God as a shepherd is an image where we are the sheep and he is in charge of keeping us safe and well... which is a comforting image. The green pastures and still waters are symbolic of God leading us to exactly what we need to thrive, not just survive.
Then we switch to language that is a little more clearly not just about sheep... he restores our souls. He leads us in the paths of righteousness. This is basically what the last verse already said, but more clearly aimed at us as humans.
The last verse of the selection talks about times when we aren't in the green pastures anymore... but still we don't have to fear because God is there, and his rod and staff--symbolic of his guidelines and boundaries--are comforting because they help us not wander off to get eaten by a wolf, and we can count on the Lord to pull us out of trouble when we inevitably fall into it.
I like that overall idea of God watching our for us, and also on placing value on the things that God uses to guide, correct, and protect us, because those things are all designed to keep us safe.
Today, let's work on letting go of our stubborn rebellion that causes us to separate from the flock and place our souls in danger. Let's turn to the Lord, and be grateful for the guidelines that he gives us to restore our souls and help us be safe while we are learning to walk his path.
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