Introduction
Psalm 23: 1-4 are a frequently quoted set of verses of a poetic nature. These verses are recognized to have been written by David and they use an analogy of the shepherd to describe God’s relationship to us. As we break down this passage into its verses and phrases we can find that this verse is still relevant to us today even though it was said so long ago.
Them
For the ancient Israelites, the image of a shepherd was a common understanding in their culture. Exodus 3:1, 1 Samuel 16:19 and 2 Kings 3:4 all speak of people in the Old Testament who worked as shepherds and this lets us see that they would have had an understanding of what a shepherd did. David’s use in this Psalm of the analogy of God as the shepherd was a great way …show more content…
Just by reading these four verses we can see that it describes God as our protector who “leads me in paths of righteousness”. This is good for us to read today because our attempts and tries for righteousness so often fail and fall apart when we try to do it in our own strength whereas here we can read that God actually does lead us in a path of righteousness and it is up to us as to how we respond to …show more content…
It doesn’t say that the Lord is sometimes my shepherd or that the Lord is only my shepherd when I need help (but not when everything in life seems to be going well). No it clearly states that the Lord is my shepherd! Sometimes we as Christians can often forget that when things seem to be going great God is still watching over us and guiding us where we go. We may often forget about God until something bad happens and suddenly we need his help, these verses help remind us that he is always there looking out for us whether we are “lying down in green pastures” or “walking through the valley of the shadow of
Psalm 23: 1-4 are a frequently quoted set of verses of a poetic nature. These verses are recognized to have been written by David and they use an analogy of the shepherd to describe God’s relationship to us. As we break down this passage into its verses and phrases we can find that this verse is still relevant to us today even though it was said so long ago.
Them
For the ancient Israelites, the image of a shepherd was a common understanding in their culture. Exodus 3:1, 1 Samuel 16:19 and 2 Kings 3:4 all speak of people in the Old Testament who worked as shepherds and this lets us see that they would have had an understanding of what a shepherd did. David’s use in this Psalm of the analogy of God as the shepherd was a great way …show more content…
Just by reading these four verses we can see that it describes God as our protector who “leads me in paths of righteousness”. This is good for us to read today because our attempts and tries for righteousness so often fail and fall apart when we try to do it in our own strength whereas here we can read that God actually does lead us in a path of righteousness and it is up to us as to how we respond to …show more content…
It doesn’t say that the Lord is sometimes my shepherd or that the Lord is only my shepherd when I need help (but not when everything in life seems to be going well). No it clearly states that the Lord is my shepherd! Sometimes we as Christians can often forget that when things seem to be going great God is still watching over us and guiding us where we go. We may often forget about God until something bad happens and suddenly we need his help, these verses help remind us that he is always there looking out for us whether we are “lying down in green pastures” or “walking through the valley of the shadow of