The 23rd Psalm

The 23rd Psalm

is a beautiful song

of praise.

The 23rd Psalm is often used

in times of trouble and loss.

This Psalm has bidden many

who have experienced personal sorrows... certainty...

for a morning of joy.

The 23rd Psalm speaks both

to life and to death.

The 23rd Psalm helps us to better understand and accept

the death of our loved ones, and it also evokes thought, as

it relates, to the profound and inevitable aspect of our own

mortality.

The 23rd Psalm assures us that with God as our Shepherd,

we have all that we need for both life and death.

The 23rd Psalm has been and is comforting

to many mourners in their night of weeping.

The guidance, beauty, strength, and encouragement

one gains from the 23rd Psalm is unsurpassed.

The Twenty-Third Psalm of David

found in the Old Testament of the Bible is

one of the most comforting prayers

for every sigh of the soul.

Repeated often, it can help reframe, renew, and

restore our confidence and turn negative thoughts,

emotions, and situations around.

We will never go through anything, in life, in which

the root emotion cannot find comfort, refreshment,

guidance, and protection...

than in the simplistic beauty contained...

in the 23rd Psalm.

So even if the words do not ring true for you...

just repeating the words and thinking about them,

can help them to come alive for you.

The 23rd Psalm is one of the most popular and beloved of

the Psalms. It is perhaps the preeminent Psalm of

prosperity.

God is concerned about

ALL of our needs!

Because the Lord is our Shepherd, God meets all of our

needs... and we have everything we need!

With God as our Shepherd...

we will be cared for, loved, and

our needs will be provided.

Like sheep, we, too, need a Shepherd.

Sheep are basically helpless creatures

who wander off and get lost.

The sheep are helpless, innocent, and utterly dependent on

God.

God, fulfills His role as Shepherd by protecting the sheep.

Thus, the sheep “Shall not want.”

We shall not want... THAT'S SUPPLY!

We, like the sheep, cannot survive long without a

shepherd.

We, too, are totally dependent upon God to Shepherd,

protect, and care for us.

The Shepherd takes great care to protect the sheep.

THAT'S RELATIONSHIP!

When we recognize the Good Shepherd... we follow Him!

As the Lord is the Good Shepherd,

so we are His sheep -- not frightened or passive, but

obedient followers, wise enough to follow the One Who

will lead us in the right places and in right ways.

When we allow God our Shepherd to guide us,

we have contentment...

because we are safe under His care, and absolved from all

anxieties.

Our Shepherd knows and leads us

to the "Green pastures".

God makes us to lie down

in green pastures:

THAT'S REST!

The Shepherd of our soul makes us to lie down in the

meadow grass... not only to feed, but to rest,

and enjoy tranquillity, peace, and safety;

where there are both delight and plenty.

God leads us beside

the still, serene waters...

the freshness of the meadow, the coolness of the stream.

It is indicative of heaven being everywhere...

if we could but enter it.

The "Quiet waters" that will restore us.

God gives us new strength.

He restores, refreshes,

and revives our soul.

We will reach these places

only by following God obediently...

not the world.

Rebelling against the Shepherd's leading

is actually rebelling against our own best interests.

We must remember this the next time

we are tempted to go our own way

rather than the Shepherd's way.

God leads us in the paths of righteousness

for His Name sake.

He helps us do what honors Him the most.

Yea, though we walk through

the valley of the shadow of death,

we will fear no evil:

For God is with us.

Even when walking through the dark valley of death

we will not be afraid, for God is close beside us,

guarding, and guiding us all the way.

God's rod and God's staff,

they comfort us.

God prepares a table before us

in the presence of our enemies;

God knows how to create a feast for His own.

He sets a nice table, right in front of us,

and in the presence of our enemies!

Good is not being vindictive, but He is showing

our enemies how His anointed are treated.

God has welcomed us as His guest.

God has anointed our head with oil.

Our cup runs over...

blessings overflow!

Let us trust our Shepherd's care,

and hearken to His voice.