All that is good, all that is true, all that is beautiful, all that is beneficent, be it great or small, be it perfect or fragmentary, natural as well as supernatural, moral as well as material, comes from God. JOHN HENRY NEWMAN
Psalm 23
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 NAMES 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
THOU PREPAREST A TABLE BEFORE ME
IN THEPRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES
THOU ANOINTEST MY HEAD WITH OIL
MY CUP RUNNETH OVER
SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME
ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE
AND I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER
Typing out the 23rd Psalm today has stirred my spirit. Each line speaks to me in its own way. This psalm written by David refers to the Lord as our Shepherd. It was written by a man who himself was a shepherd. David as a young man tended the sheep of his father, and today we might say that he received his education at USS, the University of Sheep and Shepherds. Some of Davids earliest lessons could have come from being responsible for the sheep. He learned about how to be a good caregiver, and how to make the sheep secure and comfortable. How to make sure there was enough pasture and feed, and to make sure the water was good and the place for watering was suitable for sheep. He learned how to pick the right paths for the sheep to travel, and how to avoid the danger spots. He knew that as long as he was with the sheep they would be safe. He learned how to use the tools of his trade, his rod and staff, and the language of the shepherd. I feel that David learned much about life in his early formative years by being responsible in his family business. There was no better way to describe the God that he loved other than using the language of the shepherd. And so it is with us, when we try and explain God, we should use the language we know best. Our everyday communication that we use in our business and work, and with our family and friends is the best way to communicate to another person our point. When I relate to someone what God has done for me and how I have been delivered from a living hell as a result of addictions and alcoholism, I find it best to use my own personal experiences and to use the language most common to that environment. Of course God has washed some of my words, but the point is still conveyed because I am most familiar with that lifestyle, I lived it for too many years. Today as I read this great psalm the first line explains it all to me, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I can count of that!
God has done for me what I could not do for myself .. JRE
Psalm 23
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 NAMES 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
THOU PREPAREST A TABLE BEFORE ME
IN THEPRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES
THOU ANOINTEST MY HEAD WITH OIL
MY CUP RUNNETH OVER
SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME
ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE
AND I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER
Typing out the 23rd Psalm today has stirred my spirit. Each line speaks to me in its own way. This psalm written by David refers to the Lord as our Shepherd. It was written by a man who himself was a shepherd. David as a young man tended the sheep of his father, and today we might say that he received his education at USS, the University of Sheep and Shepherds. Some of Davids earliest lessons could have come from being responsible for the sheep. He learned about how to be a good caregiver, and how to make the sheep secure and comfortable. How to make sure there was enough pasture and feed, and to make sure the water was good and the place for watering was suitable for sheep. He learned how to pick the right paths for the sheep to travel, and how to avoid the danger spots. He knew that as long as he was with the sheep they would be safe. He learned how to use the tools of his trade, his rod and staff, and the language of the shepherd. I feel that David learned much about life in his early formative years by being responsible in his family business. There was no better way to describe the God that he loved other than using the language of the shepherd. And so it is with us, when we try and explain God, we should use the language we know best. Our everyday communication that we use in our business and work, and with our family and friends is the best way to communicate to another person our point. When I relate to someone what God has done for me and how I have been delivered from a living hell as a result of addictions and alcoholism, I find it best to use my own personal experiences and to use the language most common to that environment. Of course God has washed some of my words, but the point is still conveyed because I am most familiar with that lifestyle, I lived it for too many years. Today as I read this great psalm the first line explains it all to me, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I can count of that!
God has done for me what I could not do for myself .. JRE
