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Psalms 23 : The 23rd Psalm

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1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 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.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

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The 23rd Psalm

Durch Brian David

The Lord as Shepherd, by Nana Schnarr

The 23rd Psalm is one of the best-known and most-loved literary works in the world, and it may well be the best poem ever written. It is also a fine example of the power of figurative language: We read deep things into the vision of ourselves as sheep, led to green pastures and good water by a kind shepherd. It’s empowering to feel the confidence to go fearlessly into the valley of the shadow of death, and to feel the love and caring of a table prepared by the Lord and a cup so full it overflows.

What people don’t know, however, is that this language actually has precise internal meanings, and that when we see them there is an even deeper beauty in the poem. That’s because what it actually describes is the path to heaven, and the fierce desire the Lord has to lead us there.

The first step is to let the Lord be our shepherd – to accept His teaching and His leadership. The green pastures and the still waters represent the things He will teach us for the journey. Then He begins working inside is, setting our spiritual lives in order, so that we desire to do what’s good and to love one another. That’s represented by restoring our souls and leading us in the paths of righteousness.

But we will still face challenges. We still live external lives, out in the world, and we are subject to desires that arise in those externals, in our bodily lives. That’s the valley of the shadow of death. But the rod and staff represent truth from the Lord on both external and internal levels, ideas that can defend us against those desires.

And if we keep following, the Lord will prepare a table for us – a place inside us that he can fill with love (the anointing oil) and wisdom (the overflowing cup). Thus transformed, we can enter heaven, with love for others (“goodness”) and love from the Lord (“mercy”) and can love and be loved to eternity.

One of many beautiful things about this is the fact that it is the Lord who really does all the work. In the whole text, the only action taken by the sheep is walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Other than that, they follow the Lord, trust the Lord, accept the blessings of the Lord. And that is really true! In external states (in the valley) we might seem to be doing the work ourselves, but internally, spiritually, we simply need to give ourselves to the Lord and let Him bless us.

The underlying idea here is that the Lord created us so that He could love us, in loving us wants us to be happy, knows that our greatest happiness will come from being conjoined to Him in heaven, and Himself wants nothing more than to be conjoined to us. So everything He does, in every moment of every day for every person on the face of the planet, is centered on the goal of getting that person to heaven. He wants each and every one of us in heaven more than we are capable of imagining. We just need to cooperate.

(Verweise: Apocalypse Explained 375 [34], 727 [2]; The Inner Meaning of the Prophets and Psalms 273)

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Psalms 105

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1 Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name! Make his doings known among the peoples.

2 Sing to him, Sing praises to him! Tell of all his marvelous works.

3 Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.

4 Seek Yahweh and his strength. Seek his face forever more.

5 Remember his marvelous works that he has done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,

6 you seed of Abraham, his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

7 He is Yahweh, our God. His judgments are in all the earth.

8 He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,

9 the covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac,

10 and confirmed the same to Jacob for a statute; to Israel for an everlasting covenant,

11 saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance;"

12 when they were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners in it.

13 They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.

14 He allowed no one to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes,

15 "Don't touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!"

16 He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies.

17 He sent a man before them. Joseph was sold for a slave.

18 They bruised his feet with shackles. His neck was locked in irons,

19 until the time that his word happened, and Yahweh's word proved him true.

20 The king sent and freed him; even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free.

21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all of his possessions;

22 to discipline his princes at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom.

23 Israel also came into Egypt. Jacob lived in the land of Ham.

24 He increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their adversaries.

25 He turned their heart to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.

26 He sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen.

27 They performed miracles among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

28 He sent darkness, and made it dark. They didn't rebel against his words.

29 He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish.

30 Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the rooms of their kings.

31 He spoke, and swarms of flies came, and lice in all their borders.

32 He gave them hail for rain, with lightning in their land.

33 He struck their vines and also their fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.

34 He spoke, and the locusts came, and the grasshoppers, without number,

35 ate up every plant in their land; and ate up the fruit of their ground.

36 He struck also all the firstborn in their land, the first fruits of all their manhood.

37 He brought them forth with silver and gold. There was not one feeble person among his tribes.

38 Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them had fallen on them.

39 He spread a cloud for a covering, fire to give light in the night.

40 They asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of the sky.

41 He opened the rock, and waters gushed out. They ran as a river in the dry places.

42 For he remembered his holy word, and Abraham, his servant.

43 He brought forth his people with joy, his chosen with singing.

44 He gave them the lands of the nations. They took the labor of the peoples in possession,

45 that they might keep his statutes, and observe his laws. Praise Yah!