“The Lord is my shepherd” isn’t limited to a pastoral
landscape or an agrarian lifestyle. That may be why a culture specific song
speaks to every time and place. The valley of the shadow is not a foreign experience
as we all have felt its cold grip about our necks. We have been surrounded by
enemies who overturn our tables and drain our cups to the dregs. Goodness and mercy have fled away and
our heads have been anointed with scorn. The psalm is not spoken to those who
lie on beds of ease or rejoice as in days of comfort. There is a reason the 23rd psalm follows the psalm 22 cry of dereliction, “My God! My God!
Why have you forsaken me?” for “the Lord is my shepherd” is the promise that
the shadow was never meant to be our dwelling place. Green pastures and still
waters await therefore “I shall not want”.
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