THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

The Lord is my Shepherd        4

Let us take some phrases, statements, or sentences from the Psalm and see how they fit perfectly with the Israelites experiences during their 40 year crossing.
“The Lord is my shepherd” in fact, Moses was representing the Lord on earth and he was their shepherd.
“I shall not want”, so much so God provided for them ‘manna’ to eat and later birds of the air…irrespective of their constant grumbling.

“He leads me besides the still water”, that is water fit for drinking, and God ordered Moses to strike the rock at Massah in the desert.
“He leads me in the path of righteousness..”, and that is exactly what Moses did, he led them to the Promised Land, the only good route for them.

“Though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death…”, and they did experience the dark valley of death whilst Moses was holding dialogue with God, they felt the night upon them, they lost all sense of faithfulness and made themselves a golden calf for their god. The night could not have been darker.
“…for Thou art with me.” They certainly had the spirit of God with them, they did carry the ‘Ark’ wherever they went, and they believed that they had God’s protection…and yet…

“Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.” They certainly have, was it not through hitting the rock with the staff that water gushed out, and what about the ‘brazen serpent on Moses’ stick…and yet…
“Thou preparest a table before me…” and “my cup runs over.” Just remember how true this is when Moses sent Joshua to lead the twelve spies who went to explore the new land, Canaan. They came back reporting that the place was abundant with milk and honey. To carry a bunch of grapes, as it was so big, two men had to carry it. Is not this ‘abundance’ is not their cup running over the brim with God’s providence ?

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” Goodness and mercy are two attributes of God and so they represent God Himself. We know that that is a fact, He is always with us through His providence every second of our life. The wonderful thing is that Jesus Himself told us: “I am with you always, till the end of time. NOW, we have Him with us in the Holy Bible, in the love we show to others, in the Holy Eucharist.

So the first time you read, study, the 23^rd Psalm, recall the Israelite’s deliverance from Egypt. Remember, they had their Exodus, we are in our Exodus too, so Psalm 23 is our Psalm as well. /5