The Shepherd Leads

The Shepherd Leads

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.

Psalm 23:2 NKJV

In the second verse of the Twenty-third Psalm, David the poet becomes David the artist. His quill becomes a brush, his parchment a canvas, and his words paint a picture. A flock of sheep on folded legs, encircling a shepherd. Bellies nestled deep in the long shoots of grass. A still pond on one side, the watching shepherd on the other. “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”

Note the two pronouns preceding the two verbs. He makes me . . . He leads me . . .

Who is the active one? Who is in charge? The shepherd. The shepherd selects the trail and prepares the pasture. The sheep’s job—our job— is to watch the Shepherd.

Traveling Light