Twenty-Third Psalm

Twenty-Third Psalm

1 The Lord is my Sherpherd, 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 righteaousness 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 forever.

This is a passage that is generally said at funerals, I know for me it has been said at every funeral that I have gone to. You're probably thinking why is she blogging about the 23rd Psalm. Well...

My Mom gave me a bookmark that the funeral home had given to her after my Grandfather, her Father, had passed away.(It's only been about a month and a half since his death) On one side is his picture and his obituary(what was wrote up and put in the paper), on the other is the 23rd Psalm. I have the bookmark on my bedside night table, and I picked it up and was once again looking at it last night. I read the 23rd Psalm again and I suddenly looked at it in a different sense than I usally do.

You see, my Grandfather had been in the Hospital for severl weeks until one night, he stopped breathing and died. He was still in the Hospital when he died. I thought of him while I read the 23rd Psalm.......The Lord was/is my Grandfather's Shepherd, to all of us He is and we are his sheep. When we allow God our shepherd to guide us, we have contentment, and that is what my Grandfather had in the Hospital. Death casts a frightening shadow over us because we are entirely helpless in the presence of death. Although we struggle with things such as pain, suffering or disease, strength and courage can't overcome death. Death has the final word. Our shepherd, Our God, is the only one person that can walk with us through death's dark valley and bring us safely to the other side. Christ offers us eternal comfort, life is uncertain, are you following The Shepherd? I know that my Grandfather was.

God is seen as a caring shepherd and a dependable guide in this passage. We MUST follow God and His commands. He is our ONLY hope for eternal life and security.

Peace be with you.