THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
(Second Reader, page 203)
AIM
To lead the pupils to appreciate the beauty and power of the language of this Biblical lesson, and to feel a confidence in God's protection and support.
PRESENTATION
The teacher should talk with the pupils about the great flocks of sheep in Eastern lands. They require a shepherd to lead them to pastures where the grass is long and sweet, and to protect them from the wild animals.
This Psalm is called the "Shepherd Psalm" because it was written by David, after he became a king. He remembered the time when he was a shepherd boy and used to spend his days and nights in the fields with the sheep, and how he once killed a lion and a bear that came to attack his flock; and he thought to himself that God had cared for him all his life just as he himself used to care for his little lambs, so at last he put his thoughts into the words of this Twenty-third Psalm.
There are two metaphors in this Psalm. In the first is developed, through the figure of a shepherd and his flock, God's care of His people.
What are the feelings of the sheep toward the shepherd? They feel confident that he will supply them with food; he will lead them to the "green pastures" and to the "still waters" by the wells and fountains, where they will neither hunger nor thirst.