Sunday 12 October 2008

Background

This psalm, said to be "A Psalm of David", is traditionallyascribed to King David, who was a shepherd in his youth (1 Samuel 17:34-35).For Christians it also evokes the image of Jesus who is describedas "the Good Shepherd" in John's Gospel (John 10:11).

But what did being a shepherd in the ancient world actuallyinvolve? It was a job usually carried out by the lower ranks insociety. They lived day and night with their sheep, making surethey were well fed, watered and kept safe from harm. At night theshepherd would stay awake, vigilant against any threat to his flockon open ground, with his trusty "rod and staff". Now that'sdedication.

As the phrase "for his name's sake" implies, the shepherd'sinterests - the shepherd's whole life - were bound up in thesecurity and wellbeing of his sheep. Without sheep you can hardlycall yourself a shepherd can you?

Today, this psalm is often associated with funeral services,perhaps because of the reference to the "darkest valley" or the"valley of the shadow of death", as it is often known from oldertranslations of the Bible. But I chose to have it at my wedding. Itis a psalm of praise, delight and excitement for a promising andrich future with God as our companion. It speaks of love that doesnot falter no matter what path we find ourselves walking.

But David is not saying that everything will always be good andhappy - the psalmist must still travel through the "darkestvalley". Going through the tough bits of life is not something thatany of us can avoid. But the difference in being people of God isliving life without fear in the knowledge that God is with us, andwith the hope that God will see us through.

Sometimes I think that, as Christians, we've lost that joyfulexpectation of receiving good things from God. Jesus assured hisdisciples that if anyone knows how to give good gifts, it's God -"ask and you will receive" (John 16:24). But do we really take hiswords seriously?

To Ponder

How far have you lost the ability to expectthings from God? To wait expectantly? To yearn to be satisfiedrather than expect to be disappointed?

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want". Weseem to do a lot of 'wanting' in western society. What might thisverse mean for our desires and appetites?

What are the dangers of daring to expect goodthings from God? What happens if you are disappointed?