HE MAKETH ME TO LIE DOWN IN GREEN PASTURES:

"Green is the most restful of all colors, and at the same time the most hopeful,
implying showers as well as sunshine." (IB, p. 125)

"This line will do us no harm if it only reminds us of our need to seek quiet
in this noise-rocked world. But rest is not an end in itself. 'He restoreth my
soul.' Rest is a means to an end." (IB, p. 125)

"The Psalmist, whatever his identity, certainly knew 'the green pastures,'
such as exist below the terraced farms of Bethlehem. He knew how to walk
at the head of the flock, leading them -- not following them, as Western
shepherds do." (Harper's Bible Dictionary, p. 674)

"The strange thing about sheep is that because of their very make-up, it is
almost impossible for them to be made to lie down unless four requirements
are met . . . freedom from fear, tension, aggravations and hunger. The unique
aspect of the picture is that it is only the sheepman himself who can provide
release from these anxieties. It all depends upon the diligence of the owner,
whether or not his flock is free of disturbing influences . . . . As long as there
is even the slightest suspicion of danger from dogs, coyotes, cougars, bears or
other enemies, the sheep stand up ready to flee for their lives. They have little
or no means of self-defence. They are helpless, timid, feeble creatures whose
only recourse is to run." (Keller)

"Green pastures did not just happen by chance. Green pastures were the product
of tremendous labor, time and skill in land use. Green pastures were the result
of clearing rough, rocky land; of tearing out brush and roots and stumps; of deep
plowing and careful soil preparation; of seeding and planting special grains and
legumes; or irrigating with water and husbanding with care the crops of forage
that would feed the flocks." (Keller)

"Moral courage is the 'lion of the tribe of Juda,' the king of the mental realm.
Free and fearless it roams in the forest. Undisturbed it lies in the open field,
or rests in 'green pastures . . . beside the still waters.'" (S&H p. 514)

"The spiritual sense of truth must be gained before Truth can be understood.
This sense is assimilated only as we are honest, unselfish, loving, and meek.
In the soil of an "honest and good heart" the seed must be sown; else it beareth
not much fruit, for the swinish element in human nature uproots it." (S&H, p. 272)

"[Love] maketh me to lie down in green pastures:" (S&H, p. 578)


HE LEADETH ME BESIDE THE STILL WATERS:

"The Psalmist . . . knew the 'still waters,' or wells, pools, quiet rivulets, or
sheltered sand bars." (Harper's Bible Dictionary, p. 674)

"In the later literature there are several passages in which the Lord is spoken
of as the shepherd of Israel, but the thought is most tenderly elaborated in
Isaiah 49:10, 'They shall not hunger; . . . he. . . shall lead them, even by the
springs of water shall he guide them.' The psalmist turns this imagery to the
illustration of God's thought for him and, by inference, for every child of God.
'Besides the still waters: Or 'waters by resting places,' a poetic inversion of
'resting places by water,' where in quietness and peace the sheep slakes its
thirst and its strength is refreshed and revived. These blessings of food, water,
and rest are the lot of the sheep because it is led in right paths. The good
shepherd guides the sheep on paths that lead right to the sources of life, peace,
and happiness, and keeps it from straying into the wrong paths." (IB, p. 125-127)

"Although sheep thrive in dry, semi-arid country, they still require water. It
will be noticed that here again the key or the clue to where water can be
obtained lies with the shepherd. It is he who knows where the best drinking
places are. . . . When sheep are thirsty, they become restless and set out in
search of water to satisfy their thirst. If not led to the good water supplies of
clean, pure water, they will often end up drinking from the polluted pot holes
where they pick up . . . parasites . . . or other disease germs. . . . Water for
sheep came from three main sources . . . dew on the grass . . . deep wells . . . or
springs and streams. . . . Most people are not aware that sheep can go for months
on end, especially if the weather is not too hot, without actually drinking, if there
is heavy dew on the grass each morning. . . . The good shepherd makes sure that
his sheep can be out and grazing on this dew drenched vegetation." (Keller)

"Notice that the refreshing beside still waters comes before the severest part of
the journey. The reserves of energy are first secured." (IB, p. 127)

"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm,
and in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." (Isaiah 40:11)

"RIVER. Channel of thought. When smooth and unobstructed, it typifies the
course of Truth; but muddy, foaming, and dashing, it is a type of error."
(S&H 593)

"[Love] leadeth me beside the still waters." (S&H, p. 578)


HE RESTORETH MY SOUL:

"David was acquainted with the bitterness of feeling hopeless and without
strength in himself. . . . Now there is an exact parallel to this in caring for
sheep. Only those intimately acquainted with sheep and their habits understand
the significance of a 'cast' sheep' or a 'cast down' sheep. . . .This is an old
English shepherd's term for a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot
get up again by itself. A 'cast' sheep is a very pathetic sight. Lying on its back,
its feet in the air, it flays away frantically struggling to stand up, without success.
Sometimes it will bleat a little for help, but generally it lies there lashing about
in frightened frustration. . . . If the owner does not arrive on the scene within a
reasonably short time, the sheep will die. . . . Again and again I would spend
hours searching for a single sheep that was missing. . . As soon as I reached the
cast ewe, my very first impulse was to pick it up . . . I would hold her erect,
rubbing her limbs to restore the circulation to her legs. When the sheep started
to walk again, she often stumbled, staggered and collapsed. Little by little the
sheep would regain its equillibrum. It would start to walk steadily and surely.
By and by it would dash away to rejoin the others, set free from its fears and
frustrations, given another chance to live a little longer. All of this pageantry
is conveyed to my heart and mind when I repeat the simple statesment, 'He
restoreth my soul.'" (Keller)

"The restored soul is expected to renew the pilgrimage. Life is to be a
movement, not a stagnation. 'Excelsior' is always to be the device on our
banners; green pastures and still waters afford no permanent dwelling. If we
are content with them and nothing else, God may have to drive us forth.
The new energy we have gained has to be used, always under his continued
leading, along 'straight paths' -- the highways, possibly the dusty highways,
of duty.' (IB, p. 125)

"Soul is Life, and being spiritual Life, never sins. Material sense is the so-
called material life. Hence this lower sense sins and suffers, according to
material belief, till divine understanding takes away this belief and restores
Soul, or spiritual Life. 'He restoreth my soul,' says David." (Unity of Good,
by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 30)

"[Love] restoreth my soul [spiritual sense]:" (S&H, p. 578)


HE LEADETH ME IN THE PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, FOR HIS
NAME'S SAKE:

"The 'paths of righteousness' were age-old sheep-walks." (Harper's Bible
Dictionary, p. 674)

"The 'paths of righteousness' strictly are 'straight' or 'direct' paths. The journey
is not haphazard. The paths lead somewhere: straight paths lead straight
somewhere. The imagery requires that that somewhere should be the fold,
which for the sheep is home. They have been awakened in the morning; they
have been led to the mountainsides of pasturage, where necessarily they have
been given rest for tired hoofs and weary limbs; and now it is eventide, and
they must take the track again to reach the fold before nightfall. The essence
of the clause is given if we translate, 'He leadeth me by paths that run straight

home for his name's sake.' Where would you be going at night, except home?"
(IB, p. 125-126)

"The ability to throw a well-aimed stone was useful to head off a straying sheep,
but on one occasion in 1947 a boy missed his aim, and the stone fell into a cave
and resulted in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls!" (Hastings Dictionary of
the Bible, p. 904)

"Sheep are notorious creatures of habit. If left to themselves they will follow
the same trails until they become ruts; graze the same hills until they turn to
desert wastes; pollute their own ground until it is corrupt with disease and
parasites. . . . The greatest single safeguard which a shepherd has in handling
his flock is to keep them on the move . . . they dare not be left on the same
ground too long. They must be shifted from pasture to pasture periodically.
This prevents overgrazing of the forage. It forestalls the re-infestation of the
sheep with internal parasites or disease, since the sheep move off the infested
ground before these organisms complete their life cycles." (Keller)

"'For his name's sake' may mean 'in order that his name may be exalted' or,
more probably, 'because that is the kind of God he is.'" (Interpreter's One-
Volume Commentary, pg 269)

"'For his name's sake': in consistency with the character which He has already
made known." (Dummelow's One Volume Bible Commentary, p. 339)

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

"Through the wholesome chastisements of Love, we are helped onward in the
march towards righteousness, peace, and purity, which are the landmarks of
Science." (S&H, p. 322)

"[Love] leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."
(S&H, p. 578)


YEA, THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF
DEATH, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL: FOR THOU ART WITH ME:

"'The valley of the shadow,' which called for extra shepherding, was the deep
rock-cleft wadi where serpents lurked." (Harper's Bible Dictionary of the
Bible, p. 904)

"The reference in Ps. 23 to the 'valley of the shadow of death' may be simply
figurative of a place of peril and loneliness, or, as Gunkel holds, the place
through which the ancient Hebrew supposed the soul had to pass on the way
to the underworld." (Hastings Dictionary of the Bible, p. 904)

"The sheep is also the object of the shepherd's protecting care: 'though I walk
through a valley of dark shadows,' where robbers and beasts of prey lurk,
'I fear no evil.' The scribal copyists pointed the word for 'dark shadows' to
read 'the shadow of death,' thereby in the interest of interpretation spoiling
the psalmist's picture." (IB, p. 127)

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