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The Lord is my Shepherd

Sheep

Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2010
Messages
152
I really enjoyed this so I would like to share it with all of my brothers and sisters....

1 A
<SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA;COLOR:#CC0000'> Psalm of David. TheLORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.<O:P></O:P>
</SPAN><O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P>
2 He makethme to lie down in green pastures: he leadethme beside the still waters.<O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P>

3 He restorethmy soul: he leadeth me inthe paths of righteousness for his name's sake.<O:P></O:P><SPANSTYLE='COLOR:BLACK'><O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P></SPAN>

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 comfortme.<O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P>

5 Thou preparesta table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou <SPANCLASS=SPELLE>anointest</SPAN> my head with oil; my cup <SPANCLASS=SPELLE>runneth</SPAN> over.<O:P></O:P><SPANSTYLE='COLOR:BLACK'><O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P></SPAN>

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of mylife: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. (Psalms 23:1-6)<SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA;COLOR:BLACK'> </SPAN><SPANSTYLE='COLOR:BLACK'><O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P></SPAN>

<O:P></O:P><SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA;COLOR:BLACK'><O:P>The Lord Is MyShepherd </SPAN>is more than just words in the Christian world. It has become anicon that stands for the love, comfort, security, mercy and hope that a life inJesus Christ affords. This icon has mainly found its way into our harts andminds through the 23rd Psalm of David. The Shepherd is no other than Jesus.David lived long before Jesus was born, but Jesus was the Old Testament God,known by the Jews as “Jehovah”, or “The LORD”.<O:P></O:P><SPANSTYLE='COLOR:BLACK'><O:P></O:P></SPAN>

<SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA;COLOR:BLACK'>The 23’rd Psalm <ISTYLE='MSO-BIDI-FONT-STYLE:NORMAL'>appears</EM> easy enough </SPAN><SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA;COLOR:BLACK'>to understand at afirst glance. But it contains many of the mysteries of God, and I will revealsome of them to you on this page;</SPAN><O:P></O:P>

<ST1:METRICCONVERTER u1:st="on" ProductID="1 A"><ST1:METRICCONVERTER ProductID="1 A" u2:st="on"><SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA;COLOR:#CC0000'>3 He <SPANCLASS=SPELLE>restoreth</SPAN> my soul: he <SPANCLASS=SPELLE>leadeth</SPAN> me in the paths ofrighteousness for his name's sake.<O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P></SPAN><SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;COLOR:BLACK'><O:P></O:P></SPAN>

<SPANSTYLE='FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'>"He Restoreth My Soul"<O:P></O:P></SPAN><O:P></O:P>

<SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'>Only that which is broken or lostcan be restored! </SPAN>Wesometimes fail to keep our souls clean and prepared to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And since no un-clean thing can dwellwith God, we oft-times mess up our position to return to our Heavenly Father.This fact brings sorrow to our soul. Therefore, as lost lambs we turn to thetrue and good Shepherd with a broken heart and contrite spirit; then themiracle; he restores my soul! And not only that; from that moment He leads mein the paths of righteousness as if my soul never did transgress in the firstplace; my soul is truly restored in the sight of the Shepherd.<O:P></O:P>
<O:P></O:P>

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.<O:P></O:P><BSTYLE='MSO-BIDI-FONT-WEIGHT:NORMAL'></STRONG><O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P>

<SPANSTYLE='FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'>"The Valley of the Shadow of Death"<O:P></O:P></SPAN><O:P></O:P>

<SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'>The “Valley of the Shadow ofDeath” is this entire Earth-life! </SPAN>This is why David doesn’t say; at times, when I walkthrough the valley…etc., or something of that nature. “Though I walkthrough the valley…” means nothing other than; since I walk through the valley of the shadow of death… Weare all constantly in the presence of death in this valley of our earthlyexistence, and at the end we will all be taken by death. But we will need tofear no evil: for Jesus art with us; his rod and his staff they comfort us.<O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P>

<SPANSTYLE='FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'>"Thy Rod and Thy Staff"<O:P></O:P></SPAN><O:P></O:P>

<SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'>‘The Rod of his Mouth’ </SPAN><SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'>is a scriptural metaphor, meaning;the tongue of the Lord, or in other words; everyword that proceeds from the mouth of God.</SPAN> <O:P></O:P>Surroundedby enemies, danger and death during this earth-life, David found comfort in thevoice of the Shepherd; though often demanding – it is always the voice ofrescue.<O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P>

‘The Staffof God’ stands as a symbol for every means of power that theLord might use to lead and/or protect his fold. It can be revelations,chastisements, any means through which he might mightily shake the earth, suchas plagues, famines, draughts, etc. It can also be the men of God who have madethe power of God manifest in the eyes of the people. Examples of a ‘staff ofGod’ are, for example, John the Baptist and Moses. These men were both livingamong us, clearly visible, tangible, and no doubt they were the ‘elongated armof God’, just as staffs are extensions of the arms of men. <O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P>

Every manwho has been ordained to the priesthood of God (by one holding the properauthority), who execute their calling in the priesthood with a pure heart andclean hands before the Lord, and by the power of God in the eyes of the people,is, by definition, a ‘staff of God’. The fruitsof such men could be considered Holy Scripture.Therefore, the Holy Scriptures are ‘staff of God’, too, since theycontain the fruits of the good tree.<O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P>

5 Thou <SPANCLASS=SPELLE>preparest</SPAN> a table before me inthe presence of mine enemies: thou anointestmy head with oil; my cup runnethover.<O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P>

<SPANSTYLE='FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'>"Thou Anointest my Head with Oil"<O:P></O:P></SPAN><O:P></O:P>

<SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'>‘To have ones head anointed withoil’ has a deeply symbolic meaning. </SPAN><SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'>The oil mentioned is olive-oil,pressed from an olive-press, in Hebrew called 'Gethsemanem’. <AHREF="HTTP: target="_blank" href="http://www.jesus-explained.org" Jesus Explained gethsemane.html?>Just as Jesus bled from every pore inthe garden of Gethsemane because of the weight that was laid upon him, so theoil was squashed out of every pore of the olives in the oil-press</SPAN>.The use of olive-oil to anoint kings and priests, and to anoint the heads ofpeople to restore their health, was a very clear prophecy that Jesus one daywould take the burdens and sufferings in the <ST1:PLACE u3:st="on"><ST1:PLACETYPE u3:st="on"><ST1:PLACEW:ST="ON"><ST1:PLACETYPE w:st="on">Garden</ST1:PLACETYPE></ST1:PLACETYPE> of <ST1:PLACENAME u3:st="on"><ST1:PLACENAME w:st="on">Gethsemane</ST1:PLACENAME></ST1:PLACE></ST1:PLACENAME>. <O:P></O:P>Itis an offense against God to take it upon oneself to begin to anoint peoplewith oil before one have received the power of God to do so by the laying on ofhands by one having authority.</SPAN><O:P></O:P>

<SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'>The people so anointed would placetheir faith in the blood of the coming sacrifice of the Christ.</SPAN><SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'> Not many of the Jews understoodthis, but then again, there were not many Jews who were anointed witholive-oil. Those who were prophets and knew just as much asthe Christians were to do in years to come. Among the early Saints therewere many who were anointed with olive oil, and they were taught by theApostles to understand the meaning. Among true Saints today the anointing witholive-oil is common-place.<O:P></O:P></SPAN><O:P></O:P>

<SPANSTYLE='FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'>"My Cup Runneth Over" <O:P></O:P></SPAN><O:P></O:P>

<SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'>A cup is something used to containliquid in.</SPAN> Bread,grapes, money, knives or other solid objects are seldom kept in a cup. Butwine, milk, honey, sand, and other substances that have running properties canfavorably be kept in cups. I deliberately left out one liquid, and it is theone intended by David, namely Olive-oil!<O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P>

<SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'>We already mentioned the symbolicmeaning of olive-oil, but we did not look at the main use of the blood that wasspilt by the Messiah;</SPAN>The blood spilt by him was so that my blood, and yours, must not be spilt; forwhen our blood is spilt it is irreversible, due to our sinful nature and past,but when it was spilt by the Messiah it was only for a short while, sincenothing can bind an innocent man!<O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P>

“<BSTYLE='MSO-BIDI-FONT-WEIGHT:NORMAL'>Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over (with said oil). </STRONG>It is easy to see that a full cup of olive-oil issymbolic for receiving a full pardon from the Lord for all the sins we havecommitted. My cup runneth over means that the atoning blood of Jesus Christ shall flow from my cup -because of my faith and obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel – toalso include those of my family who are born within the covenant of the Lord.<O:P></O:P><O:P></O:P>

6 Surelygoodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell inthe house of the LORD for ever. (Psalms 23:1-6)
</BSTYLE='MSO-BIDI-FONT-WEIGHT:NORMAL'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></ST1:PLACEW:ST="ON"></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></BSTYLE='MSO-BIDI-FONT-WEIGHT:NORMAL'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;COLOR:BLACK'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA;COLOR:#CC0000'></ST1:METRICCONVERTER></ST1:METRICCONVERTER></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA;COLOR:BLACK'></ISTYLE='MSO-BIDI-FONT-STYLE:NORMAL'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA;COLOR:BLACK'></SPANSTYLE='COLOR:BLACK'></O:P></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA;COLOR:BLACK'></SPANSTYLE='COLOR:BLACK'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA;COLOR:BLACK'></SPANSTYLE='COLOR:BLACK'></SPANSTYLE='COLOR:BLACK'></SPANSTYLE='FONT-SIZE:10.0PT;FONT-FAMILY:VERDANA;COLOR:#CC0000'>
 
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