Psalm 23 is the best known, best loved, and most quoted chapter in the Bible. Though David, the shepherd-king, wrote it thousands of years ago, it is still relevant today. Numerous people have rephrased this familiar passage to fit their own ideas, life situations, jobs, or nationalities. A few examples are The American Indian Psalm, a Gardener's Psalm, a Child's Psalm, the Seaman's Psalm, the Japanese Psalm, the Teacher's Psalm... This book contains a collection of those paraphrases, gathered by the author over a long period of years, many of them illustrated by dramatic black and white photographs. A second section, "Stories of My Shepherd," is a devotional commentary on the rewards the author has found in her own life under the watch care of the Shepherd, rewards such as redemption, joy, love, hope. Each story is based on a different phrase of Psalm 23. "Only when we place our trust in Jesus the Good Shepherd," she said, "can we claim the promise, 'I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.'" The reader will find a fresh and deeper glimpse of God's love and care and concern for him. This inspiring book, suitable reading for all ages, would be an excellent gift for any occasion.
For thou art near me Thy love and Thy care, they shelter me. Thou preparest a harbor before me In the homeland of eternity; Thou anointest the waters with oil; My ship rideth calmly. Surely sunlight and starlight Shall favor me on the voyage I take And I will rest in the port of my God forever. -- Captain J. Rogers “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever….” AN OLD HOUSE - AND A NEW I peeped through the keyhole of the dining room door. The great fireplace was cold and empty, the hearth broken at the corner, the striking clock gone from the mantel. Through the kitchen door I could see only a window, but I could remember Grandma opening that window to call to me in the yard. The long dining table was gone, but in memory I saw it along the wall, two windows behind it. Then as I thought of all the faces that used to gather around that table on Sundays or holidays, I realized how many would be missing if we met there again, and I knew with certainty as I stood on the crumbling porch that our family will never gather again around that table. I felt the hot tears roll down my cheeks and heard the echo of Edgar Allan Poe’s raven, “Nevermore, nevermore.” I leaned against the strong trunk of the holly tree beside the house, a tree both my grandmothers planted together as young girls, the largest holly tree I have ever seen. I looked up into its evergreen branches. And Paul’s words came back to me: “What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever. For we know that when this tent we live in - our body here on earth - is torn down, God will have a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself made, which will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18b-5:1 TEV ).