By Sandy Mayle
What would Psalm 23 sound like from the perspective of a New Testament sheep? “The Sheep’s Psalm” might go something like this:
1Jesus is my Good Shepherd; I am living his abundant life.
2He calls to me, “Come—you are weary and burdened; I will make you lie down in green pastures.” He fills me with Living Water; its streams flow out from within me.
3He brings to my soul times of refreshing. He knows me and I know him. I listen to his voice and follow him as he guides me along paths of righteousness, all for his name’s sake.
4When I walk through the Dark Valley, I will dread no evil, for shepherd Jesus is with me. His Word and his holy spirit, they comfort me.
5On Calvary he prepared, in my place, a table before my enemies. And he calls me today to share in Communion with him, remembering his sacrifice there: the bread of his body given for me; the cup of his blood shed for me. He anoints me with the oil of joy; truly, my cup overspills.
6I know that his good love will trail in my wake as long as I live. And when faith turns to sight and my Good Shepherd appears before me, I will dwell in his presence forever.
Yes, “on Calvary he prepared, in our place, a table before our enemies.”
We come now to the table he has prepared for us. It is a table of victory over the enemy of death, of triumph over the enemy named Satan and his evil forces, of freedom from the enemy of our own traitorous flesh. Here we celebrate the unspeakable liberty and joy of being a sheep within the fold of Christ, and here we proclaim the Lord’s overcoming death, until he comes again.
Sandy Mayle is a freelance writer who lives in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Powerful, visually evocative.