Do art critics give awards to the canvas? Can you imagine a scalpel growing smug after a successful heart transplant? Of course not. And the message of the Twenty-Third Psalm is that we have nothing to be proud about either. We have rest, salvation, blessings, and a home in heaven—and we did nothing to earn any of it. Who did the work? The answer threads through the Psalm. . .
He makes me. . .
He leads me. . .
He restores my soul. . .
You are with me. . .
Your rod and staff comfort me. . .
You prepare a table. . .
You anoint my head. . .
And just to make sure we get the point, right in the middle of the poem, David declares, the shepherd leads his sheep, not for our names’ sake, but for “His name’s sake!”
From Traveling Light
