Psalm 23:4 Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me… What is the shepherd's rod? It is the symbol of his defending power. It is the weapon by which our Shepherd strikes down our adversaries. He is ever on the alert to ward off from us threatening ills. What is the staff? We would rather call it the shepherd's crook, which is often bent or hooked at one end. Beneath it the sheep pass one by one to be numbered or told. By it the shepherd restrains them from wandering, or hooks them out of holes into which they may fall; by it also he corrects them when they are disobedient. In each of these thoughts there is comfort for the tried child of God. We are numbered amongst God's sheep as we pass one by one beneath the touch of the Shepherd's crook. By the Shepherd's staff we are also extricated from circumstances of peril and disaster into which we may have fallen through our own folly and sin. By the staff the shepherd also corrects his sheep. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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