Psalms 22 – 24 are a trio of Psalms that collectively are known by Theologians as The Cross, the Crook, and the Crown, so called because within each Psalm we discover Jesus, or to be more precise, we discover who Jesus is.
Psalm 22 is a clear reference to the Cross of Jesus and how He is the redeemer of all mankind; Psalm 23 is a clear reference to Jesus’ love, care, and compassion for His people and how He is their Great Shepherd; and Psalm 24 is a clear reference to Jesus’ Royalty, and how He is the Sovereign King who will one day rule and reign upon the Earth in majesty, power, truth, justice, and righteousness.
Although all 3 were written approximately 1000 years before Jesus’ incarnation, they each paint a vivid prophetic picture of who Jesus is and what Jesus will do, and of the 3, Psalm 23 – the Crook – is arguably the most popular and the most comforting passages of scripture among believers for the simple reason it reminds us of just how much we are loved and cared for by Jesus.
When we are experiencing difficult and challenging times – like the ongoing threat of Covid19 and the continuing effect it is having upon each of our lives – we all need to be reminded of just how precious we are to him, and that despite this current time of adversity and uncertainty, He is with us, He is close to us, and He will never leave us or forsake us.
In the first of a two-part reflection on Psalm 23, I want to consider afresh what David the author of the Psalm has to say about Jesus our Great Shepherd, and I want to begin with the Great Shepherd himself.
David opens His Psalm with the words ‘The Lord’, and the Hebrew word he used was the word ‘Jehovah’ which means ‘eternal one’. This was the word God used for himself in Exodus Chapter 6 verses 2 & 3 when he renewed His Covenant with Moses, so by using ‘The Lord’ at the very beginning of His Psalm, David’s readers will immediately know he is referring to ‘Jehovah the eternal One’.
