The Lord is my Shepard

Bobby McFerrin does a great version of the Lord's prayer that comes at it from a different angle.

The 23rd Psalm Lyrics - Bobby McFerrin

The Lord is my Shepard, I have all I need, 
She makes me lie down in green meadows, 
Beside the still waters, She will lead.

She restores my soul, She rights my wrongs, 
She leads me in a path of good things, 
And fills my heart with songs.

Even though I walk, through a dark & dreary land, 
There is nothing that can shake me, 
She has said She won't forsake me, 
I'm in her hand.

She sets a table before me, in the presence of my foes, 

She anoints my head with oil, 
And my cup overflows.

Surely, surely goodness & kindness will follow me, 
All the days of my life, 
And I will live in her house, 
Forever, forever & ever.

Glory be to our Mother, & Daughter, 
And to the Holy of Holies, 
As it was in the beginning, is now & ever shall be, 
World, without end. Amen

Good shepherd coloring

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The darker realities of Sheep

"...The biblical imagery of sheep and their shepherd does not quite match our assumptions--be they positive or negative assumptions. None of our metaphors of sheep quite matches the picture of Psalm 23 that we admired in Sunday school. Certainly, faith in God as provider and protector is there--but so are the shadowed valleys, surrounding enemies, potential lynch mobs, ordeals and even crucifixion.
These sheep are not the blindly obedient animals that we find unsuitable models for children. Rather, the images of sheep are put together with darker realities. These passages give every evidence of being crafted by thoughtful and deeply experienced writers who are trying to communicate what it means to live by a radical trust in God in the midst of terror, pain and death--some of the greatest challenges to faith.
Finally, these readings are not what we call “allegory”, drawing out every analogy to sheep that can be made and offering sheep as a model for Christian life. Sheep in the fullness of their animal existence are neither a good model for Christian life nor any other kind of human life. Rather, this is a metaphor that shows us a part of faith that carries us through our darkest hours. This trust, like the ways of a sheep with its shepherd, is a radical trust that empowers us to believe that life has Christian meaning, even though our immediate experience may be telling us otherwise."  

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Mary Schertz is professor of New Testament at Associate Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana,