Psalm 23 (KJV 1900):
A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 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.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Amen!
This is the one I memorized, kjv… it roles off the lips easier.
No offense to Douay Rheims version! I personally use that version.
Here is the Douay Rheims version of this Psalm. Notice that it is numbered, 22.
Psalm 22 (D-R):
A psalm for David.
THE Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing.
2 He hath set me in a place of pasture. He hath brought me up, on the water of refreshment:
3 He hath converted my soul. He hath led me on the paths of justice, for his own name’s sake.
4 For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me.
5 Thou hast prepared a table before me against them that afflict me. Thou hast anointed my head with oil; and my chalice which inebreateth me, how goodly is it!
6 And thy mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And that I may dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of days.
Amen!
Been looking through the Psalms lately, looking, and finding solace, and comfort in my God’s Holy Scripture especially in regards to the poor, and His love towards us!
What I find frustrating is the poor either don’t want to hear how much God loves the them personally. They usually mumble something under their breath not quite auditable, and then change the subject…,
Or, they say, oh yeah, and he picked me up in his UFO last year…. AND we did some lsd together… then here come the myths… That’s if they are not pulling your leg?! Some take their stories very seriously, and of course we all do.
I had one gentleman say to me, your church is the whore of babylon! He does have a demon of alcohol/addiction in his life. More than once he has said that, and I didn’t say anything… I lift him up to Mother Mary, and her Son! Instead of the other thoughts I could entertain, and they do come around, and my old nature, my flesh, wants to lash out and defend my holy Queen’s honor!? Well… That’s not the example I see within the lives of Jesus or His blessed Mother Mary whom I say I follow!
It can be really discouraging at moments… Sending me straight to my knees…
Help O Lord, and Mother Mary please pray for us! Especially for me, because I am so vulnerable, and weak!?
And honestly… Any inclination to pray… To think of and about God, and His kingdom is pure grace to me!! It doesn’t come naturally.
For me the 23rd Psalm is a condensed version of the Lord’s gospel… His good news to none other than the poor!
Don’t believe me, that’s okay. It came from His own lips…
And Jesus returned in the power of the spirit, into Galilee: and the fame of him went out through the whole country.
15 And he taught in their synagogues and was magnified by all.
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he was brought up: and he went into the synagogue, according to his custom, on the sabbath day: and he rose up to read.
17 And the book of Isaias the prophet was delivered unto him. And as he unfolded the book, he found the place where it was written:
18 The spirit of the Lord is upon me. Wherefore he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath sent me to heal the contrite of heart,
And His true followers, the sheep who hear Him calling…know the sound of His voice, and will only responded to Him! They know who are the wolves in sheep’s clothing, and flee from them, and their deceitful lies especially in regards to the treatment of His poor, widows, orphans fatherless… All of these are here on the streets… Waiting for you to show them the true meaning of God’s mercy, and justice, His justice! Just as He has shown you, and more!!!
Thank you for stopping by and reading the writings of this crazy old man who wrestles with God!
Lord have mercy!?
God bless you all, and your families!
PS: I’ve been working on the Isaiah piece, and it has grown into something of it’s own. So please pray for me, and bear with me, and I’ll get it done, with God’s grace!?
Is it just me, or is the world insane? 
Thanx for this. Always glad to see signs of life on your blog. I feel a little like the king who put Daniel in the lion’s den. His hands were tied. He had been manipulated into doing it. The law must be obeyed, but it surely was NOT his heart’s desire. Just the opposite.
So I love how the text depicts the king who got twisted into do this evil thing. He races to the lion’s den early in the morning to check on Daniel.
Let that bake your noodle!
Right off, I see the women coming to the tomb of Jesus foreshadowed in this Daniel text. I think the writers of the Gospels want me to make that connection alright. But in the king’s case, there are further complications. Yes, it was his own sin that put Daniel in that lion’s den, but his heart just cannot stand it. He KNOWS good and well that Daniel is lion poop, but he runs at daybreak just to check…
That’s something in his heart that had got around his head. He has NO rational reason to go check. In fact, he has good rational reason NOT to check – since the scene will be so horrible. NO ONE EVER SURViVES the lion’s den. (Jesus does not survive crucifixion either!)
But he loves Daniel and just has to go see.
The women in the Gospels ostensibly come planning to complete the burial process. They have rationale for showing up. Same surprise, but they have this rationale. The king in Daniel does not. He just has his own jammed up love for Daniel that cant accept his death.
I find myself thinking of that when I find you blogging. A spiritual kinship with THOSE people and THAT issue.
I take great comfort finding you alive and blogging.
God bless you…
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