Search Illustrations
Psalm 23 · WEB
1Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.
2He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
3He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name`s sake.
4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil. My cup runs over.
6Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in Yahweh's house forever.
44 results found
The Community as Green Pasture - Anabaptist (Psalm 23)
A Mennonite farmer faced foreclosure during the farm crisis of the 1980s. His community gathered—not just to pray but to pay. Families contributed what they could; the farm was saved. One neighbor sai
Billy Graham's Final Confidence - Baptist (Psalm 23)
In his final years, Billy Graham often spoke of death. He wasn't afraid. "I know where I'm going," he said simply. Psalm 23 had been his companion for decades—preached countless times, claimed persona
The "I Shall Not Want" of Providence - Reformed (Psalm 23)
When John Calvin was dying, friends urged him to stop working. He refused: "Would you have the Lord find me idle?" His trust in providence was complete. "I shall not want" meant: whatever comes is fro
The Psalm That Sustained Slaves - Black Church (Psalm 23)
Enslaved African Americans clung to Psalm 23. "I shall not want"—when they were denied everything. "Green pastures"—while working fields that weren't their own. "Valley of the shadow of death"—under t
The Eucharistic Table of Psalm 23 - Catholic (Psalm 23)
"You prepare a table before me"—Catholics see this fulfilled in the Eucharist. Every Mass, the Lord prepares a table: bread become Body, wine become Blood. The Shepherd feeds His flock with Himself. P
The Real Work of a Shepherd - Traditional (Psalm 23)
Modern people romanticize shepherds. In ancient Israel, it was dirty, dangerous, lowly work. Shepherds slept with their sheep, fought off lions and bears, searched for wanderers in ravines. They liter
Jesus the Good Shepherd - Christocentric (Psalm 23)
In John 10, Jesus made an audacious claim: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." He was claiming to be the LORD of Psalm 23—David's divine Shepherd made flesh.
The Presence in the Valley - Pentecostal (Psalm 23)
A woman diagnosed with cancer said the hardest part wasn't the treatment—it was the fear at 3 AM when she couldn't sleep. One night, overwhelmed, she started whispering Psalm 23. "Even though I walk t
The Missionary Who Lost Everything - Missional (Psalm 23)
A missionary family lost everything in a flood—home, possessions, ministry materials, years of work. Evacuated with nothing, they sat in a shelter as Psalm 23 came over the radio. "I shall not want."
Bonhoeffer's Psalm 23 in Tegel - Lutheran (Psalm 23)
From his prison cell in Tegel, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to a friend: "The Psalms have been extraordinarily helpful... Psalm 23 especially." He was awaiting possible execution, surrounded by enemies,
The Shepherd Through All Ages - Dispensational (Psalm 23)
Psalm 23 spans dispensations. David wrote it in the age of law; it applies perfectly in the age of grace. It will be true in the millennium when the Good Shepherd rules from Jerusalem. "I shall dwell
The Funeral Psalm That Is Really About Life - Anglican (Psalm 23)
Psalm 23 is the most requested scripture at funerals. But notice: it's about life, not death. Green pastures, still waters, paths of righteousness—all present tense. Even "the valley of the shadow of
John Wesley's Heart Strangely Warmed - Wesleyan (Psalm 23)
Before Aldersgate, John Wesley was a missionary, a priest, a religious rule-keeper—but he knew something was missing. He feared death; he lacked assurance. Then, hearing Luther's preface to Romans, he
The Paschal Psalm - Orthodox (Psalm 23)
In Orthodox tradition, Psalm 23 is sung during the Paschal (Easter) liturgy. Why? Because "the valley of the shadow of death" leads to "dwell in the house of the LORD forever." Death is a valley to pa
The Poor Man's Psalm - Liberation (Psalm 23)
Oscar Romero often preached Psalm 23 to the campesinos of El Salvador. "God is YOUR shepherd," he told people who owned nothing. "You shall not want"—not because poverty doesn't matter, but because Go
Psalm 23 in the Shadow of Systems - Progressive (Psalm 23)
When migrant families recite Psalm 23 in detention centers, "valley of the shadow of death" isn't metaphor. When refugees fleeing violence whisper "I shall not want," they know real want. The psalm be
Tim Keller on the Shepherd Who Seeks - Missional (Psalm 23)
"In the ancient world, gods didn't seek people—people sought gods. But our Shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to find the one. He leads, guides, pursues. Mission flows from this: we seek others because H
Karl Barth on Christ the Good Shepherd - Christocentric (Psalm 23)
"When we read 'The Lord is my shepherd,' we must hear Jesus saying 'I am the good shepherd.' Christ is the fulfillment of Psalm 23. He is the one who leads, feeds, protects, anoints, and prepares the
J. Vernon McGee on Israel's Shepherd and Ours - Dispensational (Psalm 23)
"David wrote this Psalm looking forward to the Messiah-Shepherd. Israel awaits the fulfillment when Messiah reigns and literally shepherds His people. But in this church age, we too have the Good Shep
Stanley Hauerwas on the Community of Sheep - Anabaptist (Psalm 23)
"Note that sheep travel in flocks. 'The Lord is MY shepherd' is spoken within community. We are not isolated individuals with personal shepherds; we are a flock, together following, together fed, toge