The Word and the Shepherd

Excerpt

The final stanza contains concluding petitions. Once more the psalmist prays for fuller understanding or discernment, and for the freedom of outward circumstance which will enable him to use it. As a ground of both of these appeals he pleads God’s word of promise. He prays for a spirit of joyous, exuberant thankfulness for God’s continuous teaching, and for the character of the law which is the substance of that teaching. He asks for help on three grounds: (1) he has deliberately resolved to obey God’s precepts; (2) he has long been waiting eagerly for deliverance from the hindrances to obedience which surround him; and (3) his devotion has been no grudging service, but his constant delight. The object of the revived life for which he has prayed so often in this psalm is that his whole self may praise God. At the moment he is as defenseless as a sheep which has wandered from the flock. Therefore he desperately needs for the good shepherd to “seek,” i.e., rescue, him. More

Smith, James E. The Wisdom Literature and Psalms. Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co., 1996. Print. Old Testament Survey Series.

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