Tuesday, April 24, 2007

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

This book was written back in 1970 by author Phillip Keller. Mr. Keller is from East Africa as he was born to missionary parents. There he tended sheep as a shepherd and as his life went on, from what I understand, did many other things his in his life.


This book walked through Psalm 23, as the title purports, from the view of the shepherd which was very helpful. The one that really caught me off guard was the commentary on Psalm 23:5b which states, "You have anointed my head with oil." Keller gives insight that for the sheep, this is done to ward off the flies and insects that come and disrupt the sheep and can actually lie eggs in their nostrils and cause the sheep to bang their heads on trees (sometimes to the point of death) so that they can rid themselves of these larvae. This oil is carefully rubbed, by the shepherd, on the sheep's head and nose to make sure the sheep are not bothered by these insects. This parallel makes a lot more sense when thought of our Saviour anointed our head with oil to ward off the things of this world that can so consume us.
This is just one of the many insights given by a shepherd to this great Psalm that is known by so many Christians and non-Christians alike.

The only downfall to this book is that the author is not a scholar nor a theologian. So, when he starts to unravel some of the Psalm he uses other Scriptures out of place and also draws unbiblical examples with the sheep that fall short of sound doctrine. But don't let this draw you away from the book for the good far outweighs the bad, as the bad only came up three or four times to my recollection.

This book would be a good addition to any Christian who would like to glean more from such a popular text. Link to Buy

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