Immediately, we can see the good care of the shepherd. In everything he wants to provide the best to his sheep: green pastures and refreshing water. The images here transcend reality with which a shepherd in Israel is confronted. At best, the pastures were green three months of the year, and finding water was a challenge all the time. A shepherd had to make a serious effort to give his flock what they needed. But this shepherd succeeds wonderfully.
This lavish image paints a picture of how glorious the Lord cares for his own. With him they can catch their breath. They can take on life with its challenges. They remain full of hope and faith. Someone once wrote: Indeed these are the still waters which nourish human souls, anchor them in hope, raise them from hopelessness, command them to work (in ministry), establish them in love, and foremost give them stored up nourishment (to produce) all the fruit of the heavenly kingdom
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2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.