After I wrote the best-selling book Shepherd Leadership, I started naturally gravitating toward anything shepherd related. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 was the perfect fit for me! But I think anyone will enjoy these beautiful insights on Psalm 23. Check out my full book review here.
Here are some quotes that especially caught my eye—
“Sheep do not ‘just take care of themselves’ as some might suppose. They require, more than any other class of livestock, endless attention and meticulous care. … From early dawn until late at night this utterly selfless Shepherd is alert to the welfare of His flock. … Above all, He is very jealous of His name and high reputation as the Good Shepherd. He is the Owner who delights in His flock. For Him there is no greater reward, no deeper satisfaction, than that of seeing His sheep contented, well fed, safe, and flourishing under His care. This is indeed His very ‘life.’ He gives all He has to it. He literally lays Himself out for those who are His. He will go to no end of trouble and labor to supply them with the finest grazing, the richest pasturage, ample winter feed, and clean water. He will spare Himself no pains to provide shelter from storms, protection from ruthless enemies and the diseases and parasites to which sheep are so susceptible.”
“A flock that is restless, discontented, always agitated and disturbed never does well. … When one startled sheep runs in fright, a dozen others will bolt with it in blind fear, not waiting to see what frightened them.”
“In the course of time I came to realize that nothing so quieted and reassured the sheep as to see me in the field. The presence of their master and owner and protector put them at ease as nothing else could do, and this applied day and night. … When my eyes are on my Master they are not on those around me. This is the place of peace.”
“Only those intimately acquainted with sheep and their habits understand the significance of a ‘cast’ sheep or a ‘cast down’ sheep. This is an old English shepherd’s term for a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot get up again by itself.”
“Sheep are notorious creatures of habit. If left to themselves, they will follow the same trails until they become ruts; graze the same hills until they turn to desert wastes; pollute their own ground until it is corrupt with disease and parasites. … No other class of livestock requires more careful handling, more detail direction, than do sheep.”
My Patreon supporters had early access to these quotes, plus I have shared many more quotes from this book with these friends.
My newest book When Sheep Bite is releasing soon. You can pre-order a copy for yourself here.
Craig T. Owens 