Customer Reviews

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

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Here is a book that expounds Psalm 23 like you won't likely find elsewhere. Who else could explain Psalm 23 but a shepherd who also is born again? who understands the shepherding concept of God in the Bible? This book will get you thinking "out of the box" of typical interpretation (as sincere as many Bible interpreters are) and bring you into the realm of sheperding reality as it applies to the believer's life. When God wrote about shepherds and shepherding, He used a lifestyle that the Hebrews would understand. Did you know that the shadow of death is not about dying? Did you know that, while this Psalm is useful for deathbed circumstances, it is most applicable to the living and their daily circumstances? Phillip Keller has done a wonderful job. Even when one reads Charles Spurgeon's "The Treasury of David" as he and numerous other commentators address Psalm 23, they miss the mark noticeably because they aren't shepherds. Whether you are going to teach Psalm 23 or use it for prayer, or song worship (for which it is intended), you probably won't find a better book written than this one. You won't believe what you've been missing in this Psalm. You can't read it just once, almost just like the Psalm itself.

This is an abridged version of what is already a short book. I bought it on Amazon by mistakte thinking it was the original. The full version of the book is wonderful, and part of what makes it so are the author's descriptions of his own experiences. Those are largely missing in the abridged version.

This little book provides a deeper, richer vision of the Good Shepherd in the context of Psalm 23.

The role of the Shepherd in the lives of sheep; leader, comforter, caregiver, provider, protector, and owner brings rich spiritual insights to Jesus' role in the life of the believer. The parallels are insightful, moving, and profoundly relevant to the Christian experience.

Using personal stories from life as a shepherd accompanied by illustrations drawn from the scripture, Keller provides concerete, specific narrative about being a sheep as well as being a shepherd!

This is a sweet gem of a book bringing to life a favorite passage of scripture.

Mr. Keller is very good at bringing to life the shepherd's view as expressed in the 23rd Psalm. He is personally aquainted with the Eastern way of sheep ranching, which of couse is the method employed and understood by David, the psalm's writer. More than just being insightful into the shepherd's mind-set and references, he takes us beyond the physical realm to the spiritual applications that were intended by the the Lord, who inspired David to write it. Herein lies the real worth of this book, because we are brought to see the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and how He is caring for the sheep of His pasture. It brings great comfort to know the love and care that My Shepherd exhibits for me. I recommend it to read by all those who have called upon the Lord and have let Him be their Shepherd. As they read this book they'll understand in a far deeper way the psalms' opening line, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." I also recommend it to those who ! ! are seeking such an encounter with the Lord God. He is patiently waiting your surrender. God bless you and brother Keller.

Here is a book that expounds Psalm 23 like you won't likely find elsewhere. Who else could explain Psalm 23 but a shepherd who also is born again? who understands the shepherding concept of God in the Bible? This book will get you thinking "out of the box" of typical interpretation (as sincere as many Bible interpreters are) and bring you into the realm of sheperding reality as it applies to the believer's life. When God wrote about shepherds and shepherding, He used a lifestyle that the Hebrews would understand. Did you know that the shadow of death is not about dying? Did you know that, while this Psalm is useful for deathbed circumstances, it is most applicable to the living and their daily circumstances? Phillip Keller has done a wonderful job. Even when one reads Charles Spurgeon's "The Treasury of David" as he and numerous other commentators address Psalm 23, they miss the mark noticeably because they aren't shepherds. Whether you are going to teach Psalm 23 or use it for prayer, or song worship (for which it is intended), you probably won't find a better book written than this one. You won't believe what you've been missing in this Psalm. You can't read it just once, almost just like the Psalm itself.

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23I have never much enjoyed art galleries. This may be a little-known fact, but I am color-blind, and I'm sure this explains why art has never had much appeal to me. After all, if I see reds, greens and browns all as shades of brown, surely art is far less appealing to me than to those whose eyes work as they were meant to. But I remember one time when I was a teenager, my family travelled to Washington, D.C. with my aunt and uncle, both of whom are artists. Walking with them through the National Gallery brought about an entirely different perspective. Because they understood art, they were able to explain it to me in a way I had never considered. They showed me variations in texture, spoke about the difficulty of different types of shadowing and lighting, and the different media artists use. It opened my eyes, and in that period of time I came to understand and appreciate art so much more deeply than I had before, despite my limitations.

I think also of a small museum that was situated on the grounds of an airport near my house. This museum housed some of the finest vintage aircraft in the world, including the world's only Lancaster bomber that was still in operational condition and that still flew. It often took to the skies and flew over my home. It was one thing for my friends and myself to go and look at all the planes, perhaps even imagining that we understood what it was like to stare out at a cold, dark sky, keeping a watchful eye for enemy planes. But it was another thing altogether to watch the veterans who had given their best years to the war, and who had spent countless hours inside these planse - so many hours that they still knew the planes inside and out, even fifty years later. The tears in their eyes as they watched the Lancaster fly over their heads spoke of a knowledge far beyond anything I would ever understand.

All this by way of introducing the book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. Just like an artist best appreciates an art museum and a veteran best appreciates the aircraft he once flew, in the same way there may be no better guide for the twenty-third Psalm than a shepherd. Phillip Keller grew up in East Africa, in the midst of a culture that was still rooted in the ancient traditions which the Psalmist knew. Keller was also, for many years, a shepherd, who was well acquainted with the language David employed in this best-loved Psalm.

Keller guides us phrase-by-phrase through this poem, pausing often to reflect on the nature of the shepherd and his flock, and stopping to give stories based on his experiences. He guides the reader throughout to reflect on the love of the Savior and to see the deepest meanings in each part of the Psalm. The reader will find, as the author did, that "...it is no mere whim on God's part to call us sheep. Our behavior patterns and life habits are so much like that of sheep it is well nigh embarrassing" (page 65).

At times I wonder if Keller has not stretched the metaphor just a little bit too far. For example, he contends that the meaning of "thou preparest a table for me" is not that God has prepared a banquet feast, as I have long supposed, but that "table" refers to the top of a hill which a shepherd diligently prepares before the arrival of his flock for their summer pasturage. "Thou anointest my head with oil," according to the author, is drawn from the shepherd's task of putting oil on a sheep's head to ward off the pests that can drive a sheep to distraction. I must say, though, that he provides ample evidence that perhaps we have misunderstood the latter part of the Psalm and that David really was holding to the metaphor of sheep and shepherd.

In either case, it does not detract from the book. This is a wonderful little book that gave me much to think about, and as my wife can attest, plenty to talk about. Above all, it led me to understand, in a deep and moving way, just how much the shepherd (and thus the Shepherd) loves his (His) sheep. It shows just how involved in the lives of his flock the shepherd must be, and how utterly helpless the sheep are without him (Him). It is amazing how much I learned about a Psalm I thought I knew so well.

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 is a fascinating, moving book and one whose content will undoubtedly stay with me for a long time. I highly recommend this book - it will cost only a few dollars and take only a few hours to read - for any believer, young or old.

This is the best book on Psalm 23, an excellent presentation, very easy to read. I think that I have read almost all the major books and papers on Psalm 23 (commentaries, sermons, critical books, papers, and on Shepherd Motif/Imagery) but I still felt to hit a wall to preach Psalm 23 for a long time until this book. The author truly breaks the wall for me to open my eyes to see and preach Psalm 23 and Shepherd in the Bible. Also I provide this book as a required reading for our discipleship and leadership training for last 15 years (and I think that I have bought already a few hundred copies and the other editions including "Phillip Keller: The Inspirational Writings") to my fellow Christians to appreciate Psalm 23.
Richard K. Min, Dallas, Texas

This short paperback book of 142 pages offers as much insight as a book 10 times its size. Phillip Keller gives us a view from the shepherd's eyes and heart that we could not understand by just reading Psalm 23 on our own. By itself Psalm 23 offers great comfort. However when verbally illustrated by a true shepherd one becomes acutely aware of just how much God loves us and the pains He goes through to take care of us. It left me with the deepest appreciation and longing to stay in an intimate relationship with the "good shepherd" and keenly aware of the forces that try to destroy the herd. Even the nonbeliever might find it interesting to see the corelations between sheep and their shepherd and humans and God. Comforting and challenging.

Not only has Phillip Keller brought new meaning to my idea of being a shepherd, he also reminds ever so gently, that I am a sheep, not just in concept but in the reality of so much of my behavior.

This book is a must-read for everyone but especially for those who have a "flock" (of whatever type)

I was very disappointed to receive this book in the mail and see that it was not the entire book by Phillip Keller, but merely excerpts from it. Nowhere on the description page was this VITAL information given. I was led to believe that this edition was a beautifully illustrated and presented issue of the entire publication. At least Amazon has a hassle-free return system.