Scripture Devotion
The rest is something the shepherd produces, not something the sheep manages.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”
Reflection
The most familiar words in the Psalter, and worth slowing down on. The claim is personal — my shepherd, not a shepherd in general — and the result is a settled contentment: I shall not want. Not "I have everything I desire," but "I lack nothing I need," because the shepherd is attending to it. And notice how much of what follows is the shepherd making the sheep rest: he maketh me to lie down, he leadeth me beside still waters, he restoreth my soul. Sheep don't lie down easily when anxious; the rest is something the shepherd produces, not something the sheep manages. On a Saturday — the day most suited to it — the verse describes a rest that's led into rather than achieved: green pastures, still waters, a soul restored. Let yourself be made to lie down.