“The Lord is my Shepherd”

“The Lord is my shepherd,” among other things, means “I have no police protection.” In those open trackless spaces the traveler and his companions are alone. Thieves, wild animals, snakes, sudden blinding dust storms, water shortages, loose rocks and furnace-like heat are all potential threats to any traveler.

All of this was affirmed in the twelfth century in the Armenian Orthodox tradition through the extensive commentary on the Psalms composed by Archbishop Nerses of Lambron in Armenia.

He wrote:

“The Lord is my shepherd.” In other words, I wandered in the…