Psalm 23:4c “…Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.” In studying the Bible, you will find many analogies; but one very popular one is the analogy of the sheep and their Shepherd. If you have had the chance to read some of my previous postings, you have found how comforting this truly is. And this phrase—Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me—is equally as comforting. Think for a minute of a shepherd. There are many jobs a shepherd must do, but primarily their job is to protect and to guide their sheep. Sheep, unfortunately, can be very dumb and willful…not a very complimentary thing to say about us, as sheep! The shepherd must be very protective, as well as being very caring, compassionate and longsuffering. First of all, let’s define the rod and the staff . The rod can be likened to a club. It is the shepherd’s primary tool for protecting, as w...