About this print

Jesus With His Sheep, Psalm 23:1

The Good Shepherd at rest beside the water, keeping watch while his flock sleeps and drinks, under the psalm's opening line.

What is painted

Jesus sits on a grassy bank, a slate blue mantle over his white robe and a long rust red stole draped from his shoulder. His right hand holds a curved wooden staff; his left rests on his knee. His head is bowed toward his flock.

At his left a sheep lies asleep with its eyes closed. On his right one sheep stands looking out at us while another bends to drink from a small clear pool edged with stones. Wildflowers dot the grass. Above, in a soft brown script: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”, and Psalm 23:1. The watercolor is outlined in fine ink, with pale washes of blue, rust and green.

A shepherd who knows where the water is

Psalm 23 moves in a single line from need to rest. The first verse makes the claim, and the second shows what it looks like: green pastures, and being led beside the still waters. A flock cannot find water on its own in dry hill country; the shepherd has to lead it there. That is the moment this painting chooses, the flock already at the pool.

The Old Testament uses the image of a shepherd for God again and again. In Ezekiel 34 God rebukes the careless shepherds of Israel and promises: “I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away.”

Jesus claims the title for himself in John 10:14: “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” Peter later calls him the chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). So when Christians read Psalm 23, they see this figure, sitting with his flock content to stay as long as they need him.

For comfort, and for a child's room

Psalm 23 is read at many funerals, and this print is often given in sympathy, or hung in memory of someone. It is equally at home in a nursery or a child's bedroom, where the sleeping sheep and the calm water say that all is well, and it is a good baptism or dedication gift.

As Christian wall art it is gentle and light, with a lot of open paper. The Christian poster is printed to order in the US on thick archival matte paper, ships free within the US and is sent unframed, with a paper margin around the scene. Choose from 5x7 to 24x36, metric and A sizes, or a digital file.

Several other verses of Psalm 23 are painted in this series, each with its own scene. Read Psalm 23 and what it means