Like many of the best stories, the Biggest Story has a lot of singing. Over and over, we see the pattern: God saves, and his people sing. There are victory songs from Moses and Miriam, from Deborah and Barak, from Hannah, and from a host of angel armies.

And then there are the Psalms, an entire book—the longest book in the Bible—made up of songs. Happy songs and sad songs, songs about winning and songs about losing, songs to confess our sin and songs to thank God for salvation. They’re all there in the Psalms. It was the church’s first hymnal, and Jesus’s hymnbook too.

Of all the psalms—and there are one hundred and fifty of them—the most famous may be the Twenty-Third Psalm. It’s from David, and it’s about being a good shepherd. David’s shepherd song didn’t rhyme. But if it did, maybe it would sound something like this:

The Lord is my shepherd, I have no need.

He gives me green pastures and makes me to feed.

He brings me to water and strengthens my days.

He gives me straight paths that he may be praised.

Though I walk through the darkness, I will not fear.

His rod and his staff, they always are near.

God makes me a meal when my enemies are tough.

He fills up my cup with much more than enough.

His mercy and goodness will leave me? No never!

I’ll dwell in God’s house forever and ever.

As a young man, David watched his father’s sheep. When David was older, he became king and was responsible for watching over God’s people. So David knew a lot about being a shepherd. But he also knew he was an imperfect shepherd. He needed God to lead him, protect him, feed him, and forgive him.

David knew the Lord’s goodness and mercy all the days of his life. But he never knew the good shepherd who would come from his family tree. Or at least, he didn’t know him in the way we can know him. For we know that the good shepherd doesn’t just lead the sheep and protect the sheep. He lays down his life for the sheep. Our good shepherd is also a Lamb—the perfect sheep to save us from our sins and the perfect shepherd to bring us safely home.