The Shepherd (Blake) of The Shepherd as Christ is initially found in another Song, The Little Black Boy. Psalm 23 depicts God as a shepherd of mankind, and the capitalization of the word 'Shepherd' in the first and last lines furthers the idea that the Shepherd is a symbol of God. In the bible, a shepherd's presence is representative of guidance. In this poem, the Shepherd can be viewed as the spiritual guide or a savior of the herd, rejoicing in their numbers. Jesus is also referred to in the bible as the Lamb of God. Since the poem depicts The Shepherd as
Psalm 118 Psalm 118 Psalm 118 is the 118th psalm of the Book of Psalms. Its themes are thanksgiving to God and reliance on God rather than on human strength. This psalm is centered on God, in a movement that expresses gratitude, admiration, joy and praise. In the translation of King James, we read of the Lord in every verse. Its benefits are magnified, the narrator testifies that he benefits from it and exhorts to enter into the same attitude of praise. The Psalm is one of the so-called Egyptian Hallel. These words are parallelled in the Song of Moses () and