The Lord is My Shepherd (Eastman Johnson) He is sitting against a blue jacket, which may indicate service in the Union army. President Abraham Lincoln had recently authorized organization of the United States Colored Troops. This is one of several works by Eastman Johnson with African-American subjects. The Lord is My Shepherd (Eastman Johnson) The Lord is My Shepherd is an 1863 oil on wood painting by American artist Eastman Johnson. The painting measures 16 5/8 x 13 1/8 in. (42.3 x 33.2 cm.) and is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The title of the painting comes from Psalm 23, which begins with the
Psalm 117 Base, and a popular arrangement from the Taizé community. Psalm 117 Psalm 117 is the 117th psalm of the Book of Psalms. With just two verses and sixteen words in Hebrew, it is the shortest of all 150 psalms. It is the 595th of the 1,189 chapters of the King James Version of the Bible, making it the middle chapter. It is also the shortest chapter in this version of the Bible. "O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. / For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth