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 16 Psalm 16 Psalm 16 is the 16th psalm from the Book of Psalms. Charles and Emilie Briggs summarized its contents as follows: "Ps[alm] 16 is a psalm of faith. The psalmist has sought refuge in Yahweh his sovereign Lord, and supreme welfare (v. 1-2); whose good pleasure is in His saints (v. 3). The apostates have many sorrows, and he keeps apart from them and their impious worship (v. 4). Yahweh is his portion and his inheritance in pleasant places (v. 5-6); he enjoys His counsel (v. 7) and continual helpful presence (v. 8); he is glad and secure (v.