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 36 in English "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" and "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise". The refrain and the first stanza of the German song "Herr, deine Güte reicht, so weit der Himmel ist" (Lord, your goodness extends as far as heaven)", published in 1965 with text by Gerhard Valentin and a melody by Herbert Beuerle, is based on verses from Psalm 36. Maria Luise Thurmair wrote "Herr, deine Güt ist unbegrenzt" based on Psalm 36, published in 1971 with the melody of "O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß". The psalm and selected verses were set to music often. Thomas Ravenscroft