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 110 specifically refers to Jesus as the Messiah. Spurgeon concurs that while David composed the psalm, the psalm is solely about Jesus. The difference in interpretation between Jewish and Christian sources pivots on the translation of the Hebrew word אדני ("Adonai") in verse 1. This is usually translated as "my master" or "my lord", thus rendering the verse as "The Lord spoke to my master". While "Adonai" is one of the names of God, thoughout the Tanakh it refers to a human "master" or "lord". Since David wrote this psalm in the third person, to be sung by the Levites in