Kent Crockett, in his book, I Once Was Blind, but Now I Squint includes A Pessimist's Commentary on Psalm 23. The author is listed as "Ima Whiner." It is admittedly a spoof. But it is a good way for us to begin our thinking about today's text.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

"Shall not want?" Says Ima Whiner. "Give me a break. I want lots of things. I'd like to have a nicer house, a better job, and a pay raise. I want people to do what I say when I say. And I wouldn't mind winning the lottery either. He

makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

"I have a problem with the words "makes me,'" says Whiner. "That sounds a bit legalistic to me. First you say I can't want things; now you're making me do things."

He restores my soul; He guides me in the …