The Lord is My Shepherd
Psalm 23
I wonder how many of you have ever seen a real shepherd. If the Bible didn’t mention them would
you give them any thought at all? It’s
funny that we cherish an image so deeply that is not a part of our own
experience at all.
The image of the good shepherd is a common one in the
Bible. It occurs first in the Old
Testament where it is a description of what a godly ruler should look like. At one point in the history of God’s
people, the monarchy in Jerusalem has failed, so God decides to step in. Speaking through the prophet Ezekiel:
For thus says the Lord God: I myself
will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. [Since the King isn’t!] I
myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says
the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back
the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak,
but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice
(Ezekiel 34:11, 15-16).
King David is seen as one who will fulfill this role of godly
king as good shepherd. Maybe that’s
why the lectionary gives us Psalm 23 the same day we hear about the anointing
of David. (We’ll pray Psalm 23
again in just a few weeks on “Good Shepherd Sunday” in Easter season when Jesus
refers to himself as the Good Shepherd.)
Psalm 23 is certainly the most popular of all the psalms in
the psalter. If people only one
piece of the Bible, it’s likely to be the 23rd psalm. One writer has called it essential for
daily living for people of faith.
To help hear this familiar psalm with fresh ears, I want to
read a different translation. This
is by a modern Hebrew scholar who tries to capture both the meaning and the
spirit of the Hebrew poetry (The Book of
Psalms, Robert Alter).
The Lord is my
shepherd,
I
shall not want.
In grass meadows He
makes me lie down,
by
quiet waters guides me.
My life He brings
back,
He
leads me on pathways of justice for His name’s sake.
[My life He brings
back. Though “He restoreth my
soul” is time-honored, the Hebrew nefesh
does not mean “soul” but “life breath” or “life.” The image is of someone who has almost stopped breathing and
is revived, brought back to life.]
Though I walk in the
vale of death’s shadow,
I
fear no harm,
for
You are with me.
Your rod and Your
staff—
it
is they that console me.
You set out a table
before me
in
the face of my foes.
You moisten my head
with oil,
my
cup overflows.
[You moisten my head
with oil. The verb here, dishen, is not the one that is used for
anointment, and its associations are sensual rather than sacramental. Etymologically, it means something like
“to make luxuriant.” This verse,
then, lists all the physical elements of a happy life—a table laid out with
good things to eat, a head of hair well rubbed with olive oil, and an overflowing
cup of wine.]
Let but goodness and
kindness pursue me
all
the days of my life.
And I shall dwell in
the house of the Lord
for
many long days.
[for many long days. This concluding phrase catches up the
reference to “all the days of my life” in the preceding line. It does not mean “forever”; the
viewpoint of the poem is in and of the here and now and is in no way
eschatological. The speaker hopes
for a happy fate all his born days, and prays for the good fortune to abide in
the Lord’s sanctuary—a place of security and harmony with the divine—all, or
perhaps at least most, of those days.]
The 23rd psalm is one of just five psalms that
are identified as “trust” psalms (Psalms,
Walter Bruggemann, William H. Bellinger, Jr.). (Probably the second most popular psalm, 121 “I lift
up my eyes to the hills”, is another.)
We think of this psalm as a source of comfort. But the perspective that the psalmist
is expressing is one of deep trust.
Trust in the presence and goodness of God.
An important thing to note about psalms of trust is that
they always start from a place of distress. They are spoken and prayed out of a place of danger, threat,
uncertainty or fear. Trust is
expressed in the midst of distress.
Another thing to note about Psalm 23 is that it starts out
describing God in the third person.
“The Lord” is my shepherd.
Then it moves to second person, “You” are with me. These words are spoken by someone who
has a close relationship with God.
This is an intimate conversation.
You are with me.
In the midst of my distress, you are with me.
And because you are with me.
I fear no harm.
I shall not want.
In the presence of God I do not fear and I lack for
nothing. God’s presence stills my
fears and fulfills my needs.
We spend a lot of time fearing and wanting.
The psalm describes a different sort of life where fears are
quieted and wants dissolve. You
are with me. I fear no harm. I shall not want.
Not surprisingly, there are lots of hymn settings of Psalm
23. They describe this life in
God’s presence.
I nothing lack if I am his and he is mine for ever.
The Lord my God my shepherd is; how could I want or need?
How do we make the psalmist’s words our words? How do we truly pray this psalm in our
own first person?
First, we need to face and acknowledge the places of
distress or anxiety in our own lives. We need to see and name the fears and threats we face
and our longing for God’s presence with us.
And then, with the psalmist’s words to guide us we may grow
in trust. Our own trust in God’s
presence and goodness and care will grow out of the psalmist’s experience and
conviction.
I think also about the Communion of Saints. We’re talking about saints in the Lent
study class. And I think of all of
the voices past and present who pray this psalm. The millions of voices who have said these words with
conviction and hope, their voices affirming the deep truth of their trust in
God. For me, those voices are both
reassurance and invitation. An
invitation to join with them in faith and trust and prayer.
For these words to be ours, we also need to know them. If someone didn’t make you memorize the
23rd psalm when you were younger, now is the time. The translation doesn’t matter. If the King James is your favorite, it’s
easy enough to find. Learn the
words and make them yours in daily life.
