Why is Psalm 23 so beloved? Once, when I was visiting with a widow to discuss her husband’s funeral, she told me he once said, “It’s not a funeral if Psalm 23 isn’t read!” You can safely assume those gathered for the funeral heard me chant, “The Lord is my shepherd…”
I’d be making it up if I gave a percentage, but the number of times I’ve read Psalm 23 at a funeral at the family’s request greatly outweighs the times I haven’t. There is just something about those familiar words people of faith can’t seem to move past.
I can’t blame them. I love it too. I have a poem from Wendell Berry in my office, “The Peace of Wild Things,” it could easily just be an interpretation of hanging out in grassy meadows and being led to still waters. There is a peace when you can abide in nature, when you are led into it for respite and renewal. It’s there that a soul can be restored.
And if you read it more metaphorically, you can read it as David speaking as a sheep. God is the Good Shepherd who leads the flock to everything they need so it can rest in the goodness provided.
The phrase, “the valley of the shadow of death” often pops up in my preaching, even if modern translations have moved away from that classic line. It is visceral and evocative, speaking to the shadows of life we walk through. Death casts a pall over every part of life, even if we acknowledge it or not. But we are protected by a wooden rod and staff, a euphemism I fully read into as a harbinger of the Cross.
Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd, and the staff of his Cross protects us from all the slings and arrows this world can hurl at us. We will still have to tread that valley, still walk amid the shadows, and still have to deal with danger, but we need not fear it because it has been defeated. It has been defeated and we are not alone when we are treading, walking, or dealing.
And when we are in the valley of the shadow of death, we need this reminder. We need to be reminded of God’s comfort and strength. We need to hear God will not abandon us, but lead us to the pastures of new life. We need to see God’s love and goodness nipping at our heels. We need to feel God’s presence so closely it’s like we’re always in God’s house.
So why do we love Psalm 23? It’s because Psalm 23 reminds, tells, shows, and puts this all front and center.
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