Psalm 23

Background of the Author

One man who personally knew the Lord and his provisions, that made him a credible author

to write a psalm on God’s pastoral provision. A shepherd boy who once confronted, the Philistine,

Goliath and beaten him with a rock. In his younger years, he built his father’s trust and executed

responsibility by solely taking care of his herds. And his name is David!

Living alone in solitude and obscurity, wherein loneliness became his companion, he had

many conversations with God. But in the relentless demands of obscurity, Kind David character

was built. That made him fit to become the King of Israel. God sent him into a training ground to

prepare him to be a king one day. For He believes, that His men and women, servant-leader, are

unseen, unappreciated, but well-applauded in the end.

In addition, Kind David was a talented musician and a songwriter. While he tends his

flocks, at the same he is learning to play his harp. As he plays his harp, he reveals and made us

feel his inner sensitivity and gentleness as an artist. A lot of people knew that David could deliver

a harmonious sound, so King Saul commanded to find David and play for them. David played his

harp, while King Saul suffers from the agony of evil spirit. Until David became King Saul armor

bearer to calm him down, so that he can drive away the disturbing evil spirits.

On the same note, temptation and sin are always hard to resist. Because of his poor

leadership and unstable decision-making that leads to bad judgements, King David fell devasted

in iniquity. More of that, David’s cowardness was shown when he stayed in Jerusalem, while his

soldiers are at war.

His unfaithfulness, when he saw a beautiful woman on the king’s roof while taking a bath.

He looked, he inquired, and sent for her. David even conspired to have her husband killed during

1
the battle so she could have Batsheba as his wife. Through Nathan, the Prophet, God used him as

His middleman to talk to David, while he’s in agony. (2 Samuel 12:13) David said to Nathan, “I

have sinned againt the Lord,” and Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin; you shall

not die.”

Everything David did in the sight of the people was pleasing to them. Everywhere King

Saul sent him, David prospered. And because of David’s success, Saul became jealous that fueled

his angriness, turned him away, and pursued him for the of his life.

King David authored many Psalms that are found in the Old Testament of the Bible and

the Jewish sacred book. His poems are known for being wildly emotional. At times, he questions

God and calls out to him, asking why his prayers are not being heard. In other poems, he seems

assured of God’s presence and answers to his prayers. Although his poems can at times seem

contradictory, they reveal the inconsistencies of the human heart. David has been recognized as

one who was real with God. He never tried to hide his true feelings or thoughts from his God.

Rather, he poured out his heart to his God and sought Him earnestly. For this reason, King David

of Israel has been named “A man after God’s own heart”. Followers of Christianity and Judaism

have long turned to his poems as sources of comfort. Readers can easily identify with King David’s

feelings toward God. King David was not without his share of suffering. Knowledge of David’s

life gives this particular poem an even greater depth of meaning. David suffered the loss of a child,

the guilt of having committed adultery, and the tragedies of war. Even so, he continued to turn

back to God even when he sinned. David’s story is one that suggests that God is a God of

forgiveness, and thus many people can identify with David’s poems.

2
Background of the Story / Summary

The first line of Psalm 23 is perhaps the most famous in all the psalms. The nature of

comparing God and a shepherd has been evident to ancient Hebrews who meditated upon this

poem. Like most Near Eastern peoples, the Hebrews relied on a herding economy, and the

importance of the shepherd-figure derives not only from the necessity of sheep to that economy

bust also from the hostile nature of the environment. Because of the predators, poachers, and harsh

desert condition that threatened grazing lands, the shepherd needed to take great care to protect the

sheep.

The word "psalm" is derived from a Greek word meaning "song." But before these poems

were translated into Greek, they were written in Hebrew. In Hebrew the Book of Psalms is called

"Tehillim," which means "praise song." A psalm was written as a song, perhaps accompanied with

a lyre or harp. You'll often notice that traditional images of David, the supposed author of Psalm

23, show him with a harp in his hand. That's because he is known as the singer of the psalms.

The psalms are sometimes called "Hymns of Praise." Modern famous modern poets, like

Gerard Manley Hopkins, have drawn inspiration from the psalms to write their own hymns of

praise. Not all of the psalms are devoted to praise, but many of them are. Some scholars believe

that the word "praise" indicates that the psalms were intended for use in formal religious services,

which were largely dedicated to the praise of God.

The Lord acts as a shepherd to the speaker. He makes sure the speaker isn’t lacking any

necessities. The Lord takes the speaker to peaceful and relaxing places, like green fields and calm

waters. He also tends to spiritual well-being, making sure that the speaker stays on the right path.

The speaker walks through the valley of the shadow of death, but he doesn’t need to be afraid. The

Lord will continue to protect him like a shepherd protects his sheep.

3
 Even when his enemies are at hand, the speaker can enjoy a fine banquet thanks to the

generosity of the Lord. He lives in abundance, even luxury, with rich oil and more wine than his

cup can handle. The happy state of affairs will continue for the rest of the speaker’s life, and

beyond. He doesn’t ever plan to leave the protection of his host and shepherd.

The psalm had no title except for "Psalm 23," but many people refer to it using its first

phrase, "The Lord is My Shepherd." We have no idea whether the original author, whoever he or

she may have been, used a formal title or not.

Analysis

Elements

Speaker

The speaker is such a sheep. No, really. He's a lovable little lamb frolicking out in

the hills. OK, not exactly, it's still just a metaphor. But comparing himself to a sheep is the

speaker's way of showing his humility. He places himself completely in the power of the

nurturing shepherd. Another way to look at it: God is to the speaker what humans are to

domesticated animals. Any success or comfort that the speaker has attained is not through

his own doing; the Lord has provided it. The phrase, "God helps those who help

themselves" doesn't really apply to the poem, as the speaker does not help himself. Good

fortune just continues to rain down upon him.

The speaker doesn't seem to be a man who's enduring great hardship, though he

may have had hardships in the past. In fact, he reminds us of Ned Flanders from The

Simpsons. Like Ned, the speaker has nothing to complain about and maintains an almost

impossibly sunny attitude in the face of everything. (When Ned was asked whether he liked

mosquito bites, he replied, "Mmmm! Love to scratch 'em!" Now that's optimism for you).

4
 God isn't testing the speaker, as God tested Job. Pleased as punch with his position

in the world, the speaker is probably pretty wealthy, healthy, and secure. He feels safe from

his enemies, though that fact in itself is pretty interesting: the guy has enemies. The poem

sometimes feels like an unrealistically perfect vision of the world (though maybe that's

because it describes a "spiritual" world that exists only in the soul), and the presence of

enemies reminds us of dangers. It might also lead you to think that perhaps the speaker

isn't completely perfect, because not everyone in the world seems to like the guy. Still, the

speaker likes to think he is a morally upstanding guy who has followed the "paths of

righteousness" as best he can.

Readers who believe that King David wrote Psalm 23 often point out that the

imagery of shepherding aligns with the fact that David was a shepherd as a young man. At

the very least, the speaker is familiar with the humble pastoral life.

Setting

The setting of Psalm 23 is, for the most part, pretty generic, and we don't mean that

in a bad way. It follows the patterns of a certain genre: the pastoral poem. The classic

pastoral poem is about the good life of being a shepherd in the hills, far from the worries

of urban life. They're filled with images of calm, domesticated nature. Where a later

Romantic nature poem might have images of violent storms, tossing waves, and wild

winds, pastoral poems are calmer; the "green pastures" and "still waters" of line 2 are quite

typical. The difference between Psalm 23 and other pastoral poems you might have read is

that it was written thousands of years ago, when pretty much everyone led a pastoral life.

The poem's setting takes place in two different imaginative spaces: the outside

world and the inner soul. Everything that's described in the real world is really a means of

5
symbolically representing what the speaker feels in his soul. This is why the setting doesn't

seem particularly realistic, and in some places it leaps directly into the land of symbolism,

with images like, "paths of righteousness" and "the valley of the shadow of death." This

last image is surely the most famous and memorable in the poem. It's as if death were an

ominous mountain like Mt. Doom, casting its dark shadow on the speaker below.

In the last two lines, the setting shifts completely. Say good-bye to pastoral images

and say hello to social ones. The poem provides fleeting glimpses of a rollicking banquet,

with the Lord playing host. Any aspiring fiction writers out there should take note of how

the poet creates an entire atmosphere of luxury and abundance using a single image: "my

cup runneth over." Throughout the psalm, small details like this are stitched together to

create a mood of safety, ease, and confidence in the continued blessings of the Lord.

Imagery

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

He leadeth me beside the still waters.”

As soon our imagination activates by reading Psalm 23, the green pasture can form

a mental image of peaceful existence of the children of God as they are led by the Lord. As

you thoroughly read and understand Psalm 23, you feel comforted.

In deeper explanation, the Lord takes David to fertile green pastures where he can

eat his fill and then lie down to rest. An alluring imagery to both sheep and humans in

different reasons. In the perspective of human, green pasture is just a beautiful spot. But in

the eyes of the sheep it’s a vital necessity, where they can find enough food. Therefore, the

Shepherd don’t let his sheep get hungry, nor lack of essential. Also, the Lord took his sheep

into the calm waters to drink and refresh themselves.

6
 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadows of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

In this verse, the psalm turns into a darker note, let’s examine why this verse is

often read at funerals. Even though the speaker walks in the shadow of death, he doesn’t

have any fear because God is there. God’s shepherd’s rod and staff comfort the speaker.

These two things are actually the same thing, a big stick that a shepherd uses to guide the

flock.

Images of staffs are most common in both the Hebrew Bible and the New

Testament. Remember that Moses had a staff that he used to part the waters of the Red Sea.

Where, staff is one of a Catholic pope’s symbol.

Furthermore, what is “the valley of the shadows of death,” according to Merriam

Webster, a valley is a place surrounded by hills or mountains. Which often cast a shadow

below. And those imposing mountains that surround it that cast shadows are symbolic to

death. It’s a place of danger where bad things of evil work could occur. Most people think

that the valley is a symbol of general despair or dark time, as opposed to a specific fear of

death. Lastly, the “yea” at the beginning of the line isn’t celebratory. “yea” is translated

to “even though.”

Metaphor

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

7
 The speaker says that the Lord is like a shepherd to him. This sets up an explicit

metaphor in which humanity, or at least the community of believers, is a flock of sheep

tended by God.

The role of a shepherd is to lead his sheep to green pastures, to protect them from

predators, to make sure that none get lost or go astray. You could take shepherd as

synonymous for protector. But be careful with the phrase, “I shall not want.” The speaker’s

not saying, “The Lord is my shepherd, but I don’t want him.” Instead, he means that with

God as his protector, he won’t lack anything he needs. The word “want” means lack.

David complete confidence in God is apparently seen early on the poem. There is

no crisis of faith and even doubt. Also the peace of God is represented through the sheep

who lives in harmony, that are rightfully guided and protected by the Shepherd.

By calling God his shepherd and himself God’s sheep, David expresses a specific

relationship between the two. David is helpless, innocent, and utterly dependent on God.

God, for his part, fulfills his role as a shepherd by protecting David.

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

He leadeth me beside the still waters.”

The availability of food and drink also serves as a metaphor for the ways God

satisfies David’s spiritual hunger and thirst. The stillness of waters indicates that there are

no storms or winds to disturb this peaceful scene. Also, a still pool of water is probably

more pleasant to drink from than some rushing stream.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”.

8
 There’s no doubt in the speaker’s mind that with God on his side. He’s totally set

for life. The amount of trust and confidence expressed in these words is remarkable.

There’s no sense that God could withdraw his mercy at any moment and send the speaker

plunging into misery. God will continue to lead him on the to “goodness.” Not only that,

God will also show mercy if, for some reason owing to his clumsy sheep like nature, he

wanders off the right path. He plans to live in God’s house forever

There are two sides to the idea that he plans to dwell in the Lord’s house. First, that

the speaker has no wish or desire to anywhere else. Second, that God will never leave him.

Furthermore, “forever” may point beyond the speaker’s life and into eternity or some kind

of afterlife. By noticing the first part of the poem the Lord is a shepherd, and in the last two

lines God is more like a great host.

Parallelism

The Psalms are songs and poetry. The reason they do not rhyme is because they

are Hebrew poetry, not English poetry. Hebrew poetry is based on meaning rather than

meter and rhyme. It is called parallelism because the meanings are written in

pairs. Usually the pairs mean the same thing, but sometimes they mean the opposite. Let's

take the familiar Psalm 23 as an example. In Hebrew poetry the first pair is frequently not

well understood until you read the whole Psalm. I believe that is the case here.

9
 Notice also the parallelism within parallelism. In the first three verses the psalmist

is talking to his readers, (calling God "He"), but in the final three verses the psalmist is

talking to the Lord, (calling God "You"). Note also that the first and last verses are similar

in meaning. The second and fifth verses talk about physical comfort. The third and fourth

verses mention travel. This is Hebrew poetry – patterns in the meanings rather than the

sounds. If you look for and find these patterns as you read the Psalms, it will help your

understanding, and make you more able to enjoy the beauty of the poetry.

“The LORD is my shepherd, I will be cared for.

I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul;
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou
art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the
presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup
runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever”.
I will be cared for.
He takes care of my physical needs
He takes care of my physical needs
He takes care of my spiritual needs
He takes care of my spiritual needs
I have nothing to fear
I have nothing to fear
Lord bless me more than I could ever have
expected.
Lord bless me more than I could ever have
expected.
Lord will love me forever.
Lord will love me forever.

Personification

“He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of

righteousness for his name’s sake.”

10
 The characteristics of the children of God are applied to sheep led by the shepherd

through a green pasture. The sheep grazing to restore their energy; the children of God

having their souls restored. The sheep rest near a silent body of water; the children of God

live in peace and harmony in the presence of God.

In this verse, the metaphor of shepherd transitions into an explanation of the

spiritual meaning of shepherd. While the translation of “restores” means something more

like, “bring back to full vitality,” or “refresh.”

Hence, what does it mean that God leads David to “righteousness for his name’s

sake?” It is the old idea that good actions are performed for the sake of goodness only. At

the same time, God is the ultimate goodness. Lastly, the opposite of “for his name’s sake”

would be “for my sake.”

Literary Criticism

The word psalm is derived from a Greek word meaning a twitching, or to twitch or strum,

especially the strings of a harp, lyre, or kithara. One of the Greek forms of the word also refers to

a song sung to the accompaniment of the lyre, an early form of the guitar. In the context of the Old

Testament psalms, of which Psalm 23 is a part, a psalm is not just any song sung to the

accompaniment of a stringed instrument. It is a religious song—or better, a hymn. Psalms are most

often spoken or chanted because their melodies have been lost to us.

The Old Testament Psalter, that is, the Book of Psalms, is comprised of 150 psalms divided

into five parts in imitation of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis,

Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). The psalms have been classified into the

following kinds: hymns (acts of praise); laments (solicitations by individuals for deliverance from

sickness or False accusations, or solicitations by a nation for help in times of crisis); songs of trust

11
(expressions of confidence in God’s readiness to help); thanksgivings (gratitude for deliverance);

sacred histories (recountings of God’s dealings with the nation); royal psalms (accompaniments

for coronations and royal weddings); wisdom psalms (meditations on life and God); and liturgies

(compositions for specific occasions). Psalm 23 is considered a song of trust as are Psalms 11, 16,

27, 62, 131. Psalm 23 is one of the best known of all the psalms, chanted in churches and

synagogues throughout America, and even occasionally making an appearance in popular culture.

For example, it was prominently featured in Quentin Tarantino’s film Pulp Fiction.

More than half of the psalms were thought to be composed by David, the second King of

Israel who reigned from 1010 to his death in 970 B.C. The singer is none other than David, the

boy who killed the giant Goliath with a slingshot. Before David became king he was a young

shepherd, visited by Samuel and told that he had been chosen by God to be the next king of Israel.

The interested student can find out more about David from Samuel 1 (16:1) and Samuel 2.

Psalm 23, composed by David, is meant to soothe the tortured soul and promote trust in

God. The setting is peaceful pastureland, an area with which David, as a shepherd, was once

familiar. David notices that like himself, God, too, is a “shepherd,” and that David, the shepherd,

is himself led by God like a sheep or lamb.

In other psalms, we find a variety of metaphors for God. Psalm 62 is perhaps the most

fertile. First, God is a rock—rocks appear to last forever without changing, are often immovable,

and have a homogeneous oneness about them that other natural entities lack. It is no surprise then

that the next metaphor in Psalm 62 is God, the fortress; as a fortress protects from one’s enemies,

so, hopefully, will God. Notice that in Psalm 23, a fortress would have been more comparable to

12
God’s house (the temple) or the shepherd’s pasture than to God Himself. In other words, the

metaphorical leap is larger, and arguably more provocative in Psalm 62 than in Psalm 23.

The next metaphor in Psalm 62 is God as a refuge, a place of safety from one’s enemies.

In other psalms, God is light (27), a cup (16), and a mother (131). Perhaps it is not difficult then

to understand how God is so conducive to a broad panorama of metaphors since a common

comment about God—itself a metaphor—is “God is all.”

In another metaphor, God’s “lambs” are people. This is the predominant metaphor of the

psalm, or more precisely, of the first two stanzas; people are lambs, God is the shepherd. Because

a metaphor is a comparison between unlike things, or a yoking together of what is different,

metaphors have both strengths and weaknesses. Psalm 23 is no exception.

Let us begin with the strengths of the metaphor. As a shepherd protects his flock from

wolves or other predators, God is said to protect people—some or all depending upon your

religious belief—from harm. In terms of sheep, “green pastures” and “still waters” (an alternative

translation from the Hebrew is “waters of rest”) are settings of peace and plenty, places where

sheep can drink, eat, and lie down without fear, provided the shepherd is there to guard them. And

even when the shepherd leads his flocks to or from the pastures through dangerous territories (“the

valley of the shadow of death,” alternatively translated as “the valley of deep darkness”), he

watches over them, rod ready at hand to scare off or strike at predators.

But among these analogies, David—or far more likely, the translator—moves beyond the

metaphor by personifying sheep instead of “sheepifying” people. For instance, it is said that God

will restore the soul. Sheep seldom are thought to have souls. The Hebrew word, however, could

have more accurately been translated as “lives” which would have still maintained the analogy in

13
David’s metaphor. In a second example, there are the “paths of righteousness.” Sheep are seldom

thought to be concerned about issues of morality, religious right and wrong. Again, however, the

Hebrew is more accurately translated as “right paths,” which is in keeping with David’s noticing

that both sheep and people walk on paths through pastures, valleys, or forests.

The psalm’s central weakness, more attributable to David than the translator, is that the

psalm can be read in a different way. Shepherds guard sheep only from other predators. When the

sheep have been readied or the shepherd is ready, sheep are shorn for their wool and later killed

for food. In this way shepherds are more like prison guards in charge of a prisoner readied for

execution. The guards look out for the prisoner; they feed him, talk to him, make sure he does not

get killed by other prisoners. If the metaphor is read in this way, a way David surely did not mean,

the psalm turns sinister and contradictory.

The metaphor of the lamb as a victim of the Shepherd (God) is pertinent when Christ is

called the “Lamb of God”; according to God’s plan, he is slaughtered like a scapegoat for the sake

of all people. And as lambs are eaten by people, so is Christ also “eaten” in Mass as the host, or

wafer, for the purpose of sustaining those who partake.

David as a killer of lambs becomes a more feasible perception when we learn from Samuel

1 that David left his sheep shortly before killing Goliath, telling King Saul that he was able to fight

the far more experienced and larger warrior because he previously killed lions and bears who had

threatened his sheep. Not only did David fell Goliath with a stone, but David stabbed him with a

sword and then cut his head off. Later, he killed 200 Philistines and, in a rather curious method of

scalping, brought home the Philistinian foreskins to King Saul, which enabled David to marry

King Saul’s daughter. Perhaps in this light, the role of the shepherd as killer of sheep and their

14
predators is not, after all, so distant from that of the warrior, especially since the shepherd often

castrates his sheep like David mutilated the genitals of his slain foes.

In the third stanza of Psalm 23, the metaphor of sheep and shepherd is abandoned. David

now imagines himself a “kind of guest in “the house of the Lord”—that is, the Jewish synagogue

or temple, sitting at a table with God as the generous host. God consecrates, or makes sacred, his

follower with a cleansing oil and fills David’s cup until it overflows, the overflowing cup as a

symbol of life’s bounties. As long as people worship in the temple, David seems to say, they will

have good lives.

The third stanza’s central metaphor, temple as pasture, implies that for David the “house

of the Lord” is protected and bountiful due to God’s generous hospitality, much like pastures are

protected and bountiful for sheep because of shepherds. Here, we might notice that as pasturing

sheep are threatened by “evil” in “the valley of the shadow of death,” the worshipper in the

synagogue is threatened by “enemies” ready to slander or assault the righteous dining “in the house

of the Lord.” Some readers have confused the “house of the Lord” with heaven, primarily because

of the last words in the line “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” But the translation,

“for ever” can be replaced by the alternative, “as long as I live.” Such a translation lends clarity to

the locale of the temple. The temple protects the person who worships there and follows the path

created by God.

In summary, then, David’s metaphorical language expresses these concepts: pasture as

temple of Israel, sheep are like worshippers, shepherd equals God. Only by trusting in the Lord

within the temple, David implies, are worshippers able to escape one’s enemies.

15
Conclusion / Reflections

A major theme in the psalm is the security that the Lord provides and will continue to

provide; this security includes such things as food and drink, shelter from enemies, and protection

in hostile circumstances. This theme is introduced in the psalm’s famous first line, “The Lord is

my shepherd.” In this line and the following three verses, the speaker proclaims that the Lord will

care for him the same way a shepherd cares for his flock. When the speaker announces “I shall not

want,” he is confident that his shepherd will provide everything he needs. Some scholars see an

ambiguity in this line as well. They believe that the ancient Hebrew can also mean “I shall not go

missing” or “I shall not become separated from the flock,” which for a sheep in the wilderness

would be fatal.

Later the Lord is portrayed as a host who provides shelter from one’s enemies. Although

the speaker sits “in the presence of mine enemies,” he is in no danger from them. Indeed, he will

be protected from all danger, even if he walks “through the valley of the shadow of death.” The

Lord’s staff will provide guidance, his rod defense. Verse 4 is the only depiction of this very real

and powerful danger. The Lord’s abundant protection eliminates any fear the speaker would

otherwise have.

Psalm 23 is a celebration of trust in the Lord, in his protection and goodness. The simple,

direct language of the psalm conveys utter confidence. When the psalmist writes “I shall not want”

in the first verse, it is obvious he feels no doubt whatsoever. In the fourth verse, halfway through,

the speaker expresses his unwavering conviction in the protection the Lord provides. Regardless

what happens, no matter how threatening the situation, “I will fear no evil.” The speaker knows

the Lord will protect him. The final verse of Psalm 23 sums up the speaker’s faith. “Surely

16
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” Based on what the Lord does for him

everyday, he concludes that he has nothing to fear in the future.

The psalmist expresses his trust in the Lord in two ways. In the first three and a half verses,

he proclaims his trust in the Lord’s goodness to the world. When he writes “he restoreth my soul,”

readers have the impression that they are being addressed personally, that the psalmist is telling

them of his trust in the Lord. Midway through verse 4, however, the form of address abruptly

changes. The speaker no longer refers to the Lord as “He” but as “Thou.” Describing the moment

of greatest danger, the psalmist speaks to the Lord directly and makes a personal confession of

trust.

The psalm depicts a journey, similar to that in Exodus in which the Israelites were led out

of Egypt across the desert to the Promised Land. At the beginning of the psalm, the speaker

compares himself to a sheep guided by a shepherd. “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

he leadeth me beside the still waters … he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness.”

In the Exodus story, Moses led his people out of Egypt. Midway through the psalm, the

speaker passes through “the valley of the shadow of Death,” similar to the forty years of wandering

in the desert. The danger is only imagined by the speaker. Nevertheless the threat has been

overcome, the passage complete, and the speaker is welcomed into the safety of Lord’s household.

At first the speaker is a guest. But ultimately, in the psalm’s final “passage,” the speaker is adopted

as a member of the Lord’s own family.

So the psalm depicts a rite of passage that begins with faith in the Lord, faith that leads

through danger to salvation. That it is movement toward greater good is obvious in the steady

17
improvement in the status of the speaker. He begins as a sheep in a flock, is welcomed as a guest

by the Lord, and ultimately attains the status of family member.

The Covenant was the solemn agreement that established a special relationship between

the Lord and the Jewish people. As a result of the relationship, the Jews were marked as the Lord’s

chosen people on earth. Psalm 23 depicts this holy covenant; as the first sign, the speaker addresses

the Lord as “Thou” rather than referring to him as “He,” which suggests a much more personal

relationship. In verse 5, the Lord is portrayed as host who takes the speaker in and provides food

and protection. Significantly, the Lord surpasses the normal expectations of a host; for example,

“thou annointest my head with oil,” a ritual usually reserved for honored guests, suggests a very

special relationship.

In ancient Israel, covenants were sealed with a meal. That the meal has sealed a special

relationship between the Lord and the psalmist is obvious when he writes “I will dwell in the house

of the Lord for ever.” The Lord has made the speaker a member of his immediate family. Family

bonds imply the special relationship, for family members have duties toward the rest of the family,

and they reap special benefits from their place in the family.

References

The Holy Bible, King James Version. New York: American Bible Society: 1999;
Bartleby.com, 2000.

18