Psalm 23 #2
"The LORD is my shepherd" — David's psalm of trust, the most widely known chapter in the Psalter and a staple of funerals, hospital visits, and personal devotion across every Christian tradition.
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4Yea, 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.
5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Psalm 23:1-6, King James Version.
Attributed to David in its superscription, Psalm 23 draws directly on his own early years as a shepherd (1 Samuel 16:11) to describe God’s care in the most personal terms in the Psalter — not “the LORD is a shepherd” but “the LORD is my shepherd.” It is classified as a psalm of confidence: unlike a lament, it never asks God for anything or complains of distress; it simply declares, verse after verse, why the speaker has nothing to fear.
Structure
The psalm shifts imagery halfway through. Verses 1-4 picture God as a shepherd guiding a sheep through pasture, water, and even “the valley of the shadow of death” — and it is exactly at the mention of death that the psalm switches from speaking about God (“he maketh me,” “he leadeth me”) to speaking directly to him (“thou art with me”), a grammatical turn that mirrors its meaning: nearness increases as danger increases. Verses 5-6 then shift the image again, from shepherd and sheep to host and guest, picturing God setting a table and anointing his guest’s head even with enemies looking on.
Why It Endures
Its combination of vivid, concrete imagery and complete emotional resolution — it opens confident and closes confident, with no unresolved tension in between — has made it the psalm most reached for at gravesides, in hospital rooms, and in moments of personal fear, cited across Jewish and Christian tradition alike as the definitive statement of trust in God’s provision and protection.
Key References
- Psalm 23:1-6