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Psalm 23 might be the most famous of psalms and the most recited at services.
In the New Oxford Annotated version it reads as follows:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me besides still waters, he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his names sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me, in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord, my whole life long.
This psalm does give an extended view, there is the walk through the darkest valley, but there is more than one walk. The shepherding goes from green pasture to green pasture, from coastline to coastline, from still waters to still waters. Because the shepherd extends, our confidence in the shepherd can extend.
Still waters represents a centering, a place where we are not running, we are not hiding, where we can be still in the light of day and where we are now is right, is okay. This is the setting of what’s best for you, set to light and stillness. The good shepherd is controlling the atmosphere and all the surroundings to your individual favor, the stillness is part of the setting of the table, mentioned later in the psalm. Besides still waters means, it is so close that it takes the form of being real, usable, reachable. What is being given is in no way withheld even in part.
The verse on the darkest valley is truly haunting in its visuals, as one can imagine walking thru the darkest valley in some mountainous terrain with the dangers nearby but not even seen. Wild ravenous animals can be lurking and looking for anything that moves.
Positively, even though this individual was walking in the darkness, he was still walking and still standing, and this is representative of hope. But there is also a greater degree of dependence here, there is no light to depend on, the valley is not only dark but it is the darkest of the dark valleys.
But being in the dark may not only mean that you are lost, but it also means that you may never be found. The darkness of a problem and then the further darkness of the lack of a solution can envelope a person’s life. Even a particular concern can be mired in the darkness. There is no one even to find me in this difficulty and I feel truly alone and lost to any help or comfort with this.
Here though, the Good Shepherd is able to find this individual in the darkest of valleys. This has a hint of rescue to it. The presence can be felt in a way that now he fears no evil, whereas of course he would have feared the evils of the darkness. The good shepherd never loses sight of whom he is shepherding, even if they have ventured in the darkest of valleys. Valleys indicating the greatest degree of distance from being otherwise found. The good shepherd doesn’t lose sight of the particulars of our life. Good plans can still emerge intact as the good shepherd did not lose sight of those plans from whatever darknesses came on in from overhead on those plans
The later verse says goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, it shall not lose me, it shall not be lost. The anointing of the Lord overflows with blessings into the days ahead.
The psalm ends with, I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. Of course, this is not a physical place, this is a spiritual place that does extend into the physical. You need this because, you can have all the best things in the world, but if there is utter chaos and evil so close by and surrounding, it will ultimately ruin things. As the psalmist walked through the darkest valley, he was still in the house of the Lord even though he was in no physical house. That is not to say a stop for a meditation in a church is well worthwhile and also a source of comfort as there is sometimes the availability of a physical house. When it says in verse 3, he leads me in right paths for his names sake, this indicates that the Lord has a will, has a plan, that includes right paths, and this right paths are for His sake meaning what he wants. God’s will is not only for my sake, it is for His sake.
Even in human terms, if you want something for someone, it is something you want to see as well for your own sake.
One idea from this psalm that relates to prayer is that you can ask at the beginning of the day, for the Lord’s help, healing, presence and so on throughout the day. Or if you have an issue or problem that is extending over a period of time, then ask the Lord to help you throughout this issue, throughout this problem, for the duration of it. By using the concept of throughout, you are tapping into the shepherding presence of the Lord, which is an extending presence that takes on the whole walk thru the darkest valley, a presence that is there throughout the darkest valley. You can craft you prayer requests to be more in line with the ongoing Shepherding presence of the Lord.
The preparation of the table, means also that the Lord is the one casting the lots so to speak. The Lord is actually preparing things for you, doing things for you that prepare your way. Since he leads in right paths, that which he prepares is found right on or within these right paths and you don’t have to deviate from these right paths, whatever these right paths are, to find what has been prepared for you. Symbolic of the right path, is the path where my cup overflows, which means bountiful blessing. Where you find bountiful blessings, is indicative that you are on the right path. The Lord is the direct cause of your cup overflowing and the right path comes from the directives of the Lord, directives which may vary in some ways from individual to individual.
Even though I walk, means, somehow this psalmist did lose his way, and all these good things were not found. You really don’t know what went wrong, whose fault it was and who was to blame, and what caused him to lose his way and whether he ventured into this darkest of valleys by his own choice. You could paraphrase, even though I messed up or circumstances messed up, even though this went wrong not from my own volition, even though I can’t make it to that place I wanted to be in because of the darkness of the valley I’m in now, I do believe and feel the comfort of the Good Shepherd right here and believe in the restorative places of green pastures, still waters, even though in this dark valley they are not seeable and far from me and it is so dark these good things can’t even be searched by me. But the Good Shepherd searches for me right from the very darkness I’m in now, the Good Shepherd prepares for me as an individual in his sight and from this dark valley goodness and mercy can follow me in all of the coming days of my life.
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