“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.”
—Psalm 23:6 (NRSV).
It can happen any day. Fear grips
us as we walk into a meeting, get ready for breakfast, or drive to work. Fear
has a way of clouding our judgment and constraining our vision. It robs us of our hope and joy.
The truth is we walk many
corridors of fear during our lifetimes; it’s not just in the realm of death—its
traditional setting—that this particular psalm provides meditative benefit. As
we progress through its six verses we read a sort of reflective benediction
that echoes to us an eternal comfort.
A Prayer of Comfort in Culmination
Verse 1 commences in summative
fashion. The Lord is the
psalmist’s Shepherd—a supremely faithful Provider in times of dire want. It is
the signature of trust that David, in this case, can say in times of fear, “I shall
not want.”
Our Shepherd God is provider of
those green pastures and the still waters of life and these are a bequest,
again, waiting for a trusting heart. These images are metaphors for peace; the
restoration of tired souls.
The name of the Lord is surety for the right path in
verse 3. The ancient path of the Lord
is light in darkness.
Verse 4 highlights the Presence of
the Lord as light for the path that
dims. Even when things, and circumstances in life, become as dark as pitch we
can still note with assurance the rod and staff of God, reassuring and
comforting us, as we traverse the dark way.
Ably assisting us in verse 5, all
the accompaniments of the way are prepared for us by God in advance; we have
this advantage over our enemies.
All the foregoing culminates in the
final verse, profiled above—that quiet confidence of trust; that the goodness
and mercy of God shall prevail, following the servant all the days of their
life, as they continue to dwell in safety along the full journey of life’s
path.
The contemporary significance of this
prayer
Set in an eternal frame, but one always
honouring momentary significance, this psalm supplies hope and reassurance in
fleeting worry and genuine despair—and all between.
Perhaps this is the day—speaking
in strictly 21st Century terms—where there are more concerns for our safety and
longer-term wellbeing than ever before. Psalm 23, therefore, is ever pertinent
today.
It reminds us the God is an
eternal God, shielding us from the woes of our sin and from the terror of fear
as it enfolds our minds and hearts, sometimes without reason or warning.
Sometimes we need to be reminded
that the joy of the Lord is
available almost continually, even when we may struggle with worry, sadness,
loss, or be in despair.
In a day when worries are just as
relevant as ever before, we can know the safety in God as we reflect over these
words—the beautiful, majestic Psalm 23.
© 2012 S. J. Wickham.
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