on Psalm 23

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 

 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will 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 forever.”

—Psalm 23

I think I first heard this psalm when I was a kid in Sunday school. Which makes sense — it’s full of soothing, nice things, there’s kindly shepherds and fluffy sheep, and green grass and peaceful lakes.

Nowadays I usually hear this psalm at funerals. And often it just seemed like a mismatch to me, talking about grass and lakes when someone has just passed away. If I knew the deceased person well, it was almost like a cruel joke. Can kind, soothing words bring someone back to life? In the face of death, is this all we have — nice words and fluffy sheep and overflowing cups? 

Well I could shake my fist at God, or I could look more deeply at what’s going on in this passage. It seems like the author here is not just being naive. The first half of the psalm has all the green pastures and still waters, the second half is a bit grittier, there’s tough times and looking death in the face, there’s trusting in God’s goodness even when being surrounded by enemies, even when it looks like this is the end. Maybe that’s why we read this psalm at funerals — maybe we need to remind ourselves that God doesn’t just give us good times, he’s also there when it looks like this is the end, when there’s no hope left. Even then, God’s goodness can still somehow come through.

But then… why should we trust what the author says? The author was King David, and he didn’t lead an easy life, nor did he die a happy man. And he still tasted death in the end. So why should this psalm fill us with any hope at all?

What if I told you that God himself also had to go through the danger and pain of Psalm 23? The danger and pain of death itself? King David found himself in the valley of the shadow of death, chased by his enemies, and God saved his life then, but in the end, King David still died of old age. But about a thousand years later, another king went through this too — but this was no ordinary king, this was Jesus, the Son of God, in fact God himself, the King of all Creation. God himself went through the valley of the shadow of death too, he was surrounded by his enemies, who mocked him and sarcastically called him the King even as they tortured him to death. And King Jesus died too — but unlike King David, Jesus died to save everyone, and he came back to life for all to see. He went through the valley of the shadow of death, but death was not the end for him. He did end up dwelling in the house of the Lord forever. And he promised we’ll see him again.

That’s why Christians read Psalm 23 at funerals. Not just to remind ourselves that God blesses us with good times, that God sees us through the hard times, but to remind us of that promise — that fierce, unbreakable, unmatched promise — that for those who follow Jesus, death is not the end. Because if Jesus rose again, so will those who trust in him. No matter what pain and harm and sadness there is for now, it will give way to life and joy, because of what Jesus has done for all of us. Trust him on this — you will find new life.