Catholic Commentary on Psalm 23

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing." (Psalm 23:1)

The Most Beloved Psalm

Psalm 23 is the most beloved psalm in the entire Psalter, and arguably the most loved poem in human history. It has been prayed at bedsides and deathbeds, in prisons and hospitals, in moments of great peace and great terror, in a hundred languages, for three thousand years. Its power is not in complexity but in directness: the Lord is my shepherd. One sentence. Everything else is the unpacking of what that one sentence means.

The shepherd image for God runs throughout Scripture, from Ezekiel 34 to Isaiah 40 to John 10. In each case, the image carries the same freight: God attends personally to his people, leads them to what they need, protects them from what threatens them, and seeks them when they stray. When Jesus says in John 10 that he is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep, he is placing himself within this tradition and claiming to be its fulfilment. Psalm 23 is ultimately a prayer to and about Jesus Christ.

Green Pastures and Dark Valleys

The psalm moves through three settings: the green pastures and still waters of rest and restoration, the valley of the shadow of death that must be traversed, and the table prepared in the presence of enemies. The journey is not uniformly peaceful. The valley is real. The shadow of death is not metaphor. But in each setting, the shepherd is present. In the rest: he leads. In the valley: he is with me; his rod and staff comfort me. At the table: he anoints my head with oil. The shepherd does not remove the dark valley from the journey. He walks through it with his sheep.

The Catechism uses this psalm in its teaching on the Eucharist: the table prepared in the presence of enemies is the heavenly banquet, the foretaste of which is the Eucharistic table (CCC 1335). The cup that overflows is the cup of salvation. The one who prepares the table is the same Good Shepherd who lays down his life so that the sheep may have life and have it abundantly.

Surely Goodness and Mercy

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The word translated "follow" in Hebrew is more active than following. It means to pursue, to chase. Goodness and mercy are not trailing passively behind. They are actively pursuing the sheep. The person who belongs to the Lord is chased by the goodness and mercy of God through every day of their life, whether they sense it or not.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, in whatever valley you are walking today, the shepherd is with you. His rod and his staff are there. You may not feel them. You may see only the shadow. But the promise of Psalm 23 is not conditional on your feeling. It is grounded in the character of the shepherd. He has never lost a sheep entrusted to him. He will not lose you.

Prayer

The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me. Surely your goodness and mercy will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in your house forever. Amen.