Psalm 23:1-3
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
“To be, or not to be.”, and the first four notes of Beethoven’s 5th symphony are recognizable to most everyone, regardless of their familiarity with Shakespeare’s Hamlet or with classical music generally. The first five words of Psalm 23 can be placed in the same category. Most people have heard these words at funerals or in movies with little regard for who wrote it and why. Few know that Hamlet was considering suicide or that Beethoven was portraying death knocking at the door. Fewer still know that King David wrote it when death, possibly at the hands of Absalom, his son, was a real threat. The specter of death looms large in the human psyche. So too is what comes after. .
Only David could say,
you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
And,
I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
That is the difference between the treatment of death in Shakespeare, Beethoven, and David’s Psalm 23. Only David could look upon death without fear and dread. Only David had comfort. Only David had a shepherd, as do we. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd and our Lord and Shepherd. We shall not want for anything this life affords because we know that whatever happens, we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
O Heavenly Father, thank you for your rod and staff that guide and protect us in the face of death. Thank you for eternal life. In Jesus’ name. Amen. a