Once again this responsorial psalm has been shortened for liturgical purposes. Go to your Bible to read the full text if possible.
This is probably the most familiar and most loved of all psalms. It is a Song of Trust and Confidence. In its present form, it represents the Exiles’ hope of return to Jerusalem and the Temple (House of The Lord) and God’s healing love and mercy. In the world of the Exiles the term shepherd referred to the king. In retrospect the psalmist saw Israel’s denial of God’s kingship and covenant as the cause of its downfall.
Like the exiles, we too long to return to the Father’s House and his healing and forgiving love. This is probably why it is so often chosen as the responsorial psalm at funerals when our own mortality is always brought to mind.
Images in the psalm such as the dark valley, restful waters and green pastures all bring to mind incidents in our own lives that make this psalm seem so personal.
Many commit the 23rd Psalm to memory and I agree that it is a wonderful prayer in times of trial.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
℟. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
℟. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
℟. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
℟. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
℟. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
This post is also available in/Esta entrada también está disponible en: Spanish