Tavern Talk #89 - Led, Known, and Not Alone: The Power of Psalm 23
- May 5
- 3 min read
This month, we had the chance to revisit one of the most familiar passages in all of Scripture - Psalm 23 - and to try to hear it again as if for the first time.
Most of us know this psalm well. Many have it memorized. We’ve heard it at funerals. We associate it with quiet, reflective moments at the end of life. But Psalm 23 was not written for the dead. It was written for the living. For people walking through uncertainty, fear, pressure, and, at times, real darkness.
This summer, the expected blockbuster is The Odyssey, a film by Christopher Nolan. Interestingly, the psalms are likely older and have a similar history – oral tradition for hundreds of years before being assembled and written. And like Odysseus’s long journey home, filled with danger, delay, and uncertainty, Psalm 23 takes us on a journey. It moves through green pastures, dark valleys, and contested spaces. But unlike Odysseus, we are not left to make that journey alone.
At the beginning (and yet center) of the psalm is a simple but deeply personal claim by its author, David:
“The Lord is my shepherd.”
Not distant. Not abstract. Personal. That changes everything.
When David says, “I shall not want,” he is not saying life will be easy or that every desire will be fulfilled. He is saying that in the care of this shepherd - his shepherd - nothing essential will be lacking.
We are led to green pastures and still waters, not just places of beauty, but places of safety. Sheep will not lie down unless they feel secure. So this is not just poetic language, it is a picture of a God who provides not just resources, but rest. And couldn’t we all use a little more of that?
We are restored when we wander. Guided along paths that reflect God’s character. And then, right at the center of the psalm, something shifts.
The language changes. David stops talking about God and starts speaking to God.
“For thou art with me.”
In the valley, theology becomes prayer.
The valley is not avoided. It is walked through. But it is transformed by presence. The promise is not that difficulty disappears. It is that God is with us in the middle of it.
From there, the imagery shifts again. The Shepherd becomes a Host.
A table is prepared not after the enemies are gone, but in their presence. For David, this was not theoretical. It reflected his lived experience of being pursued, threatened, and yet provided for. God does not always remove the conflict but sustains us within it.
The psalm moves toward abundance, not of material things but what matters most:
Heads anointed with oil - symbols of love, healing, honor, and belonging
Cups that overflow - not barely enough, but more than sufficient
Goodness and mercy that do not merely follow but pursue
And finally, it ends not with provision, but with presence:
“I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
The movement of the psalm is from provision to presence. From what God gives… to God himself or herself.
Where are you in this psalm?
In green pastures?
In the valley?
At the table, surrounded by things that feel unresolved?
Wherever you are, the promise is the same: You are not alone.You are being led and pursued by the God who knows you.
Psalm 23 is not a promise that life will be easy.It is a promise that wherever life takes you, you will not go there without the Shepherd who walks with you……and the Host who welcomes you home.
Reading:
Psalm 23 in various translations. But here is my favorite because of its familiarity.
1The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
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