Article April 13, 2009 Issue

THE 23RD PSALM—A TIMELESS MESSAGE

BY KATHY FITZER

Everyone yearns for comfort and clear direction. The 23rd Psalm offers both.

Throughout the 3,000 years since it was first sung, the message of this most loved psalm—which cuts through time and ideology—has buoyed, comforted, and healed. Soldiers, governors, athletes, moms, dads, and children have felt its charm and been calmed.

No authentic record exists, yet the 23rd Psalm is generally attributed to David, who tended sheep, played his lyre to comfort King Saul, and successfully led the Hebrew nation. Among the most widely recognized Judeo-Christian Scripture, the 23rd is told from the perspective of a shepherd tenderly caring for his sheep. Never will they want for love or sustenance, direction or health.