Greatest Song Of All Time

Lectionary: Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A RCL

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.
3 He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake.
4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I shall fear no evil; for you are with me;your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; you have anointed my head with oil,and my cup is running over.
6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Often when artists write a song, they know when they have a hit. I wonder if David knew when He wrote this it was gonna be a hit. If Billboard had a chart for Psalms it would still be in the top ten today! Maybe even number one. Think of how many times you’ve heard this psalm quoted or seen it in some decorative form in someones house or in a church.
As a songwriter I have songs that I started writing and then never could seem to finish. I started out with a good idea but it wasn’t enough and so I abandoned it for another day. All songwriters struggle with that and maybe that was the case with this one for David. He started writing this one when he was a shepherd, verses 1-3. Verses 5-6 He wrote when he was King. Verse 4 was his transition verse or perhaps the chorus😁 David came back and finished his hit song later in life. I wonder if he edited some of the first verses because now looking back he could see where he was and how the Lord was working in his life as he was a shepherd. As a songwriter, I’ve always believed that everybody has a hit song in them, most of us just don’t know it. David is looking back and seeing what he couldn’t see as a younger man when he was in the throes of life.
Whether you are a shepherd or a king, God is always with you. Its hard for us to see it when it is happening but God is the one that is providing everything our life has. Maybe David sulked off when his father told him he had to tend the sheep. Maybe it wasn’t what he wanted to do. Perhaps his brothers poked fun at him because he was given that job. Yet that was where he developed bravery and honed his skills to kill Goliath. That was where he became a great musician. It was leading sheep that taught him how to care for those that need him to lead and protect them. Looking back at his days as a shepherd, he could now see the hand of God in it all.
Whether He is a shepherd or a king, there is always going to be evil. And whether He is a shepherd or a king, he is called to face evil however it is intruding in his life. And whether he is a shepherd or a king, it is still always God that gives him what he needs to overcome evil.
As a King, it is God who put him on the throne. The word cup is an interesting word and a bit confusing. It is often used to represent different things but it carries a meaning with it of something that is uniquely ours as ordained by the Lord. For David it was his kingship. Jesus on the night before His crucifixion asked for this “cup” to be taken from Him.
Again, it is only looking back that David recognizes all of God’s goodness during all of his life. When Saul was chasing him or when Absolom led a revolt against him, during times like that I’m sure he felt cursed. I’m sure he questioned whether God was still with him. We all feel that. I feel that today when things are going wrong, I think of the deliberate ways I’ve sinned and wonder if I’m getting what I deserve. Perhaps that’s why this psalm is so popular. It reminds us that no matter what we’ve done, or what is happening in our lives, though it may not be evident, the Lord is always with us.