In Green Pastures
No other psalm perhaps has been so widely sung as the twenty-third. Its simplicity, its childlike confidence, express religion’s purest form. It seems to look back to David’s sheep-watching days upon the hills near Bethlehem.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
“He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
The psalm’s calm fortitude amid the darkness of death has soothed the passage of many a trembling soul. “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.
“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
“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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