Psalm 23 is the most beloved of all the psalms, a song of perfect trust in God who shepherds us through life and through the valley of death into his house for ever. It brings comfort in grief.
The Psalm
The Lord rules me: and I shall want nothing.
He has set me in a place of pasture.
He has brought me up on the water of refreshment:
he has converted my soul.
He has led me on the paths of justice, for his own name's sake.
For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evils, for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they have comforted me.
You have prepared a table before me
against them that afflict me.
You have anointed my head with oil;
and my chalice which inebriates me, how goodly is it.
And your mercy will follow me
all the days of my life.
And that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
unto length of days.
When to Pray This Prayer
At funerals and times of grief, in fear or danger, and whenever you seek the comfort of God's presence.
About This Prayer
Prayed by Jews and Christians for three thousand years, Psalm 23 is the great psalm of trust. The Church reads it over her dead, confident that the Good Shepherd leads them home.
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Scripture: Psalm 22/23, Douay-Rheims (public domain).