The shepherd Psalm

To listen to the complete versions of the Psalm 23 songs included in today's program check out our Spotify playlist.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, July 19th, 2024. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Up next: the 23rd Psalm. Charles Spurgeon once referred to King David’s most well-known Psalm as the “Pearl of the Psalms.”

Bible commentator Matthew Henry declared it was so full of comfort that Christians would sing as long as the world stands.

EICHER: With that in mind, WORLD’s Paul Butler now with an introduction to a handful of noteworthy musical renditions of the Shepherd Psalm.

MUSIC: [PSALM 23 | CRIMOND]

PAUL BUTLER: The 23rd Psalm from Queen Elizabeth’s 2022 State Funeral. It’s one of the most well known settings of the Psalm—published in the 1650 Scottish Psalter.

BARKER: What I initially think of with this Psalm is funerals…I think that that's wrong, that it not ought to be thought of as a funeral Psalm.

Jeff Barker is a worship leader and retired professor of Worship Arts from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa.

BARKER: It's not really about death, per se, but it is about the danger that we face in life. And for me personally, I will fear no evil…the idea that we have enemies of righteous living, enemies of living in the path of God. So this Psalm is a Psalm that says to me, “I cannot do this on my own, but God is going to lead me in the paths of righteousness throughout my life.”

Behind John 3:16, Psalm 23 is probably the most memorized passage from the Bible.

BARKER: I think it's most well known because it's so succinct that it's easily held in the memory, and so people hang on to it. It has a journey. It goes from the pastures, through dark trouble, and then a table, and then home to heaven to be with the Lord. So that journey helps it hang in the memory as well.

There are hundreds—if not thousands—of musical renditions of Psalm 23. Some are simple, historic expressions rooted in church tradition like this chanted version by Theopolis:

MUSIC: [THEOPOLIS - PSALM 23]

Canadian musician and television personality Peter Pringle posted his ancient interpretation of Psalm 23 sung in Hebrew and accompanied on an ancient Canaanite lyre:

MUSIC: [THE LYRE OF MEGIDDO, PSALM 23 IN HEBREW]

Most modern renditions of the Psalm are equally contemplative. Jewish artists Miqedem begin that way in their recording, but about halfway through take a more upbeat turn:

MUSIC: [MIQEDEM - PSALM 23]

BARKER: It ends in joy. It ends in “thou anointest my head with oil…and my cup is full, to running over.” It doesn't matter if you spill it. It's just there's plenty. Those images are such hopeful images and we sometimes forget that the Christian journey ends in heaven.

One of the musical gems I discovered this week for the first time was a Gospel-styled selection by People & Songs featuring worship leader Josh Sherman. It begins with Psalm 23 and weaves in the New Covenant blessing of God’s promised Spirit for His children.

MUSIC: [PEOPLE & SONGS FT JOSH SHERMAN - PSALM 23 (I AM NOT ALONE) (LIVE AT LINGER CONFERENCE)]

The words of Psalm 23 are very personal, and devotional. Many of the musical expressions of the Psalm reflect that. But there are also some very moving versions that feature hundreds of voices joining together, like this recording featuring Shane and Shane and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir:

MUSIC: [BROOKLYN TABERNACLE CHOIR - PSALM 23 SURELY GOODNESS, SURELY MERCY SUNG BY THE BROOKLYN TABERNACLE CHOIR]

Many memorize Psalm 23 in their youth. Some in Sunday School, others at the knee of parents or grandparents. 

BARKER: My daughter, Hannah, remembers this Psalm because when she stayed overnight with her grandma Doris, Doris would speak this Psalm to her from memory, and she taught it to Hannah. And so I think it's a Psalm that has been taught from one generation to the next, and I certainly hope that when our grandson leaves the farm that he will leave with this Psalm on his lips.

In Luke 24, Jesus tells the religious leaders of His day that He fulfills the Psalms. And Jeff Barker says in Psalm 23, it’s easy to see.

BARKER: It begins with naming him. “The Lord is my shepherd,” and Jesus said that “I am the good shepherd.” So we, right away, are immersed in the presence of Christ. But then suddenly, the Psalm takes this wonderful turn in which we're not only talking about Christ, but we are talking to Christ. “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 presence…” you cannot journey through this Psalm without being in the presence of Jesus.

In 1982, Sparrow Records released Keith Green’s version of the Psalm. It’s one of Jeff Barker’s favorites. It shaped an entire generation of Christians—returning the church to the simple instruction of Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

MUSIC: [KEITH GREEN - PSALM 23 FROM THE GREATEST HITS, 1982 SPARROW RECORDS]

If you’d like to learn where you can find any of these songs and a few others I wasn’t able to squeeze into this segment, I’ve created a Spotify playlist and have included the link in our transcript and placed it at the end of today’s show notes below.

For WORLD, I’m Paul Butler.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.