The 23rd Psalm: A Psalm For The Living

How many funerals have we been to where they read Psalm 23 with all the joy of a caught fish?  Ever notice it's the favorite scripture for movie funerals?  It also seems to have made its way into "condolence" greeting cards; stories of losing loved ones; songs about the deaths of others- Even rap songs have been crafted around it as being the Psalm of choice for those within the violence of the street.

Why all the focus on death for this Psalm- Has anyone ever actually read it?!


I'm sure the majority of us have either read or heard Psalms 23 from the King James, but here's a different look at it from the Complete Jewish Bible:

A psalm of David: ADONAI is my shepherd; I lack nothing.
He has me lie down in grassy pastures, he leads me by quiet water, he restores my inner person. He guides me in right paths for the sake of his own name.
Even if I pass through death-dark ravines, I will fear no disaster; for you are with me; your rod and staff reassure me.
You prepare a table for me, even as my enemies watch; you anoint my head with oil from an overflowing cup.
Goodness and grace will pursue me every day of my life; and I will live in the house of ADONAI for years and years to come.

I bring this up because I believe the time has come for Christians to have a fundamental shift of mindset when it comes to certain Scripture.  We do not serve Kali, Mara, Mors, Thanatos, Micthantecuhtli, or Ereshkigal.  YHWH is life, not death.  Yeshua took death upon Himself, not because He needed to prove anything about His power over death, but to remove any claim death had to those of us who choose to return to our origin- To Him.
With this in mind, I want to examine this misconceived Psalm of David and show just why this is not a Funeral Psalm, but a Life Psalm.

For this study, we will be using the Complete Jewish Bible, the Amplified Bible, the New Living Translation, the Julia E Smith Translation, and I will link to the KJV for those who desire it.  I will also reference other versions when their wording can be used for clarity and emphasis, but these others will not be directly quoted from.

Get ready, my friends.  This will be an eye-opening event.



NOTE: Second installment is finished and POSTED- Click here.  Third installment is finished and POSTED- Click here.  Fourth installment is finished and scheduled to post August 30.