The Perilous Path: Meditations on Psalm 23

Of all the Psalms, this short song is often the most well known or remembered.  It is rendered so well and memorably in the old King James Version, that its form is often followed even in more modern translations.  It goes like this:

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.

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.

As David pens this Psalm under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he sees not only his own plight as a persecuted servant of God, but the ultimate persecution of the very Son of God.  It is Jesus who descended from the peaceful abode of His Father, to walk the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake; it is He who walked through the deadly valley, fearing no evil, even as He hung dying for the sins of the world upon the Cross; it is He who has set a Eucharistic table before His people in the presence of their enemies of sin, death, devil and hell; it is He who was both anointed, and anoints the heads of His people by grace through faith in Him, such that their cups runneth over with the blessings of life, forgiveness, and hope; it is He who ascended to the right hand of the Father, preparing a place for all His people, that they may dwell with Him forever.

But of course, like David and every person before us, we will have to walk through that dark valley of death.  By our own strength we cannot resist it, or avoid it.  By our own reason and intellect, we cannot calm our fear of it.  Death is not so feeble an enemy, that we can wish it away, or push it back forever.  That dark valley awaits us all, and at a time known only to our Creator, we shall walk into that bleak vale, whether we want to or not.  That journey may come suddenly and without warning, or with premonitions and signs of failing health.  Either way, our feet move inexorably toward that dim horizon, that stands before us as the just consequences of our own sin and evil, begun so many centuries ago by our first parents, and continued with our every wicked breath.

But we are not left to walk that grim path alone.  The Lord is indeed our Shepherd, and He has promised to lead us to good pastures and quiet waters.  He knows this road, because He has walked it.  He knows what perils lie before His people as they sojourn on, because He has suffered them.  He knows the icy flood of death, because it has rolled over Him.  But of course, He also knows what lies beyond that dark and frightening vale.  Before He entered the realm of death and shattered its strength with His own most unconquerable Life, it was a terrifying place of despair and separation from God.  Now, it is the darkness before the dawn of salvation, when the Eternal Light of God breaks forth upon the soul of the faithful, and they see God face to face.

There is no other path to glory, but by grace through faith and repentance in Him.  Only Jesus has won this victory for you, and only He can lead you through the valley of the shadow of death.  Without Him, you are hopeless.  With Him, however, there is nothing to fear.  There is no evil that shall terrify you, for your Lord and Shepherd have conquered them all.  Even as your sinful body reposes in death, your Shepherd keeps and guides your soul, with the promise that just as He is risen from the dead, so shall you rise.  Death is not the final word for you, nor any of the screeching rants of the evil one.  For you, the last word, is the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ your Savior.

And so it is that the Church presses forward through that dark valley, following her Lord, the Good Shepherd, who has given His life for His people.  She marches on, every soul, suffering the trifles and struggles of this life, the sins and recklessness and unbelief of her neighbors, just as her Savior has done.  She follows the voice of Him whom called her out of darkness, and into His marvelous Light.  And she will, every soul, at the last when Light Perpetual shines through the darkness of death, abide in the house of the Lord forever.  Heed the voice of your Good and Saving Shepherd, for He leads you to life everlasting.  Amen.