“Really?”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Saturday, February 4, 2023

Psalm 23 (Forward, p. 6) CEV p. 568

As greatly known and loved as this psalm happens to be, I wonder how many people take it seriously, and, more to the point, how many people actually believe it and act upon it. I say this, because it’s opening words, if taken seriously, taken to heart, can be profoundly life changing.

Let’s look at those words from several translations. The very familiar King James Version obscures its radical message a bit, when it reads, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” The NRSV follows the KJV verbatim and so doesn’t tell us anything more. However, other translations serve to bring out its most surprising message much more clearly. Notably, several of these translations make a point of mentioning ‘need’, as opposed to ‘wants’:

“You, Lord, are my shepherd. I will never be in need” (CEV)

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need” (Good News Bible)

“The Lord is my shepherd. I am never in need”. (God’s Word Translation)

“Yahweh, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing” (The Message);

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need” (New Century Version)

“Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need! (The Living Bible, Paraphrased);

“The Lord is my shepherd. He gives me everything I need” (New International Reader’s Version)

Several translations do render it as ‘need’ versus ‘want’ but notice what the New International Version says. It mentions ‘being in want’ which is a far cry from simply ‘wanting’:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall want nothing” (The New English Bible)

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want” (New International Version):

Several versions open it up much more broadly, as if to say that God gives us everything without hollis bollis:

“The Lord is my shepherd: I lack nothing” (New International Version)

“The Lord is my shepherd [to feed, guide and shield me]; I shall not lack” (The Amplified Bible)

“Yahweh is my shepherd: I will not lack [for anything]”. (Lexham English Bible)

“The Lord takes care of me as his sheep; I will not be without any good thing.” (The Bible in Basic English).

But even there, as noted in this last translation, there is a hitch. It says, ‘any good thing.” However, our last two translations add an entirely new wrinkle. They suggest that God is more than just a provider, more than just a celestial ‘vending machine’ who gives us anything and everything that we want:

“The Lord ruleth me and I shall want nothing” (Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible)

“The Lord governeth me, and nothing shall fail to me”/ “The Lord governeth me, and there is nothing that I shall lack” (Wycliffe’s Translation).

So that immediately gives us pause: are we really willing to allow Him to rule us or govern us in all things? And that isn’t the only hitch, or reason to pause. Do we really believe that He can, and will, provide for all our needs, much less our wants? Do we really believe that He will look after us in all ways that are needful? And, more to the point, have we actually put our trust and faith in Him and expected Him to do so?

I suspect that, for all our glib words—and our nodding acquaintance with this psalm, we often take matters into our own hands, and try to meet our needs and wants on our own—entirely without reference to Him. To meet our needs and wants on our own, without asking for His input, either to guide us, or to provide for us: I suspect that this is often the way we handle it. Amen.

Forward notes: “I shall not be in want” (verse 1b).

“If I was told I could only pray one prayer for the rest of my life, it would be Psalm 23. I remember memorizing it at my Christian summer camp in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

“When I was a child, Little House on the Prairie was my favourite television show. I watched that pioneer family go through many heartache situations. Any time they experienced a tragedy or serious loss, the parents would hold each other and recite Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

“As a teen, I thought of the rod and the staff keeping me in line. As an adult, I take strength and solace in knowing that all I have is under my shepherd’s control. I pray and remember that I am where I should be and have, with God’s help, whatever I need. God takes care of me, and whatever decision is made, God has a long-term plan, even if I can’t see it amid the valley of shadows.”

Moving Forward: “What’s your favorite psalm-prayer? Share it with us at #ForwardDaybyDay.”