The Lord is my Shepherd

This summer, the pastor at my church did an extended series of sermons on the 23rd Psalm. Every time I hear the Psalm, I have to choke back laughter. Yes, it is an incredible psalm...but let me take you to my past expended with this psalm.

When I was growing up, Psalm 23 was said at all sorts of events such as weddings and funerals and baptisms. People said it so much, they often ran together all the words. I thought the psalm went as follows:
"The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want Him. Makes me to lie down in green pastures..."
I thought the 23rd Psalm was the worst passage of Scripture ever written! How could people recite a passage which denied their need for a shepherd--their need for someone to watch over them and protect them--their need for someone to lead them through life. And people had the audacity to recite this at sacred events! I often would not say the psalm and would be so sad people did not love the Lord. I could not understand how church members and Christian leaders loved a piece of Scripture that denied their need for Christ.

A few years ago, I actually sat down and read the 23rd Psalm in the Bible. I was shocked to read how the text actually appears in Scripture:
The LORD is my shepherd; (wait, there is a pause here!?)
I shall not want. (And there is another pause here. Where is the word "Him"?)
He makes me lie down in green pastures (Oh, my! When listening to this psalm, people rushed through it so fast, the words "he" and the "m" from the word "makes" combined in my head to create the word "him". Oh, dear! I had this psalm all wrong. It truly is one of the most incredible psalms in the Bible!)

So now, whenever I hear or read this psalm, I cannot but laugh over how outraged I used to get when I heard this recited. I try to be somber and enjoy the beauty of this inspired text, but rumbles of laughter always rack my body...which can be rather inappropriate when attending a funeral.

Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul:
He leads 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 You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.