A lot of songs that we sing in church come from the book of Psalm. That’s because they were written as songs by the original author. I have often thought about putting a tune to Psalm 23, and last week in my Bible study I was challenged to do just that. Not specifically that chapter in that book, but using scripture as a basis for a song.
It’s funny how using a few different words in a common verse from the Bible can completely change the way you look at it. I have grown up in church my whole life and Psalm 23 is one of those things that you just know. Even if you don’t know the whole chapter verbatim you’ve likely heard the beginning and parts of the middle, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want… Though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”
A few years ago I read that verse in a different translation and it hit me in a way I had never seen it before. Instead of saying, “I shall not want,” it said, “I lack nothing.” While the two phrases mean the exact same thing, there’s something stronger behind the latter phrasing. I used the new living translation for this particular song; I hope it gives you a fresh perspective on this chapter.
The Culver Project 