Henry Ward Beecher called this 23rd Psalm “the nightingale of the Psalms.” This beloved poem – one of the most familiar passages in Scripture had filled the whole world with melodrama and has been “a very present help for time of trouble.”
You know I have never preached a sermon on this Psalm and I’ve been preaching for more than 30 years. I’ve quoted it at funerals and weddings. I’ve shared it as comfort with sick folk. I don’t know how many times I have laid my hands on the forehead of a dying person - when that person was beyond conversation - stooped close and whispered in his ear this psalm, certain sometimes and praying hopefully at other times, that this pristine word of faith would be heard in the heart and be a balm of grace and a strong and comforting guide through the valley.…