Psalm 23 offers a significant linguistic change that is often unnoticed. See if you notice the change in the way the writer speaks of God in the Psalm here in the familiar King James Version,
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4Yea, 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.
5Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
In the beginning of the Psalm, the writer speaks of God in the third person, “The Lord is my shepherd…,” “He maketh me…,” “He leadeth me…,” but in the “valley of the shadow of death,” the Psalmist changes tenses to the more personal second person. God is “You,” or in The King James, “Thou.”
I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.
Pray this practice by praying this line multiple times reminding yourself that God is ever present in all the moments of your life, but especially in the shadow times.
Pray this practice by putting personal words to God rewriting the whole Psalm. Here is my version as an example.
Lord, You are my shepherd.
You guide me down the right path,
to green pastures, by quiet waters,
where You restore my soul.
I trust and am not afraid,
even in the darkest valley
where death seems all around
I trust and am not afraid
because You comfort me.
You prepare me a table,
You anoint my head,
You fill my cup.
I trust and am not afraid,
because in Your house
I will dwell forever.
Lord, You are my shepherd.
Expect God in the Shadow
