Psalm 22 (23)
A psalm by David

The Lord is my Shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to 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;
Your 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 to the end of my days.

Commentary

Ps 22 (23) is the Church speaking about the Lord Jesus and to the Lord Jesus. In speaking about the Lord, the church identifies him as my shepherd, thus indicating a close relationship with him. And in this relationship of Shepherd and sheep, the Church lacks nothing, for example, the green pastures of kingdom life and the conversion of the soul to the paths of righteousness. And in speaking to the Lord, the Church is grateful to Him for deliverance from the (1) fear of death; (2) for the Eucharist; and (3) for a lifetime of mercy.

Psalm 22 is used in the service of preparation for Holy Communion.

Comments
The last two weeks have been stressful and I have to say that I have been thankful for friends and family. I can’t control all circumstances, but I can work on focusing my mind in prayer on God’s goodness and mercy. In Sunday school yesterday, we made butter by shaking together salt and half and half. It took a lot of shaking to make anything close to butter. We talked about how faith and the spiritual walk in general takes work, takes effort, takes self-discipline. It’s not easy. To concentrate on these psalms and pray them back to God takes work. Releasing our cares into the hands of God takes effort, loosening our tight grip. Trusting God takes effort. Believing and hoping in him takes courage. God, help us be self-disciplined in our thought life. God, have mercy on us.

The image I have for this post is my son playing with his uncle, releasing all concerns and just enjoying that time together. Help us be like that, releasing our anxiety and enjoying time together.