Psalm 23 Psalm 23 was not used for funerals until the 1928 revision of the prayer book. The theme of God as a shepherd was common in ancient Israel and Mesopotamia. For example, King Hammurabi, in the conclusion to his famous legal code, wrote: "I am the shepherd who brings well-being and abundant prosperity; my rule is just... so that the strong might not oppress the weak, and that even the orphan and the widow might be treated with justice." This imagery and language was well known to the community that created the Psalm, and was easily imported into its worship. Psalm
Psalm 128 Psalm 128 Psalm 128 is the 128th psalm (127th psalm in the Vulgate) from the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament. It is one of fifteen psalms which begins with the words "A song of ascents" (Shir Hama'alot). It contains only six verses, and discusses the blessed state of those who follow Yahweh. Its opening words in the King James Version are "Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways". Written anonymously, it likely dates to the post-exilic period (that is, after about 539 BCE). The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary describes as a "virtual commentary