Psalm 23 the ancient Hebrews. The writer describes God as his shepherd, in the role of protector and provider. The psalm is read, recited and sung by Jews and Christians. It has been called the most well-known of all chapters in the Book of Psalms for its universal theme of trust in God. Following is the Hebrew text and English translation of Psalm 23: For Christians the image of God as a shepherd evokes connections not only with David but with Jesus, described as "Good Shepherd" in the Gospel of John. The phrase about "the valley of the shadow of death" is
Psalm 143 currently the fourth Thursday prayed at Lauds in the Liturgy of the Hours and every Tuesday night at compline. This psalm is a prayer request. The Psalmist's cry is divided into four stages: the psalmist is sorry and is not better than another; it is at an impasse; but he sees that the Lord has saved other men; so he puts his trust in the Lord. The psalm evokes the problem of a prayer request from the sinner, the one that persecutes the enemy. The solid base that helps the psalmist hope in the LORD is his reminiscence of the