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 39 include "Almighty maker of my frame" by Anne Steele. Heinrich Schütz set the psalm in German with the text from the Becker Psalter, "In meinem Herzen hab ich mir" (In my heart I [told] myself), for choir as his SWV 136. Verses 4 to 7 in German, "Herr, lehre doch mich" (Lord, teach me) are used in the third movement of "Ein deutsches Requiem" by Johannes Brahms, for baritone, choir and orchestra. Verses 13 and 14 in Latin are used in the first movement of the Symphony of Psalms by Igor Stravinsky. The text of the psalm in English has