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 16 Psalm 16 Psalm 16 is the 16th psalm from the Book of Psalms. Charles and Emilie Briggs summarized its contents as follows: "Ps[alm] 16 is a psalm of faith. The psalmist has sought refuge in Yahweh his sovereign Lord, and supreme welfare (v. 1-2); whose good pleasure is in His saints (v. 3). The apostates have many sorrows, and he keeps apart from them and their impious worship (v. 4). Yahweh is his portion and his inheritance in pleasant places (v. 5-6); he enjoys His counsel (v. 7) and continual helpful presence (v. 8); he is glad and secure (v.