Psalm 23 reminds us that in life or in death — in times of plenty or want — God is good and worthy of our trust. The psalm uses the metaphor of a shepherd’s care for his sheep to describe the wisdom, strength and kindness of our God. It gives voice to the sheep who are always eager to share what they know to be true, that staying close to the shepherd is always the safe place to be, for there can be nowhere He leads that does not, in the end, result in that which will be good for His flock.

In the New Testament, Jesus reveals Himself to be the Good Shepherd of Psalm 23, and at the graveside of his friend Lazarus, this is especially evident. For there, as we learn from John 11:35, the shortest verse in the Bible, that “Jesus wept.” Two words that speak volumes of what Psalm 23 means when it declares, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

Here is Jesus — our Lord and Shepherd — not merely looking down on our sorrow from a distance and feeling for us with sympathy, but coming alongside and entering into our suffering as one of us and in empathy He is with us.