Funeral - Walking through the Valley

- Walking Through the Valley

23:title A psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

for ever.[1]

I am sure many of us are familiar with this Psalm, whether we are Christians or not, for it is quite frequently read on occasions such as this, when we seek to remind ourselves of our God’s love. In fact, parts of this Psalm was quoted in the obituary of the late Mr Yong which is why I decided to base tonight’s sharing on it.

Despite familiarity by most with this Psalm, tradition is not the reason for its frequent usage, but rather because of the fact that this Psalm provides for us a word of hope that speaks to us on occasions such as today when our words fail to be able to fully express how we feel and our words seem empty and fail to offer any real comfort in the face of our circumstances.

This Psalm was written by David, who though was a King, a great servant of God, was powerful physically and politically and hence a man of great confidence in himself, he was also like us was a mortal creature, who had emotions like us and hence struggled with joy as well as fear and frustration, and had really challenging periods when he had to fear for his very life itself.

Yet, despite of all the challenging circumstances he faced, he continued to have great faith in God, continued to have a great encounter with God, arising from his close relationship with God, and is a Psalm that had birthed out of such a challenging period, and while we may not know the actual situation during which this psalm was written, it is evident that it was one in which the very foundations of life seemed to be threatened.

Indeed, despite the life-threatening circumstances, David continued to speak with great assurance, an assurance that most of us seek especially in times of transition such as right now.

And why is it that David can continue to speak with such great assurance?

He was unbashfully consistent throughout the psalm, in identifying the Lord, God, as his source of confidence even from the very first verse…

This is why even when he talked about the very precarious situation that he was in, where death was a very possible reality, he used the analogy of walking through a valley, which was carefully chosen analogy…

Rather than using a more common analogy of a violent sea – for water is usually associated with chaos – or other analogies such as a desert,

he chose the image of a valley for death, that was set at the foot of a mountain which is often associated with the presence of God, as seen when Moses met with God.

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Inherent in this imagery therefore is that even in your darkest times, in your deepest valleys of darkness and difficulties,

God is never far away, and that the mountain being a vertically extensive structure is within sight no matter where you are… David’s message to us all, that arose from his experience with God is that God is never far away, even in your darkest moments, so find assurance in Him…

He is your trustworthy source of hope…

Another imagery of death offered by David in this psalm is that of a shadow, which again is in contrast with the more common imageries of death being chambers or gates…

This again is significant because the latter two imageries are images of stronghold, things that are permanent, which suggest that death is something that will last a long time…

But David corrected that understanding by describing death as a shadow which is something that is

fragile… fleeting… temporal…

And we know that when there is sufficient light, the shadow will disappear…

And what a true and profound statement that is!

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We read in the scriptures that Jesus, our saviour, said that He is the light of the world and we also know through our scriptures that our Lord had already overcome the grave…

And what we experience right now is but perhaps best described as a temporary inconvenience before we will experience the pure bliss of being in our Lord’s presence once again…

And as we walk in this valley, while it may feel overwhelming at times, with the shadow of death covering us, just like an overcast day,

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but we know that soon enough, the fleeting shadow of death will soon pass away and the bright light of the Lord will shine right through, driving all the darkness away and we will be able to bask in the glory of the Lord knowing and having experienced the fact that the overwhelming presence and glory and the victory of God has overcome all the valleys of the life… even the valley of death itself…

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But I think the most powerful imagery used by David in this psalm is the imagery of the shepherd, which reminds us that our God is not a God that is aloft and far away, waiting for you on the other side of the valley, shouting instructions to you from afar…

Quite the opposite, our God is there with us in the valley itself, caring for us, providing for and meeting our very needs here in the valley, while we are in the valley…

He is not a far-away-arms-length God… He is a roll-up-his-sleeves get his hands dirty kinda God…

This we read through the imagery of the rod and the staff David provided which are instruments of comfort as well as protection… they are used as weapons to ward of predators as such lions and foxes to protect the sheep and is a picture of God protects us even as we are in the valley of the shadow of death…

But what is important more amazing for me is that the rod and the staff are also used as guiding instruments, so that we will not be lost in the valley of the shadow of death but we will be led right through the temporary shadow and we will be able to find our way home because our Lord Himself is there leading and guiding us every step of the way…

And this we know is true because not only do we read about it in the scriptures but we know that to be true through many testimonies we hear of how God had led us back to Him when we become lost…

This, I understand to be the experience of the late Mr. Yong as well because for a period of time, because of circumstances, Mr Yong had his valley experience and found it hard to see the light, but God shone through the darkness of his circumstances, sent him visions and led him to see the light once again…

This shepherd, not only was he willing to protect and lead us home, he was also capable of doing so, because we know that He is God Himself our creator and He purchased our right to be with Him by laying down His very life for us, His sheep, so that the path we’re taking even as we cross to the other side… in that, we can take assurance and comfort…

Today, as Mr Yong walks through the valley of the shadow of death, while we are sad that Mr Yong is no longer visibly with us and rightly so, because we will miss him for he is such a big part of our lives… however, we can take comfort in what we had talked about earlier, which is that this journey through the valley is a temporal one, and he will reach the other shore soon, where he is free from the troubles and diseases of the world…

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which the bible in the book of which declares that there are no more sorrows, no more mourning, no more crying, no more pain, no more infirmities, no more weakness, no more disappointments, but rather, Mr. Yong is now in a place of pure delight, no longer need to be bound by our weak and limited body, but able to fully enjoy life… life as how we were supposed to enjoy, before sin came into this world, and we know that this journey is sure and he will get there because God, the creator of Heaven and Earth is the one accompanying him! The journey is sure!

And in that, we know that we will meet one day on that beautiful shore… and in that we can rejoice and be comforted! Amen!

Cadenhead, Al. The Minister's Manual for Funerals . B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version—Anglicised, electronic edition. (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1984), .