On September 16th, 2001, churches across the United States were packed. It is estimated there was a 40 percent increase in average attendance at Sunday morning services.[i] Americans were gathering in shock, fear, dismay, and sorrow about what had happened five days prior on 9/11. A question was at the front of everyone’s mind: What does it mean?
No doubt, in many of those churches, Psalm 23 was read or referenced. This was certainly the case during the days and weeks following as funerals are where most people encounter King David’s words about the Divine Shepherd. This Psalm is one of the most widely recognized passages of Scripture and the favorite of millions, from professing believers to rare churchgoers. It’s often to these words of God that people turn when in distress, looking for comfort and encouragement.
In this context, the significance of Psalm 23 following Psalm 22 would be missed by many, but it’s not a coincidence that words of distress, such as “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? ...I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest” (Psalm 22:1–2), precede promises of comfort and mercy. This is a pattern in Scripture and a template for God’s people in life. Many saints have learned that it’s not until we swim in the “Slough of Despond” (Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan) that we savor the sweetness of divine succor.
Frederick III, Zacharias Ursinus, and the Heidelberg Catechism
Dr. Zacharias Ursinus knew this in 1562. That’s when the 28-year-old theology professor at Heidelberg University was asked to draft a new catechism by Frederick III of Simmern, Prince-Elector of the Palatinate, a German-speaking province in the Holy Roman Empire. Frederick had visited churches and schools and discovered congregations had little familiarity with God’s word and even less comprehension of Christian doctrines.[ii]
Frederick’s prescription was for a new catechism to unify the many factions of Protestant churches, provide pastors a tool for outlining their sermons, and serve as an accessible resource to instruct children. A team of professors and ministers joined Dr. Ursinus, crafting a catechism that would meet Frederick’s goals, with the young theology professor as the primary author and Caspar Olevianus, Frederick’s court preacher, the editor of the final composition. The Prince-Elector met with the cohort often. He even contributed to the discussion and signed off on the final draft for Synod approval in 1563 under the title, Catechism, or Christian Instruction, as Conducted in the Churches and Schools of the Electoral Palatinate. That same year the Synod approved the use of the catechism for schools and churches, and after a few minor revisions, the Heidelberg Catechism was included in the Palatinate Church Order and restructured into 52 sections, one for each Lord’s Day of the year. By 1565, it was being widely distributed throughout Germany.[iii]
It’s a Question of Comfort
The tone and purpose of the catechism are established even before one reads the answers. The first question asks, “What is your only comfort in life and in death?” One reason may be the use of personal pronouns in both the psalm and in the catechism, underscoring the intimacy of the covenantal relationship between God and His people. King David pens, “the Lord is my Shepherd”, “he leads me beside the still waters”, “he restores my soul”. “Even though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death, you are with me”.
Symptoms of distress and disappointment plague us all, and we yearn for comfort and security. Zacharias Ursinus affirmed the doctrinal foundation of the catechism for church unity and community instruction, yet he also wrote in a commentary on the catechism: “‘Comfort’ is a deliberation of the heart whereby we juxtapose our misery and the grace which Christ earned, so that, in considering that grace, our grief is tempered.”[iv]
Is there an unbridgeable chasm between doctrine and comfort?