So how do you read Psalm 23?

Psalm 23, Psalm 24: Today's reading includes one of the most well-known and familiar Psalms, one that most people could recite or sing, regardless of how connected they are to a church. In The Psalms Through Three Thousand Year: Prayerbook of a Cloud of Witnesses, William Holliday views this psalm as an American secular icon , especially for Protestants, a prayer or poem recited at deathbeds and funerals and quoted in 19th century literature. He suggests a few reasons: it is short and easy to memorize, undemanding and doesn't mention sin. (p. 364). Last year my son had to choose a favourite psalm for his grade 7 Christian studies class, and this is the one he chose to memorize and then present to his class, telling the story from the perspective of a sheep with the help of a large muppet-style puppet wearing a sheep costume. Although this is a well-known psalm, it doesn't rank as my favourite, although I could recite it or sing it along with most of you. Of the two psalms today, 24 is more evocative for me, a liturgy for entrance into the sanctuary, one that is much used in hymnody and the last three verses are part of a well-known chorus in Handel's Messiah "Lift up your heads, o ye gates."