Psalm 23 Study

[ChristsCourage]

Psalm 23

1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.


2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters.

3He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

This is from the 21st Century King James Version. I thought I would use a different version for once. And, this is the one I will be using for now.

What is it that GOD is teaching us in this chapter?

How can we apply this to our everyday life?

What verse is your favourite?

Now, answer these three questions, and, then if you have three of your own, ask away. And, if one person gets to this first let them sk their questions first. I only want one set of questions at a time, if you know what I mean.

I hope everyone enjoys this study of the most popular chapter in the bible. I know this is a short study, and, that is okay with me. I will go short, longer, longest, and, then we will work up to one of the books that are really easy to study. God Bless, and, have fun. And, if you have questions abhout my OP, please feel free to ask, and, I will be sure to answer to the best of my ability. Study away.

[Ta-An]

What is it that GOD is teaching us in this chapter? The He will never leave nor forsake us..... like in the parable of the lost sheep :idea:

How can we apply this to our everyday life? Walk in the knowledge that He IS in controle

What verse is your favourite?v.5......Thou anointest my head with oil;..... :pp

Q1: When acting this psalm .... and you bask in His anointing,, do you feel it, and what do you feel??

Q2: To dwell in the House of the L_d forever..... What are our expectations?

Q3. What is meant by :Still waters??

[Scruffy Kid]

Thanks for starting this study!!

I'd like to go verse by verse as well, but I think it's good to start with the whole psalm as you have done.

Sometimes it helps me to look at different translations. Here's a rhymed metrical version (which is a popular hymn) from the Scottish Psalter of 1650 The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want.
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; He leadeth me
The quiet waters by.

My soul He doth restore again;
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
Even for His own Name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill;
For Thou art with me; and Thy rod
And staff my comfort still.

My table Thou hast furnishèd
In presence of my foes;
My head Thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup overflows.

Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me;
And in God’s house forevermore
My dwelling place shall be. I love all the verses, and the whole. But if I had to choose one verse it would probably be "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me." The depth and security of God's love is expressed most fully in that even in the most terrible and dangerous place He will stay with me, and not abandon me. (Of course, this also teaches us how we should love others in every difficulty.) This is in a sense expressed most fully in that Jesus died for me, for us -- went through the darkness of sin and death to rescue us. The author -- King David -- had been a shepherd as a boy, and tells us (when he goes to slay Goliath) that he did not abandon his sheep when they were attacked by a lion and by a bear, but fought these wild beasts off, and killed them. He relied upon God to save him, as he did with the contemptuous Philistine giant Goliath. Similarly, Christ, trusting God, entered into the utter darkness of abandonment and bore the fullness of our sin, defeating sin, hell, death, and the devil to save us. Jesus is our true shepherd, who has born all our griefs and wounds, and taken our iniquities upon himself. Thus we know we will never be abandoned. "Will not God, who gave us His son, give us all else as well?" Therefore "nothing can separate us from the love of Christ!"

[ChristsCourage]

Q1: When acting this psalm .... and you bask in His anointing,, do you feel it, and what do you feel??

I do feel His annointing. I feel it when I am alone, and, when I am with my friends in Christ out at Church.

Q2: To dwell in the House of the L_d forever..... What are our expectations?

We are expected to rejoice in the LORD, and, PRAISE Him in the storms. We are also to live by the laws of the bible.

Q3. What is meant by :Still waters??

I believe Still waters means the problems we are facing in life. He leads us through those problems with His grace, and, love, and, glory, and, guidance.

1. What does "I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever" mean?
2. How did you learn about this Psalm?
3. What is the biggest thing we learn in this Psalm?

[Tanya~]

Beautiful passage and great questions too Dana.



What is it that GOD is teaching us in this chapter?

I believe it is a Psalm of trust. It is the expression of the Psalmist that he can trust God and from that we can also trust Him.

How can we apply this to our everyday life?
The short answer is that we can apply this by following the example of the Psalmist, and put our trust in Him.

It is a wonderful Psalm to use as a prayer guide as well. This is when you sit down with your Bible in front of you and you read the passage, changing it as you go from a song written by someone else into a prayer from your own heart to God. For example, "The Lord is my Shepherd" is the first point in the Psalm. You can read that and pray however your heart responds to that point at that particular time. It might be, "Thank You Lord, for being My Shepherd" or it may be, "Lord, I feel lost and need You to shepherd me" or something like that. Then you continue point by point through the Psalm in your prayer. If you haven't ever tried this, I highly recommend it!

What verse is your favourite?

I have had different favorites at different times. Lately it has been "He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."

[Scruffy Kid]

To dwell in the House of the L_d forever..... What are our expectations? ...

What does "I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever" mean?
I am reminded of another favorite Psalm of mine, Psalm 27, and in particular verse 4: One thing I have asked of THE LORD,
.....and that is what will I seek
That I may dwell in the house of THE LORD
.....all the days of my life
to behold the fair beauty of THE LORD
.....and to enquire in his temple! I think that dwelling in the house of the Lord means learning more and more of God's goodness, developing a closer and closer relationship, and better and better understanding of Jesus.

Certainly there will be other aspects to our growth in his love. We will see and rejoice in one another, and in the goodness of His creation. But most of all we will come to know Him more and more.

No wonder this is goodness which is utterly beyond our comprehension! Paul (I Cor. 2:9, quoting Isaiah 64:4) says "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, the good things which God has prepared for them that love him." It will be the "peace which passes all understanding" (Phil. 4:9) which keeps our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of His son Jesus Christ! Not peace in the sense just of surcease of trouble and sorrow, but peace in the sense of fullness of being and life, blessing and goodness.

All that is conveyed to me by Psalm 23's words He makes me lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside the still waters! And of course, summed up by dwelling in the house of THE LORD forever.

[ChristsCourage]

Thanks Scruffy Kid for that explaination of this. I am learning lots of things about His goodness, and, ways of being more like His Son.