Psalm 23 Review

Hope you did well with reviewing Psalm 1 - I've got it back in my memory now!

Today is Psalm 23...

Psalm 23

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
    forever.

Tomorrow is Psalm 46

Psalms Review

Spend today reviewing Psalms 1, 23, 46, 121 and 139.

Tomorrow we will review 1 Corinthians 13.

Psalm 23 Review

Review Day 2 - spend the day reviewing and meditating on Psalm 23.

Psalm 23

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,^[a]
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
    forever.

Tomorrow we will review Psalm 46.

Psalm 23:6

Psalm 23:6
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Once again, begin the day by reviewing the first 5 verses you've learned.  Then add on today's verse - phrase by phrase, over and over and over again.

Today is your last day in Psalm 23!  Congratulations on learning a chapter of the Bible (or re-remembering it, if you're previously memorized it but need a refresher).

Take the next several days to review this psalm over and over until it is solidified in your memory.  We will continue with either Psalm 5 or 46 next - but probably not for about a week or so.  We're gone on holidays right now and I'm having difficulty keeping up with the posting.  Take this time to review Psalm 23 and any other chapters/books you've learned previously.  Feel free to also take time to research what you'd like to memorize next - I'm open to suggestions!

Psalm 23:5

Psalm 23:5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Begin the day by reviewing the firsts 4 verses of Psalm 23.

Now learn v5, phrase by phrase.  If it's too long to do the whole chunk at once, just take it one sentence at a time, or even smaller - whatever works for you.  Don't get discouraged.  Just like the shorter verses, repetition is the key.

One thing to note - who is doing the actions in this verse?

Everything is done by God.
Everything is done through God's power.
Everything is done for God's glory.
It's not about us, it's about us glorifying Him.  And when we glorify Him, we will find that we have everything we need.

Psalm 23:4

Psalm 23:4
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.

Begin your day by reviewing the first 3 verses of Psalm 23.

This one is slightly longer - take it one phrase at a time if you need to.  Repeat it over and over as you're getting ready for your day.

You're building a habit!  Keep it up!

Tomorrow is Sunday and will be a review day.  See you Monday for v5.

Psalm 23:3

Psalm 23:3
³ he restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 

Begin today by reviewing the first 2 verses and meditating on what they mean.  Then add in today's verse.

I love the part "for his name's sake".  Truly, that's why God does everything He does - for His name's sake.  For His glory.

Repeat the verse over and over and over until you think you have it.

Then review it throughout your day - take your spiral notebook with you - if you're consciously thinking about it, you'll find tons of opportunities to redeem the time!

Psalm 23:2

Psalm 23:2
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

Begin your day by reviewing v1.  Then move on to today's verse.  It's another short one, and another of the very familiar ones from this passage.

One thing I learned about this verse recently.....
Here in America, we visualize completely the wrong thing when we think of green pastures.  At least, I know I did!  I've always thought of it as these beautifully lush meadows, bursting with life.

But that's not the picture the Israelites had, and it's not what the psalmist meant.

It's hard to describe in such a short space/time (and even for me to remember it all exactly!) but the green meadows were actually rocky hills, and with the very small amount of moisture available in the area, small tufts of grass grow by these small rocks, and the Shepherd leads His sheep to those tufts of grass, and every day the sheep eat them, and there is just enough for what they need for that day.

In other words - God gives us what we need for the day, or even for the moment, when we need it.  This verse is not promising us a happy-go-lucky life with no problems along the way.  No, it's promising us that God will provide what we need when we need it, and not before - if we follow Him!  The grass is sparse and we can't find it on our own.   But we can trust Him, because He was faithful yesterday and the day before that and He will continue to be faithful today and every day.

And I think that's even more beautiful than what I originally imagined.  Don't you?

(from the Follow the Rabbi lectures by Ray Vanderlann with Focus on the Family.  Just googled it and found this video- you can see exactly what he's talking about, it drives the point even closer to home!  It's amazing - I highly encourage you to take the time - about 4 mins - to watch it.)
<iframe width="373" height="210" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kdzhbv2eGxk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And the still waters?

In the deserts, wadis can quickly kill. In fact, in that part of the world, more people die in the desert from floods than from starvation or dehydration. When it rains in the hills, water rushes through the wadis, creating flash floods that can’t be seen or heard until it’s too late to escape.

Sheep without a shepherd go to the wadis to find fresh water and have no hope of escaping the floods. It’s the shepherd’s job to find “still water,” that is, water that doesn’t risk death.

Again, it's not referring to a beautiful placid river running through lush meadows that you lounge beside.  It's about God leading you to water that refreshes and does not lead to death.

Repeat this verse over and over throughout your day, whenever you have a moment when your hands are busy but your mind is idle, and remember - God will give you what you need for this moment.

Psalm 23:1

Psalm 23:1
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 

You probably know this one!  And if you don't, it's short :)

Try to repeat it over and over as soon as you can when you get up.  Bring your spiral or iPhone with you wherever you go today - while making/eating breakfast and school lunches, while blow drying your hair.

Keep this a habit!