Psalm 23 Preparation Part 2 Ep 61

Transcript

Welcome Back!  This is Episode 61!  I’m recording this today after leading a Scripture memory workshop at my church, and on the drive home, I just felt overwhelmed with gratitude. I’m so thankful the Lord has placed women in my life who genuinely desire to know Him and find joy in memorizing His Word alongside me. It was such an encouragement—my heart is full!

Ladies, I want to encourage you: seek out women who love the Lord deeply. When you need counsel, look for those who won’t simply offer opinions, but who will point you back to Scripture and speak truth. I’m not entirely sure what led me to think this way early on, but even when I was younger, I knew I needed godly women in my life—so I looked for those whose lives showed spiritual fruit. 

Please, be intentional about this. Men, find other men to walk with in truth. And ladies, find women who will help you grow in the Word and in your walk with Christ. It makes all the difference.

Speaking of walking in truth and growing in the Word—if you’re just joining us on the podcast, I’d love to invite you to go back and listen to episode 60. That’s where we begin our journey through Psalm 23. Yesterday, we explored how David wrote this psalm with a deep sense of confidence in the Lord, and we identified two key figures in the text. I’m confident we’ll continue uncovering rich truths as we meditate on each verse in the weeks ahead. Today, we’ll be marking both David and the Lord in the passage, and then we’ll make a list of what we’re learning about them.

But Before we start, let's pray: Lord, as we continue to prepare for Psalm 23 , I am asking that you would prepare our hearts and remove any hindrances that could distract us and let us confess any sin that is brought to our mind today . Help us to realign our thoughts with your ways.  Teach us about who You are and do a mighty work in our hearts. In Jesus Name, Amen.

As I read Psalm 23 aloud, I want to invite you to mark “the Lord” and David throughout the passage, including their pronouns. It’s a powerful way to visually engage with the text and notice how the relationship between the two unfolds.

I love sharing little tidbits that help deepen your study—and this one has truly been a go-to for me. If you enjoy marking your Bible but aren’t quite sure how to get started, there’s a resource I lean on almost daily. You’ll find it on my blog under the resource page, and I’ll link it in the show notes as well.

For now, feel free to use the method I often use: I mark “The Lord” with a purple triangle, colored in with a yellow pencil. For David, I highlight his name in orange. Of course, you can also underline or circle their names—whatever feels most helpful to you. The goal is to slow down and soak in every word.

Alright, let’s dive in. I’m going to read Psalm 23 out loud, and as I do, I’d love for you to follow along in your Bible. As you listen, take a moment to mark references to “The Lord” and David—including their pronouns. It’s such a simple practice, but it really helps Scripture come alive as you see how each character is highlighted.

[Psa 23:1 ESV] A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

[Psa 23:2 ESV] He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

[Psa 23:3 ESV] He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

[Psa 23:4 ESV] 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.

[Psa 23:5 ESV] You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

[Psa 23:6 ESV] Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Take your time—I’ll pause here for about 30 seconds to give you a little extra space to finish marking. No rush.

Now that we’ve marked the main characters, let’s spend a little time noticing what we learn about them. This part is fun—we’re going to make a simple list of what we see about the Lord and about David.

Grab a notebook or piece of paper. Write “The Lord” on one side and “David” on the other. Then start jotting down anything you notice from the verses. For example, in verse one, it says “The Lord is my shepherd”—that goes under the Lord’s side.  Another example, Verse 2 describes what He does- makes me lie down in green pastures.

If you’d like to see how I made my list, you can check out the blog. I’ll give you about a 2 minute to work on this, but feel free to pause the podcast or come back to this later when you have more time to dig in.  

You did such a wonderful job today, friends! We marked references to The Lord and David, and created a list of what we learned about each one. I hope that process helped you slow down and notice the richness of the text.

Tomorrow there won’t be a new podcast episode, but that doesn’t mean the journey pauses! I encourage you to keep reading Psalm 23 aloud—and maybe go a bit deeper. Take time to explore some of the descriptive words used for the Lord. What do they reveal about His nature and His care?

To stir your curiosity a bit more, here are some questions you might sit with:

• What does a shepherd actually do? Are there different kinds of shepherds?
• If the Bible speaks of a good shepherd, then by contrast, what does a bad shepherd look like? Which one am I following?
• What are sheep like? Why do they need a shepherd?
• Is the Lord truly my shepherd? If not, who have I been following?
• If the Lord is my shepherd, what does that mean for both of us—practically and spiritually?
• And did you notice? The phrase is in the present tense. "The Lord is my shepherd." So... how does that shape the way I live today?

As I’ve been preparing to dive deeper into Psalm 23, I’ve also been studying outside resources to help enrich our understanding. I’ve been using the New Bible Dictionary, tuning into podcasts on Psalm 23, and reading A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. I’ll link to the sermon and the book in the show notes so you can check them out too.

I think that’s plenty to ponder until we meet again! May your time in the Word be full of insight and rest.

We will be starting to memorize Psalm 23 in the next podcast!  

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