Psalm 23 – New Living Translation

Psalm 23 Came Out of David’s Humble Experience

Evie Polsley — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 19:42:12 +0000

I recently saw a Twitter post about a garbage man who was continuing to do his job amidst the COVID-19 quarantine. I thought how integral his role is in all our health and safety. So often we take for granted those around us who have jobs that aren’t in the spotlight. God calls each of us to do everything as if we are doing it for him (Colossians 3:23). This excerpt from the Africa Study Bible helps us understand Psalm 23 wasn’t out of David’s greatness, but humble experience as a shepherd boy.

Article from the Africa Study Bible

When David was tending his sheep, he had no idea how God would use his life experience. His experience in guarding the sheep gave him the skills and confidence he needed to slay Goliath (1 Samuel 17:40). In this most beloved psalm, David writes from his experience under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to write a poem that is one of the most beautiful and encouraging things ever written—perhaps the most quoted part of the Old Testament. How many of us have gone to take comfort in the words of Psalm 23 in our darkest moments?

David was assigned the care of sheep as he was the youngest and least qualified of his brothers. When they went off to war, he was left at home. Shepherds were generally looked down upon in society, yet without David’s experience with sheep, Goliath would have not been slain and we would not have Psalm 23. Most young people, even new university graduates, must start with the work nobody else wants to do. Whatever God has called you to do when you are young, do not despise the experience. Work hard, learn all you can, and someday in the future you may be very surprised how God uses it to equip you for your most important work and to greatly bless others.

Psalm 23 Activity from the Hands-On Bible

Evie Polsley — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 18:38:46 +0000

Here is a great way to help the kids in your life engage with Psalm 23. Read through the Psalm together and then try this activity from the Hands-On Bible.

Want to learn more? See additional features in the Hands-On Bible? Take a look inside

Under the Good Shepherd’s Care

Evie Polsley — Tue, 17 Mar 2020 18:03:53 +0000

Devotional from the Beyond Suffering Bible

“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6, NLT

In this beloved song that was deeply personal to him, David reflected on Israel’s communal experience of suffering and pictured God’s people as sheep in need of a loving shepherd. Just as God led the Israelites like sheep out of Egyptian slavery and walked beside them through the deep, dark, dangerous wilderness inhabited by their enemies, so he walks with his children today—even when they pass through “the darkest valley.”

Under the tender care of our Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ himself (John 10:11), we will always have everything we need (though not always everything we want!). He faithfully provides us with strength, guidance, discipline, protection, and—what we sometimes need most of all—rest. If you are feeling weak, aimless, undisciplined, vulnerable, or just plain tired, let God be your shepherd. He will not disappoint.

In this life, God’s children are surrounded by enemies yet remain safe, feasting at a table of blessings set by God himself. This is but a foretaste, a preview, of the great “wedding feast of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9) that believers look forward to with eager anticipation, when all our enemies—including death, pain, and sorrow—will finally be vanquished once and for all. What a glorious hope!