Psalm Research
With all the Psalms that David wrote, Psalm 23 stands out to me the most. It's a really short one, but I like how it projects a lot of David's heart for the Lord. As I read it over and over, I can see and feel David's heart-felt worship for the Lord. What I really like in this Psalm is that David shows us complete fullness in God as he worships Him. He knows there isn't anything else that could bring him complete satisfaction, joy, security, and peace. I like this Psalm most out of all the other because it overall summarizes that God is always present no matter where we are at. This Psalm with it's peaceful and tender tone, reminds me how important it is that when things seem too much, I need to take a moment aside to quietly sit in God's presence and remember that He is here for me. If I had to guess when David wrote this, it might have been during David's quiet time with the Lord. I can tell by verse 2, he says, “He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.” And then as it goes on, there seems to be a lot of reflecting of what God has done for him. He talks about times of peace in the green meadows, to the dark times in the valley, and remembers His anointing as King. Worshiping God in quietness is so vital because during that moment of silence, we remember all the wonderful and good things He has done for us. In his book “Worship As David Who Lived”, Judson Cornwall (1990) describes David’s quiet worship as him reminding himself that his life wasn't always distressing. He used his quiet times to remember the past blessings. He also uses this quiet moment to reach out to God and renew his strength, just as it's seen in verse 3. One of things that I really like in this Psalm is the security David has in the Lord. In the first verse it says, “The LORD is my shepherd”. David was a shepherd himself and knew how important it was that every sheep needs their shepherd. The shepherd is the provider and protector of his flock. He guides them