The confidence which opens Psalm 23 is not like the opening of the preceding one, Psalm 22. David says in Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” (22:1). David’s words in Psalm 22 are drenched with agony and steeped in affliction. In Psalm 22, he is surrounded, overwhelmed, undone, and at the edge of destruction. When we pass from Psalm 22 and read Psalm 23, we can discern a progression. The psalmist doesn’t fear the Lord’s remoteness. 

How should we study the Psalms?

If we choose a psalm to study, we should certainly read and reread its content. We should look for literary transitions and notice any literary devices. We should consider whether the writer speaks from the first-, second, or third-person perspective. We should discern the emotion being conveyed: is the writer lamenting, celebrating, recounting, hoping, recoiling, etc.? Is the psalmist asking for anything specific? Does the superscription give us information, such as the author or any detail about a historical setting? Does the New Testament cite or allude to the psalm?

Studying the Psalms involves these kinds of questions. Another question to fold into the others is this: how do the preceding and following psalms illuminate the one I’m studying? Let’s apply such a question as we look at Psalm 23.

In Psalm 23 (arguably the best-known psalm in the book) the author, David, is expressing his trust in the Lord. The Lord is a faithful shepherd who guides the psalmist to green pastures and still waters (23:1–2). The Lord restores the psalmist’s soul and directs his feet to the right paths (23:3). Not even the deep dark valley excludes the Lord’s presence. The faithful shepherd, equipped with rod and staff, is with the psalmist (23:4).

The confidence which opens Psalm 23 is not like the opening of the preceding one, Psalm 22. David says in Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” (22:1). David’s words in Psalm 22 are drenched with agony and steeped in affliction. In Psalm 22, he is surrounded, overwhelmed, undone, and at the edge of destruction.

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