chose the pericope Psalm 23 as an appropriate unit because comparing God and us as people is perfect symbolism to a Shepard and his flock. An elaboration of this scripture is one that explains the relationship between us as beings and God’s love. This is the pericope that has comforted me and all followers in times of distress. Care and protection assured by God to the believers and also a praise to God for his love. The role of shepherd ensures every aspect of a sheep’s life is taken care of. The purpose of this paper is to form an exposition of Psalm 23 in order to provide sufficient evidence of its literal meaning. Also to grant understanding to the scripture using elaborated commentaries and different translations.
1Psalm 23 is self-described
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It is translated to “The Lord takes care of me as his sheep; I will not be without any good thing” in the BBE version, and in the ASV it says “Jehovah” instead of “The LORD” and the Jewish translation uses “Adonai”. The melody of David is basically a praise saying God is your protector and only need, this is similar to all translations of Psalm 23.
To further elaborate on this pericope, one can breakdown the entire psalm by outlining verses.
The Lord is my shepherd. The metaphor of the psalm, this is saying that god is like our shepherd he helps us to find food, water, love, and all that we need. He also protects us from evil.
I shall not want. 4I interpret it to mean that I will have everything I need if I allow God to be my shepherd, therefore I will need nothing else. I shall not want means I will be okay. I shall be free of want also expresses that my life will not be controlled by ‘wanting’ all the time. The same idea is expressed in the Tenth Commandment given to Moses in the Old Testament: “You shall not covet”.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.
To me it means that God provides nourishment for the body, body, and soul. I believe it is interpreted to say God will lead you to where you need to
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In the day of David this is written as a song of praise to show the love between God and David. In the old days many phrases had more literal meanings like green pastures and clear waters. However to a modern day translation a more elaborate theme is brought to the text. For example to a modern theme clear waters and green pastures means speaks more to a healthy life and home. The explanation of this psalm is to show the promise of God to always be a good shepherd. Sheep get lost because they're curious and just stray off the path, sheep get lost because they think the pasture's greener on the other side, they wander off to get something better. Either way, the Good Shepherd goes after them. In the end though, the metaphor to be understood in the entirety of the psalm from the Old Testament and in the modern day is that The LORD is our guide, follow him because he knows the way, and follow close so that he may protect you from
At the point of destruction, the nation that relied on the Lord comes out of the enemy’s attacks for the Lord helped them. Verse 8 could be seen as the continuation of the question posed by the psalmist in Psalm 121:1 “I lift up my eyes to the mountains-- where does my help come from?” The nation’s joyous celebration of God’s deliverance is followed by the affirmation that there is no one worth trusting beside Yahweh, the creator and sustainer of the all the living and non-living things (v8). John Goldingay, argues that “Yhwh’s work of deliverance is one with Yhwh’s work as the creator.” The community draws this Thanksgiving to a conclusion by affirming that their faith is only in Yahweh alone. Artur maintains that “It is out of the knowledge of man’s own helplessness that there grows the strength of a faith which relies wholly on him (God) who alone is equal to every kind of
Psalm 113 reads like a 1st century pep talk for those with spiritual burnout. The writer makes his case for the Lord by pointing to the many ways that God earns our praise. These nine verses of scripture are saturated with three specific reasons to praise the Lord – He is Su...
... He is now at a point where he is safe and secure, and he is very gracious. He recalls all the dangers in the past, that God had saved him from, and that is what keeps him so strong in faith. To express his gratitude to God, he devoted himself to the Lord. He made the request to dwell in the house of the Lord, and through this request he becomes a servant in God's house. We should use David's mood and mental state in this psalm as and example of the way we should be with God in our lives. Like David we should devote ourselves completely to serving the Lord. So that we may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our lives, and see the face of the Lord as David did. We should be confident in the Lord always, and He will take away all of our fears. He loves us and desires for us to have the kind of relationship with Him that David had (Makrakis, 165).
Psalm 23 is about everlasting protection and guidance of the Lord. This scripture is give the believers of God comfort. Psalm 23 is recited at funerals and times of trouble. In Psalm 23:3 (King James Version), Its says, “he restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” In Psalm 23:4 (King James Version), it also says “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” This means that during their rough times, they turn to God for guidance, hoping and trusting that he will guide them to the right path. When they need comfort, they read this scripture looking for comfort and protection. In Sermon on The Mount, this scripture tells the believer how to live and pray. This scripture also tells them to put their faith and trust in God. It also tells them to trust God to provide for them. In Matthew 6:26 (King James Version), it says, “Behold the fowls of the air: For they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns: yet your heavenly Father feedth them.” This does not mean food is unimportant, it means that followers of Jesus should pray for their “daily bread” and trust God to provide it. To sum it up, Psalm 23 and Sermon on the mount are different because they both serve a different purpose, one give people assurance of everlasting protection and the other gives
Psalm 42-43 was originally one poem they are located in Book II of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) as a Korahite psalm. The author of Psalm 42 is unknown; however it is believed by some to have been written by one of the descents of Korah. Many of the psalms open with a heading before the main text. In many instances the headings have the name of the person that was believed to have authored the psalm attached to it. There are some scholars who totally dismiss the heading because of the difference in the Septuagint and Masoretic text. The superscription for psalms 42 reads “To the leader. A Maskil of Korahite.” The word “of” in the superscription may prove to be problematic due to the various meanings of the word “of” in Hebrew. The word of could mean “dedicated to,” “associated with,” “concerning,” “to,” or “of”. The psalmist expresses a desire to be reconnected to God based upon the language of verses 1-3. This psalm falls into the category of a lament because the psalmist expresses feelings of abandonment by God (based on the reference of being forgotten in verse 9). The psalmist recounts the intimacy of God’s presence from the land of the Jordan and of Herman and Mount Mizar. The psalmist is being taunted by enemies but tries not to lose hope in God. There were moments the psalmist questions the soul. In verse 5 the psalmist asked, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted in within me?” The psalmist struggled with depression and hope in verse 5, but in verse 6 the psalmist stops wrestling and admits to having a casted down soul. This psalm expresses the pain and anger the psalmist felt because of the absence of God. It is obvious that the psalmist attempted to ...
The author in this Psalm is looking at fear and how we should be able to overcome it with our faith in the Lord. He believes that we have nothing to fear if we let ourselves live in the house of the Lord. He sees fear as something that we all have but shouldn't have. This Psalm is his way of explaining how he tries to deal with the fear that he has in his own life. He is trying to look at fear as something that anyone can overcome if they are confident in the Lord. He is trying to give himself some confidence in the fact that although he is scared he shouldn't be because the Lord will hold him high above his enemies. He sees fear as nothing and is supremely confident in himself through the Lord.
God has commanded glory and through glorifying him there is enjoyment and delight in his presence. David’s strong use and variety of literary devices in Psalm 27 emphasizes refuge in the Lord. In light of this Psalm the reader can enjoy the Lord’s presence even while lamenting. Therefore just as David experiences God through his adversaries, anyone can take refuge in God through the trials and temptations of each and every day.
Psalm 127 Psalm 127 is a very interesting Psalm with a message that is extremely apt considering the events of our current day. There is a general consensus that the overall purpose of Psalm 127 is to illustrate the complete futility of relying solely on our human efforts to accomplish anything meaningful and enduring. Whether we are building a skyscraper or a building a family, if God is not the foundation of those efforts, we will fail. Anyone who watched the World Trade Center crumble into an ashen heap within mere hours can surely appreciate the wisdom of this Wisdom Psalm.
A Psalm of Life uses biblical allusion and other literary mechanics to inspire readers to live, act, and have patience. A Psalm of Life has the power to inspire people to live meaningful lives. This is why they call this poem a didactic; another analysis talks about this saying “The poet’s task in the poem is to instruct and guide, to inspire and modify. The poem teaches basic human values and lays out a foundation for a prosperous, ethical life.
A major theme of Psalm 25 is God’s divine guidance. This psalm teaches us to seek God in hard times (bible.org). During David’s trials, he prayed to the Lord for wisdom and help. He felt lonely and afflicted because of his treacherous enemies seeking to devour him in the night. In verse 7 David prays, “Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions.” He later refers to himself as a sinner and cries out for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Our duty is to affirm by faith that God is always loving, good, and compassionate. No matter how difficult our trials, the Lord is able to deliver us from them. In order for God to willingly heal/deliver us, we must be teachable in the spirit. Seeking Him more in prayer and believing in faith that God is the almighty one. Each psalm has a distinct theme that can be used to minister to any follower of Christ seeking wisdom, knowledge, and
We should proclaim God by praising him! It is becoming, pleasant and good to sing these to God. We must consider that we offer our whole-self to the Lord in order for the realization of this consideration. Typically, in our lives we enjoy or desire to see in men, understanding, sympathy, tenderness, compassion and pity. If we consider these characteristics and traits in men when they are considered essentially imperfect, yet we are encouraged to worship them when we see them in God, perfect and boundless. The effective message from the psalmist is to see power, and understanding and mostly, the tenderness
...ryline of the Psalter sheds light on God’s covenant faithfulness, namely, that it points to an eschatological reality beyond that which was experienced by the original authors or even editors. Even through the most trying times, the psalmists maintain hope in God’s faithfulness, so that perennial question of “how long?” did not betray despair, but a deep-seated hope that God would in fact deliver them; it was only a question of when his appointed time would come. Childs states, “There was a reinterpretation which sought to understand the promise of David and Israel’s salvation as an eschatological event.”
This paper will discuss the interpretation of Psalm 2. The paper will concentrate on the literary structure and the central message of Psalm 2. The big picture in Psalm 2 is about the coming of the Messianic rule of Jesus Christ as the King. This Psalm gives the reader theological positions that focus on Jesus Christ that come to rule the earth as the undisputed sovereign King. The primary theme of Psalm 2 is about blessed are those who take refuge in Him (2:12).
This interpretation, I believe, is similar to my own. We both say that the subject of the psalm is scared or fearful of a life without the Lord. In another source, Bible Gateway, it says “A child of God startles at the very thought of despairing of help in God”. A true child of God will never despair or lose faith in the Lord. Faith is the total trust in something you don’t know for one hundred percent
This psalm urges the reader to make joyful music as a public confession of the attributes and works or God. In total, this is what Christian worship is about. The Christian liturgy was born singing and never ceases to sing. According to James White, in the book Introduction to Christian Worship, Singing is the fundamental constituents of Christian Worship. This fits the fact that Christian worship is the public proclamation of the mirabilia Dei and of the good and joyful news, an act of thanksgiving, praise, and blessing for the freedom won for us by resurrection. Singing a “new song to the Lord” was a characteristic of early Christian worship and attended many forms of spiritual renewal in the history of the church. In his comment on Psalm