Meditating on a Familiar Psalm

Frequently with this reading guide we’re trying to help you understand unfamiliar or confusing passages of Scripture, but what do we do with the familiar ones? The ones we’ve heard hundreds of times, recited aloud, even memorized?

This week we read Psalm 23, perhaps one of the most familiar passages of the Bible, certainly one of the most familiar from the Old Testament. How can we read this psalm without our hearts and minds disengaging?

Here are a few ideas:

• Try a different translation. No, I’m not saying your favorite translation is bad. But the change may help our brains hear things in a new way. If you usually use a more modern translation, try something older. You like King James, go way in the other direction with the Message, and hear these poetic psalms differently.
• Try listening. Many smartphone apps or websites that are for Bible reading are also equipped to help you do Bible listening. See if hearing the Word does something differently.
• Try slowing down. With this psalm, take it one line at a time and keep yourself from jumping ahead. Just read “The Lord is my shepherd” and sit with that. What good news is in that one line? What do you think David, a shepherd, meant when he wrote it? How does it impact you to think of our God as a shepherd? Keep going through Psalm 23 slowly, line by line, and see if a verse that never stood out has something to say.
  

There are all sorts of techniques to help us as we read—whether the passage is familiar or new. We absolutely should pray as we do this, for the Spirit is our guide. You can journal or highlight as you go. Maybe you are a doodler and drawing in the margins will help you reflect. Grab a study Bible that will provide a few helpful notes along the way when words are foreign or the text is tricky.

But take your time so you can take it all in. Read and reread; let a verse stay with you all day. The goal is to not to break it down and dissect the Bible like a frog on a lab table, but to sit slowly and enjoy each part. Like when you eat a delicious meal, knowing its ingredients helps you recognize each one and enjoy its depth even more. Studying and meditating on God’s Word will give a richness to our understanding and help us see the depth of God’s love.