PURPOSE: To help listeners appreciate how the opening verse is the main idea of the psalm.

I. David probably wrote the 23rd Psalm in the last years of his life.

It’s a psalm of someone who has lived much, sinned much, and been greatly forgiven.

II. The 23rd psalm is one of a trilogy of psalms-–22, 23, 24.

Psalm 22 pictures the death of the Christ who delivers us from the penalty of our sin.

Psalm 23 pictures the ascended Christ who delivers us from the power of our sin.

Psalm 24 anticipates the return of the Christ who will deliver us from the presence of our sin.

III. The most significant word in the opening verse is "my."