Thought #7

(Our Great God)
(Psalm 23)

Text: 1 <A Psalm of David.> The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Some Initial Remarks I have chosen for our discussion today what is quite possibly the most well known text in the entire Bible. I memorized it as a child, and I am quite sure many have, and indeed many still do today. I would like to focus on who David says our God is. We will look at names of our God, we will pull from many text in the Bible, yet with great clarity we will find that David described these very names! So what's in a name? Well a name is meant to describe in great clarity who or what it names. It is meant to place a mark in your mind as to the character of the person or thing who has that name. Do you doubt this to be true? Just look around your house. Jolt colla, the carbonated drink with the highest caffeine. Pepsi One, one calorie cola. Cottonelle tissue, yep you guessed it as soft as cotton. As true as these are, God names throughout the Bible convey much greater truths, and more importantly they can be trusted, they are not marketing gimmicks, but God describing His character in ways you and I can understand.

The Names of our Great God:

1) First David says "The LORD is my shepherd" or as it reads in the Hebrew "Jehovah-Ra-ah". Literally Jehovah the shepherd, or Jehovah the herdsman, or Jehovah the companion. Here we find the first great name of our Great God ~ He is Jehovah-Ra-ah. He is the Great gentle, kind and compassionate shepherd of his flock, not a fearsome overseer, but a loving guide and companion. The One who leads His flock in great grace and gentleness. The One who cares for each and every sheep, the one who is a companion to each and every sheep. In Ezekiel 34:23, God promised that in this gospel age he would gather his elect from the four corners of the earth, both Jews and Gentiles, under one great Shepherd. “I will set up one Shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their Shepherd.” In chapter 37, verse 24, the prophet tells us that God’s people shall “all shall have one Shepherd.” Then, in Zechariah 13:7, we have a plain prophecy of Christ’s death, the good Shepherd laying down his life for his sheep. God himself cries out, “Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow! Smite the Shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.” In John 10 our Lord Jesus Christ describes himself as our Shepherd. “I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (v. 11). “I am the good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine” (v. 14). The apostle Paul describes Christ as “Our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,” and calls His blood “the blood of the everlasting covenant” (Heb. 13:20). The apostle Peter says, “Ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls” (I Pet. 2:25). And he assures us that “when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (I Pet. 5:4). So the first name and great attribute of God is our shepherd, and with great clarity and unamous in voice we find the New Testament proclaims that Jesus is that Great Shepherd, for His name is "Jehovah-Ra-ah" Notice the context, because Jehovah is our shepherd, therefore we "shall not want"! Oh what a Shepherd we have!

2) It is here we find the second name of God implied in the statement by David, because the LORD is his shepherd he "shall not want" Thus our Great God is also Jehovah-Jireh or Jehovah provides. You remember where God was given this name, in Genesis 22, here the Holy Spirit recorded Abraham’s most severe trial. Abraham was the friend of God. But, in God’s wise and good providence, Abraham was called upon to endure the most heart-rending trial any man ever had to face in this world, other than the Man of Sorrows. Faith must be proved; and it is proved only when it is put to the test. However, the main thing to see in this chapter is not Abraham's trial, but God's provision of Abraham and his son upon the mount. The Lord God provided a ram as a substitute to die in the place of Isaac. And there Abraham raised up an everlasting memorial to his God. Read verse 14. “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh:...” Thus David can say with great confidence that he shall not want, because our God is Jehovah Jireh. Our God provides! Where are you today, you shall not want for you serve not only the the Great Shepherd, but the Great Provider~ Jehovah Jireh!

3) In verse two we find the next name implied of our Great God "Jehovah-Shalom" The Lord Our Peace. Notice in verse two David says the Jehovah will lead us beside the still waters. He will lead us in the path of peace. The path or tranquility. Once at enmity with God, now at peace, for His name (implied in verse two) is Jehovah-Shalom. The Lord our Peace! We first find this name ascribed to God in Judges 6. Gideon was a man who longed for peace. Because the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord by worshipping Baal, God delivered them into the hands of the Midianites. For seven years, Israel knew nothing but war. Gideon knew that Israel would never have peace until Israel returned to Jehovah, the true and living God. Israel did return. Because of God’s gracious chastisement, Israel was impoverished by the Midianites. When they came to their wits’ end, "the children of Israel cried unto the Lord" (vs. 6). Then the Lord sent a prophet to his afflicted people with the promised of deliverance. God spoke by the prophet, and said, “I am the Lord your God; fear not” (vv. 7-10). While Gideon worked his field one day, meditating upon the words of God’s prophet, the angel of the Lord appeared to him and assured him that God was with him and that by his hand God would deliver his people from the Midianites and establish peace in Israel (vv. 12, 14, 16). Gideon offered a sacrifice and worshipped God, God accepted his sacrifice and promised Gideon peace and life, then Gideon "built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-Shalom" (vv. 22-24). In Ephesians 2:14, the apostle Paul shows us plainly who it is that Gideon worshipped by this name. “For he (the Lord Jesus Christ) is our peace, who hath made both (Jew and Gentile) one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” Jehovah-Shalom is Jesus Christ, who is our Peace. Christ made peace, proclaimed peace, provided peace, and gives peace. But there is something even greater and more blessed - Christ is our Peace! His name is Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord our Peace.

4) In verse three we find the next implied name of our Great God. Jehovah-Rapha The Lord That Healeth Thee. Notice how David expresses this "He restoreth my soul" Here Jehovah is represented as the only one who can heal a broken heart, the only one who can go to the root of the problem and heal the soul, thus his name is indeed Jehovah-Rapha, for none can heal the soul but our Great God. We are first introduced to this name of God after God graciously delivered the children of Israel across the Red Sea, miraculously opening a path for them in the sea, and drowning Pharaoh and the armies of Egypt in the depths of the sea, he brought Israel into the wilderness of Shur, where for three days they wandered without water. The scorching sun beat down upon them. The desert sands scalded their feet. Their cattle were perishing. Their children’s tongues were swollen. And their lips were parched. Then, at last, they came to the fountains of Marah. When they saw the waters of Marah, how their hearts must have rejoiced in hope and expectation. As they approached Marah, they could almost taste the water. They could almost feel the cool, refreshing water in their mouths. But when they got there, the waters were bitter. They could not drink the water. Can you imagine the frustration and disappointment they must have felt?

Immediately, they turned upon Moses, and began to murmur and complain. Actually, they turned upon the Lord God who had brought them to this place. Though the Lord led them by the fiery and cloudy pillar, though he was with them, though he miraculously and graciously delivered them from the bondage of Egypt and promised to do them good, they did not trust him. All they could see, all they could think about were the bitter waters before them and the thirst within them. Because they saw nothing good in God’s providence, they despised it. When they should have remembered God’s goodness, they thought only of their troubles. When they should have looked to their merciful Deliverer, they looked only upon Marah’s bitter waters. When they should have prayed, they murmured. When they should have believed, they grumbled. It was God who brought Israel to Marah. He brought them here to teach them and to make himself known to them, and to teach us and make himself known to us (I Cor. 10:11) as Jehovah-Rapha - “the Lord that healeth thee”. I do not know what ails you today, but come to Christ for He is indeed Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord that Healeth thee!

5) Also notice in verse 4 what David says of our Great God, He leads him "in paths of righteousness" Thus David introduces us to another name of our Great God, Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The Lord our Righteousness. David says that God leads us in these righteous paths "for His name sake" for He is the Lord our righteousness. There is no possibility of our accomplishing righteousness for ourselves. “By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight” (Rom. 3:20). If righteousness must be produced by us, hell will be our eternal home. We sin every day! All we do is marred by sin. The law of God is too high, too holy, too pure, too perfect. We cannot attain to its requirements. We cannot keep its precepts. Though we have passed from death to life, old Adam still struggles for dominion within us. The good we would do, we often do not. The evil we hate, that we often perform. If anything is plain in the Word of God and the experience of God’s saints, it is this: There is nothing good or righteous in any man of himself (Rom. 7:14-24). If we will be righteous, we must have the righteousness of another. Rightly Jesus' name is Jehovah Tsidkenu, for Jesus is The Lord our Righteousness!

6) Notice next David says His name is Jehovah-Nissi - The Lord Our Banner. He is the one who prepares a table for us in the midst our our enemies! We dine while He deals with our enemies. With enemies on every side, we rest for He is Jehovah Nissi, He is the Lord our banner, no one can raise a standard against us, for Christ is our standard. While Joshua and the army of Israel fought the Amalekites in the valley below, Moses stood on the top of Mt. Horeb, which is Mt. Sinai, with his hands stretched out before the Lord, with his rod in his hands. But when Moses hands got heavy, the rod he held sagged. When the army of Israel could not see the rod, they wavered and the Amalekites prevailed against them. Aaron and Hur found a stone and put it under Moses to support him. Then they stood by Moses and held up his hands until the going down of the sun. Thus, Israel defeated the Amalekites. We are like those Israelites. At times it seems that our spiritual warfare will surely end in defeat. Like Moses, we get weary. Our legs are feeble. Our hands begin to sag. It appears that we will surely fall to the enemy. But, just when we have no strength, Christ our High Priest, represented by Aaron, and the Spirit of God, represent by Hur, whose name means liberty, inspire us to lift up our hands in prayer to God. Fixed upon Christ, our sure Foundation Stone, we again see the Rod of God, our mighty Savior, exalted and lifted up like a banner before us. “Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith,” we prevail over our enemies. Our exalted Savior gives us assurance that, when the day of our warfare is over, we shall win the victory over our enemies. Our great Commander says to us, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). And by his grace we too shall overcome the world. At the end of the day, “Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-Nissi” which means, “the Lord our Banner”, for the Lord had won the battle.

7) In closing as we look at the seventh implied name, we find Jehovah-Shammah: The Lord Is There. Notice David's great declaration at the close of this Psalm, "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!" He will dwell with God forever, for His name is Jehovah-Shammah. God will be there and we will be with Him. With the eye of inspired prophecy, Ezekiel looked beyond all the struggles, trials, heartaches, and bitter tears which must be endured by God’s elect in this world. He looked beyond satan’s fury and the world’s opposition to the church’s conquest and final triumph. In the last chapter of his prophecy, the Holy Spirit moved Ezekiel to describe the fullness and completion of God’s church, his Holy City. When the end comes, all God’s elect shall be saved; the Holy City shall be fully inhabited. Ezekiel describes it in these words: “It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is There.” Ezekiel’s final word is this: The name of God’s church, the New Jerusalem, shall be Jehovah-Shammah: “The Lord is There.” As you read this Psalm the underlying theme is "the Lord is there". Rightly His name is Jehovah-Shammah. For He is there in life, He is there in death, He will be there for all eternity. His name is Jehovah-Shammah! What a name! Now matter where you are our Great Shepherd is there!

Application

I have said all that I said not to impress you with various names of God taken from assundry places in the Bible. But that you and I might marvel, and praise our Great God for the attributes those names describe. For the comfort those names bring. We are at war, and the enemy would love to destroy us both physically and spiritually. But I remind you His name is Jehovah-Nissi - The Lord Our Banner. No one can raise a standard against us for Christ is our standard. What are your needs today, what are your struggles? Does it feel like there is no help? No way out? I remind you His name is Jehovah-Jireh - The Lord Will Provide. Wherever you are and whatever you need our Great God will supply! Are you well spiritually, physically? Can I comfort you with the fact that His name is Jehovah-Rapha - The Lord That Healeth Thee. Oh peace with God, God no longer angry with you, and you no longer at variance with God. How can this be? It can be, for His name is Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord Our Peace. It is amazing how short our life is, but how impossible the journey, how wrought with pitfalls, but God sent Jesus and His name is Jehovah-Ra-ah: The Lord My Shepherd. Righteousness, oh that we could be righteous. All or filthiness set aside and stand before God righteous. Great news Jesus' name is Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The Lord our Righteousness. No matter where you have been, where you are, or where you may find yourself if you are God's child Christ will be there with you for His name is Jehovah-Shammah:- The Lord Is There.