Hello, we’re continuing our lesson on Psalm 23. By way of review, again, David in Psalm 23 is a seasoned man with a life full of experience in the valleys as well as on the mountaintops. And as I mentioned earlier, experience is the best teacher.

David in Psalm 23 is recounting the things that he has learned throughout his life. He is an older man now when he wrote Psalm 23. There are some things about God that he found out, and it’s interesting that it’s also revealed in the names of God, the character of God.

First of all, we saw “The Lord is my shepherd,” Jehovah-Roy, my personal shepherd. “My shepherd knows my name.” “I shall not want,” Jehovah-Jireh, God provides. Because He provides, I shall not want.

In verse 2, the Bible says, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters.” Again, we see Jehovah-Jireh in that fact that He provides. He makes us lie down in green pastures. So we see that. But we also see that God gives peace to lie down. The Bible says, “And beside the still waters,” that is Jehovah Shalom, the God of peace. When life shakes us up a bit and we feel unsettled and fearful, God is our peace, Jehovah Shalom.

When God spoke to Gideon and Gideon realized he was speaking to God, he became very fearful. He thought he was going to be killed. This is what God said in Judges 6, 22. “And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, ‘Alas, O Lord God, for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.’ And the Lord said unto him, ‘Peace be unto thee. Fear not, thou shall not die.'”

Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord and called it Jehovah Shalom.

David, what have you learned? “I learned that God is my shepherd, Jehovah-Roy. God is my provider, Jehovah-Jireh. God is my peace, Jehovah-Shalom. But I also learned that He is Jehovah-Chizkanu. He is our righteousness.” In verse 3 of Psalm 23, “He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” The idea is that God is restoring us or turning us back to the right way. He leads us back to the paths of righteousness.

Of course, we know about the sin of David with Bathsheba. After David confessed his sin with Bathsheba, he asked to be restored back to a right relationship with God. In Psalm 51, verse 12, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit.”

What have you learned, David, about God? “I’ve learned that He is Jehovah-Roy, my personal shepherd. He knows my name. I learned that He is Jehovah-Jireh, God provides. Because He provides, I shall not want. I learned that He is Jehovah-Shalom, God gives peace in times of trouble. I learned that He is Jehovah-Chizkanu, God is our righteousness. He leads us back to the right paths when we go astray.”

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Tom Apusen

Tom Apusen, Assistant Pastor

Tom Apusen is an Assistant Pastor at North Valley Baptist Church. He is the pastor of the Filipino Department, and he heads up the missions, security, and transportation ministries.