Hello, welcome again to our lesson in Psalm 23. And by way of review, let me just say that David in Psalm 23 is now a seasoned man, an older man, with a life full of experiences in the valleys as well as on the mountaintops. I mentioned before that experience is the best teacher, and the experiences of David taught him some things about God, and it’s revealed in the names of God. And as David goes through Psalm 23, we see those characteristics of God. We find that Jehovah Roy, a personal shepherd, “my shepherd,” David said, knows my name. We find Jehovah Jireh in Psalm 23, God the provider. And because He provides, I shall not want. We find in Psalm 23 that Jehovah Shalom, God gives peace in times of trouble. We find Jehovah Chizkanu, God is our righteousness. He leads us back to the right path when we go astray.

Verse 4, as we continue in Psalm 23, it says, “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.” Again, we see God is our peace, Jehovah Shalom. The times when death seems so near, God gives peace and comfort. But we also find Jehovah Shammah. The Lord is there, or God is present. Again, notice it says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. The Lord is there.” Jehovah Shammah is mentioned in Ezekiel 48, 35 when describing the Millennial Temple. It says there, “it was around about 18,000 measures, and the name of the city from that day shall be the Lord is there.” There must have been times when David felt alone, but later in life, you learn that even in those times, the Lord was there. Even in those times, Jehovah Shammah was there. Jesus said to us Christians, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Jehovah Roy, my personal shepherd. Jehovah Jireh, God the provider. Jehovah Shalom, God who gives peace in times of trouble. Jehovah Tzitzkanu, God my righteousness, leads me back to the right paths. Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there. He will never leave us, nor forsake us.

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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.