Amen. We're turning to Psalm 23 this evening. Psalm 23, and having welcomed you here in the church, we welcome also all who are watching in online and those who join us in the church car park as well. You're so faithful in coming week after week. So the Psalm 23, very familiar Psalm. You'll probably be able to recite it as we read it, but let's not let the familiarity of it, may it not lose the blessing as we read through the Psalm. The Psalm begins with the words, the Lord is my shepherd. And here we see a personal shepherd. For here the Psalm, as David speaks about, my shepherd and then he goes on to say i shall not want here we find a providing shepherd he maketh me to lie down in green pastures he leadeth me beside the still waters he restoreth my soul he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake and in those two verses we come to see the proactive shepherd For he makes us to lie down, and he leads us, and he restores us, and he leadeth us in the paths of righteousness. He is the proactive shepherd. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. There's the present shepherd. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. There's the protecting shepherd. Thou preparest a table before me. in the presence of mine enemies, thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." And there we have the preserving shepherd. the preserving shepherd. Now that's not the outline for this evening and if you can add to that I'll be very happy to receive any of your ideas with respect to the psalm together. Without question the 23rd psalm is the best known of the all 150 psalms that we find find their presence in the Bible's songbook. Since that is the case, how does one then approach this psalm that is so familiar to each and every one of us? As I came to think of that dilemma and what fresh approach that I could take with the psalm, Providence would have me to come across an outline that was produced by Warren Wiersbe in his commentary on the Psalms. And I want to take Wiersbe's skeletal outline that he gives to Psalm 23 and just enlarge upon each of the point in a devotional message that I've entitled, The Psalm of Jehovah. You may think, well, surely you mean the Psalm of the shepherd, and such it is. We'll come to trace through the psalm that this is the psalm of Jehovah. We're coming to see tonight from this outline to the fact that many of the compound names of Jehovah are reflected in this psalm, in the contents of the psalm. And I'm going to highlight to you some of those compound names. So don't worry about that. You'll get to know what I mean when we speak about the compound names of Jehovah. And I trust that as you think about the names of Jehovah, that it will be to the encouragement and to the comfort of your heart as you consider who your God truly is. And so let's think about then this psalm of Jehovah. The first compound name of Jehovah that we directly meet in the psalm is the name Jehovah-Ra or the name Jehovah-Roi, which really is the Lord our shepherd. the lord our shepherd and that's what we meet at the entrance of the sand the lord is my shepherd jehovah or jehovah god identifies himself as the shepherd of his people throughout the scriptures he condescends to take that role to himself as he comes to identify what he is to us, his people. We are, in the psalmist describes, we are the sheep of his pasture. And therefore, he is our shepherd. And if you do a quick survey of the references that identify God in the role as shepherd, then we come to learn a number of things about him. Can I say in the first place that we learn that he is the strengthening shepherd. Our God is the strengthening shepherd. Jacob said to Joseph when he lay on his dying bed, these words in Genesis 49, In the verse 24 and 25. Here we find that God, Jehovah, the mighty God of Jacob, is identified as the shepherd and as the stone of Israel but the picture is that of the master archer who places his arms under the weaker archer and enables the weaker archer to draw the bow and to draw the string of the bow in order to shoot the arrow he under guards In other words, there is a transfer of power from the master archer into the very arms of the weaker archer so that the bow can be pulled or the string of the bow can be pulled and the arrow can then be released. And this is the picture that we have that Jacob gives of God to Joseph here in Genesis and the chapter number 49. There is the transfer from the weaker or from the stronger to the weaker, from the inexperienced or from the experienced one to the inexperienced one by this shepherd, the stone of Israel, by the mighty God of Jacob. This is what our shepherd does. He comes and he gives us strength. In our weakness, his strength is made perfect. Maybe you've come into God's house tonight, and maybe your strength is almost gone. Not physically, you've been able to come to God's house, but maybe spiritually, your strength is almost gone. You feel that you're about to quit. You feel that what's the point really in going on? Well, thank God, God is your strengthening shepherd. He comes to the weak, and he lifts up the weak, and he bears them on the shoulder. We read of that in the story of the parable in Luke chapter 15 of how the shepherd came to that weak, sickly, wandering sheep. lifted it on his shoulder and carried it home. And there's times when God comes and he carries his children, he bears us along for he knows that our strength is almost gone. And so our shepherd, your shepherd is the strengthening shepherd. Something else, he's the steering shepherd. He's the steering shepherd. Psalm 80 verse 1, give ear, O shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock. sheep are renowned for their ability. to stray and wander. Brute beasts that have no sense of direction and no sense of impending danger. And thus it is the job of the shepherd to lead or to steer the sheep away from danger and from harm. Left to our own intuition, our own natural instinct, we would all choose to go the wrong way. All we like sheep have gone astray. However, whenever we submit to the shepherd's guiding hand and eye, acknowledging him in all our ways, then we can be confident that he will direct our paths. Maybe you're seeking direction tonight. Why not look to the steering shepherd or the guiding, the leading shepherd, and let him lead you in the way that he would have you to go. For the psalmist goes on to speak in the psalm about being led. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake he is the steering shepherd not only that he is the sustaining shepherd We see something of the sustaining shepherd or the sustaining ministry of the good shepherd in the words of Isaiah 40 and the verse 11 where we read, he shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arms and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young. He sustains his sheep. He sustains us. Maybe you feel yourself to be spiritually weak tonight and you just can't go on. Well, let me encourage you that your shepherd, your heavenly shepherd, he wants to sustain you and to carry you even in his bosom. Something else we find that he's the seeking shepherd. Ezekiel 34 verses 11 and 12, For thus saith the Lord, God, behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them out as a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered. So will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and in a dark day. At times we all stray from the Lord. At times when we grow cold, we find ourselves too far into the world. But with watchful eye, the great shepherd discerns our departures. And by whatever means he sees fit to employ, he either gently leads us back to him or he drives us back to him. But now are ye returned on to the bishop and the shepherd of your souls. He's a seeking shepherd. Thank God for the times that he sought me out, sought you out, found you, brought you back to himself. He's not only that, the seeking shepherd, he's the smitten shepherd. Zechariah 13 verse 7, Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts. Smite the shepherd, the sheep shall be scattered and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones the Savior took that very portion in Zechariah to speak of himself and Matthew 26 in the verse 31 the smitten shepherd of Zechariah 13 is none other than the Son of God. He was the one who was smitten of God and afflicted according to Isaiah the prophet there in Isaiah 53 and the verse number four. Thank God, child of God, he was smitten on your behalf and on my behalf. He is the smitten shepherd. He is also the separating shepherd. Matthew chapter 25 depicts the events that will accompany the return of the Savior, the Son of God, to the earth. It says, when he comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him, it says, then will he sit on the throne of his glory and before him shall be gathered all nations and he shall separate the one from the other as a shepherd divided the sheep from the goats and he shall set his sheep on the right hand but the goats on the left on that day it will be the day of final separation the sheep being separated from the goats and what a blessed day that will be for the child of god you know often we think about that day the separating of the sheep from the goats and we often emphasize what it will be for the ungodly and the the separation that they will experience on that particular day but child of god have you ever thought about our separation that we will be separated from an ungodly world, and we will be separated from those people who mocked us, and those people who despised us, and those people who ridiculed us, and those people who laughed at us. We'll be separated from them. We'll no longer have company and be gathered with them. We'll be gathered onto Christ, separated onto him on that day. safely enfolded into his arms and into his bosom. He is Jehovah, the Lord my shepherd. Thank God we can say that tonight. What a difference that little word, my, really does make to the reader of the psalm who is united to the shepherd through covenant mercy. Jehovah is not simply our shepherd, he's not simply their shepherd, but he is my shepherd. He's my shepherd and he's your shepherd. And all of these things he did and is doing for you even tonight. So Jehovah-Rah or Jehovah-Ruhai. The second compound name of Jehovah that is hinted at within the psalm is Jehovah-Jireh or Jehovah-Jireh. The Lord will provide or the Lord will see to it. Note what the first verse says. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I shall not want. Jehovah Jireh. Jehovah Jireh. The Lord will provide. The Lord who provides. There's no want. No want whatsoever for the one who knows the heavenly shepherd personally. Let me ask you, what spiritual want Have you had in your life that has not been met by Jehovah Jireh? Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, we are now the possessors of eternal life. We now have a perfect righteousness, credited, imputed, put to our accounts. We are the possessors of eternal redemption. We have known and do know the pardoning from all of our sins. We are possessed with an unending peace. We have acceptance with God. Every spiritual necessity has been supplied by this shepherd, Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides. It is a truth that is brought to our attention throughout the psalm. Because Jehovah is my shepherd, I shall not want spiritual rest or refreshment. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. Because Jehovah is my shepherd, I shall not want spiritual restoration. He restoreth my soul. Because Jehovah is my shepherd, I shall not want any spiritual guidance. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Because Jehovah is my shepherd, I shall not want any spiritual courage. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Because the Lord is my shepherd, Jehovah is my shepherd, I shall not want spiritual companionship. For thou art with me, verse 4 says, and I'll not want any spiritual chastening, because he talks about the rod, and the rod was always used for chastening. I shall not want spiritual comfort, because verse 4 says, thy staff, they and thy staff, they comfort me. I'll not want any spiritual sustenance, because verse 5 tells me that he prepares a table before me. in the presence of mine enemies. And I'll not want any spiritual empowerment, because verse 5 says, Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. And I'll not want any spiritual assistance, because surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I'll not want any spiritual assurance either, because I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. All spiritual needs met in Jesus Christ. Spiritual refreshment, restoration, guidance, courage, companionship, chastening, comfort, sustenance, empowerment, assistance, assurance. Christ the Great Shepherd supplies all of our wants, all of our needs, out of his superabundant resources. But let me ask the second question, what temporal need have you had in your life that has not been met by Jehovah Jireh? Every temporal want, every temporal need in our lives, I'm sure we could all testify, have been met by God throughout the last 12 months. You haven't lacked food. You haven't lacked clothing. And as for a home to live in, well, you've had one of them as well. We may not have all have had the luxuries of life that others have had, but we certainly have had the necessities of life met and supplied by our unfailing God, by Jehovah Jireh, to the God who will see to it, to the God who provides. Joseph Carlyle said, a good man may fall into such wants, but good men are rarely, if ever, or at all, left in them. F.B. Meyer said, Oh, the sorrow and want of the world, the Lord's sheep are well supplied. The cry of the worldliness is contained in the weary confession. I perish with hunger, but the boast of the saint rings through the glad assurance. My God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. He's still Jehovah Jireh, child of God. He's still valuable to supply your needs, whether they be spiritual, whether they be temporal tonight. The testimony of the ages is that God will provide all needful relief for His children. Take then whatever your need is tonight, take it to God in prayer. Let Jehovah Jireh see to it. Let Him be your provider. He is Jehovah Jireh. Let's quicken the pace and let's move to a third compound name that is hinted at within the famous Psalm. It is Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our peace. You see it is to the still waters that the shepherd guides the sheep. He leadeth me beside the still waters. The words literally can be translated the waters of rest and quietness. These are not the rapid white water torrents which by reason of their noise and their flow would have frightened the sheep so that they would be unable to drink from those cisterns but it is to the still waters to those waters that are pure and clear and almost motionless that the shepherd leads his sheep to you'll know that sheep are very very timid animal jump into a field of sheep They'll not be coming to you. They'll soon run away from you. Don't be doing that there. You might be put down. Some might report you. So don't be jumping into a field of sheep. But you know that they're a timid animal. It doesn't take much to startle a sheep. It doesn't take much to startle them. And therefore for a sheep here to be able to lie down beside the still waters as we have in the verse number two, the sheep must be assured of something. They must be assured that they're safe. They're at peace. They're at peace within and they're at peace with their surroundings. And where does this peace come from? It doesn't come naturally from the sheep. It comes from the fact that there's a shepherd close by. The peace comes from the work of the shepherd for his sheep. He's watching. He's on the lookout for dangers. for the animals of prey. And thus the sheep is able to lie down because he understands that his safety is dependent on the shepherd. Now don't miss that, child of God. The safety of the sheep is dependent on the presence of the shepherd, not on their own ability to keep themselves, but on the presence of the shepherd. Their safety is guaranteed through the work of the shepherd. And child of God, for you and for me, such is the source of our peace. It is not found in ourselves, but rather we come to be at peace because of the work of the great shepherd on our behalf. His work of redemption in the past brings us peace, to know our sins are forgiven, to know that the debt that we owe to God has been fully paid, to know that tonight we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ and in the garments of salvation are things that bring us great peace of mind and soul. Isaiah 32 verse 17, and the work of righteousness shall be peace. And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. Christ's righteousness now to your account. Child of God should bring you assurance and peace and quietness. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and through his work of redemption in the past, it brings us peace. Aye, and his work of intercession in the present, it brings us peace too. To know that there's one in glory, praying for our preservation and ultimately for our presence in heaven is most comforting and most consoling to know that whenever we enter the storms of life that there's one praying for us brings tremendous peace of heart. He's praying for you sister. Do you know that? Praying for you. You who maybe leave every Thursday night thinking, never pray this week. Maybe you go home, defeat it. Maybe you hear others praying and you think, I could never pray like that. And you think to yourself, well, I'm never going to enter into public prayer. And you go home, defeat it. And you go home, disconsolate and discouraged. I tell you, sister, your Savior is praying for you. And He's praying for you, brother, as well. Your name, he mentions before his father. The shepherd wants you to be at rest, to be at peace. This fussing and this fretting and this internal agitation, he wants to replace with his peace. He is Jehovah Shalom. He is the Lord, our peace. Oh, that that peace would be shed abroad in our hearts this very night, a peace that passeth all understanding. Was that not the message that the angels brought? Peace on earth, goodwill toward men. Jehovah Shalom. There's a fourth compound name of Jehovah that is hinted at in the psalm and it is the name Jehovah Raphi, the Lord who heals. Verse three, he restoreth my soul. You see, the shepherd's primary interest isn't in your body, it's in your soul. The soul, that unseen part of man, woman, yet is real as the body, the soul. The soul is the seat of man's affections, his desires, his appetites, it's the inner man. And here we read, he restoreth my soul. It literally translates to mean he causes my life to return. It's as if the person is on a spiritual, I was going to say incubator, one of those life support machines that came to me. It's as if the person is on a spiritual life support machine. It's almost as if life is almost going to be extinguished. And yet here he comes, the Lord who heals, Jehovah Rufai, and he comes to restore the soul. He brings the soul, as it were, back from the brink of death. Is that not where God needs to bring many of us? The point of almost death. It appears that the health of the soul can degenerate to such an extent that its life is almost extinguished. But God comes and He comes and He heals the soul. He administers all the grace that is needed to accomplish that end. Beloved, we cannot do this for ourselves. It is the Lord who restores the soul. Maybe we just need to get along with God and ask Him to do that for us. Maybe our prayer needs to be, Lord, restore my soul. Restore my soul. I'm not what I once was. Restore my soul. Now as to how God will do that, that is a matter left for him to decide. He may restore it by affliction. He may do it by his mercies. We often, we would desire that to be so. He'll do it by his word and by the spirit, but whatever way he does, he desires that our souls would prosper. That's what Paul said about Gaius. Gaius' soul prospered, and though his health was bad, Paul prayed, or John prayed, that he would be in health, that his physical health would correlate to his spiritual health. Oh, maybe God would have us to just get before him tonight and say, Lord, restore my soul. And thank God you can go to Jehovah Raphae, the Lord who heals. And you can ask him to do that. He restoreth my soul. He'll do it. He'll do it. The fifth compound name that we read in the Psalm 23 is the name Jehovah Zakenu. Jehovah Zakenu, the Lord our righteousness. Mention is made of righteousness in verse 3 as we see the shepherd leading The sheep in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake you see man must have a righteousness Or god cannot accept him that righteousness that own Perfect righteousness is found in jesus christ By his life he worked out righteousness for his people who have no righteousness of their own first corinthians 1 verse 30 but of him are ye in christ jesus who of god is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption now i know that christians struggle when it comes to the matter of assurance at times This truth, that God is Jehovah's Akenu, the Lord, our righteousness, should deal with those doubts once and for all. Because whenever I come and whenever you come to understand that you find acceptance with God, not on the grounds of your works, or on your merit, or on your righteousness, but that you as a Christian come to find your acceptance with God on the grounds of Christ's perfect righteousness, then you can come into the assurance that all is well with your soul. Let me quote Dr. Alan Cairns on this matter. He said, as long as Christians keep dissecting their own faith, to see if they really believed, felt enough penitent emotion, prayed the right prayer, or have performed to a sufficiently high standard, they will destroy assurance. There is no perfection in the best we have done or can do. He went on to say this, and yet assurance demands a perfect foundation on which to rest. We have, he said, that perfect foundation in the perfect righteousness of Christ, which God has made over to the account of every believer. He who believes in Christ stands before God's judgment bar as if he personally had rendered the perfect obedience of the Lord Jesus. Isn't that an amazing thought? That we stand before God as if we had rendered the perfect obedience of the Lord Jesus. We are in Him. He is the head and we are the body. The head suffered for the body's sin and the body receives all the reward of the head's righteousness. See the assurance that the crediting, the conferring of Christ's righteousness brings to the heart of the Christian. I stand and you stand before God clothed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ and I am accepted by God as Christ has accepted. Brethren and sisters, that is astonishing. That is amazing. That is astounding. These are just some of the words that we could employ. I'm not only just declared innocent, I am declared righteous on the basis that Christ's righteousness has been imputed, reckoned, credited to my account. The double imputation of the cross, the transfer. We've spoken about it before. My sin to Christ, his righteousness to me. His righteousness to me. You need a righteousness. I need a righteousness. We do not possess it. But Christ has given to us his righteousness. What a marvel, what a gift. The gift of his righteousness. The son of righteousness has arisen with healing in his wings. Let me give you the last two compound names and we're finished. Jehovah Shammah. I think it's on one of the windows, if I'm correct, in the church building here. The Lord is there. The Lord is there. That's what it means. 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. The Lord is there. Even whenever we trade lice valleys, He's there. You'll find Him in the valley. You'll find Him there. Maybe you're in the valley, maybe there's a loved one in the valley. He's there. Even when we trade the valley, and even when we go into the deepest valley, and what is the deepest valley that we'll ever trade? It's the valley of death. He'll be there. to carry us over, carry us over. He'll be there. Lean on him, child of God. What is the valley you're presently treading? Well, whatever valley it is, let me assure you Jehovah Shammah is there. He's there to do many a thing for you. He's there to comfort you, and he's there to strengthen you, and he's there to uphold you, and he's there to protect you, and he's there to lead you, and he's there to guide you, and he's there to encourage you, and he's there to bring you through. Jehovah Shammai, the Lord is there. And the Lord is here. But the Lord is there in the valley. And then one last one, Jehovah Mekeresh, the Lord who sanctifies. The anointing of the head with oil was conducted by the shepherd to protect the sheep from the flies and other insects. We would refer to this practice as giving an animal A drench, drenching, you farmers know what drenching is. You give the sheep or cattle a drench. It helps with regard to the various ticks and things that would come upon the body. But the oil that we find, it was spoken of in verse five, he anointeth my head with oil. The oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and the scripture, you'll know that. And it is His work having brought us to Christ. It is His ongoing work to sanctify us. It's a matter of sanctification that is important in our growth as Christians. We are to die to sin and to live on to God and on to righteousness and the Spirit of God. He plays a pivotal role in that. Takes the word and applies it to our hearts. And whenever we hear something preached and we see it in the word, and then we apply it in our lives, what's God doing? God's sanctifying you. God's taking you on, leading you on. And it's a work of a lifetime. So don't be in a rush. I know we all want to get there. We all want to get to that place of spiritual maturity. The minister needs to get there. You need to get there. Want to see others being brought there. Of course we want that to happen. But God will lead you, guide you. He is the Lord who sanctifies. He'll sanctify you. Well, let us pray that God will sanctify us. And so these are some of the compound Jehovah names that we find in this shepherd. All of these things, God is to us. He is our shepherd. He is our provider. He is our peace. He's our healer. He's our righteousness. He's our companion. He's our sanctifier. So let us continually adore Him and worship Him for being all of these things to us. The Lord is my shepherd. It is the Psalm of Jehovah. See it the next time you read it. Remember the names. Remember what your God is to you. It may be to the encouragement of your heart, even for Christ's sake. Amen. Well, let's bow our heads in prayer together. If you would like to stand, you can do so. If you don't want to stand, that's fine. Let's stand for prayer if you can. Just to change our positions, our gracious Father, our loving God, oh, how glad we are of all of these things that thou art to us, thy people. Oh, may we come to know thee more and more. May we find thee in our valleys. May we find the Lord there. And even if it seems that he's hiding himself, may we be assured that he is there. For he hath promised, I will never leave thee. nor forsake thee. And Lord, we pray that thou wilt therefore help and may there be a line, may there be a word, may there be a simple phrase, a thought tonight that would have helped and encouraged every believer who has made the effort to attend this prayer meeting tonight. We offer prayer and through the Savior's precious.