Jehovah Jireh. “the Lord will provide”(Gen 22:14) God is the Shepherd and we are His sheep. Shepherding, lowly an occupation as it may, is an analogue to God’s direct care for His people. Abel was a shepherd (Gen 4:2) and so were the patriarchs of Israel. Moses was a shepherd and so was David. Good News of Jesus’ birth was first told to shepherds. Jesus our Lord is The Good Shepherd (John10).
David compared the enemy to animals that are clever and strong (Psalm 22:12-16, 21), but in this psalm, he pictured God's people as sheep. Why? So we would learn about the Shepherd and see how tenderly He cares forus. Sheep are defenceless animals and so are we, they are prone to get lost we easily do, and sheep need constant care like us. Eastern shepherds guarded their sheep, led them, provided food and water for them, took care of them when they were weary, bruised, cut or sick, rescued them when they strayed, knew their names, assisted in delivering the lambs, and in every way simply loved them. When David says under God’s care, I shall not want, he is saying God is the provider of anything that I might want. I shall not lack. Jehovah Jireh means God who sees to it. All silver and gold is God’s and if we are His sheep, we know that He shall provide according to His riches. He knows what we pray for before we open our mouths.
Psalm 23 v 2. “He makes me lie down ingreen pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters”
Jehovah-Shalom, "the
Lord our peace" (Judg 6:24) Primarily, sheep need food (grass), water, rest, and a shepherd who knows where to lead them. When God's people follow their Shepherd, they have all that they need and will not lack the necessities of life "He maketh me to lie down;" Sheep will not lie down when they are hungry, nor will they drink from fast-flowing streams. he gives me
rest, perfect rest, and he gives me so much spiritual provision that I am unable to take it all in,so I lie down and rest in it asa sheep does in the deep pastures where it seems lost in the provender. There are such deep doctrines, such glorious privileges, such wondrous revelations of the heart of God in the Bible, that you and I cannot comprehend it all, but we can lie down in it. The grass is the word that we feed on and in John 1:14 Jesus is the word. If we are in Christ and Christ in us then we are also connected to God (John 17:23). The circuit is complete now and we begin to experience peace.
Two painters were asked to paint a picture illustrating peace. The first painted a beautiful evening scene in the foreground of which was a lake, its surface absolutely calmand unruffled. Trees surrounded it, meadows stretched away to the distant sheep gently browsing; a little cottage, the setting sun—all spoke of perfect rest.
The second painter drew a wild, stormy scene. Heavy black clouds hung overhead; in the centre of the picture an immense waterfall poured forth huge volumes of water covered with foam. One could almost hear its unceasing roar, yet perhaps the first thing to strike the eye was a small bird, perched in a cleft of a huge rock, absolutely sheltered from all danger, pouring forth its sweet notes of joy.
It is the second painter who could describe the peace that passeth all understanding which is the Lord Jesus Christ, the wisdom of God in the heart of the redeemed. One can only have peace with himself if he has peace with God. Jehovah is our peace, nowhere else can you find such peace! You cannot experience this peace if you don’t trust God much as you cannot sleep in a car being driven by someone you don’t trust. "He leads me." The Holy Spirit is our Guide; and as the softly flowing river of grace marks our track-way, we sing, "He leads me beside the still waters". You and I sometimes go wandering by the noisy brooks that ripple over the stones, and make such a noise because they are so shallow; but when the Spirit guides us, it is beside the deep rivers, the deep still waters, that he leads us. In stillness we hear God clearer, “be still, and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10
Psalm 23 v 3 “He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”
Jehovah-Rophe, "the Lord who heals" (Ex 15:26) When sheep start to explore an exciting new path, it will lead them into trouble. It is so easy for them because they walk headsdown. Isaiah 53:6 says “We all, like sheep, have gone astray,each
of us has turned to his own way”; and there is a way that seems right in the eyes of men but the
end……. God so loved us that He gave us a free will. Sometimes we leave Him for our ways but God’s ways are very pleasant paths, for nothing is more pleasant to a believer
than to be walking in "the paths of righteousness." God has so constituted His people that, if they get out of the right way, they get out of the way of peace. He has so made us that our peace and our righteousness agree together; and as long as we are led in the paths of righteousness, we are a happy and a restful people. God is in the business of restoring souls, as Jehovah Rophe.
We are living souls Gen 2:7 (NIV) and instead of soul, (NLT Bible) says “living person”. God heals our bodies. Isa 53:4-5 “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted. (v5) But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed”.
Though the prophecy here refers to Jesus Christ and His death on The Cross that was yet to physically take place, the scripture is written in past tense. God already had a plan for our healing before the foundations of the earth. “for His name’s sake” The shepherd cares for the sheep because he loves them and wants to maintain his own good reputation as a faithful shepherd. The Lord does all this for us "for His name's sake”. A king takes pride when his subjects are healthy and wealthy. According to this part of the verse, God heals us and nourishes us for His Name’s sake. Therefore as a child of God in your own incapacitated situation, you can pray and remind God through His Word that if you become poor, people may not believe that God exists! Ask Him to do it for His Name. Psalm 23 v 4. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me”.
Jehovah-Shammah, "the Lord is there" (Ezek 48:35) Some seem to think that God's people would have no distress of mind, and no trouble, if they were trusting in God; but it is not so. Both the house
that was built on sand and the rock were equally visited by a storm. Therefore as Christians
we are not immune to troubles of this world. Even if we "walk through the valley of the shadow of death," but we "fear no evil". In the dark valley, He is not before us but beside us, leading the way and calming our fears.
A little 1st-grader stood infront of his classroom to make a speech about "What I want to be when I grow up." He said, "I’m going to be a lion tamer and have lots of fierce
lions. I’ll walk into the cage and they will roar." The teacher responded saying, "You will have to be very brave to be a lion tamer. The little boy thought about this for a moment and then replied, "No not really, I’ll have my mummy with me." Our God is a Mighty Warrior, great in Battle like one singer wrote. He also says that “the war is not yours” Saints, we don’t go round a mountain that appears before us but we go through it knowing that God is with us by
our side. To become a Pastor in the Church, I had to be tested. If I had avoided the test, I was not going to be a Pastor. Therefore, we must face challenges, trial and tests. Tests, Trial and Tribulations are good for us. We know that “no weapon formed against us will prosper”. Weapon factories will always be busy making them but with The Good Shepherd by my side, I fear not. Job says, in chapter 23:10 “But He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.”Purification of gold is a process done by fire to do away with impurities but at the end it is the gold that shines. The "deep darkness" represents any difficult experience of life that makes us afraid, and that includes death. Sheep lack good vision and are easily frightened in new circumstances, especially where it's dark; but the presence of the shepherd calms them. The rod was a heavy cudgel with which the shepherd could stun or kill an attacking beast, and the staff was the shepherd's crook, which he used to assist the individual sheep. At evening, he would have the sheep pass under the crook oneby one so he could count them and examine them (Lev 27:32). It gave the flock peace knowing that the shepherd was there and was equipped for any emergency He is "Immanuel ... God with us" (Matt 1:23).
Psalm 23 v 5. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows”.
Jehovah-Nissi, "the Lord our banner" (Ex 17:15) "Table" doesn't necessarily refer to a piece of furniture used by humans, for the word simply means "something spread out." Flat places in the hilly country were called"tables" and sometimes the shepherd stopped the flock at these "tables" and allowed them to eat and rest as they headed for the fold. After each a difficult day's work, the aim of the shepherd was to bring the flock safely backto the fold where the weary sheep could safely rest for the night. Sometimes at the fold, the shepherd would spread out food in a manger, because sheep lie down and rest after they have eaten. As they slept, they would be protected by a stone wall that surrounded them, and the shepherd himself would sleep across the opening and be the door (John 10:7-9). During the night, thieves and dangerous animals might approach the fold, but there was no way they could reach the sheep. The Lord doesn't always
remove the dangers fromour lives, but He does help us to over-come them and not be paralyzed by fear. This is what it means to be "more than conquerors" and have peace in the midst of danger (Rom 8:31-39). One local Shona language song writer wrote “Mumaoko aMwari”meaning in God’s hands, we find shelter. The shepherd would examine the sheep as they entered the fold to be sure none of them was bruised, injured, or sick from eating a poisonous plant. Christians at times have ahabit of hurting each other, am I right? At times we encounter dangerous doctrines and strange teachings. To the hurt, the shepherd applied the soothing oil. He would also apply the oil to the heads and horns of the sheep to help keep the flies and other insects away. The sheep knew they were safe and they could sleep without fear. I have more than I expected, more than I ever asked for, more thanI desired, more than I am capable of holding; “My cup runs over." If ever your cup does thus run over, be sure to call your poor neighbours in to catch the overflowing mercy. If ever you have more blessing than you can hold, ask some other Christian to share it with you. Recollect what Peter and his companions did when, at Christ's command, they let down the nets and caught more fish than their net could hold without breaking: (Luke 5:7) "they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them." What! Come and help them fish? Oh, no; come and help them share the fish! Many people say, "You are kindly invited to come to such-and-such a meeting" because they want to get something out of you; but it is a better kind of invitation when something is to be given away, and those who have an overflowing cup want youto share the blessing with them. Let me share a little about God’s love. While we were yet sinners, He sought for us. Christianity is the only religion whose God seeks and dies for the followers. In
every other religion, people even die for their gods.
Psalm 23 v 6 “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”.
Jehovah- M'Kaddesh,"the Lord who sanctifies" (Lev 20:8) As the shepherd lay each night at the door of the sheepfold, he looked back over the day and gave thanks that the Lord had blessed them with goodness and mercy. As an old man, David looked back over his long life and came to the same conclusion. In spite of his sins and failures, he had been followed by goodness and mercy, which is the Old Testament equivalent of Rom 8:28. "Surely" means "only" As David looked ahead, he knew he would be in heaven — the Father's house — forever. I shall never be able to out run the goodness and mercy of my God. I shall always have closely attendant upon me His goodness to supply my needs, and his mercy to forgive my sins. After all I will dwell in the house of The Lord forever Hallelujah. Our home in eschatology, where there is no disease, no war, no tribulation, no weeping and no more pain but we shall live forever with our Lord Jesus. Amen
“He makes me lie down ingreen pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters” 
“He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me”.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows”.
