God Is So Good
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1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
What does it mean that the Lord is my shepherd?
If you were to take a shepherd from this time home with you today, he would have no concept of our culture or sociewty. He would not understand driving to a destination, the speed with which you drive.... grocery stores for provisions and hospitals for wounds and sickness. He did all of those functions for his sheep.
He directed their path, he kept them in safety, he fed them, leading them to water and food, he both healed their sickness and tried to prevent sickness. He provided rest at the appropriate times, and he was their keeper for their entire life.
He would not understand our way of living. So I already know it’s going to take some doing for us to understand his.
sheep were dependent- they were not independent. They depended on their shepherd for everything- and he provided it.
Our culture never fosters dependency- it fosters independency. I know few people that truly want to remain dependent on others.
It is this picture of a shepherd and his sheep that Jesus wanted to foster in his followers in John 10. Listen to what Jesus said in John 10.27-28
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
The Lord is My Shepherd
I shall not want.
I shall not want.
Because God is Good.
Hebrews informs us that today Jesus is the Great shepherd who cares for the sheep. We are his sheep and he ministers tous as we follow him. Read Hebrews 13.20-21
20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
One of the names of the Lord in the OT is Johavah Raah. The Lord is my Shepherd.
The Lord is My Shepherd
I shall not want.
I shall not want.
Because God is Good.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
An OT name for God is Jehovah Jireh- The Lord Will Provide.
Jehovah Jireh- The Lord Will Provide.
23 And he will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. In that day your livestock will graze in large pastures,
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
The Lord is My Provider
I shall not want.
I shall not want.
Because God is Good.
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Jehovah Rapha- The Lord will heal or restore.
See Exodus 15.26
26 saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”
See Psalm 46.4
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
David sinned with Bathsheba.... but he repented in Psalm 51:1-12
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
The Lord is My Healer and Restorer
I Shall not want
I shall not want
Because God is Good.
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.
35 The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There.”
Jehovah-Shammah- the Lord is There.
1 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
The Lord Has been with me in all of my yesterdays.
The Lord is With Me Here.
The Lord Will Be with me tomorrow.
I shall not want.
I shall not want
Because God is good.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Anoint my head-
Jehovah Rapha- the lord heals.
A Table in the presence of my enemies
Jehovah Shalom- the lord our peace.
The Lord is My healer
The Lord is My Peace
I shall not be captive to sickness
Fear shall not dictate my final destination.
My Table will be filled with whole people because we serve a Whole God.
My God is Peace.
My God heals.
God is so Good.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Jehovah Tsidkenu- the Lord our Righteousness.
6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
My Shepherd is Righteousness
He gives me His Righteousness.
My destination is His destination.
His Righteousness is my ticket.
My shepherd is good.
God is so good.
Jehovah-Shalom, “The Lord our peace” (Jud. 6:24);
Jehovah-Tsidkenu, “The Lord our righteousness,” (Jer. 23:6);
Jehovah-Nissi, “The Lord our banner” (Ex. 17:8–15);
and Jehovah-Raah, “The Lord my shepherd” (Ps. 23:1).
In other words, Jesus Christ is to His sheep all that they ever need. As the little child said when misquoting this psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd—what more shall I want?”
Because the Lord is my shepherd, it is enough.