The LORD is my Shepherd...those words are so familiar that it is virtually impossible to be impacted as we should by the fact that YHWH is my Shepherd. Is it possible to position ourselves to allow the Spirit of God to consume and overwhelm our hearts, souls, and minds with this mind blowing, heart consuming truth? Father in Heaven please enlighten the eyes of our hearts to behold and delight in this glorious truth. Please grab your Bible and read Isaiah chapter 6. Now, who did Isaiah see? He saw the LORD, he saw YHWH, he saw Jesus! How can we say that he saw Jesus? Look at John 12:40-41, you will see the words of Isaiah 6:10 quoted and then John tells us that Isaiah saw Him, Isaiah saw Jesus high and lifted up!
Jesus created the stars with a word and He calls them all by name!
“Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.” (Isaiah 40:26) “I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the stars are at my command.” (Isaiah 45:12) “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?” (Isaiah 40:12)iworship
Who measured the waters of the earth in the hollow of his hand and measured the universe with the span, the width, of His hand? Jesus! Jesus tells us that with His hands He stretched out the heavens! Our galaxy is a modest galaxy among galaxies, the Milky Way, approximately 120,000 light years in diameter, contains 200-400 billion stars with about as many planets. The Milky Way is only one of billions of known galaxies. The vastness, the all consuming immensity of our universe points to the immeasurable, unsearchable, inscrutable power of our Great God and HE is my Shepherd! YHWH-Rohi! When i behold Him in HIS glorious Word and breath-taking universe iworship!
ithank
To create the universe all YHWY had to do was to stretch out His hands and speak a word...BUT to recreate, redeem, His adopted children YHWH had to stretch out His hands and die on a horrific Cross. You may remember Jesus words in John 10, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11) The Holiness and Justice of God required that the sin debt be paid! Jesus died the death we deserved in our place, He defeated sin, death and Satan...so that we could "walk through the valley of the shadow of death." LORD Jesus thank you for taking my place on the Cross, thank you for being my substitute in death that i might live for you by faith.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, 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 runs 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.” (Psalm 23)ipraise
The intimacy of that drips, like dew soaked grass, from these words is breath-taking! This is so beautiful, in verses 1-3 David is talking about YHWH-Rohi..."He makes me to lie down," "He restores my soul"...and then in verse 4 you see the personal pronoun shift from "He" to "you." "I will fear no evil for you are with me." If you are willing to pause long enough to memorize and meditate on Psalm 23 you begin to see with the "eyes of your heart" that all of the ways YHWY has revealed Himself to us in His Word through out history are contained in this one Psalm! Not only has He revealed Himself, but this is how He cares for His children. LORD Jesus ipraise you and i am amazed and delighted with the glorious way you care for your sheep! Forgive me for the countless times that i have not trusted in your care for me.
- Yahweh-Shammah “The Lord is there” (Ezek. 48:35). God's name connected with the restoration of Jerusalem, God’s dwelling place. In Psalm 23, "for you are with me."
- Yahweh-Jireh “The Lord will provide” (Gen. 22:14). The name given to the place where God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice as a substitute Isaac. In Psalm 23 "He restores my soul." He does this at the cost of His own life.
- Yahweh-Nissi “The Lord is my banner” (Exod. 17:15). Moses built an altar and gave it this name after God gave Israel victory over the Amalekites. The Lord’s name was the battle cry. In Psalm 23, "I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."
- Yahweh-Mekaddesh “The Lord sanctifies” (Exod. 31:13). God is Holy and He calls for His people to be Holy, set apart for Him. In Psalm 23, "He leads me in paths of righteousness."
- Yahweh-Shalom “The Lord is peace” (Judg. 6:24). This was the name of the altar that Gideon built at Ophrah signifying that God brings well-being not death to His people. In Psalm 23, "He leads me besides still waters."
- Yahweh-Sabaoth “The Lord of hosts” (1 Sam. 1:3; Jer. 11:20; cp. 1 Sam. 17:45). This can also be rendered “the Lord Almighty.” It represents God’s power over the nations and was closely tied to Shiloh, to the ark of the covenant, and to prophesy. The title designates God as King and Ruler of Israel, its armies, its temple, and of the entire universe. In Psalm 23, "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil."
- Yahweh-Tsidkenu “The Lord is our righteousness” (Jer. 23:5–6; 33:16). This was the name Jeremiah gave to God, the Righteous King, who would rule over Israel after the return from captivity. In Psalm 23, "He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name sake.
ipray
As i have come to comprehend with Isaiah and Peter that, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) “For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:25) ipray!
When i see with the eyes of my heart that the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep says, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,” (John 10:14) “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:16) “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”” (John 10:27–30) iworship, ipraise, ithank, idelight and Oh my how ipray!