He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
He restores the soul and leads his own in right and righteous ways for the honor of his name as a personal, merciful and benevolent shepherd in Christ who nourishes those faithful and united with him. His restoring is personal keeping, blessing, healing and care that sustains in spiritual darkness, despair, humiliation, weakness and weariness, giving hope and deliverance and returning strength in sickness so the restored one can go back to active labor, with all recovery giving glory to his name. His leading is safe guidance aright for those who follow Christ and look to him for counsel, for Jesus alone shapes those who trust him after his own image and renews them until complete in him. God gives grace to keep a person in those paths and to live for his glory, yet walking in them calls for careful heed to every step in resisting sin, temptation and Satan's efforts to turn the feet aside by faithfully following the directions of his Word and bringing every thought, word and act into obedience to his will. He also restores wanderers from selfish ways back into righteousness through kind, helpful Christians who plant their feet there, teaching learners in his school by the Holy Spirit to lead other souls into the same path.
Shepherd's Restoring Guidance
The song to which this verse belongs reflects David's experiences as a shepherd lad. The verse reveals God, in Christ, as a personal, merciful and benevolent Shepherd who restores and nourishes the soul and leads those who are faithful and united with Him in righteous and right ways for the sake and honor of His name. That restoring and leading is not harsh or condemning but expresses the spirit to be brought into Christian work, where truth is shared in a way that restores and guides.
His restoring is personal keeping, blessing, healing and caring that sustains even in spiritual darkness, despair, humiliation, weakness and weariness. He knows His people are weak and faint and weary, bids them lean on Him and seek His help, and leads them in paths of light as they walk together with Him beneath a sunny sky. He restores the soul by giving hope and deliverance, so that any recovery gives glory to His name. He gives back strength in weakness and sickness, so that the one restored gains strength and is able to return to active labor.
His leading is safe guidance aright for those who follow Christ and look to Him for counsel. Jesus alone shapes those who trust Him after His own image and renews them until they are complete in Him, and alone can lead them safely. This was shown when the work and judgment of W. C. White were entrusted to God, with the promise that God would guide him. The shepherd imagery presents the constant watch-care of the good Shepherd, applied to children becoming lambs of His fold.
This care gives confidence in adversity, suffering and affliction that God does not forget His people. It calls them to open the heart to the cheerful rays of the Sun of Righteousness, to trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon God when walking in darkness and having no light. Looking to Jesus as the author and finisher of faith brings assurance that the Lord God will help, so that His servant will not be confounded or ashamed and none can condemn him.
Walking in Righteousness
God gives grace to keep a person in the paths of righteousness and guides that person to live for his glory.
Walking in those paths requires careful attention to each step, resisting sin and Satan's efforts to turn aside, and faithfully following the directions of God's Word. Following Christ in that way means bringing every thought, word, and act into obedience to his will, and this leading helps in resisting temptation. Keeping the Lord's way leads into paths of truth and righteousness and peace. Keeping the feet in that path of righteousness is a privilege, and trials met there are to be met in the Spirit of Christ.
God restores those who have wandered into selfish ways and leads them back into paths of righteousness and peace, and kind, helpful Christians are needed to help plant their feet there again. Learners in Christ's school are taught through the Holy Spirit to lead other souls into those paths. Turning from Christ and relying on human help leaves a person unable to lead others in that path of following Christ. These words express the spirit to be brought into Christian work, for God's truth is to be shared in a way that restores and leads rather than harshly or condemnatorily, for the honor of his name. The Lord's Spirit guides those who seek him into right paths.
He restores the soul and leads his own in right and righteous ways for the honor of his name as a personal, merciful and benevolent shepherd in Christ who nourishes those faithful and united with him. His restoring is personal keeping, blessing, healing and care that sustains in spiritual darkness, despair, humiliation, weakness and weariness, giving hope and deliverance and returning strength in sickness so the restored one can go back to active labor, with all recovery giving glory to his name. His leading is safe guidance aright for those who follow Christ and look to him for counsel, for Jesus alone shapes those who trust him after his own image and renews them until complete in him. God gives grace to keep a person in those paths and to live for his glory, yet walking in them calls for careful heed to every step in resisting sin, temptation and Satan's efforts to turn the feet aside by faithfully following the directions of his Word and bringing every thought, word and act into obedience to his will. He also restores wanderers from selfish ways back into righteousness through kind, helpful Christians who plant their feet there, teaching learners in his school by the Holy Spirit to lead other souls into the same path.
Shepherd's Restoring Guidance
The song to which this verse belongs reflects David's experiences as a shepherd lad. The verse reveals God, in Christ, as a personal, merciful and benevolent Shepherd who restores and nourishes the soul and leads those who are faithful and united with Him in righteous and right ways for the sake and honor of His name. That restoring and leading is not harsh or condemning but expresses the spirit to be brought into Christian work, where truth is shared in a way that restores and guides.
His restoring is personal keeping, blessing, healing and caring that sustains even in spiritual darkness, despair, humiliation, weakness and weariness. He knows His people are weak and faint and weary, bids them lean on Him and seek His help, and leads them in paths of light as they walk together with Him beneath a sunny sky. He restores the soul by giving hope and deliverance, so that any recovery gives glory to His name. He gives back strength in weakness and sickness, so that the one restored gains strength and is able to return to active labor.
His leading is safe guidance aright for those who follow Christ and look to Him for counsel. Jesus alone shapes those who trust Him after His own image and renews them until they are complete in Him, and alone can lead them safely. This was shown when the work and judgment of W. C. White were entrusted to God, with the promise that God would guide him. The shepherd imagery presents the constant watch-care of the good Shepherd, applied to children becoming lambs of His fold.
This care gives confidence in adversity, suffering and affliction that God does not forget His people. It calls them to open the heart to the cheerful rays of the Sun of Righteousness, to trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon God when walking in darkness and having no light. Looking to Jesus as the author and finisher of faith brings assurance that the Lord God will help, so that His servant will not be confounded or ashamed and none can condemn him.
Walking in Righteousness
God gives grace to keep a person in the paths of righteousness and guides that person to live for his glory.
Walking in those paths requires careful attention to each step, resisting sin and Satan's efforts to turn aside, and faithfully following the directions of God's Word. Following Christ in that way means bringing every thought, word, and act into obedience to his will, and this leading helps in resisting temptation. Keeping the Lord's way leads into paths of truth and righteousness and peace. Keeping the feet in that path of righteousness is a privilege, and trials met there are to be met in the Spirit of Christ.
God restores those who have wandered into selfish ways and leads them back into paths of righteousness and peace, and kind, helpful Christians are needed to help plant their feet there again. Learners in Christ's school are taught through the Holy Spirit to lead other souls into those paths. Turning from Christ and relying on human help leaves a person unable to lead others in that path of following Christ. These words express the spirit to be brought into Christian work, for God's truth is to be shared in a way that restores and leads rather than harshly or condemnatorily, for the honor of his name. The Lord's Spirit guides those who seek him into right paths.