Pathway

View daily reading plan: Psalm 23; Isaiah 40.1-15

The word ‘restoreth’ suggests the idea of recovery or renewal. The verb is often translated ‘return’. In v.2 David is drinking from the Shepherd’s inexhaustible stream (cf. John 4:13-14; 7:37-39), and that reservoir of grace is available to every believer today just as it always has been. There he has the refreshing that he so much needs,  yet he knows that within him there is the tendency to wander.

“He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness”. This is the second mention in the psalm of leading (see v.2), but the two words in the Hebrew text are not exactly the same. In v.2 the word seems to have a gentler tone, whereas here it may, if necessary, involve some discipline (see Strong’s Concordance).

We may not always recognise that the Shepherd knows what is best for us, however, we are under His ownership, bought by Him at infinite cost, and He conducts us in right paths for our good, and for His glory.

Saturday, 25 May, 2024