2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
In order to understand these two verse of the famous, Psalm 23, we would be wise to read the first and last verse of the song, verse:
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
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.
A key to understanding this great Psalm is to remember that as we “follow” the great Shepherd, goodness and mercy with natural “follow” (“chase” in the Hebrew) us. That is how we can understand verses 2 & 3. God leads us on paths of righteousness. We don’t always realize the path is a righteous path, but, that is what we are supposed believe, by faith. We do go through a valley of death, but, that is only part of the path that leads to green pastures, quiet waters and a restored soul. In the Hebrew the phrase “paths of righteousness” is probably better translated, “in right paths.” And, we are lead in these “right paths” so that we can feel good about ourselves, right? No! We are lead in these “right paths” for “His name sake.” God leads on right paths so that, in the end, we can glorify His name and give Him praise. That is why, at times, the “right path” does not seem easy or good or nice. It is in those times, on the rough, steep and snarly path, that God gets the glory for being out Shepherd and leading us to green pastures and quiet and still waters.
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