In our last visit we began amplifying the first reason given in Psalm 23 for affirming how the shepherd cares and provides for those with whom He has a personal relationship.
In addition, He not only makes us lie down in green pastures, but “he leads us beside quiet waters.” When we are stressed He nourishes us. When we are weary it is time to be lead by our shepherd to some quiet waters and rest. Whether in green pastures or beside quiet waters the shepherd’s objective is to restore our soul.
He knows that when we are emotionally stressed and physically weary our soul will be more vulnerable to the enemy’s attack. That possibly has already happened. We might also begin questioning the love and care of our shepherd.
The soul is where we think, feel and choose. Stressed and weary bodies lead to being foggy in our minds. Our emotions can begin playing tricks on us. And our choices might be impulsive or indecisive, which often leads to bad choices. Our shepherd knows this so He wants us to quiet down and get some rest. The right kind of nourishment also helps.
Our shepherd is committed to restoring our soul. All of this is necessary if we are going to live life as He intended for us and the Psalmist affirms that the Good Shepherd is committed to seeing that we get His aid.
The fourth affirmation is that “He guides us in paths of righteousness.” He is always concerned that we as His sheep do what is right in all circumstances. That will not happen on our own. Remember we are prone to go astray, to turn away by doing out own thing. We need Him to guide us in paths of righteousness.
