“…Paths of Righteousness…”

“. . . he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake . . .”
Psalm 23:3b

An underemphasized expression of God’s mercy toward us is his faithfulness (as a wise and good shepherd) to guide us throughout life. He does not, at our conversion, forgive our sins, then turn us loose in a hostile world with hopes that we won’t hurt ourselves. Day by day, moment by moment, he leads us. Those are, as the hymn says, words that are fraught with heavenly comfort.  At the end of Psalm 23:3, we see a specific way that God leads us.

“. . . He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. . .”
or
“. . . He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. . . ”

 

We can draw from this at least two conclusions: one, that his paths are, by nature, righteous paths and, two, the way that he leads is itself right (ensuring that he will see us all the way home). Derek Kidner said of this passage, [these “paths of righteousness”] are “no more than ‘the right paths’, but have, further, a demanding moral content for the human flock, whose ways will either shame or vindicate their Shepherd’s good name. . . God will make new men of us, whose ways will be his own”. This will serve to comfort those who have come to love righteousness.  It is good news that God providentially guides us on right paths.  Seen appropriately, his prohibitions are mercies. It is expressive of a shepherd’s faithful guidance.  When he says “no” to greed or theft or deceit or porn or gluttony or self-righteousness, he is leading you in right paths and caring for you lovingly. In this, we can see his tender mercy. This is not a parent taking away a child’s toys, but scooting her back from the stove.

John Piper has described the ultimate purpose of providence by citing the end of Romans 8.  “I suspect that when Paul wrote, “Those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified (Rom. 8:30), he omitted ‘those whom he sanctified because in his mind the word glorified, at this point in his argument, included God’s work of sanctifying. So he did not write, ‘Those whom he justified he also sanctified, and those whom he sanctified he also glorified.’ This is not because sanctification is optional . . . but, I am suggesting because it is included in ‘glorified’. Another way of describing progressive sanctification is to call it ‘progressive glorification’.”  It is the work of a capable shepherd to — across the course of our lives — lead us to glory.

Consider this. At any point in life, there exists for the Christian, a path of righteousness. Among the options before you, there is at least one way forward that will honor the Lord. You can enter each new day with the knowledge that your good shepherd will lead you in paths of righteousness. Life will not unfold before you as a series of choices that vary in degrees of sinfulness. You have a good shepherd and he will (even today) lead you on right paths.  And for the sake of his name, he will see you all the way home.

So, be encouraged.