Sermon Title: PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Scripture Text: PSALM 23:3
Sermon Series: SUMMER IN THE PSALMS
Sermon Notes:
PSALM 23:1-6 ESV
1 A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
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.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
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.
“Run with speed. Run with power. But ultimately, all that matters is the right direction.” — Dr. Bruce Wilkinson
PSALM 23:1-3 ESV
1 A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
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.
I. OUR SHEPHERD LIFTS US FROM THE WRONG PATH
PSALM 23:3 ESV
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
restore | Hebrew: shub
to turn back, to return
PSALM 51:12 ESV
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
1 JOHN 1:9 ESV
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2 CORINTHIANS 12:9 ESV
9 …“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” …
MATTHEW 18:12 ESV
12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
“There’s something intensely personal, intensely tender, intensely endearing, yet intensely fraught with danger in the picture. On the one hand there is the sheep so helpless, so utterly immobilized … while on the other hand, there is the attentive owner quick and ready to come to its rescue – ever patient and tender and helpful.”
II. OUR SHEPHERD LEADS US TO THE RIGHT PATH
PSALM 23:3 ESV
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
PSALM 23:3 HCSB
3 He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake.
ISAIAH 53:6 ESV
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
“When the sheep is following the shepherd, they’ll always stay on the right path.”
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” — Corrie Ten Boom
“I said to the man at the gate of the year, ‘Give me a light that I might walk safely into the unknown.’
And he said to me, ‘Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God. It shall be to you safer than the light and better than the known.’”
1 SAMUEL 24:6 ESV
6 He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD’s anointed.”
path | Hebrew: ma’gal
a long, roundabout route
PSALM 23:3 ESV
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
1 my … I shall not be in want.
2 me … me
3 my soul … me
4 I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear … me … me.
5 me in the presence of my enemies … my head … my cup
6 me all the days of my life … I will dwell
“We all travel different paths; but we all have the same destination – God’s glory.”
The shepherd has one job – to lead the sheep.
The sheep has one job – to follow the shepherd.