Paths of Righteousness (Psalm 23:3)

In the context, the psalmist may be describing the consequences of spiritual refreshment or restoration, or he may be explaining the methods of such refreshment or restoration. Perhaps the answer is to combine the ideas and say that walking in the paths of righteousness brings spiritual nourishment to us.

The description requires an ongoing relationship before what it represents can be fulfilled in the life of a believer. A person has to be a member of Christ’s flock before he will be led by Jesus as the shepherd. It is always important to remind ourselves of this essential fact. Millions of people sing this psalm, but many of them don’t know what they are singing about because they are not walking in paths of righteousness behind the Shepherd.

The leading of the Shepherd

The role of the shepherd is described as leading, which simultaneously indicates that the role of a sheep is following. This means that the sheep is being led from somewhere, and being led to somewhere, as well as being led along particular paths. Whatever else we can say about the sheep the one thing that is obvious is that it is not stationary. There is movement. In the life of the sheep, we can say that it is being led from a life of sin when it was a lost sheep and it is being led to heaven, the eternal fold where all God’s sheep will be at home forever. It gets there by walking along the paths of righteousness that the Shepherd chooses.

The way the shepherd leads is intended to be constant. We can deduce this from the present tense of the verb, ‘leads.’ This is the desire of the Shepherd and the delight of the Shepherd. There are not any days during which he does not want to do this, nor are there any days in which this is not his great joy. The sheep needs to grasp the amazing delight in the heart of Jesus as he leads his people to heaven.

It is also the case that the Shepherd is careful as he leads his people. A literal shepherd would ensure that the routes he chose for the sheep to move along would provide feeding and rest and also that they would be safe. Jesus always has their spiritual equivalents in mind. One way by which we can express this is by saying that he leads his people via the means of grace.

Then we also know that the paths for each sheep are customised to suit the needs of each one. Not every spiritual sheep is at the same stage – some are new Christians, some are mature Christians, some are Christians who are starting to backslide, some are Christians about to experience disturbances, and the good Shepherd bears all these different aspects in mind as chooses the paths.

This means that each of the paths are connected to one another and that there is nothing haphazard about how he leads. Leaders in our society are constantly moved by the opinions of those they are meant to be leading, which makes one wonder who is doing the leading. But that is not the case with Jesus. He has planned what paths they should have, and those paths are chosen constructively because he intends that his people should have benefits from the ways he takes them. When they come to the close of each path, they should be better Christians.

The aspects we have mentioned so far deal with some of the ways in which the Shepherd leads his people. But what is required of them? I would mention three aspects of their response. First, they must consent to the choice of paths he decides. Sometimes his choice is not what they would have chosen if left to themselves. Nevertheless, they are only sheep and they are never the Shepherd. If they don’t consent, they will not discover the paths.

Yet more than consent is required. Consent usually describes the onset of something and in a spiritual sense we might see the necessity of certain paths being suitable. For example, we might consent that it is beneficial to use the means of grace, but then not use them. In addition to consent, we need to be consecrated to the Shepherd. This is easier said than done on some paths he chooses for us.

Along with consent and consecration, there has to be a desire for communion in the heart of each of Christ’s sheep. The imagery of a sheep following a shepherd is very similar to how a disciple would follow a teacher, listening to what he had to say as they moved along the road of travel that he had selected. A sheep in Christ’s flock loves listening to the Master’s voice, whether it be words of guidance or words of promise, and also loves to hear them repeated often by the Master.

The paths of righteousness

The psalmist mentions more than one path, which indicates variety as well as movement. I suppose we can liken paths to roads that we move along going from our departure point to our destination. Today, we would have travelled along different roads to get here. There may have been a point when we turned left instead of turning right and moved in the wrong direction. If that happened, we would have had to turn round and go back to the right route, which would be a good illustration of repentance. I think the paths here are consecutive rather than simultaneous, that the Shepherd finishes one path before moving to the next.

Moreover, the different paths have a common feature, which is righteousness. This is a reminder that the Shepherd will never ask us to do anything that is wrong. If he did, then he would be leading us into sin. But he never does. Instead, he always leads his people in right ways and into righteous places. So we can deduce that Jesus will not lead us somewhere where he would not like to be himself.

How do we find the paths of righteousness at a given time in our lives?

The answer is threefold. First, and most importantly, we find them detailed in the instructions of the Bible and we cannot walk in the paths of righteousness if we don’t know what the instructions are. In this sense, the Bible is like a set of maps each connected to our journey through life.

Second, we find them indicated in providence (if we take the example of attending the midweek meeting, Jesus will not lead us to go to it on Thursday since it is held on Wednesday). Providence is God’s means of opening and closing doors for us. This happens in big moments in life and in small moments, which is a reminder that providence covers everything.

Third, we find ourselves wanting to along those righteous paths – we find a desire to obey God’s instructions in a manner that he has opened up for us in his providence. This desire is the outcome of the work of the Spirit. Sometimes we find ourselves developing an interest in a particular spiritual activity. This interest is being stimulated by the Spirit and when we commence doing it we will find ourselves strengthened by the same Spirit.

In addition to those three features, we also need to remind ourselves that there are some righteous paths that Jesus leads us down frequently, such as attendance at the means of grace. Yet we should realise that each repetition is actually a new path. When we came to church this morning, it was not the same righteous path as last week, nor is it the same path as next week. This particular path began and ended this morning. Yet, as we have noticed, it is connected to other paths.

Another frequent path that Jesus leads his people down is the path of repentance. This is an unusual path because Jesus does not show us how to do it by his own example. Yet he teaches us how to engage in it by the Holy Spirit. The Book of Acts tells us that Jesus has been exalted to give repentance to sinners, and we often need to walk this path. But it is a delightful path to go along because while we may not see the example of Jesus we do experience the embrace of Jesus while on it.

What do we do on the paths of righteousness?

The paths of righteousness are paths of discovery about the omni-competence of Jesus. He as the Shepherd leads us along all of them, and in each of them we find his infinite capabilities. Each path shows his wisdom because we discover that he knew the right time to choose it for us; each path shows his power because we find that his strength is effective on all of them; each path shows the gentleness of Jesus because he leads like a kind shepherd; each path shows his love as we discover he has prepared for each stage of the journey.

The paths of righteousness are also paths of expressing devotion to Jesus as he leads us through a wide variety of different situations. Some of those paths may be pleasant, others may be unpleasant; some of them may be clear and uncomplicated, others may be uncertain and have confusing aspects from our perspective. Yet in each of these paths we are to remind ourselves that the Shepherd is saying to each of us, ‘Trust in my leading. You may not always see the connections, but I know where my chosen paths are taking you.’

Why does the Shepherd lead his people?

David tells us that the Shepherd leads his people in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. What does this mean? Primarily, it means that he does all things for his own glory. Initially we might think that such a motive is very selfish, and it would be if the person engaged in it had dubious features to his character. So we need to ask what it is that gives God great glory. And the answer to that question is that he provides salvation in line with his holy character.

The Shepherd leads us on paths of righteousness because he has promised to take all those who trust in him to heaven. He alone knows how to get there, but he also knows how to take all his people there. And he is totally committed to that task of ensuring that all of his sheep will eventually reach the heavenly fold. It would be a loss of glory if one of his sheep failed to get there. God cannot lose some of his glory – he either has all of it or he has none of it.

His glory shows itself in different ways, but as far as the travels of the sheep are concerned, they are to remind themselves as they journey along that the Shepherd will never leave them. And since he is always in front of them, they can have their eyes on him. Of course, if they choose to wander off and look elsewhere, then they won’t see him. Yet even when they go astray, they will discover that his commitment to them is so sure and he will come and rescue them.

What can we say about his name? Name usually points to an individual’s character. The Shepherd is near to each of his sheep, the Shepherd is patient with each of his sheep, the Shepherd provides food and refreshment for each of his sheep, the Shepherd protects each of his sheep, the Shepherd gives a sense of peace each of his sheep, and the Shepherd restores and refreshes each of his sheep, and the Shepherd leads each of his sheep along the paths of righteousness.