He Restoreth My Soul (Part 1)
Psalm 23:3, “He restoreth my soul”.
Who is able to comprehend the magnitude of the love that The Great Shepherd has for His sheep? Who can grasp the grace or measure the mercies that are the out-flowing of such love? The height of it cannot be reached; its depth cannot be plumbed; its breadth cannot be spanned! In fact, when I try to understand it, I am compelled to cry out like the psalmist, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it” (Psalm 139:6)!
It is interesting to note that the phrase set before us here does not contain the word “love” as its particular term, yet we can clearly see in the phrase that love is the particular theme. Indeed, love is the compelling force behind the glorious work of the Shepherd that is accounted for here in Psalm 23:3, “He restoreth my soul”. This restoring work is the manifest measure of that Divine love which knows no limits! It is that love which seeks and saves, and it is that love which pursues and pardons! It is the love which compels the Shepherd to “leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it” (Luke 15:4)! Yet, that is not the full sum of this love! Here in our text, we begin to realize that this love is so vast that it goes beyond salvation to offer so much more!
The term “restoreth” that is used in our psalm comes from the Hebrew word (shuwb), and the stem of the word is Polel. Thus, the word carries the idea of bringing back again, refreshing, and it figuratively illustrates something being repaired. Thus, what the psalmist portrays to us is a patient Shepherd that RETURNS the WONDERING sheep, REFRESHES the WEARY sheep, and REPAIRS the WOUNDED sheep. This is the work of Him that has a watchful eye, a caring heart, and a tender hand, and who ever stands at the ready to supply every need of His ever needful sheep!
But there is an even greater jewel contained in this promise. The verb tense used in the phrase “He restoreth my soul” is imperfect. This simply means that Christ’s restoring work is not based upon a single act of kindness, but rather, it is meted out by our Lord’s multiple mercies! It is those magnificent and measureless mercies of our wonderful Lord that must have been the comfort of Jeremiah when he proclaimed, “It is of THE LORD’S MERCIES that we are not consumed, because HIS COMPASSIONS FAIL NOT” (Lamentations 3:22)!
Who can fathom such a thing? Our blessed Lord Christ is relentless in His restoring work! Because of His unfailing compassions, He never ceases in His care of the straying or struggling sheep. He is ever repairing; He is ever refreshing; He is ever restoring our souls! When the psalmist says, “He restoreth my soul”, he is envisioning a loving Shepherd, who in patience and pity, pursues the weary and wayward for more than just a moment! His care spans the length of a lifetime! Remember the words declared later in verse 6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE”. Let me point it out in a different way: the verse does not say “He restored”, but instead it declares “He restoreth”. It is an ever present promise! It is available at this very moment and at every moment to all who will avail themselves of it!
Think about it child of God! There is no pre-qualification in what we are reading here. Though there may be several reasons for which a sheep needs to be restored, still “He restoreth”. Whether it is ignorance or stubbornness that leads to our wondering, still “He restoreth”! If we are discouraged or downtrodden, still “He restoreth”! If we have foolishly injured ourselves because of our senseless straying, yet, even then, we still have the promise that “He restoreth”!
Oh that we may lay hold of this tremendous truth! Our Lord is the ever seeking Shepherd who was “ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” toward Israel. And this was in spite of the fact that they “refused to obey” and “hardened their necks” (Nehemiah 9:17). He it is of whom Paul spoke in 2 Timothy 2:13, when he wrote, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful”! Oh that this might be the ground for all our glorying! Oh that we would rejoice as they did in the time of Ezra saying, “Yet our God hath not forsaken us…but hath extended mercy” (Ezra 9:9)!
Why should we ever want to stray from such a glorious and gracious Shepherd as Jesus? Yet we do! We in our pride still stray; in our weakness we still struggle! Yes, in spite of all that Christ is and all that He affords to His beloved ones, we often still must cry out, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep” (Psalm 119:176)! But though this be our plight, we have a loving Lord who “knoweth our frame” and “remembereth that we are but dust” (Psalm 103:14)!
Oh the sweet assurance that these precious words ought to bring to the weary soul! Regardless of the condition in which we may find ourselves, we can be certain of this precious promise: “He restoreth my soul”! Don’t misunderstand the point. I am not suggesting that such a gracious promise offers license to us so that we may justify our sin. God forbid! This promise offers no such thing! However, what it does offer is an unparalleled love that compels us to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy” (Hebrews 4:16)!
Oh Bless His wonderful name, for “He hath not dealt with us according to our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10)! And why is it so? Because he is a patient and loving Shepherd; One who “Is merciful, and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (Psalm 103:8)! Oh the wonder of this indescribable, inexhaustible, unconditional love of our blessed Lord! It compels me to say with Paul, “THE LOVE OF CHRIST…PASSETH KNOWLEDGE” (Ephesians 3:19)!
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