He Restoreth My Soul (Part 2)
Psalm 23:3, “He restoreth my soul”.
Oh the richness of such a great and precious promise as this! It is full to overflowing with gleanings upon which the soul may feed! As we have already seen, these wonderful words speak first and foremost to the nature of our Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ! It is He who is the source and the supply of the restoring work spoken of here! It is because of His matchless, measureless, and marvelous love that we are offered such a comforting truth as this!
But there is a second course of consideration to which this phrase directs our thoughts. You see, there are two themes that run throughout this psalm: dual doctrines, if you will. Thus far, we have already pondered them both in some measure as we have mused upon this great text. On the one hand, we have seen that this psalm paints a powerful portrait of our blessed Lord and His shepherding ministry. It illustrates His character and compassion; His love and leadership; His presence and provision, and the words here ever remind us of our total dependence upon Him! And this, I believe, is the supreme focus of this precious psalm.
Yet, as we gaze upon the glory of our wonderful Watchman, we cannot help but see ourselves in the light of His countenance! When we are compelled to consider the nurturing work of this loving Shepherd, we are forced to come face to face with the nature of our own plight as lowly sheep. As we see the one truth, then, of necessity, it reveals the other! So then, in seeing the Shepherd, what do we in turn realize about ourselves as sheep?
Sheep without the Shepherd are utterly helpless! And, just like those poor sheep, we are pathetic and powerless; we are hopeless and helpless; we are desperate and defenseless! This is why Isaiah cried, “All we LIKE SHEEP have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6). This is what compelled the psalmist to confess; “I have gone astray LIKE a lost SHEEP” (Psalm 119:176). Though we are saved, yet still the Bible proclaims: “WE ARE his people, and THE SHEEP of his pasture.” (Psalm 100:3) Even the unsaved are “…scattered abroad, AS SHEEP having no shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36)
When we understand this two-fold message of the 23rd Psalm, then we begin to see the other side of the phrase, “He restoreth my soul”. We have learned in this phrase that the Shepherd is ever seeking to restore the weary and wandering sheep. Remember that the verb tense of this phrase is imperfect. This indicates a continuing and perpetual work on Christ’s part. But if this is so, then naturally, the same truth indicates a continuing and perpetual wandering and weakness on our part. He is ever restoring, because we are ever in need of restoration!
So then, we must ask, what happens to sheep that causes them to be in need of this restoring work? If you study sheep and shepherds, you will find that there is a sad condition in which sheep often find themselves. The more modern, English term used to describe it is being “cast” or “cast down”. This happens when sheep get turned over onto their back and are unable to get up on their feet again. Every ounce of material I have ever read that deals with “cast down” sheep agree that this is something that happens often, and thus, the Shepherd must be ever mindful of and ever watchful for sheep in this state.
There may be several ways in which sheep can become cast down. However, there seems to be one means by which this “cast down” condition most commonly occurs. Typically, the sheep will look for a comfortable place to lie down. They prefer indentations and impressions which are found in the soil because they contour to the body of the sheep. When such a place is found the sheep will lie down in it, not knowing that this place of “comfort” may indeed be a death trap! They awaken from their leisure only to find that they are unable to get up from the place where they have reclined. This places the “cast down” sheep in a position of grave danger!
Sheep in this dangerous dilemma are often isolated from the flock and separated from the Shepherd. As they lie there on their backs, they are an easy target for hungry predators. In short order, circulation to the extremities, especially the legs, will be cut off. Depending on the current weather patterns and distance from which they have wandered from the fold, sheep in this position can die within hours to days.
Sheep that have become “cast down” tend to struggle to regain their footing by their own efforts. Occasionally, they may bleat a little, but typically they will frustrate themselves as they flail frantically with their legs. Yet all their efforts are useless, they cannot recover themselves from this helpless predicament. The Shepherd must come to them, pick them up, set them on their feet again, massage the blood flow back into their limbs, and return them to the fold.
Oh how much we are like the “cast down” sheep! We often find ourselves in these isolated and helpless situations. So often our longing for leisure compels us to find a place of comfort in a world that is ever lurking with dangers. And even if we come to realize the vulnerable position to which we have become exposed, we make the mistake of frustrating ourselves trying to undo our messes in the power of the flesh, only to make them worse. We stubbornly attempt to get up on our own, refusing to cry out for the help of the Shepherd whose “ears are open” unto our “cry” (Psalm 34:15)! We stay there and lay there wallowing in the dust of our own foolish choices!
But thanks be unto God, we have a faithful Shepherd! He “knoweth our frame” (Psalm 103:14); He knows that we are “…but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.” (Psalm 78:39) He understands that our best efforts cannot recover us from a fall, and our grandest intentions cannot restore us to the fold! It is He that reminds us that “…every man at his best state is altogether vanity” (Psalm 39:5)!
Oh how wonderful to know that “…he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5)! Oh how sweet to realize that because of such a promise, “We may boldly say, The Lord is my helper” (Hebrews 13:6)! His ever watchful eye is upon us! His ever listening ear is awaiting the prayer of the humble heart! His ever compassionate heart longs to restore our wayward and weary soul! His ever faithful hand reaches out to lift us from the despair of our helpless state! Oh how blessed and bountiful the promise of his restoring work! It compels me to cry out with the psalmist, “Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling” (Psalm 116:7-8)!
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