Dear one,
Which path …?
Last week I wrote of Psalm 23:1-2–and the encouragement I received not many years ago: “The Lord is my Shepherd” may rightly be translated: “The Lord shepherds me.” Therefore, given that He actively shepherds, for the past several days Psalm 23:3 has been rumbling within me: “He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.”
For decades I have viewed this verse and the word “righteousness” through a “legal” lens: such paths would allow me to be right or righteous. However, most recently I’ve returned to a childhood conundrum: “How can a path be ‘righteous’? Aren’t they rocky or hard-beaten, often frequented by deer?” Of course they are, and in certain regards, my child’s question was that of a Hebrew worldview: concrete and practical. Thus a “righteous path” might also be a “good” path: one that is safe and secure, or even straight and serene—a nuance embedded within the Hebrew word “righteousness.” A “righteous” path, then, might truly be “legal,” but at moments more importantly, it might be sure.
Moreover, this practical view of “righteousness” accords well with the Hebrew word for “path,” which depicts an “entrenchment” or a well-used and -rutted trail.[1] Figuratively, such a trail might have the markers or signs of previous generations, but only posted through hard-gained wisdom: “Turn”; “Rock Slide”; “Blind Curve”; “Slow.” Such a path might truly be a good and right path, a path of righteousness.
In our American world, with its legitimate concerns for rights and justice, characteristically we have a multitude of paths proclaimed as “good” and “right”—but how can we know, particularly if they diverge in a darkened wood? For me Psalm 23:3 speaks hopefully to this issue, for it reminds me that our Shepherd leads me “for His Name’s sake.” He is the One who leads me, and He does so fully consistent with His Name—i.e. with His character—which in the Old Testament is the One who proclaimed:
I am “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,” (Exodus 34:6-7); and in the New Testament He is the One who “lays down His life for the sheep,” promising them great abundance (John 10:10-11).
Are you presently seeking the “right path”? If so, trust the Shepherd, who will place your feet upon a firm foundation, safe and secure—a good and righteous path.
In the Way,
Stan
[1] ְמַעְגְּלֵי־צֶ֗֜דֶק Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford: Oxford University Press), p.722