“He restores my soul” verse 3; when a sheep would fall sick, break a leg, or face some other calamity, the shepherd would be there to treat, dress the wound, and nurture that sheep back to health. God our “good shepherd” is the greatest restorer ever! From the moment our relationship with Him was broken in Genesis 3, He began seeking and restoring, with the purpose of bringing us back to our original state, and I believe even better! To restore means the thing being restored has fallen into a condition lesser than it was at its inception and is now being brought back into its original condition, or as I said, perhaps even better! The Hebrew word for “restores” in Psalm 23 means to turn back (God begins this process at the New birth, and continues it until we reach our eternal state when “we shall be like Him” 1 John 3:2). The Hebrew word for “my soul” means “a breathing creature”, but unlike our English word soul, which usually describes only our inner person, the Hebrew is so wide that it describes the whole person, spirit, soul, and body. Even if it takes the injured sheep a long while to recover, the shepherd is there every step of the way, and our “good shepherd” does no less! We keep our eyes on the fact that “all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” 2 Corinthians 1:20, and His promise is “I will never leave you nor forsake you” Hebrews 13:5. Jesus sole purpose in coming to earth was “to seek and to save that which was lost” Luke 19:10; I believe we could say to restore them! I believe in the interest of complete restoration we should make a comparison between the description of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:9; 3:22, 24 and the New Jerusalem in Revelation 2:7, and 22:2, 14.
Restoration
By Rose Hill
Your soul the shepherd will restore,
And will heal every wound and even more!
He will be with you every step of the way,
To prepare you for the eternal day.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright …1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.