Righteousness Renewed

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King David understood the importance of knowing who the Lord is and how to bring Him glory in all things. As previously stated in my post “Who Is The Lord,” I mention the name Jehovah is a combination of three tenses of the word “to be.” Once we established who the Lord is, we looked at Psalm 23 and began searching line by line the song David wrote to our Lord. He calls Him Shepherd, Provider, and Peace in verses one and two. There are at least eight more names that David uses in this passage, and those will come later, but as we remember and celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection this weekend, I want to highlight the new life and righteousness only found in Christ Jesus as found in Psalm 23:3.

He renews my life; [He is Jehovah-Rapha—The Lord, my Healer!]

The Lord, Jesus Christ, is an encourager and a restorer of our soul. God left the Throne Room of heaven; put on flesh; he was born unto Mary as an innocent baby. Lived the perfect life that Adam should have lived, died on the cross the death that all humanity deserved. This death was a demonstration of His love for His most loved creation. He was buried. He ascended into hell—conquered sin and death. Three days later, through the power of The Holy Spirit, Jesus rose from the grave in glory. All of this, to heal our wicked hearts and restore the relationship between Holy God and sinful man.

Bring Me Back

Think back to the sheep analogy. Sometimes sheep wander away from the protection of the flock and the shepherd and become injured. The Hebrew word for “restore” is shuwb {shoob}, which means “to repair, to return, or to bring back.” I think back to my conversion, and how at nine years old, I repented of my sins (at nine I’d already racked up quite a few) and believed the truth of the gospel. Many times since then, I have made attempts to wander away. But God, being rich in His love and mercy for me, came and found me. This sheep was lost and walking away, but the Good Shepherd found me and paid for my sins with His blood.

King David wrote Psalm 51 at one of the lowest times of his life, but he knows how to lament and turn his heart to the Lord. He continues to trust the One who keeps him believing.

Psalm 51:10-12

¹⁰ God, create a clean heart for me
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not banish me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore the joy of your salvation to me,
and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.

New Heart

The Apostle Paul shares in 1 Corinthians 5:17; “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away and behold the new comes.” A clean heart can only come from God. There is nothing we can do to clean our hearts. David shows us that we need Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord, my healer, to give us a new heart.

Did you catch that? A new heart. Not a modified heart or an enlarged heart, but “create in me a clean heart.” Jesus’ death on the cross provided a way for our hearts to be made new. David asks God to give him a heart that is unwavering in its allegiance to the only God.

he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake. [He is Jehovah-Tsidkenu—The Lord of Righteousness!]

The prophet Jeremiah gave this name to God in Jeremiah 23 and used the name again in 33. The Righteous King who would rule over Israel after the return from captivity. This Righteous King would establish a new kingdom of justice.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, leads us to the path to become righteous. This path leads directly to Himself. In Jesus, we are justified before him, and though His righteousness, we are led to the path of eternity in heaven with Him. We can rest assured that the Lord will never lead us in a direction we should not go. In the Book of James, Jesus’ very brother, says, “No one should say God is tempting me. God is not tempted by evil, and He doesn’t tempt anyone.”

Who Get’s The Honor?

What’s interesting is that Jesus leads us in paths of righteousness so that we might be saved, but that His name gets the honor. God’s name and character receive honor and praise when one person moves from death to life in Christ Jesus.

Christ receives honor in our conversion-being saved, by how salvation comes; and the influence, guidance, and making known His character and perfections. We find confidence in David’s words in verse three that assurance is found only in Christ, and through Him, we will never be led astray and left wandering alone.

Empty Church Buildings And An Empty Tomb

This Easter weekend, as we “attend church” on our streaming devices, let’s not forget that the Great I Am; the God of the past, present, and future created a plan to rescue, redeem and restore relationship with us. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is not dead, but ALIVE. The tomb is empty. He Lives! He is mightier than any plague or virus that stops our world in its tracks, and He will receive honor and glory no matter what.

Jehovah-Rapha has healed our sin-wounds and allowed His body to bear the scars we deserved.

Jehovah-Tsidkenu continually leads us to the places that only draw us deeper into a relationship with Himself. No one who submits their life to Christ will be led astray.