“He restoreth my soul” (Psalms 23:3a)

In the devotion, The Sovereign By Design: Part III, on Psalm 23:3a, the primary focus was the verb “restoreth” as one of the seven verbs of action by “my shepherd” upon “me” (David), a Sheep of God.

The word “restoreth,” or “restore,” means (1) “to give back: return”; (2) “to put or bring back into a former or original state.” Some synonyms for “restore” are “refresh, regenerate, rejuvenate, renew,” etc.

As stated in the devotion previously mentioned, the fact that God needs to, and does, restore His Sheep brings to light:

1. That God’s Sheep fail, and miss the mark; therefore they fall, and need to be restored back to full fellowship with the Shepherd. This restoring process begins with God, and is carried out by God.
2. The reason for the Sheep’s need of being restored is because of the Sheep’s compromise with truth; which leads to a loss of fellowship with Christ, and a loss of power to overcome the temptation to sin. (Look back at the previously referenced devotion for a full explanation of God’s Process of Restoration.)

This devotion focuses upon what is actually restored in the Believer – “my soul.”

What is the definition of the word “soul”? The Hebrew word for “soul” is “nephesh” (#5315); which is defined as “properly a breathing creature, that is, animal or (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental).” The Greek Word in the New Testament is “psuchē” (#5590); which is defined as “breath, that is, (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely.” This word comes from another Greek word “psuchō” (#5594) which means “to breathe.”

Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “soul” with many definitions. However, all the definitions fall into three categories:

1. “The immaterial essence of an individual life”;
2. “The spiritual principle embodied in human beings or the universe”;
3. “The moral and emotional nature of human beings.”

In the New Testament, the Bible teaches that man is made up of three parts: a body, a soul, and a spirit (called the heart many times).

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

The Bible also teaches in the New Testament that until the Word of God (that is, the Living Word, Christ) divides the soul from the spirit, they are together.

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

The New Testament of the Bible also teaches the soul is the seat of emotions; love, hate, hunger, thirst, lust, etc. are lodged in the soul. (See 1 Samuel 1:15; 18:1; Psalm 63:1; Matthew 22:37; Luke 1:46; John 12:27; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 Peter 2:8; Revelation 18:14.)

“And if any soul sin through ignorance…”  (Numbers 15:27a)

“And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” (Luke 12:19)

The Bible, in the New Testament, teaches that the soul represents a living human being (that is, his life). (See Matthew 16:26; Romans 13:1.)

“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (1 Corinthians 15:45)

And Hebrews 10:39 speaks of a preserving of the soul (or temporal life).

Obviously David is speaking of his internal seat of emotions when he writes, “He (God) restoreth (or returns back to) my soul.” Read Deuteronomy 4:29; 6:5; Joshua 22:5; Matthew 22:37. These verses prove there is a separation, or a difference, in the heart and the soul.

David wrote in Psalm 19:7a, “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul”; showing God is Sovereign in the process of restoring.

The verses are multitudinous in the Old Testament and the New Testament that reveal the soul is the seat of emotions in a human being.

The truth of the matter is, when Adam and Eve (the first humans recorded in Genesis) sinned in the Garden of Eden, the soul and the spirit of man become as one; with the soul reigning supreme in the man’s will from that point forward.

Man’s nature became totally depraved (corrupt); and his will was bent to sin; and he became a servant of unrighteousness:

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (2) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (3) Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” (Ephesians 2:1-3)

(Read Romans 6:1-23; Ephesians 4:22.)

Man suffered a spiritual death at that moment, in Adam and Eve’s sin:

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” (Romans 5:12)

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)

Spiritual death means that you are dead to spiritual matters of God (1 Corinthians 2:14). You are blind to the truth of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). Your nature is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts (Ephesians 4:22). And you will to sin, because that is your nature. You are controlled by the flesh (which follows the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; 1 John 2:15-17).

You are not seeking God when you are spiritually dead, but are seeking only to gratify your flesh and its lusts.

To come out of spiritual death, you must be Regenerated by God the Spirit. You must be raised from your spiritual dead condition – and only God can do this:

1)   “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;” (Ephesians 2:1)

2)   “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (45) It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” (John 6:44-45)

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

3)   “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)

4)  “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (8) Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; (9) Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, (10) But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:” (2 Timothy 1:7-10)

5)   “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? (5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (7) Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (8) The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:3-8)

At the moment of Regeneration, Hebrews 4:12 comes to reality:

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

When Christ comes to dwell in the regenerated sinner, the place of Christ’s dwelling is in the spirit. The Bible calls this person:

1. A “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17);
2. A new nature; a “new man” (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10);
3. His Temple (1 Corinthians 3:16);
4. Now, he walks in the Spirit; is led of the Spirit; and lives in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 18, 25);
5. And Romans 8:14-16 says, those who are led of the Spirit of God, “they are the sons of God.”

In Psalm 23:3a, David is a Child of God; he has a new nature, and desires to please God. However, David came to know, as all believers come to know, that they do fail to obey God at times. When this happens, sin separates God from the saved/converted man in fellowship with God; and confession on the part of the Believer, of his sin or sins, is necessary for restoration (1 John 1:7-9).

The beauty of David’s statement is this: the LORD, not David himself, but Jehovah, is the Cause of “restoreth my soul.”

David gives all the glory to Jehovah for working in him the process of restoring his soul.

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

The above verse is proof that it is God that worketh repentance and brings one to confess his sins. Read Psalm 51:1-17. It is in this process that David’s soul (his seat of emotions) was restored (or brought back) into full fellowship with God.

Some object and say, “Oh no, this action of God would be a violation of the ‘free will’ of man.”

No, a thousand times no. When a person has been regenerated, his will is changed also – from a desire to sin, to a desire to please God – for now he is alive, and the Love of God has been shed abroad in his heart (Romans 5:5).

Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). (See Matthew 22:37-40; 1 John 3:14-24; 4:7-21.) Therefore, the problem is not a violation of free will, but a love problem. Those that love God (because He first loved them) have a will to please and serve God in holiness and peace.

When the Spirit of God – who abides in the Believer, and is the Convicter of sin, and Teacher of His Word – reveals God’s way to the Believer; then the Believer (because of His new nature; now he is a Child of God; being empowered by the Holy Spirit dwelling in him) not only desires to obey God; he now has the power to obey God.

The Believer is now controlled by the Spirit of God; the “old man” has been crucified in his power over the spirit (Romans 6:1-23). However, Paul relates that his flesh (where sin dwells) is still with him, causing him to fail at times (Romans 7:15-24, 25). Yet he has the Victory in and through Jesus Christ who lives and abides in him.

“I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” (Romans 7:25)

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)

Therefore, in Christ, the Believer’s soul is restored on the basis of the Election of God; the Atonement in Christ on the Cross as the Elect’s Substitute, Sacrifice, and Savior; and in the fact that the Elect has experienced Regeneration in his life. And he now is controlling and living his life in and through the Life of Christ.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God (not the believer’s faith; but by Christ, who is The Faith, living within the believer), who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

Yes, Praise God – the LORD restoreth my soul – Hallelujah!

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