In Psalm 23:3 David wrote, “He restoreth my soul”.  To restore is to put back into former state. When I consider this portion of verse 3, I observe that:

The Lord is the great restorer.  David wrote, “The Lord is my shepherd”.  “He” restoreth my soul.  Everything in this world has been adversely affected by sin.  Jesus didn’t mess this up but he is the one who came down here to fix it.  In Ps 69:4 the Lord says, “then I restored that which I took not away”.  When Jesus saves you, he redeems you, makes you a new creature, and conforms you to his image.  He restores your soul.  In time he will fashion our bodies like unto his glorious body.  Then we will be totally restored in eternity.

Sometimes Christians need to be restored.  David wrote, He restoreth “my” soul.  Restoration is not just for sinners.  It’s for saints, too.  David was a man after God’s own heart.  We are saved and forgiven.  We’re in a good church.  Even here it’s possible to get messed up in sin.  The Bible says, “All” we like sheep have gone astray.  

When you find that you have strayed, turn to the Lord.  He will restore you.  Read how David prayed to be restored after his sin with Bathsheba in Ps 51:8-12.  God restores saints.  And saints should restore saints, as well.  Paul said in Gal 6:1, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted”.

The Lord restores the inside, first.  Daive wrote, He restoreth my “soul”.  When we have strayed we need need to restored.  The Lord is going to work from the inside out.  He works his will in us from the inside out, Phil 2:12-13.  Jesus told the Pharisees in Matt 23:36, “Thou blind Pharisees, cleanse first that which is within…”.   In Mk 7:20 Jesus explained, “That which cometh out of the man that defileth the man”.  

The Lord will restore you in the fold.  Sin may leave its ugly scars.  Your health may not be restored.  Your mind may track back over your past.  But you will be restored.  Your sins are forgiven and cleansed, 1 Jn 1:9.  And when you are restored, there will be a song in your heart and glory in your soul.  As Paul wrote in Eph 1:6, You are accepted in the beloved.

Conclusion: Come to the Lord now if you have strayed.  He will restore your soul.  And if you’ve been restored, then praise the Lord!  And encourage others to come to the Lord so they can be restored.

To listen to and read the prior sermon in this series, see Our Shepherd. To listen to and read the next sermon in this series, see He Leadeth Me.