The Lord leads selectively. Isaiah (58:10) stipulated: That if you extend your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall rise in obscurity (or dawn in the darkness); and your darkness shall be as the noonday'. Then this righteous assurance, 'the Lord shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of waters that do not fail.' In righteous living, the believer provides spiritual and physical food for the starving, and satisfies those distressed.

God has promised revival to those who follow His holy pattern. ' Jeremiah expressed this,'Thus says the Lord, 'Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good ways, and walk in it. Then the glorious promise,' You will find rest for your souls (6:16). Many in the western Christian church have forfeited revival, in refusing to contend for the ways of our godly fathers; and not preserving the holy and righteous paths. In contrast our Asian, Latin American and African communities have stood courageously, often tortured unspeakably, refusing to budge from the uncompromising truths of the eternal God. God revived the latter, while He has withdrawn favour from many of the former, privileged ones.

Dan Wooding wrote of the underground Chinese churches pleading that United States brethren cease praying for an end to persecution, for the Holy Spirit has allowed the ill-treated church to flourish and faith deepen. Contrarily, the Chinese pray that the American believers will endure deprivation and persecution to expand their love for Christ and that they will vigorously evangelise their great nation.

John the Baptist knew this as Zechariah, his father, prophesied, 'Through the tender mercy of our God, by which the dayspring from on high has visited us,' For the lofty purpose, 'to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet in the way of peace.' (Luke 1:79) Our Lord is the dawn or dayspring from heaven while HE came to shatter satan, and scatter darkness, and to direct our paths into peaceful realms. Our Lord lifts us individually, he enriches our family life; and He preserves our society from the ruthless destroyer. John the Baptist was martyred for his faith. We must adore Christ's holy Name.

Indeed the Holy Spirit inspires uprightness in us: 'When the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears (from the Father), He will speak, and he will tell you things to come.'(John 16:23) How amazing for the third Person of the Trinity to shepherd His children, 'He will direct you into all holy truth. Some godly men and women have been barely literate, yet deeply schooled in the things of the Lord, because the indwelling Spirit (the Paraklete) taught and skilled them in holiness. My black-smith grandfather and saintly grandmother's holy lives rubbed off on mine. Bless the Lord; I shall see them in glory around the throne.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD AND PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Jeremiah wrote in 23:6, 'Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.' In the Hebrew it is Jehovah Tsidkenu.
This compound name of Jehovah reveals the nature of the righteous God, whose name reflects this. Preceding this, Jeremiah wrote, 'I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking, says the Lord.' (v5) 'Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will raise to David, a branch of righteousness. A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.' Understandably, His Name shows His perfect character. Hence He leads in paths of righteousness

Jeremiah repeated this exciting truth in 33:16, 'THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS,' in the chapter with that promise, 'Call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.'

The 143rd psalm, verse 10, reads, 'Your spirit is good; lead me in the land of uprightness. Revive me, O Lord for your Name's sake, for your righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.' Great truths are linked: the Holy Spirit leads to a life of worthiness: revival for the sake of the Lord, Himself: and rescuing the soul from distress for the sake of His virtue. Our good Shepherd discretely chooses appropriate paths of integrity. In our nation, leaders are brought to justice for deceit, insider-trading in stock exchange intricacies, or flagrant mismanagement, for which some profit, while many suffer. We urgently require the Good Shepherd to lead our national economic advisers into paths of righteousness: and this worthiness in our daily transactions.

Ezekiel captured the theme of the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake,
'I acted for My Name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out. So I lifted My hand in an oath to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands. '(20:14, 15) God preserved His untainted Name before the heathen, where he had been defamed. He rightly cherishes His Name: and jealously protects it.

'Lying down in green pastures' pictures a land flowing with milk and honey, where the soil produces rich pasture, the plants blossom , the bees gather their life-giving honey, the sheep produce their wool and lambs, while the cattle their milk and meat.
Prophetically, Israel is the glory of all nations, as the Lord decreed.

The good Shepherd probes the secrets of our inmost being, so that He may lead us in righteous paths. Let's willingly submit to his gracious direction.