“He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.”
Question: What does this mean, and in what way is my soul depleted?

My soul

Is the breath of life from God:

Genesis 2: 7 — And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Is that part of us which we share in nature with God

Judges 10:16 — and his [the LORD] soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

Matthew 26:37 — [Jesus] My soul is exceeding sorrowful

Often used in OT for the true identity or innermost part of a person. Is often referred to with our heart or true core of our being:

Deut 6:55 — And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Is separate to the body:

Gen 35:18 — as her [Rachel] soul was in departing, (for she died)

Matthew 10:28 — fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul:

Is the part of a person capable of choosing sin and separation from God

Leviticus 5:1 — And if a soul sin

Habakkuk 2:10 — Thou hast … sinned against thy soul

The soul can wither and become bitter, either through choice to sin or from life’s suffering as a result of sin:

Num 11:66 — But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

Job 3:20-21 — the bitter in soul; Which longe for death, 10:11 My soul is weary of my life … I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

The soul may suffer everlasting bitterness in separation from God:

Matthew 10:28 — but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

The soul is the part that can be restored to God

Lev 17:11 — for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

Psalm 41:4 — heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.

Job 33:28 — He will deliver his soul from going into the pit,

Our choice to turn away from sin and turn to God allows Him to restore and preserve our soul, like breathing new life into the dust of our body:

Deut 4:9 — keep thy soul diligently,

Luke 21:19 — In your patience possess ye your souls.

James 1:21 — and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

1 Peter 1:22 — Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit 2:11 abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

As we saw last week, God leads us away from the busyness of life that would overwhelm us, and points us to what is unchanging and eternal, to God himself. He gave us the law to show us how far removed we are from His holy requirements, but in Jesus He has provided the way to restore us to His righteousness.

1 Peter 1:9 — Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

For His name’s sake

God cannot abide sin, and He has done this to restore His creation to perfect goodness and holiness.

Note: The term “name” is generally used in the bible for “person”, rather than as “reputation”.