"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord." (Psalm 37:23)
Let no one say in discouragement, "Then the Lord will not order my steps, because I am not good."
Remember that the good man's steps are not ordered by the Lord because the man is good, but that the man is good because the Lord directs his steps. "What man is he that fears the Lord? him shall He teach in the way that He shall choose." (Psalm 25:12) "If any man wills to do His will, he shall know the doctrine." (John 7:17) "This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has sent." (John 6:29) "For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)
The good man is the man who is constantly willing that God should use him in His own way. Such a man's steps are ordered by the Lord.
There is no use in making difficult what God has made easy. When the Bible says that the good man's steps are ordered by the Lord, it is folly to try to find some fanciful interpretation of the words. They mean just what they say.
When even the hairs of our head are all numbered, why should it be thought a thing incredible that God literally directs the steps of those who commit their ways to Him. There are no accidents in the life of such ones. Their feet do not wander aimlessly.
How many times a man has moved a few steps, seemingly without any purpose, and certainly without knowing why, just in time to escape some terrible calamity. What confidence it gives to know that we are constantly guided by Him who knows the way that we take.
But there is a still further promise to the good man whose steps are ordered by the Lord: "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand." (Psalm 37:24)
He can say, "Rejoice not against me, O my enemies; when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me." (Micah 7:8)
There is no depth to which men may fall, where the Lord does not hold out hope to him. "These things I write unto you, that you sin not, but if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." (1 John 2:1)--Present Truth, December 26, 1895--Original title: Front Page--Psalm 37:23.