| Christian Life and Doctrine | August 1969 |
The Way of His Steps
“Righteousness shall go before Him; and shall set us in the way of His steps.” —Psalm 85:13
THE Hebrew word here used for “way” carries with it, according to some authorities, the thought of a “trodden path” of his steps. With this clarification of meaning we are able to see a depth of significance in the psalmist’s words, when viewed in the context, of a close and tender relationship between the Shepherd and his sheep. The same underlying thought is expressed in Psalm 27:11, “Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path.”
The picture in these and other scriptures is clearly one which David was well-qualified to draw—that of Shepherd and sheep. The closeness of relationship here portrayed carries with it the thought of calling, leading, following, instructing. The true Shepherd of the flock was no hireling, but was, as David knew full well, the provider for, and defender of, his sheep, and all the courage and resources of which the Shepherd was capable were used to ensure their contentment and safekeeping.
“I Am the Good Shepherd”
This pictorial representation of pastoral life is used by our Lord himself to project the image of his great work as Shepherd of the sheep, the called-out ones of whom he said, in prayer to the Father, “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gayest me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gayest them me, … sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” (John 17:6,17) Again, “I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11) The analogy drawn by our Lord is simple and revealing; it throws into sharp relief the constant principle of sacrifice which is inherent in God’s great plan for the salvation of a stricken race through him “who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”—I Tim. 2:6
He is the Shepherd, not only of those whom the Father has given him out of the world, but also of the other sheep, still of the world—those to whom he refers as “not of this fold.” These too will hear his voice in the great harvesting of the Millennial Age when he gathers together in one all things in himself, thus fulfilling his Father’s great purpose that “there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.” (John 10:16) The Psalm in which the words of our text are found seems to apply largely to the Millennial Age, when the Good Shepherd will be leading those “other sheep” in the way of righteousness. But first he is the Good Shepherd of the Gospel Age sheep, and “the way of his steps for them, their path of righteousness, is one of sacrifice.
Christian teaching, in its sectarian dogmatism, has lamentably failed to understand the true meaning of the “trodden path.” With reckless disregard for the teaching of the Word, so-called leaders of Christian thought have thrown wide the invitation to follow our Lord to all and sundry who pay lip service to the pomp and ritual of priestcraft, an easy road to salvation, via the nominal channel of church membership and outward conformity. This is not the way marked out by the Shepherd of the sheep, who said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matt. 16:24) No Ecumenical Council resolutions or denominational mergings can in any way affect the simple conditions of true discipleship, which the Master here lays down for those who seek to follow “in the way of his steps.” Here alone is the means of entrance into the way. “Righteousness shall go before him; and set us in the way.”
But how? “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:10) If righteousness is the means of entrance, how can we fulfill the conditions? It is left to Paul to reveal this vital aspect of truth, which he does in his Epistle to the Romans (5:1-2): “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” This is exactly what our Lord meant when he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”—John 14:6
The way to the Father, the way of his steps, can be entered upon only through the divinely appointed provision of justification by faith. It is upon this basis, and this alone, that the child of God is invited by his Master to follow him whithersoever he goeth, even through the valley of the shadow of death itself, into the glory of the Father’s very presence. “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”—Rev. 2:10; 3:21
“Come and See”
The early days of our Lord’s life and mission upon earth were days of wonderful unfolding to those whom he called to follow him. After his baptism by John in the Jordan he was guided by the Spirit into the wilderness for a crucial testing at the hands of the Adversary. For forty days he fasted, and was sorely tempted, but he emerged victorious and returned to the scene of his baptism. To John the Baptist his reappearance was a momentous event, for here was the one whom he believed to be the Messiah, the one, “mightier than I, … [who] shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire.”—Matt. 3:11
It might well be thought that this dramatic announcement would he made to as many of John’s disciples as possible, but such was not the divine purpose, and two only were within hearing when he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” (John 1:35,36) Drawn by an irresistible desire to know more about this one of whom John spoke so forcefully, they followed Jesus, hesitant and wondering. Could this indeed be the Messiah whose coming they so eagerly awaited?
Their minds must have been torn between apprehension and joyous anticipation as they followed after Jesus. Suddenly he turned, and with a friendly smile asked, “What seek ye?” Here was a critical moment indeed. What did they seek? Should they answer, “The Messiah?” But that might seem premature, perhaps presumptuous. At length they blurted out the seemingly innocuous question, “Where dwellest thou?”
There can be little doubt that Jesus knew full well the trend of their thinking. Here were two devout men, enthused by the preaching of John the Baptist with its rugged emphasis upon repentance and reformation of character, yet not knowing where to go from the point of indecision to which John had brought them. John himself had defined the limitations of his own mission when he declared, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.”—John 1:23
But who was the Lord? Where was he? What was he about to do? These questions were filling the minds of Andrew and his companion, questions which must be answered before they could fully appreciate the tremendous significance of the cry, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
To their question, “Master, where dwellest thou?” the answer came, as it has come to thousands of his would-be followers since that wonderful day. Three simple words, “Come and see!” An invitation that opened to them the door of discipleship, and to him the ineffable joy of receiving into his fold the first two of the men whom his Father had purposed to give him. They came, they saw, and they abode with him. This, for them, was the beginning of the “trodden path,” a way which was to lead them through pain and suffering, joy and sorrow, radiant hope and deepest despair, until finally, if faithful in following, they would drink the fruit of the vine anew with him in his Father’s kingdom.
In this experience of the first two disciples we see the pattern of Christian life defined in terms which are basically true of each sincere follower of the Master. Like them, we heard the “voice crying in the wilderness.” It may have been just a word or two spoken by a friend, the message of a tract, or the verse of a well-loved hymn. Whatever the means used, the message was the same: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Like them we followed—seeking, listening! And then came the same gentle and loving call, so beautifully expressed by the hymn writer, “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me.”
“What seek ye?” If the question came to the earliest disciples as a challenge to the heart, surely it came to us in no less challenging a form. This was the crucial moment of decision. We could have ignored the call and have gone our way, as so many have done. After all, what were we seeking? Were we looking for comfort, security, and the pleasures and allurements of this world? How grateful we should be that our hearts were receptive to the heavenly call, and we were led to ask, “Master, where dwellest thou?” This was, as for them, so for us, the beginning of the “trodden path,” our entrance upon “the way of his steps.” Just the simple reply; no force, no compulsion, no persuasive methods, no creedal conditions of acceptance—just the loving invitation, “Come and see.”
“Whatsoever He Saith, Do It”
Those early days, first in Judea and then in Galilee, were filled with rich promise. Andrew had quickly reacted to the wonderful personality of Jesus, and casting aside all doubts he hurried to Simon Peter, his brother, with the startling announcement, “We have found the Messiah!” Bringing Peter to the Lord, Andrew forged a link of love and deep friendship between his brother and the Master which is surely unique. Recognizing instantly the true worth of this unpredictable character, Jesus took him to his heart and never once relinquished his hold upon him despite the terrible testings which subsequently came to prove the strength and integrity of their wonderful relationship.
Very soon after the gathering together of these first disciples, Jesus invited them to accompany him to his home in Galilee, and it was while there that an invitation was accepted to attend a wedding feast in Cana, some few miles away. Here it was, among his family and friends, that the first manifestation was made of that divine power which was inherent in him as the only begotten One in whom the Father was well-pleased, a power which, as one writer has so graphically expressed it, was “slumbering in his hands.”
The sudden shortage of wine, and his mother’s appeal, brought the response, “Mine hour is not yet come.” This vast power, he knew well, could not be used until he was assured of his Father’s will in every detail of the great work upon which he was entering. Was it the time for him to begin using the great power the Father had bestowed upon him? Wisely, his mother sensed the situation, and turning to the servants spoke those words which have thrilled the hearts of every Christian down through the centuries. “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it!” Even while they waited, his Father’s approval came, and he knew that the hour had arrived for him to step forward on the road of service, suffering and sacrifice which was to terminate at Calvary.—John 2:11
The terms of discipleship which our Lord laid upon Peter and James, John and Andrew, and his other disciples, are the same for all of us. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matt. 16:24) There are no other terms; there is no other way; there never has been any other way. “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) This is the “trodden path,” this is “the way of his steps,” the way for all to tread who seek to share with him in the glory of his heavenly inheritance.
This is not a matter of preaching and teaching (important as these things may be). The Christian life is a pathway of personal involvement, direct individual responsibility. We cannot delegate that responsibility to any functionary of church or state who presumes to demand our submission to human will. We cannot relinquish that responsibility into the hands of any man, even a brother in Christ, for Paul states explicitly that “the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God.” (Rom. 8:16) We alone are responsible to our Heavenly Father for that relationship of the spirit, sealing the heritage of sonship which is ours even now, as we follow “in the way of his steps” and bind our sacrifice upon the altar with cords of loving devotion which naught can sever, while we walk the “trodden path.”
“What Seek Ye?”
So, looking down to this our day, over the span of nearly 2,000 years since the first call, “Come and see,” we have the same wonderful invitation, “What seek ye? Where dwellest thou? Come and see.” Can we, and do we, say with the psalmist, “Teach me thy way O Lord, and lead me in a plain path.”? Does he teach us? Is the path plain? Our answer is, “Yes,” only if we look to him, and consider hint, as Paul exhorts; only if we note and mark the “trodden path,” and see the imprint of his steps; only if we submit ourselves to the shaping and chiseling of the Master Builder who has called us to be like our Lord, and to share his sufferings, that we be glorified together with him.
His was indeed a way of suffering, yet it had its joys. It was a way of strife, but it had its peace; a way of temptation that had its triumphs—and what tremendous triumphs they were! Is it not the same with us? Joy and sorrow, peace and strife, pain and happiness—the happiness of Cana contrasted with the sorrow and pain which revealed itself in the death of “our friend Lazarus”—both experiences resolved in triumph!
Surely this is the whole purport and meaning of the “trodden path.” Our Lord and Head says, “Follow me,” follow me implicitly, unquestioningly, joyfully. I am the Good Shepherd; I have trodden the path before you; I have set you in the way; tread closely, humbly and patiently; for this way, and this way only, will lead you to the consummation of your hope—an abundant entrance into the glorious kingdom which my Father has prepared for all those who love him supremely.
In these days of turmoil and strife, in a world “upside down and empty,” the child of God must hold ever more firmly to his Father’s hand, and tread ever more closely in his Master’s footsteps, if he would endue to the end. But how grand is that end, how wonderful the final realization of our glorious hope as we step from the “trodden path” into the vast expanse of the heavenly kingdom, there to be the means, under our Lord and King, of bringing the poor groaning creation up, out of the darkness of sin and death, into the stupendous glory of a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.