Today begin worship with:
The path of the righteous is level;
you make level the way of the righteous.
In the path of your judgments,
O Lord, we wait for you;
your name and remembrance
are the desire of our soul.
Few of us take paths these days. But when this was written paths were important. They were the means of travel. To get from one place to another you took a path. Isaiah is praising the Lord because He has made level the path before the righteous.
We had a real-life example of that this weekend. We are up north enjoying the snowmobile trails. With use, however, they become rutted and bumpy. The trails across the state are maintained by a patchwork of clubs. Each club owns what's called a groomer which must regularly be dragged down the trail to "make level the way".
Yesterday, we reached a trail that had not been recently groomed. The going was tough. We nearly turned around. It was a relief when we once again returned to a smooth trail.
How does God make level (pālas) our path?
My soul yearns for you in the night;
my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
For when your judgments are in the earth,
the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
God's law lays out a path of righteousness. When he removes his favor, His judgements teach us that simple lesson, that you must always yield to the groomer.
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