John Calvin Commentary Psalms 23:3

"He restoreth my soul: He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name`s sake." — Psalms 23:3 (ASV)

He restoreth my soul. As it is the duty of a good shepherd to cherish his sheep, and when they are diseased or weak, to nurse and support them, David declares that this was how he was treated by God. The restoring of the soul, as we have translated it, or the conversion of the soul, as it is literally rendered, has the same meaning as to make anew, or to recover, as has already been stated in Psalm 19:7.

By the paths of righteousness, he means easy and plain paths. As he still continues his metaphor, it would be out of place to understand this as referring to the direction of the Holy Spirit. He has stated a little before that God liberally supplies him with all that is requisite for the maintenance of the present life, and now he adds, that he is defended by him from all trouble.

The sum of what is said is that God is in no way lacking to his people, since he sustains them by his power, invigorates and gives them life, and averts from them whatever is hurtful, so that they may walk at ease in plain and straight paths. However, so that he may not ascribe anything to his own worth or merit, David represents the goodness of God as the cause of such great liberality, declaring that God bestows all these things upon him for his own name’s sake. And certainly, his choosing us to be his sheep, and his performing towards us all the duties of a shepherd, is a blessing which proceeds entirely from his free and sovereign goodness, as we shall see in Psalm 65.