5:8 Lead me, O Jehovah, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; Make thy way straight before my face.

Psalms 5:8

31:7 For thus saith Jehovah, Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Jehovah, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, `and' with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall they return hither. 31:9 They shall come with weeping; and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born.

Jeremiah 31:7-9

42:14 I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: `now' will I cry out like a travailing woman; I will gasp and pant together. 42:15 I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools. 42:16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; in paths that they know not will I lead them; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things will I do, and I will not forsake them. 42:17 They shall be turned back, they shall be utterly put to shame, that trust in graven images, that say unto molten images, Ye are our gods.

Isaiah 42:14-17

Psalm 5:8, NKJ
Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight before my face.

Jeremiah 31:7-9, NLT
Now this is what the Lord says:
“Sing with joy for Israel.
Shout for the greatest of nations!
Shout out with praise and joy:
‘Save your people, O Lord,
the remnant of Israel!’
For I will bring them from the north
and from the distant corners of the earth.
I will not forget the blind and lame,
the expectant mothers and women in labor.
A great company will return!
Tears of joy will stream down their faces,
and I will lead them home with great care.
They will walk beside quiet streams
and on smooth paths where they will not stumble.
For I am Israel’s father,
and Ephraim is my oldest child.

Jer 31:9, NKJ
They shall come with weeping,
And with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters,
In a straight way in which they shall not stumble.

Isaiah 42:14-17, NKJ

“I have held My peace a long time,
I have been still and restrained Myself.
Now I will cry like a woman in labor,
I will pant and gasp at once.
I will lay waste the mountains and hills,
And dry up all their vegetation;
I will make the rivers coastlands,
And I will dry up the pools.
I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will lead them in paths they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.
They shall be turned back,
They shall be greatly ashamed,
Who trust in carved images,
Who say to the molded images,
‘You are our gods.’

The NLT puts it this way...

"The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall."

But I've found something else in the NT....

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." (Heb 12:1, NLT)

So, what is it that makes the sinners stumble. They definitely can't blame the road. But YES!! It is their SIN!! Sin is a weight around our feet that hinders our progress, and makes us fall flat on our face.

But the Lord has made a straight way for us so that we CAN run that race. God has done HIS bit for us. The course has been set. So, just like an athlete preparing for his marathon, all we have to do is to make sure we are ready and fit for our race.