Year 8, Day 174: Psalms 25-26

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Psalms 25 and 26 are both psalms asking God to look past transgression and bring the psalmist into righteousness.  This is not a surprise; both the psalms are written by David.  If anything is true about David, it is that he lived life to the fullest.  When he was righteous, he was gloriously righteous.  When he was in the wrong, he was gloriously in the wrong.  Furthermore, he was incredibly aware of his strengths and weaknesses.  This is why he was a man after the Lord’s own heart.

On this very point, I think one of the key verses in this chapter is Psalm 25:12.  Who is the man who will fear the Lord?  The one that the Lord instructs in His ways.  There is something deeply spiritual about this concept.

First of all, understand the inherent connection because fear and instruction.  When I say fear, I’m not talking about a paralyzing fear.  I’m talking about the kind of fear that recognizes authority and the ability to affect one’s life.  I know this feeling as a teacher.  The day before every test, I make sure that my students realize that I have the capacity of putting a few very challenging problems on the test.  I don’t make them feel like they will all fail as that would be defeating.  But I do make them realize their need to be masters over the material.  Their fear of my evaluation of their skill motivates them to study harder and eventually to do better.

This is the inherent connection between fear and instruction.  When we are afraid of God’s evaluation of our life – specifically His judgment that we are found wanting – we are motivated to become better.  When we fear that we may end up with an eternity of separation from Him, we are motivated to become masters of His ways.  The fear of the Lord is where our righteousness begins.  As other places in the Bible say, “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.”

We need to make sure that we don’t lose that.  Sure, we don’t want to have a paralyzing fear of the Lord.  But we do need to have recognition that the Lord is the final judge.  He is the one who will righteously determine our eternal fate.  He is the one who can save and make right.  When we understand this perspective properly, we become open to His instruction and we can change to become more like Him.

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