Psalm 25

⁰⁸         Good and upright is the Lord;

therefore He instructs sinners in the way.

⁰⁹         He leads the humble in what is right,

and teaches the humble His way.

¹⁰         All the paths of the Lord are loving and faithful,

           for those kept within the commands of His covenant.

 

¹¹         For the sake of Your name, O Lord,

pardon my iniquity for it is great.

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For His Name’s Sake

For the Lord’s Day:  the 20^th of February  2005

Introduction:  In our ongoing study of this twenty-fifth Psalm, we come to the center piece of this alphabetical outline.  And that is the vital and essential petition in verse eleven:  “For the sake of Your name, O Lord, pardon my iniquity for it is great.”  This particular petition is surrounded before by three verses of praise, and as we shall see next week is followed by four verses of assurance.  As David well realized, this is the center piece of salvation – grace is in the sovereign hands of the Lord God Almighty alone.

 

In a theologically vital sense, as we work back to verse ten, we must realize how we are “kept within the commands of His covenant.”  Even though that translation may seem a bit out of the ordinary, still in the words of my Translator’s Handbook we must take note of this fact:  “The difficulty in expressing the phrase “His covenant” arises from the fact that God’s covenant results not from bargaining with his people, but rather from God’s initiative.  Furthermore, the keeping of the covenant depends upon God’s faithfulness in spite of his people’s failings in the relationship.”

 

Now this fact which looks further back further into our text is supported by the praises throughout all the verses from eight to ten!  Therefore, what we understand as grace is wrapped up in the sovereignty of God, especially as it is outlined in the Covenants given to the people of God down through the ages.  Of course, there is only one covenant in essence – that of grace in and through Christ alone.

 

Development:  With that in mind, let us work through the glorious and delightful insights revealed in and through David’s poetry in this section of Psalm twenty-five.  Calvin catches the theme of this section:  David “commends this preventing grace, as it is called, which is manifested either when God in calling us at first renews, by the Spirit of regeneration, our corrupt nature, or when he brings us back again into the right way, after we have gone astray from him by our sins.”

 

We begin this section with an affirmation of the absolute goodness of our Creator God.  “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in the way.”  Here we have affirmed the necessary doctrine of the absolute integrity of God.  By comparison, consider the assorted deities of the ancient religions – for example the Greek deities were rascals by any measure – guided by whims, desires and the power struggles within the realms of the highest heavens.  In such an environment – the demands of religiosity were always suspect, since even Zeus pretended rarely to use the power and privilege due his position, unless there were all too selfish motives involved.

 

The God of heaven and earth is not like the mythological imaginations of the pagans.  “Good and upright is the Lord,” declares David with the full assurance of whom he has believed in. “I know whom I have believed,” declares an old hymn.  And it is this confidence that frames David’s prayer life.

 

“Therefore,” David continues: God “instructs sinners in the way.” Because the Sovereign God of heaven and earth is “good and upright”, “therefore” David writes: that same God will instruct a world of sinners in His way.  Now, let us consider for a moment the implications of this word “the way.”  In order to distinguish Christianity from the various other religions, the early Christians called their movement “the way.”  In a similar manner, we should always be cautious of using the word religion when it comes to Christianity.  After all, it is the exclusive domain of the Lord God Creator to administer the church through His one and only Son Jesus Christ.  Thus, there is no perceptible similarity between the Christian faith and the various and sordid religions popular in our day and time.

 

In Christianity, the Lord God of heaven and earth takes the initiative to call a people faithful to Himself.  And certainly, the word translated “way” here, may also be translated “paths” as well.  It does not matter whether we view our life within the covenant boundaries of His “way” or as pilgrims simply following in the gracious “paths” set before us.  Either way, we are His to people precious in His sight because we are covered over by the blood of Jesus Christ.

 

Calvin again sums up the poetic beauty in the next verse, the ninth.  “The Psalmist here specifies the second manifestation of his grace which God makes towards those who, being subdued by his power, and brought under his yoke, bear it willingly, and submit themselves to his government.”  The poetry is less complex in notation but firm in that content: “He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way.”

 

We could just as well translate “humble” as “impoverished” or even “poor” and miss not the point that those who have been chosen by God were once a sad and sorry lot – with no inward manner of spiritual wealth just waiting to be kindled by an invitation to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.  Those who are proud and supposedly spiritually astute would rather empower Christ’s Church to do their own will and they would thus glory in the power of their own ministries.  Those who are “humbled” by and through the grace of Christ are better servants because they understand their own poverty.

 

Therefore, they are more likely as verse nine unfolds to be led and taught by the God of their salvation.  Calvin observes that some understand the implications of this verse concerning the righteous on their way “as denoting a righteous and well ordered manner of life.”  Others he adds would refer these “to the providence of God, an interpretation which seems more agreeable to the context.”  Because, as his argument unfolds – because: “those who are truly humbled in their hearts, and brought to place their confidence in God, shall experience how much care he has for his children, and how well he provides for their necessities.”

 

We are therefore left, like David the king:  to put our whole confidence day by day in the gracious leading of the Holy Spirit, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that He, who has created the day, will unfold it according to His purpose and teach us how to use the time as well.

 

The next verse, the tenth would assure us that every almost every path from which we choose is useable by the Lord God to weave the fabric of providence into the history in which He would entwine us.  “All the paths of the Lord are loving and faithful, for those kept within the commands of His covenant.”  Yes, in the working out of our lives, there will be many loose threads, even a tear or more in the tapestry being woven.  And yet, the course of our lives under the guidance and within the covenant boundaries will be beautiful indeed in the working out of providence written large and small in the affairs of men.

 

I have known people who worried about small decisions, the safest route, the best foot to be put forward and the best appearance and spin to be put on every event and action: all in the contemporary manner of the self-trumpeting media series “The Apprentice.”  Sadly, this corporate approach to life’s problems only makes the reality of failure all too apparent.  And in the cut-throat approach to business, life and even within the Church growth movement, losers are just so much slime to be trodden under foot by being fired.

 

Application:  How much better to live as David in the light of God, trusting Him to not only take our best, but also forgive our worst - day by day as we learn to live before His face.  Of course, as we grow in grace and understanding, we learn eventually that there are things and places that we must forget and avoid, often at great cost to our comfort and desires.  And yet, still we like David must learn to trust every path that the Lord places before us, knowing even as David knew: because He has called us, He will keep us within the general commands of His covenant: all for His greater glory.  This fact brings us full circle back to the verse with which we began this morning, the eleventh:  “For the sake of Your name, O Lord, pardon my iniquity for it is great.”

 

Imagine if you will, a more biblically model script for “The Apprentice.”  The God of heaven and earth, after handing out a gracious contract for life, living and business – admonishes all participants concerned: that in time everyone will realize by an inward conscience the reality of His wisdom and power.  Further, that being rebels by choice – we may run from Him, squander His wealth and swim in the muck and mire of the world.  However, according to the pleasure of His will, He will lift some participants up and out of that ordinary worldly condition and cause their attitude to change so that His contract will be loved for its original intent to demonstrate His tolerance, forbearance, mercy and grace.  And in the last scene, the wonderful already scripted words may be ours:  “You’re hired!”

 

But, alas – the world is more enticed with evolutionary models and all of the current crop of rebellious “reality” shows must demonstrate the competitive cut-throat drive of the world – to win in every situation at any cost and thereby prove our fallen state.  Which of course, we all do in different ways day by day.  What hope could there ever be for mankind in such a typical humanist feeding frenzy?  David knows, even as we are known:  “For the sake of Your name, O Lord, pardon my iniquity for it is great.”  In this declaration, there is life in Christ through the power of God.  Let us be eternally grateful that we are His and He is ours.  Amen.

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PREACHING RESOURCES

Calvin, John:  Commentary on Book of Psalms.

Delitzsch, F:  Commentary on the Old Testament – Psalms.

Spurgeon, C.H:  Treasury of David.

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