The Lord is Our Teacher
Psalm 25:8—“Good and upright is the LORD; therefore, he instructs sinners in the way.”
Psalm 25: Verse 8
What God Does: Instructs sinners in the way of truth
Our Needed Response: Listen to the voice of the LORD
In the flow of Psalm 25, David has already discussed his trust in the Lord, how he was taught God’s ways, God’s truth, and God’s love and goodness—all in contrast to David’s own past sins. David now stops and makes clear God’s work among “sinners” which is the first step toward the deep relationship which releases God’s secret council to us. (See the first devotional in this series, “God’s Quiet Voice,” for more on God’s secret council).
The word used here for “sinner” is also used to describe the people of Sodom, as well as in Psalm 1 for those who are on the wrong path. What I find striking is that God knows who and what we are, yet He still seeks to teach us His ways. He is still reaching out to enfold those who have long pushed Him away. Most of us know people who have been far from God. Perhaps we ourselves were in a very bad space before we came back around. But this verse tells us that through it all, God was working to make it possible for us to understand Him, His goodness and His ways. These—His— very character traits draw Him to reach out to us.
Excellent teachers desire their students to understand what they teach. In parenting or ministry, where the stakes are high, the longing is, perhaps, even stronger. Oh, we would like to see someone progress and overcome their addiction. Oh, we’d love to see inner healing and freedom from the lies we see driving deviant behavior. Oh, if our children could get a glimpse, just a glimpse, of the deep, deep love of the Father. If they could understand the love that constrained Jesus to the cross. How much greater must the Father feel these desires, this longing for “sinners” to recognize that they are on a dangerous one-way path. As Psalm 25:8 states, it is God’s goodness and His upright character that motivate Him to keep reaching out.
I was recently meditating on Romans 1:18-32. It is a bleak passage which traces a path into darkness and sin. People knowingly turn from God and reject Him, moving into darkness, as we all have done. Three times God is said to “give them over.” And three times we see an additional descent in their character. At what point does God give up and just turn away from these folks? Simply, never. He continues to teach them the possibility of a right and true path all the way up until they have no time left. How? God’s word goes out from nature itself in the patterns, the beauty, the order we see (Psalm 19:1-6). God’s voice within us speaks out right and wrong. That voice is always active, even in those deeply trapped in darkness (Romans 2:14-16). God’s goodness is most often revealed in relationships: with Him, with others… even deeply broken relationships have the possibility to speak of love. Relationships speak of community, and we were created by God to live in community. When we are in community, we see that love and life are better.
God has not given up on anyone, and He never will. Everyone needs to know His way. Life is found only there.
Psalm 1 clearly shows the way of the righteous and the way of the unrighteous. The whole of Psalm 1 is about these “two ways,” and they are the only two ways; there is nothing in between. But each of them leads to a very different end.
Similarly, Psalm 25 teaches that David himself has switched from the way of evil to the way of truth, and that God was the active agent which brought about the change. Psalm 25:8 begins the story of how this has come about. God’s way is the way we were created to walk. God’s way is where we will experience Him in His fullness.
“Blessed (to be congratulated) are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law (teaching/instruction) of the LORD!” (Psalm 119:1)