Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies (Psalm 25:8-10).
Humility is crucial to understanding and obeying Jesus. We cannot be obedient when we are so consumed with pride that we will not accept teaching or correction. And God will not lead the proud. Indeed, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6, 1 Pet. 5:5, emphasis mine).
Psalm 25 is a recognition of this fact. The Psalmist is crying out in repentance: “Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions” (v. 7); “For your name’s sake, pardon my guilt, for it is great” (v. 11).
Repentance is an act of humility. We can only repent when we are humbled by God, when the truth of our sins is brought to the forefront and we stand facing them.
Repentance is the fruit of humility, and the mark of a Christian.
Later in the Psalm, David says the following:
Who is the man who fears the Lord?
Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose (v. 12).
The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant (v. 14).
Prov. 1:7 also tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (emphasis mine).
What is the fear of the Lord? Ultimately, humility.
Who is the man that fears the Lord? The humble man, and he is the one who receives the friendship of the Lord and instruction from Him. Humility never puts us to shame, but pride will make fools of us all.
May God give us the grace to be humble men and women; to be those that fear the Lord and receive His instruction.
For other entries in this series, please visit the Blogging the Psalms page.
@Tuton – Thank you, Tuton! Your addition is much appreciated 🙂
Thank you for this article Aaron! It brings more light on my understandings…I would just add a verse that practically shows us what to do to understand the fear of God or Humility towards God’s instruction.
Proverbs 2, 1-5: My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.