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6.02.2011

Daily Gospel: God Leads Sinners

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.
    For your name's sake, O LORD,
        pardon my guilt, for it is great.
    Who is the man who fears the LORD?
        Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
    His soul shall abide in well-being,
        and his offspring shall inherit the land.
    The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,
        and he makes known to them his covenant.
 - Psalm 25:8-14

A few things:
  • God instructs sinners in the way of life, the way of righteousness, God's path. Does this not manifest his goodness, that one who is holy and perfect would teach and lead the dirty and guilty?
  • Being humiliated does not equal being humbled. The humble man realizes his sorry estate apart from God and then flees to God for direction, help, and forgiveness from the guilt of sin.
  • All the paths of the LORD are "love and faithfulness". All of them. He will never stray into sin and thus man can never bring a valid charge against him.
  • It is immeasurably freeing to petition God to forgive our sins for his name's sake. This is a recurring theme in the Bible. God's people ask him to wash away their sins on account of the mercy that God is known for showing. It is indeed proper to ask God to forgive us so that he will forever prove himself to be merciful and loving.
  • God's friendship is for those who fear him. The fear of the LORD (a topic worthy of many more posts) is the proper framework in which man relates to God. The man who knows God fears him and so God unites the man to himself in an everlasting covenant and calls the God-fearer his friend.

3 comments:

  1. How can you fear and love God simultaneously?

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    1. The post below is the answer to your question! I accidentally missed the "Reply" button at first!

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  2. The fear of the LORD is not one of dread and horror but of reverence, awe and obedience to his word. To fear God is to fear sinning against him. "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" Genesis 39:9. You cannot genuinely fear evil without truly loving the Lord, these two concepts go hand-in-hand.

    For a further study I suggest reading the article entitled the "Fear of the Lord" by Rosemarie Scott. Not sure about the entire website or the theology it proposes, but this particular article is good! http://home.earthlink.net/~mysticalrose/fear.html

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