Series: Psalm
Title: Good and Upright is the LORD
Text: Psalm 25: 8-9
Date: December 13, 2015
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Psalm 25: 8: Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. 9: The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
What an amazing “therefore!” “Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.” We might expect to read “Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he have nothing to do with any sinners in the way, therefore will he show no mercy to any sinners, therefore will he never forgive any sinner.” In the confusion of our sin and pride that is what we often want God to do to those who offend us. But God is not like us. God is good and upright therefore will God teach sinners in the way.
GOOD AND UPRIGHT
These two perfections of God are declared—Psalm 25: 8: Good and upright is the LORD:…
God is “good.” He is essentially good. God alone is good. God’s goodness toward sinners includes his mercy, grace, love, longsuffering and forgiveness! To Moses God revealed his goodness…
Exodus 33: 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
Exodus 34: 6: And the LORD passed before him, and proclaimed, the LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin….(Ex 34: 6-7)—
But there is another perfection given in our text. God is also “upright.” It means God is holy, just, and righteous. Therefore God also told Moses that God,
Exodus 34:…7:…will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. 8: And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. (Ex 34: 7)
Since God is good and upright, therefore, God will not abandon or forsake sinners whom God chose to be merciful and gracious unto. He is good and upright therefore he keeps mercy for them. But also because God is “good and upright” therefore he will not allow his chosen people to walk in our vain ways. He will chasten us and turn us from our sinful ways, teach us judgment and make us walk in his way. This is the result of God’s goodness and uprightness.
THE TEACHER AND GUIDE
Before we move on, be sure to get who the teacher and guide is. It is not you and me. It is God. Our text declares that because God is good and upright he will teach and he will guide.
We see an example with Moses. It was God’s goodness and uprightness; his mercy and his justice; by which God put Moses in the cleft of the rock (a type of Christ) and God taught Moses, turning Moses from his own way, teaching him true judgment and making him walk in God’s Way. And God always succeeds!
Exodus 34: 8: And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. (Ex 34: 7)
What a wonderful statement of truth! “Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.”
SINNERS
We are told who God will teach and guide—only sinners. Our text says of God, “therefore will he teach sinners.” God only teaches sinners. Are you a sinner? God only teaches sinners! What is a sinner?
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
We just read where God showed Moses his glory. A sinner is one who has come short of that glory of God. Have you fallen short of being perfectly “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth…forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin?” At the same time have you been perfectly just? We are not talking about toward those who treat you nicely but those who despise and reject you! The sinner is one who confesses that he has come short of the glory of God. Is that you?
Paul told us what a sinner is in Romans 3. Is this you?
Romans 3: 10: As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
A sinner is unrighteous in himself and confesses it to God.
Romans 3: 11: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
A sinner does not understand God nor seek God of himself.
Romans 3: 12: They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
A sinner has gone out of God’s way, is unprofitable, and does not do good by nature. Is this you? Does the following describe you?
Romans 3: 13: Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15: Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16: Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17: And the way of peace have they not known: 18: There is no fear of God before their eyes.
In Romans 5, Paul declares that Christ died for those who were “without strength and ungodly.” Are you without strength and ungodly?
Are not all who are born of Adam sinners? Do not these descriptions describe every person in the world? Indeed, every man fell into sin and death in Adam and therefore sin and death passed upon us. Indeed, every person in the world sins ourselves.
But by nature we will not confess we are sinners. Only those God makes to see themselves as sinners and confess they are sinners are true sinners. Even as believers, when someone directly charges us with an offense—our knee-jerk reaction is to deny it! It is to condemn our offenders and justify ourselves.
Did someone charge me with sin? With being unfaithful? Well, I am just thankful they did not say all that could be said!
Well, since it is true that by nature we will not acknowledge we are sinners and since it is true that God only teaches sinners then for God to come and teach a person he is a sinner must be purely by God’s grace! That’s right! Because God is good and upright therefore will HE TEACH sinners in the way—by his sovereign free grace!
THE MEEK
Our text declares another characteristic of those God teaches—Psalm 25: 9: The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
Who are the meek? The word means lowly, afflicted, poor, needy, broken and contrite. Can a sinner make himself meek? No sir! Not one! Ephesians 2: 2 tells us that by nature we have the spirit of the devil “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” (Eph 2: 2) The devil’s spirit is not meek but proud! Here is the spirit of lucifer:
Isaiah 14: 13: For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15: Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Have you ever tried to teach a proud know-it-all? It is useless to even try! Therefore, before God teaches his child, he first breaks our stony heart and our stiff neck of pride. We must be brought down and made teachable. By God, we must be made meek!
Ezekiel 36:26: A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
God does this in the first hour he begins to save us and God does it throughout our lives as believers! Why is this necessary for a believer? Because of our sinful nature. We become puffed up in pride. We begin to judge others unjustly. We begin to cry down fire from heaven on others.
David sinned against God! He committed adultery and murder! David knew he was guilty that is why he tried to cover it up! But when God’s prophet told him the story of the rich man who stole the poor man’s one little lamb, David was enraged toward the rich man! David was the king! He would not have such a proud, arrogant, rich man sinning against his throne in his kingdom! David said that man deserves no mercy only the wrath of justice! Nathan said, “David, thou art the man! ”
Do you know the next words that came out of David’s mouth toward God? Do you think David cried out to God in anger as he did toward the rich man, saying, “God, pour out fierce justice on me!” No! David prayed to God,
Psalm 51: 1: Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2: Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3: For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
God broke David’s heart. God made David a meek and lowly, needy sinner. God made David teachable again! Then God taught David.
Be sure to hear this. So long as you hear the word of God, thinking those who have offended you deserve justice, you are yet in your pride! You are yet unteachable! God won’t teach that old sinful haughty arrogant proud man anything! But if you are his, God will break that stubborn man and give you a new heart and therein God will teach you that “thou art the man” who has transgressed against God—every single day you are the chief of sinners; “thou art the man” who deserves the fiery justice of God. Yet thou art the man to whom God shows tender mercy, in harmony with his justice. That is how God makes a meek man! Only God can make a meek man! David said,
Psalm 51: 17: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Nothing makes us so proud, so self-exalting as being offended by another sinner! But hear this word from God…
1 Peter 5: 5…God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6: Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
THREE THINGS GOD TEACHES
We are told three things god teaches us once he has made us to confess our sins and made us meek.
First, God will teach us that our way is sinful—Psalm 25: 8….he [will] teach sinners in the way.
God always, first, brings his child to confess that the way we are in—our way—is only evil and sinful continually. The first thing God taught David was “thou art the man!” Yes, those who have offended you are sinners! Those who have unjustly judged you are sinners! But God will deal with them! I must be made to see and confess that I am the chief of sinners!
Once God has thus made us meek then God will guide his child in judgment—Psalm 25: 9: The meek will he guide in judgment:
Every time he breaks our proud hearts, makes us confess our sins, he makes us cry out, “How can God be just and justify a wretch like me?” How can God pour out justice on me, slay me, and cast me into eternal hell forever but at the same time, show me mercy, make me the righteousness of God and save me to be with him forever? Where did God show Moses his glory? In the cleft of the Rock. God teaches his meek child over and over that God’s goodness (mercy, longsuffering, lovingkindness, forgiveness) and his uprightness (divine justice, the full penalty of the law, God’s just wrath toward me the transgressor) have met and kissed in perfect harmony in Christ and him crucified! God guides his meek child into true judgment when the Spirit of God guides us into Christ through faith! Through his minister God said told David, “The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.” When God guides us into Christ then judgment reigns in our hearts. Confusion and anger and malice is no longer reigning the day. Unjust judgment no longer rules our hearts. Then we understand God’s judgment and are constrained by Christ’s love!
Then God teaches his child his way—Psalm 25: 9:…and the meek will he teach his way.
What is God’s way? Read this carefully and note how different God’s way is from our sinful way.
Ephesians 4: 31: Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. 5: 1: Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2: And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Amen!