Well, let us turn to the portion
of Scripture we've read just now in this 25th Psalm. Psalm 25, and I want to direct
you for a while to the words that we find here at verse 8. Psalm 25, 8. Good and upright
is the Lord, therefore will He teach sinners in the way. good and upright is the Lord
therefore will he teach sinners in the way I was speaking last
Thursday on the significance of this book trying to give some
outline with regards to the content of the book and I thought it
might be profitable to turn to an actual psalm this evening
on Tuesday we had a prayer meeting at Hedge End and I did then read
this same psalm and sought to say something with regards to
that remarkable 14th verse we've looked at it before concerning
God's secret the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him
and he will show them his covenant tonight turning to verse 8 I
want to deal with the theme of the way of salvation isn't that
what David is speaking of when he says good and upright is the
Lord therefore will he teach sinners in the way and there
are several references to this way of the Lord verse 4 show
me thy ways O Lord teach me thy paths lead me in thy truth teach
me for thou art my God or thou art the God of my salvation and
thee do I wait all the day long. Again at verse 9 he says, The
meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his
way. All the powers of the Lord are
mercy and truth, and to such as keep his covenant and his
testimonies. At verse 12, What man is he that
feareth the Lord? Him shall he teach, in the way
that he shall choose. Saying something then with regards
to this way, the way of the Lord, the way of salvation. And interestingly in this text
that we've announced tonight, we're told something of the reason
why God is pleased to teach sinners in the way of salvation. And
it's because of the very character of God himself, good and upright,
is the Lord, we're told in the opening clause. And then the
reason, that is the reason why he teaches the sinner therefore,
it says. Therefore will he teach sinners
in the way. So it's the very character of
God. He is that God, of course, who
is good, He's upright, or righteous, He is gracious, as we see here
then in the opening words of our text. And we think of the
words of David again in that 119th Psalm in verse 68, Thou
art good, and thou doest good. Oh, it's because He is a good
God. and all His characters are good characters, all His attributes. He is that God who is gracious
and merciful and kind and compassionate and loving. He is that God who
is holy and righteous and just. And how all of these attributes
meet together, of course, in the salvation of sinners, mercy
and truth are met together righteousness and peace have kissed each other
we read elsewhere in the Psalms and then also those remarkable
words of the Apostle John in the opening chapter of his first
general epistle where he reminds us that if we confess our sins
God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. It always strikes me that he
doesn't say God is merciful and gracious and kind and compassionate.
No, he says God is faithful and God is just. Even these holy
attributes, the God who can by no means clear the guilt, the
God of eyes too pure to behold, iniquity. Yet he is faithful
and just. Why? Because he has demonstrated
his goodness in that remarkable gift of his only begotten Son
as the Savior of sinners. So God teaches the sinner in
the way. I want to deal with some three
points this evening. First of all, the very basic
truth of what we have here, of course, is a way for sinners. It's a way for sinners. Well,
does that mean all? Because all are sinners. All
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is not
a just man upon the earth that doeth good and sinneth not. It is a way for sinners. However,
we think of those words that we oft times sing in the hymn,
though all are sinners in God's sight, there are but few so in
their own. And the Lord Jesus himself tells
us that the whole have no need of the physician but they that
are sick. And he says he came not to call the righteous but
sinners to repentance. Oh, there are those who are righteous,
righteous in their own eyes, self-righteous. They have the
spirit of the Pharisee. They'll look at another and say,
come not nigh me, I am holier than thou. They have no sense
of their sin. And yet, we see that salvation is made
for those who feel something of the horror of their sins this
is why the Lord again in the course of his ministry declares
that straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth
unto life and few there be that find it they have no concern
they have no concept of their great needs before that God who
is their creator their sustainer who will ultimately be their
judge because it is appointed unto men once to die and then
come as judgment but they merely live their lives with no thought
of God or their solemn accountability to God. This is a way for sinners,
but what sort of sinners? Well, it's those sinners who
are made to feel something of their sin. We know that sin itself is of
the creature. God is not the author of sin.
And it is blasphemy even to imagine that God is the author of sin.
sin is of the creature but that sense of the reality of sin can
only come from God himself they feel their sins and this is a
man who clearly is made to feel what he is how he cries out in
verse 7 remember not the sins of my youth nor my transgressions
according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness sake
O Lord Oh, he is aware of what he was even in his youth. Think of the language of Thomas
Calley in the hymn, In vanity I spent my youth. The thought
now fills my heart with shame. And we think back maybe to sins
of our younger days, the folly that we were guilty of. We had
no thought of God. Oh, the psalmist is very much
aware then of what he was. Verse 11, He cries out, For thy
name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. Well, this man has a very real
sense then of his need as a sinner before a holy God. We see it
time and again, do we not, here in this book of Psalms, Psalm
32. Verse 3, When I kept silence,
says David, my bones waxed old through my roaring war the day
long, for day and night thy hand was heavy upon me, my moisture
is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledge
my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will
confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgave us
the iniquity of my sin. Selah." Two Selahs there in those
two verses. Surely there is some significance
in that we're to pause and we're to ponder just what it is that
David is saying. Again, his language in the 38th
Psalm and verse 18, I will declare mine iniquity. I will be sorry
for my sin. Oh, here is a man then who is
aware of what he is. He has a sense of his need before
God. But there is a way. There is
a way for such sinners. God himself will teach sinners
in this way, in this way of salvation. And we have it in the New Testament,
don't we, with regards to the publican when he goes to the
temple and cries out there concerning the awful nature of his state. He felt his sin did that publican.
could not lift up his eyes to heaven he smote upon his breast
and what did he say? God be merciful to me the sinner
oh I am the chief of the sinners that's what that man is saying
and those whom God teaches in the way they see that they can
do nothing for themselves what can they bring to God? nothing
in my hand I bring simply to thy cross I cling Oh, we see then how this man
cries out to God, verse 6, Remember, O Lord, Thy tender mercies and
Thy loving kindnesses, for they have been ever of old. Here is that sinner then. What is it that the Lord has
taught him? He has been taught what he is. The Lord has begun
with him by showing him his real condition, his true state. He's
something of that awful doctrine of the sinner's total depravity.
But there is also here something of the fear of the Lord. This
is how the Lord teaches His people. How does He show them themselves? By revealing something of Himself. By revealing something of His
holiness and His righteousness. And He fills them with awe. They
are those who are taught something of the fear of the Lord. Verse 12 what man is he that
feareth the Lord is the question and the answer him shall he teach
in the way that he shall choose that man who fears the Lord is
the man who is being taught of the Lord God himself and the
fear is not slavish fear it's not the fear of the demons The devils fear and tremble,
says James. Thou fearest God, thou doest
well. The devils also fear and tremble. But that's a slavish
fear. There's no salvation for the
demons. But this fear is that filial fear. It's that fear that
belongs to those who are the sons of God. And that's why God
is teaching them. All that fear of the Lord, it's
the beginning of wisdom, isn't it? It's the beginning of knowledge,
they're made wise, they come to know themselves, they know
something of God, they're humbled before God. As it says in verse
9, the meek will He guide in judgment and the meek will He
teach His ways. As God deals with these sinners
then He very much humbles them in His presence. They're made
lowly people, They see they have nothing of themselves that they
can bring. It's that highway that God has made and He leads
them safely in it. Now, in the second place, we
see here that this is a way that we must be shown. God has to
reveal it to us. God has to make us to know it.
and that's why David cries out in verse 4 show me show me thy
ways O Lord teach me thy paths he must pray like this because
he cannot himself find the way for all his searching after it
in his own strength by his own ability he cannot find the way The language of Ecclesiastes
10.15 The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them because
he knoweth not how to go to the city. They don't know the way and they
can't find the way in and of themselves and by themselves.
What is this way of salvation? Well, in a sense it is God's
secret. And that's what we were thinking
of as Hegendon on Tuesday evening, that 14th verse, the secret of
the Lord is with them that fear Him and He will show them His
covenant. It's been said it's a secret
not known to the world. In other words, real religion
is a revelation. What is the Gospel? What is the
gospel? It's a mystery, isn't it? When
Paul writes in Ephesians 6 concerning the believer's spiritual armor, after speaking of the various
parts of that armor, he then goes on to speak of the importance
of prayer. There's that line in the hymn,
isn't there, concerning that spiritual armour, each piece
put on with prayer. And he goes on to speak of praying,
verse 18 in that chapter. Praying always, with all prayer
and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints. And for me, he
says, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth
boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel." Well, he needs
them to pray that he might be able to open his mouth boldly
and proclaim the gospel, but he refers to that gospel as mystery. And why is it mystery? Well, again, think of the words
of 1st Timothy 3.16 without controversy Paul says great is the mystery
great is the mystery of godliness great is the mystery of of religion,
real religion, that's what godliness means there and then he goes
on to speak of what that mystery is God was manifest in the flesh
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world received up into glory
And whatever he's saying in those remarkable words, it's clear
that he is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a mystery,
what a mystery is the incarnation that God was manifest in the
flesh. Now God contracted to a span
incomprehensibly made man, says Charles Wesley in the hymn. how
can we comprehend that? that little babe that was born
of the Virgin Mary conceived in her womb by the Holy Ghost
that holy thing that human nature joined to the eternal Son of
God that as he comes forth from his
mother's womb he is never anything less than God manifest in the
flesh it's all mystery it's all mystery the whole of the the
life, the ministry all leading up to that death upon the cross
and what a mystery there oh what a mystery there because even
as he dies he's still the eternal son of God manifest in the flesh how could God die? well God cannot
die that's an impossibility of course and yet the Lord Jesus
the God-man experiences a real death and in dying he he has
made sin and he bears the penalty of sin he bears the curse of
the sin of all his people and he cries out in agony my God
my God why hast thou forsaken me how could he be forsaken there
could be no separation between God Father Son and Holy Spirit
because God is one God it's all mystery and I don't pretend to
know how to explain these things but we have to we have to bow
down before them this is the message that Paul was preaching
in time and again he reminds us 1st Corinthians 4 verse 1
let a man so account of us he says as the ministers of Christ
and stewards of the mystery of God We're ministers of the Lord
Jesus Christ, he says, and we're stewards. We've got stewards,
we have a charge from God and what is it that we're handling
and dealing with this great mystery? All this great mystery. He speaks
in Romans 16.25 of the Gospel and the preaching of the Lord
Jesus Christ and again he speaks of it as the revelation of the
mystery the revelation of the mystery
this is the secret the secret of the Lord is with them that
fear him, he will show them his covenant and it has this idea of this
word secret has this idea of intimacy, well this is what Leupold
the German, the Lutheran commentator says, he suggests that we could
render the words like this, it speaks of intimate association
with the Lord is for them that fear him. That's the secret,
it's intimate association with the Lord. All the Lord knoweth
him that are his. And he brings them to a knowledge
of himself, that fear of the Lord, you see. It's the beginning
of knowledge. Life eternal, says Christ, to know Thee. The only
true God and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. And how God is
always teaching sinners in the way, how He teaches His people
in the way, there's a mystery in His dealings. oh there is
a mystery in the dealings of God and do we not if we know
the Lord have to live to prove that thy way is in the sea thy path
is in the great waters thy footsteps are not known we read in another
psalm how God deals with his people sometimes in the way of
chastening Sometimes when the Lord is dealing
with us in those contrary ways we are confused, we can't understand
His ways. We simply know that whom the
Lord loves, He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives as
a mark of our sonship. He knows us, we know Him, there
should be that knowledge of Him there. All this why it's God's way,
it's God's secret, only God can make us to know it. But it is
also, quite evidently, the way of salvation. Again, look at
what he says in verse 5. Lead me in thy truth, and teach
me, for thou art the God of my salvation. Or the Lord Jesus
himself declares it, doesn't he? I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me." It was a great I am statement. What is Christ doing
when he declares again and again I am, I am, I am? He is revealing God to us. And
we see that God himself therefore is the way to God. No man can
come to the Father but by and through the mediation of his
Son. no man knoweth the son but the
father neither knoweth any man the father save the son and he
to whomsoever the son will reveal him and he says in that 14th
verse concerning those who are in the secret those who have
opened to them something of this mystery of the way of salvation
he will show them he will show them his covenant The margin tells us that the
Hebrew is literally His covenant to make them know it. Oh, He'll
make them to know what a covenant in salvation is. And is it not
really a remarkable thing? It's what we have back in verse
6. Remember, O Lord, Thy tender mercies and Thy loving kindnesses,
for they have been ever of old. Tender mercies, loving kindnesses,
aren't these great gospel words? And that being forever of old,
this is the eternal covenant. This is the everlasting covenant.
This is what was such a comfort to David at his end, he hath
made with me an everlasting covenant order in all things and sure. And this is all my salvation,
he says, and all my desire. All goods. and upright is the
Lord and that's what he teaches his people as he leads them and
teaches them in the way of salvation too wise to be mistaken here
too good to be unkind it's a way then that God must
show us God must reveal it to us because it is secret and we
have to learn the truth that salvation is of the Lord. We have to come to feel all our
complete and utter impotence. We can do nothing for ourselves. We have to plead with Him and
pray to Him and the psalm. The psalm is very much a prayer,
isn't it? Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. O my God,
I trust in thee. Let me not be ashamed. Let not
mine enemies triumph over me. How he's pleading and praying
The Psalms aren't just a book of praises, they are very much
a book of prayers. And so finally, what do we learn
here concerning this way? It's a way of salvation, it's
a way that we must be shown, it has to be revealed to us,
and it's a way that we have to seek. It's a way to be sought. The Psalm, as I just said, is
very much a prayer. And in verse 4, show me Show
me thy ways, O Lord, teach me thy paths. And God does do that. The Lord Jesus Christ reminds
us in the course of His ministry in the Gospel, No man can come
unto me except the Father which sent me draw him, and I will
raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets,
They shall be all taught of God. Every man that hath heard and
learned of the Father cometh unto me. If we're taught of God If we're hearing God, we will
come. Oh, there will be that effectual
work. We'll have to come. We'll have
to cry. We'll have to call. We'll have to seek. And what
is the promise of that new covenant? Ye shall seek me, says God, and
find me. There's no question. Ye shall
seek me and find me, he says, when ye shall search after me
with all your hearts. we have to be those then who
are wholehearted in our desires toward him man looks on the outward
appearance but the Lord looks upon our hearts and Christ himself
is the way that's our comfort Christ himself is the way whereby
we can come the way the truth and the life this is the God that we have
to come to and we can only come by and through the mediation
of the Lord Jesus Christ and so when we come to pray even
tonight will we not again and again implore that day or we
make our request for the sake of Jesus Christ God will not
deny those who come in and through his only begotten Son the way
I walk cannot be wrong if Jesus be the way We are right if we
are coming then in the name of Christ and pleading all that
He is, that one in whom we see God revealed to us, good and
upright, is the Lord. Therefore will He teach sinners
in the way. Well, may the Lord Himself come
and teach us, each of us, how to pray. And the Lord bless His
Word. Let us, before we Turn again
to prayer. Sing the 812. I'll read the first
two verses and then we'll sing from verse 3. The tune is Dublin,
129. Whene'er I make some sudden stop,
for many such I make, and cannot see the cloud clear up, nor know
which path to take, I to my Saviour speed my way, to tell my dubious
state, Then listen what the Lord will say, and hope to follow
that. 812, sheet 129.