Psalm 25:12-14 (NASB)
Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should
choose. His soul will abide in prosperity and his descendants will inherit the
land. The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him and He will make
them know His covenant.
Psalm 25 is worth
your time studying and meditating about.
It gives me great hope, strength, and reassurance every time I study
it. Reading these four verses should
increase your curiosity and desire to spend time with the entire chapter. Psalm 25 is described as a prayer for
protection, guidance, and pardon.
Who fears the
Lord? The word “fear” can be translated
“reverence” so the more accurate question is “who reverences the Lord?” If you have a sincere reverence (respect,
adore, follow, be in awe of) for the Lord, He promises that He will guide you
to make right decisions every step of your life. I think about my life and while I have lived
a wonderful life with a wonderful family and great career, I still wish that I
had been a believer when I was in high school so that I might have been aware
of a verse like this and had the Lord involved in my education and early career
decisions. Nevertheless, I do believe
that once I gave my life to Christ, I have feared the Lord and because of this
He has not allowed me ever to make a wrong major decision. That’s how powerful this verse is for those
who choose to believe it.
The person who
reverences the Lord will find his/her soul abiding in prosperity and his/her
children and grandchildren also being prosperous. Prosperity might mean riches, but not
necessarily materialistic riches.
Prosperity in the Bible simply means having all your basic needs
met—health, food, shelter, protection, peace, happy living, and so forth. The word for prosperity here means simply to
live a good life. It does not mean a
quick way to get rich as some prosperity gospel preachers claim. Such prosperity teaching appeals to the flesh
and not to the spirit and it is false.
When you reverence the Lord, you will know His secret and His
covenant. What’s this about? It is much
easier to share with someone—anyone—about your sorrows, even if they are
secret. However, with whom can and do
you share your innermost-felt joys? Only
those you feel really care about you. So
it is with God. He only provides His
secret joys to those who are in an intimate relationship with Him. Jesus said in
Matthew 11:25 that God hides His will from those who think themselves wise and
intelligent and reveals His will to those who trust in Him. Jesus also told His followers that He spoke
in parables so that those unwilling to believe in and follow Him would not
understand the meaning of these stories (e.g. Matthew 13:10-13).
To know God’s
covenant is to be His child, to be part of the body of Christ (the church) and
to be in communion with Him (e.g. Matthew 26:26-28, John 1:12, Romans 8:16, Galatians
3:29, James 2:25). You know His
salvation, His forgiveness, His teachings, and His will. Thus, if and when you
choose to fear, that is, to reverence and respect who God is, who Jesus is, who
the Holy Spirit is, you will receive innumerable benefits, among them guidance
for making right choices, living in prosperity, and being in a covenant
relationship with the Lord. Can you
claim these promises today? If so, you
already know how blessed you are. If
not, you still have hope by choosing to commit the rest of your life to
reverence the Lord.
“The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” -- Proverbs
1:7
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