Post 20 in Lifting up the Soul
“What man is he that feareth Jehovah?
Him shall he instruct in the way that he shall choose.” Psalm 25:12
This statement, “What man is he that feareth Jehovah,” is an invitation. The ESV translates this, “Who is the man who fears the LORD?” Accepting the invitation to fear Him leads to a deeper relationship with God. In the beginning of Psalm 25, David shows us his close relationship with God, calling Him “you” while pleading with Him with the vocative use of “O.” It is a great privilege it is to speak directly to our God. Lifting up the soul to our God necessitates reverence for Him. He is looking on the heart. One bares mind, heart, and soul when she approaches Jehovah. God invites her to come to Him, the great majesty and perfect king. Part of accepting the invitation to come to Him is to feel and show respect for Who He is.
The word “fear” used here has a wide sense of meaning. There is a bad type of fear, and there is a good and healthy way of expressing this God-given emotion. The healthy type of fear is a benefit to life and soul. This healthy fear benefited David because it kept him from killing Saul. He knew God’s might and authority, and that caused him to stop from destroying the king of Israel. David wasn’t afraid of Saul. Rather, he understood that God was in control and he, David, was not. Saul did not have this healthy fear. He let the wrong kind of fear possess him; he feared the loss of his kingship and legacy. Saul became mad with this fear, which led him to try to kill the future king of Israel numerous times. He did not want to trust in God; he wanted what he wanted. If Saul had had the proper fear—if he had revered his God above the things of life—he would have obeyed God and been blessed with a kingdom and heirs. Instead, Saul thought he knew better than God. He kept King Agag alive even though he was commanded by God to kill the evil king. He went to a sorceress for advice. He schemed to kill David when he knew God had anointed him the next king. Saul’s fear was based on rebelling against God; he learned to fear God’s wrath because of his disobedience. His disobedience led to his punishment.
Punishment is something to be feared, and those who give punishment cause fear in the hearts of others. God disciplined His children the Israelites by using a reward and punishment system to teach them to listen to Him and obey Him. David had the right fear of his Heavenly Father. This awe and respect for God’s power kept him from making rash and wrong decisions. Because of David’s regard for God and God’s system of discipline, he learned the right way to go.
The parent-child relationship was given to us to teach us how to have healthy, good fear. The child knows that the parent loves him/her. The child learns how to please the parent. The child sees how his/her parent enjoys giving joy to the child in ways that help him/her develop and learn. At the same time, a parent must be obeyed. Mom and Dad can’t fulfill the task of keeping the child safe and well if the child refuses to obey. A child learns obedience through the godly system of discipline. Following God’s system, parents lovingly teach the child the satisfaction of reward and a healthy fear of consequences. A parent is a teacher who trains a child about cause and effect. When children become adults, their understanding of consequences and cause and effect guide them into understand who God is. They will find it much easier to love and obey God when they are raised understanding the importance of following authority.
Parents are not perfect. They are learning and making mistakes, too. But our Heavenly Parent doesn’t make mistakes. He disciplines us. He teaches us to walk with Him, so that we come to the clearer understanding that He loves us and will show us the right direction. If you’ve ever played a video game, you know there are cheat codes in many games that make the game easier. God knows all the cheat codes. He knows how to get us to the places we need to be, and how we can “level up,” so to speak. We want to progress in life; we want to learn from our mistakes and draw closer to Him as our ultimate destination. It’s not easy to do that if we think we have the better grasp on our lives than God has. This is where benefit of godly fear makes all the difference.
The parent-child relationship that Jehovah had with Israel was not the ideal relationship. The Bible says the Old Covenant was a “schoolteacher” or “tutor” to bring us to understand the relationship we would later have with Christ (Galatians 3:24-25). God our Father has brought us into a union with His Son. We, as the Church, are the bride of Christ, and this is a more mature relationship than that of parent/child. It is the union of a husband and wife wherein she obeys out of love rather than fear of punishment. The husband is in charge, and he cherishes his wife and regards her as a precious treasure given to him to provide for, protect, and care for. The wife follows the husband out of respect for him, delighting in pleasing him because she trusts him and his motivations.
These relationships of the parent and child and the husband and wife can be difficult to step into with God if we haven’t experienced them properly in our human relationships. Children can be raised by abusive parents. It is not easy for the adult who was abused as a child to trust that God is going to take care of her, protect her, and love her. That adult may begin her relationship with God expecting punishment and harsh judgments because she hasn’t experienced the loving kindness and gentleness of a father or mother in her life. A woman married to a controlling man may not have the insight to let down her guard with Christ. She may have to white-knuckle through her Christianity until she is able to draw upon the strength of God and submit to Him as she experiences His genuine altruism—that He really does want the best for her.
Daughter of the King, you are in the process of learning from your Creator. He has no desire to hurt you or judge you as unworthy. In fact, He sacrificed Himself to bring you into the worthy state of lifting your eternal, living soul to Him. He looks down upon you and smiles as a loving parent. He expects your obedience because He is holding the answers for your best, most satisfying life. Listen to Him, knowing that He is going to have control regardless of what you do. He will always be in charge, regardless of what the people around you seem to be getting away with. Accept the invitation to fear Him, and you will grow to acknowledge more and more His power and strength. You will grow in reverence for Him, valuing His presence in your life above all worldly concerns. With the benefit of this godly fear, you can walk in Christ with joy and peace.
Here are some passages that remind us to keep our all-powerful God in perspective:
I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, a man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with pure gold of Uphaz: his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as flaming torches, and his arms and his feet like unto burnished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision; for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. So I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me; for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Daniel 10:5-8
And as he journeyed, it came to pass that he drew nigh unto Damascus: and suddenly there shone round about him a light out of heaven: and he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: 6 but rise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. Acts 9:3-6
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Revelation 1:17-18
This is the twentieth post in the Lifting Up the Soul study from Psalm 25. Subscribe to WomEnCourage to be notified as this study continues.