Psalm 25 | A Hunger for God: Friendship

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Today we are looking at Psalm 25, but rather than looking at the whole Psalm, I want to look at just one verse. It speaks about the friendship of the Lord.

“The friendship of the Lord is for those who ____”

Are good people

Work hard

Help those in need

Who to church every week

Help those in need

Psalm 25:14 “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.”

Friendship, lit. “the secret counsel of the Lord.”

This is a reference to an intimate relationship, a close friendship where he reveals the depth of his covenant to those who fear him.

Let’s talk about the Fear of the Lord.

Some approach the topic the way some of my kids approached eating their vegetables when they were little: the vegetables would “accidentally” or tuck them away in their napkin.

The fear of the Lord is not a barrier but an open door for a deeper relationship with the Lord.

“The Fear of the Lord is the soul of godliness.” John Murray

Defining the FOTL. The Fear of the Lord is better described than defined.

Synonyms: awe; reverence, respect, honor, overwhelmed, and tremble.

Describing the Fear of the Lord

The Fear of the Lord is not being afraid of the Lord.

Being afraid of the Lord drives you away from him, but the Fear of the Lord draws you to him.

Example: Mount Sinai

God delivers people from Egypt. He takes them first to to the desert before taking them to the Promised Land. God wants for them to meet the Promiser first before he takes them to the Promised Land.

God meets his people at Mount Sinai: Thunder, flashes of lighting, the sound of the trumpet, smoke from the mountain. The people were afraid.

“Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”” (Ex 20:18-20)

“It is the devil’s work to promote a fear of God that makes people afraid of God such that they want to flee away from God. The Sprit’s work is the exact opposite: to produce in us a wonderful fear that wins and draw us to God.” Michael Reeves

Moses expands what this FOTL looks like:

Deuteronomy 10:12–13 “12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?”

These verses describe is a close friendship/intimate relationship.

You want to spend time with that person and look for ways to show them how much they mean you because they are kabod (they matter).

The following descriptions overlap (i.e. plywood)

The Fear of the Lord is

(1)Living for Him

Moses equates the FOTL as literally walking in all God’s ways. Those who fear the Lord embrace a lifestyle whose aim is to please God in every area of their lives (all God’s ways).

Deuteronomy 13:4 “You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him…”

Again, notice the language of relationship. To walk in God’s ways is to walk after the Lord. You are walking with the most glorious (kabod) being in the universe.

What happens as a result:

Psalm 128:1 “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!”

The FOTL leads to joy and happiness. No wonder the prophet Isaiah refers to the FOTL as a treasure (Is 33:6). That’s because God is glorious. He is the most important being in the whole universe!

(2)Loving Him

What! You would think that loving God is the opposite of fearing God. But it’s not! They go hand in hand:

Moses equates fearing God with loving God (Dt 10:12)

Psalm 130:4 “But with you [Lord] there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.”

Jeremiah 33:8–9 “8 I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. 9 And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.”

This is healthy FOTL. One that makes you tremble because you experience the goodness of God: health, healing, prosperity, security, restoration, cleansing from sin, forgiveness of guilt.

“The biblical theme of the fear of God helps us to see the sort of love toward God that is fitting. It shows us that God does not want passionless performance or vague preference for him. To encounter the living God truly means that we cannot contain ourselves. He is not a truth to be known unaffectedly, or a good to be received listlessly. Seen clearly, the dazzling beauty and splendor of God must cause our hearts to quake.” Michael Reeves

(3)Laboring for Him

Moses called God’s people “to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Dt 10:12

Fearing God is a disposition of the heart to be devoted and loyal to God alone.

Joshua 24:14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.”

1 Samuel 12:24 “Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.”

To fear God is to labor for him in light of what he has done.

(4)Listening to His Word

Moses equates the FOTL with obedience (i.e. keep God’s commandments).

Psalm 112:1 “Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments!”

Ecclesiastes 12:13 “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

Growing in the Fear of the Lord

We must engage all of who we are: Head, heart, and hands (again, these overlap)

(1)Head

Prioritize time in God’s Word.

“The heart cannot love, what the mind does not know.” Jen Wilkin

Deuteronomy 17:19 “And [God’s Word] shall be with [the king], and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them,”

You need the following: A place, a time, a plan, and the Holy Spirit.

Be mindful of God’s presence

Proverbs 23:17 “Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.”

At home, at work, at school, at the lake, on vacation, etc. (ex. Joseph)

(2)Heart

Ask the Lord for a heart transformation

Psalm 86:11 “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.”

Illustration: Lost my sense of taste and smell due to covid.

Without a heart transformation, the FOTL is like trying to drink your favorite beverage without the sense of taste and smell.

Be humble to receive instruction

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Proverbs 3:7 “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.”

(3)Hands

Live out what you learn. Walk in obedience

Psalm 128:1 “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!”

Proverbs 16:6 “…by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.”

The FOTL is illustrated as walking: Face God. Walk with him. Naturally you will turn away from evil. You will learn to love what he loves and to hate what he hates.

What ‘step of walking in his ways’ has God placed before you—but you’ve been hesitating to take it? What has God been urging you to surrender, obey, or pursue—but you’ve been reluctant to follow through?

Surround yourself with those who fear the Lord

Psalm 119:63 “I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts.”

Malachi 3:16 “Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.”

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!

Conclusion: Acts 9:31 “31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.”

Proverbs—Wisdom that Works The Threshold

This wonderful fear of the Lord is where we begin our journey into wisdom. It is how we keep making progress all the way. It opens our eyes, and it keeps them open. C. S. Lewis wrote:

In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that—and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison—you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud, you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.