"All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies."
Psalm 25:10
Part 1
“This is a rule without an exception. God is good to those that be good. Mercy and faithfulness shall abound towards those who, through mercy are made faithful”[1] (Spurgeon).
“All the paths of the LORD.”
The word picture here is clear to all those who had traveled back and forth to Jerusalem for the feasts. They understood what a well-traveled path looked like.
“All the paths of the Lord – …signifies the tracks or ruts made by the wheels of wagons by often passing over the same ground”[2] (Clarke).
David’s heart’s desire was to know God so well that he could do His ways and take His paths.
“Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths” (Psalm 25:4).
The “paths of the Lord” denote the course in which He himself walks or His dealings with His creatures”[3] (Barnes).
These marked, well-worn, and easy to see and follow paths, are for His child to shadow. This is the way to go…
In verse 9, David says,
“The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach his way” (Psalm 25:9).
The LORD will “teach His way” to the humble follower. And then we see that His paths are “mercy and truth” or “all that will be found in the direction of mercy and truth”[4] (Barnes).
“Are mercy and truth.”
God’s paths are paved with His lovingkindness and the truth. These are also His attributes. As He previously shared with Moses when discussing God’s Law in the cloud on Mount Sinai,
“And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6).
The loving, merciful LORD placed His mercy above His judgment.
Sinners ought to be thankful!
“In all His dealings with those who “keep his covenant” He shows Himself to be at the same time merciful and true: compassionate toward their errors; faithful to His own promises”[5] (Barnes).
Believer, isn’t this true for us today as well? No matter where He calls us or what He asks us to do, His paths are of “mercy and truth.” He is always gracious to us, His children, and yet often our obedience is not heartfelt, if, in fact, it is present at all, as we go about to “serve Him.” What’s wrong with this?
Come back tomorrow and let’s see what else we can learn from David’s Psalm and from God’s dealings with the Children of Israel.
Quote: “Just as a servant knows that he must first obey his master in all things, so the surrender to an implicit and unquestionable obedience must become the essential characteristic of our lives”[6] (Andrew Murray).
[1] C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[3] Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[4] Barnes, Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Andrew Murray’s quote. Downloaded: Monday, July 20, 2020. From: https://www.christianquotes.info/quotes-by-topic/quotes-about-obedience/.