Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
For the sake of your name, Lord,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
They will spend their days in prosperity,
and their descendants will inherit the land.
The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
- Psalm 25:8-15
David has some encouraging words for those of us who continue to be stuck in some repeated sin. “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.” It is because of his goodness that God delights to teach us to walk according to his commands. His goodness, mot his anger or demanding nature or holy justice, inspires him to gently guide sinners in his ways. As Paul would later write “the kindness of God leads us to repentance.”
At the heart of repentance is humility, a humility found in the realization that you are not who you ought to be. Because of Jesus our sin, repeated though it may be, is not a source of condemnation but a call to return and repent. In that humble repentance there is again the promise; “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.”
Let us be the people who say with David, “For the sake of your name, Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.” Let us approach with confidence the throne of grace, trusting that God has done what he has promised and already covered us with his righteousness.
And when you do fail don’t get caught up in examining your shortcomings. Instead fix your eyes on the Lord. He alone can give the freedom you so desire, loosing you from the snare of sin. “My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.” As Spurgeon preached long ago,
to whom does God tell us to look for salvation? O, does it not lower the pride of man, when we hear the Lord say, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth?” It is not, “Look to your priest, and be ye saved:” if you did, there would be another god, and beside him there would be some one else. It is not “Look to yourself;” if so, then there would be a being who might arrogate some of the praise of salvation. But it is “Look unto me.” How frequently you who are coming to Christ look to yourselves. “O!” you say, “I do not repent enough.” That is looking to yourself. “I do not believe enough.” That is looking to yourself. “I am too unworthy.” That is looking to yourself. “I cannot discover,” says another, “that I have any righteousness.” It is quite right to say that you have not any righteousness; but it is quite wrong to look for any. It is, “Look unto me.” God will have you turn your eye off yourself and look unto him.
Look to him. He will gladly, joyfully lead you to righteousness. “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.”
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