‘The Secret of the Lord’

The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

Psalm 25:14

God is the Great Guardian of knowledge. Because He is Omniscient, or all-knowing, He knows what is important for us to know, and also what should remain unrevealed. Therefore, God is also the Great Keeper of Secrets. There are things that are not good for us to know and God wisely keeps those things from us. Unto those whom God chooses, He reveals certain things which He does not reveal to everyone. Our text identifies these folk as, ‘those who fear Him.’ David understood that the fear, (or reverential awe) of the Lord is, the ‘beginning of knowledge.’ To view God as God, and to have reverential awe for Him is where our acquisition of knowledge begins. Beyond this, God does reveal to us the ‘secret things’ which He wants us to know. As the words of Deuteronomy 29:29 say, ‘The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.’ This brings us to consider the Person of Christ as the revelation of these things relates to Him. Apart from Christ there is no real understanding of the knowledge of God. He is the Golden Key, which unlocks the secret things. He is the Treasure concealed and then revealed, ‘in the fullness of time.’ All our understanding of the secrets which God ever has, or ever will reveal to us are related to the Person and Work of Christ. This is what makes the intimate knowledge of Him the gateway to all practical holiness, and all true spirituality. It is for this reason that we continue to make much of Christ. He is the Great Revealer of the secrets of God, and His is the Great Revelation, robed in the garb of humanity. He is the secret which is with us.

Our Wise and Wonderful God,
we praise You that You know all things.
We praise You that through Christ,
You reveal unto us all that is necessary for life and Godliness.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

‘Him Shall He Teach’

What man is he that feareth the LORD? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.

Psalm 25:12

Who will God teach? One of the characteristics, of that person whom God will teach, is that he ‘fears the Lord.’ This ‘fear’ of which the Psalmist speaks is not a servile, cringing, abject fear, rather it is a reverential, respectful awe. It is the characteristic of that person who has come already to the knowledge of God to the extent that he views God as God, Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent. The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes this by saying, ‘God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.’ When we have come in humility, to the understanding of the Character to God, we begin to get some idea of the depth of our own ignorance and how much we need His instruction. The second half of the verse makes it clear that this is not a ‘self-directed’ education. It is God, Who is the Educator and He has both written and teaches the curriculum. To the purpose that we may get the lessons, God ever points us to Christ. By understanding more of Christ, we understand more of God. We understand Christ as our Prophet, our Priest, and our King. We understand Him as the Perfect Union of the mercy and truth of God. We understand Him as the Only Redeemer of God’s Elect. God chooses to teach us of Christ in order that we come to know Him, ‘Whom to know aright is life eternal.’ This is the God Who teaches us in the way that He shall choose.

Our Wise and Wonderful God,
we rejoice that You have the cure for our ignorance.
We praise You that by showing us Christ,
You show us the way, the truth and the Life.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning