Psalm 94:12-23 NKJV
12 Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord,
And teach out of Your law,
13 That You may give him rest from the days of adversity,
Until the pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not cast off His people,
Nor will He forsake His inheritance.
15 But judgment will return to righteousness,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?
Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
17 Unless the Lord had been my help,
My soul would soon have settled in silence.
18 If I say, “My foot slips,”
Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.
19 In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul.
20 Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law,
Have fellowship with You?
21 They gather together against the life of the righteous,
And condemn innocent blood.
22 But the Lord has been my defense,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He has brought on them their own iniquity,
And shall cut them off in their own wickedness;
The Lord our God shall cut them off.
Teachers are helpers and they can be a wonderful blessing to us. Within their classrooms, they can help us to grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding as we develop into the people that God wants us to be. However, being taught can be a painful and difficult process as it means changing how we think and behave. Changing how we think and behave requires humility on our part as we recognize our limitations and our need for change and growth. Sadly, the sin of pride often keeps us from changing, learning, and growing. This is true for the people of God as well.
In a real and profound way, God is our greatest teacher, and His Word is our classroom. With this in mind, our reading for today states, “Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O LORD, and teach out of Your law” (Psalm 94:12). Learning to walk with God and grow in Christ requires that we humble ourselves before Him as we look up to Him as our Teacher. The proud cannot learn. They are too busy celebrating themselves or looking down on others to look up to God and to focus on Him. God’s word reminds us today that there is blessing for those who receive instruction from the Lord and look to Him for help.
With the psalmist we too recognize and confess that, “Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul would soon have dwelt in the land of silence” (Psalm 94:17). Though our foot would slip, God’s love and mercy has held us up by the work of His Son who has saved us from our enemies of sin, death, and the devil. In the classroom of God’s Word, “we put on the mindset of Christ Jesus…who humbled Himself by being obedient to death – even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5, 8).
Let us pray: Guide me in Your truth, O Lord, and teach me, for you are God, my help and my Saviour.