- Teach in the way
Psalm 25:8
Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
Jesus Himself makes the promise of sending the Teacher, which is the Holy Spirit, who will bring everything to remembrance. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit fulfills the promises. Here in the Psalm, the Lord will teach sinners in the way because He is good. God does lots of things and keeps lots of promises because He is good. His essential character of goodness causes Him to do many good things for His people. One of those good things is teaching or instructing.
“Teaching sinners in the way” is more than imparting information; it also means motivating and impelling the sinner to actually do the things of the way that he is learning. The emphasis of “teaching” is in the “doing,” actually obeying the Commandments of the Lord. “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” (Luke 11:28). “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24). “Go and make disciples…baptizing…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
This is the real miracle of the promise: that the teaching of sinners in the way actually involves change in behavior. This change in obedience is attributed to the teaching, leading, and guiding of the Holy Spirit who lives within the spirit of the new man. Thus this promise is truly remarkable: you can teach old sinners new tricks. Through daily repentance and remembering of Baptism the old man drowns and dies and a new man arises and comes forth unto newness of life. (Romans 6).
This promise is also good news for us because once the sinner starts living in the way of the Lord he begins to enjoy the consequences and blessings of obeying the commandments of God and a truly blessed life results.
This promise is unconditional in that the cause of the promise being fulfilled is the goodness and uprightness of the Lord. There is the implied condition of the person admitting he is a sinner in need of instruction in the way. Repentance and faith, meekness and teachability, brings the promise to fulfillment in our lives.