Welcome to the Feminah Podcast. This is Nancy Wilson. Thanks for joining me today. I have a collection

of the Psalms in the English standard version, which is not my regular Bible. My regular Bible

reading is in the New King James Version. But reading a different version of the Bible,

or in this case, a different version of the Psalms, can be really good for us, so we don't become

too complacent as we read through familiar passages. A different wording in a familiar passage

and sort of shake us up, can shed new light on a passage that we've read many times before.

Recently, this happened while I was reading Psalm 25 when I came to verse 14.

In the new King James, it says,

The secret of the Lord is with those who fear him, and he will show them as covenant.

This is a familiar rendering, so when I read it in the ESV, I was surprised to

read, the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.

This put the verse in a really new light for me, friendship with the Lord. Friendship is something

we're all familiar with, but being fallen creatures,

our earthly friendships, no matter how sweet they may be, are by nature riddled with sin. We love

imperfectly, we stumble into envy, our competitiveness, or critical spirit, or we have disagreements,

or we give offense, or we take offense. Friendships require

stewardship and constant care and upkeep if we want them to flourish. But the friendship of the Lord

is an entirely different matter. Surely, if we think about this, it may shed light on our own

fallen friendships and how they can be more like our friendship with the Lord.

To be a friend of the Lord is a wonderful privilege that God's own special people enjoy.

And as the verse says, it is for those who fear Him.

Fearing God is the means of becoming his friend.

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