In you, LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without cause. Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord. 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 for those who keep the demands of his covenant. For the sake of your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, though it is great. Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. He will spend his days in prosperity, and his 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. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish. Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins. See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me! Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you. Redeem Israel, O God, from all their troubles! Psalm 25 NIV
In my Bible I have used 2 different colored pens to underline different sections in Psalm 25. I underlined verses 1 -2, 4 – 7, 11, 15 – 22 in pink. I underlined verses 3, 8 – 10, 12 – 14 in yellow. To me it seems that David was petitioning God to do various things for him in the pink verses and that God answered him – he assures him of the truth about God in the yellow underlined verses. Read Psalm 25 in your favorite version, or look at several different versions. Once you have read it through, go back and notice the different words David used to request that God do something for him. In the NIV he asked God to show him, teach him and guide him in verses 4 and 5. Later he asks God to remember his mercy and love for David, and to not remember his past sins. David asks for forgiveness and for God to guard him and rescue him in verses 11, 18 and 20.
The language is different in verses 3, 8 -10, and 12 -14. In these verses David is assured God is good and upright, his ways are loving and faithful. While David was praying God told him the man who fears the Lord will prosper and will inherit the land. God said he will confide in him and make his covenant known to him. In verse 3 David is told if he put his hope in God, he won’t be put to shame. Not all Psalms are so clearly a conversation recorded between the author and God, but this one seems to record such a conversation.
If we are to move forward on our journey, we need to ask God to, “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth, and teach me, for you are God my savior, and my hope is in you all day long,” Psalm 25:3-4. David prayed for God to teach him, to guide him, to instruct him in what he should do, in where he should go, and he trusted in God to do it. This week petition God to show you your next steps – allow him to guide you to the next right thing. Trust him – he desires to have honest conversations with us. He will reveal what you need to know for your next step.
By Grace Hunter
