Make me know Your ways

Psalm 25 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. ² O my God, in You I trust,
Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies exult over me.
³ Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;                                                         Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.

 Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths.
⁵ Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day. ⁶ Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been from of old. ⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Your lovingkindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
⁹ He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.
¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. ¹¹ For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

¹² Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.
¹³ His soul will abide in prosperity, And his descendants will inherit the land.
¹⁴ The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant.
¹⁵ My eyes are continually toward the Lord, For He will pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me, For I am lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷ The troubles of my heart are enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses.
¹⁸ Look upon my affliction and my trouble, And forgive all my sins.
¹⁹ Look upon my enemies, for they are many, And they hate me with violent hatred.
²⁰ Guard my soul and deliver me; Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
²¹ Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You.
²² Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all his troubles.

David’s life was an amazing journey. Like many of the great people of faith, who were used powerfully by God, his journey consisted of a series of highs and lows. Surely David’s life is a testimony to the truth of Romans 8:28-29, which says:  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.    David was born into a simple and humble life. He was the youngest son of Jesse and a shepherd from his youth. He became victorious over Goliath and entered the service of king Saul. Then he was rejected by Saul and fled for his life, living in caves and in foreign lands. He rose to become king over Israel. Later from within his own family, his own son displaced from the throne and he once again fled for his life. He reestablished himself to the throne and it is through his lineage that Jesus was born. So conformed to the image of Christ was David, that he would be His forefather. David is considered a “type” of Christ, one whose life and words reveal and point toward Jesus, the Christ. God didn’t cause all the difficulties in David’s life. Some were the consequences of David’s own actions and some were at the hands of evil men. But God used them all, all the good things and all the difficulties and trials, to make David into the man and the leader that God called him to be.  

Today’s psalm begins:  To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust, Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.    David’s appeal to God, in his time of trouble, comes from a place of trust and confidence, believing in God’s justice. That kind of faith comes from knowing that communion and fellowship with God, living in His kingdom, is more important than whatever we see or face in this life. 2 Corinthians 5:1-8 says: For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

The psalmist continues:   Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your lovingkindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way. All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.  David yielded to God, knowing that even in the difficult times God was teaching him. Although he lived before the age of grace, David had a New Covenant understanding of God’s grace. He acknowledges his sin and appeals to God’s lovingkindness. David acknowledges that it is not that he deserves the compassion of God, but that his appeal is based instead on the goodness of God. Far too often we tend to take credit ourselves for what is good and blame God for what is bad. In truth, God uses all things. The good things that happen in our lives should draw us closer to God.   Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)   In the difficult times we should not blame God, but rather, like David, examine ourselves. God does not condemn us, but rather we are convicted of our sin when we look at ourselves. Then we have confidence, like David in the compassion and goodness of God.  

The psalmist concludes:  Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. His soul will abide in prosperity, And his descendants will inherit the land. The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant. My eyes are continually toward the Lord, For He will pluck my feet out of the net. Turn to me and be gracious to me, For I am lonely and afflicted.  The troubles of my heart are enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses. Look upon my affliction and my trouble, And forgive all my sins. Look upon my enemies, for they are many, And they hate me with violent hatred. Guard my soul and deliver me; Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You.     No one knew a greater, more violent hatred than Jesus Himself. He was beaten nearly to death; then nailed to a cross, to be crucified. Like David, we may feel lonely and afflicted, but like him, we should say:  My eyes are continually toward the Lord.    On the cross Jesus said: "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)   If our eyes are toward Him, we will hear those words of forgiveness. Jesus never promised that this life would be easy. He says:  “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)   He promises us peace in tribulation; confidence and courage to overcome. After the resurrection, In Matthew 28:18-29, Jesus said:  “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”     If our eyes will be continually toward the Lord, we will hear those words too. Like He did with David, God will use all things, both the good things and the bad things in our lives, to conform us to the image of Christ, His Son, that like Him we too may be victorious. We may overcome the world, making disciples of all nations, that:  He would be the firstborn among many brethren.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit.   In You I trust. Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your lovingkindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord. Guard my soul and deliver me; Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You. Conform me to Your image, that I too will overcome and fulfill the purpose for which You have called me.   Amen.