Psalm 25:1-15 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Prayer for Protection, Guidance and Pardon.

A Psalm of David.

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.

⁴ 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.

Again today, like yesterday, we hear the words and the declaration of the psalmist, David, a man after God’s heart, who would do His will. When we read the accounts of David’s life, we see that he was far from perfect. He was a flawed man who failed just as we all do. Yet, when we see and hear his heart, expressed in the Psalms, we get a glimpse into the heart and will of God. The psalmist 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.  There is a confidence that David has in his trust in the Lord. Romans 8:31 says:  If God is for us, who can be against us?  In John 16:33 Jesus 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.”   In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says:  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”   Being told to depart from the presence of the Lord will be the final and greatest shame of those who deal treacherously; those who do not truly trust in 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.   In John 14:16-17;25-27 Jesus says:  “ I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;  that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you… These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.  Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”   In John 16:13-14 Jesus says:  “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”    1 Corinthians 2:11 says:  Who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.  God has answered David’s request. We have the very Spirit of God to guide us and teach us; that we might know the heart and the will of God.

David continues and concludes:  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.  In Isaiah 43:25 God says: “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.”   For the sake of God’s goodness, He chooses to not remember our sins. His compassion and loving kindness was demontrated in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  Our sins were from of old, but the righteousness of Christ has made us new. In John 3:3 Jesus says:  “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”   The psalmist says:  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.   James 4:10 says:  Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.  1 Peter 5:6 says:  Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.   Philippians 2:10-11 says:  At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  We all will be humbled before the Lord. If we choose to humble ourselves, to come under the mighty hand of God, He will lead us and instruct us; He will exalt us. 

 
David says:  All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.  In John 14:6 Jesus says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  There may be many paths of the Lord, but there is one path to Him. In Matthew 7:13-14 He says:  “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”   

 For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.  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. Amen. Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. Amen.