In this Psalm, David implores God to teach him. In this Psalm David points to the fact that Who the teacher is impacts the content the teacher brings into your classroom.

Here is the video link:

Psalm 25

The audio podcast links are to the right (Spotify and iTunes).

Below is the transcript I worked from to produce this podcast.

Psalm 25

I will Trust in You

1 In you, Lord my God,
    I put my trust.

2 I trust in you;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    nor let my enemies triumph over me.

3 No one who hopes in you
    will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
    who are treacherous without cause.

This is a song/psalm of someone who is in communion with God… not someone who has ignored God and is turning to Him in a panic. The Psalmist open with “…Lord MY God.” There is relationship already as a foundation for everything declared or requested this prayer/song.

The Psalmist’s perspective is the perspective of one who knows God and is known BY God. And from that perspective, the Psalmist declares victory. Ultimately, all of his enemies will be put to shame, of that he is certain. 

Show Me, Teach Me, Guide Me 

4 Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.

5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.

“Your ways; Your Paths; Your Truth”… this is a prayer from someone who wants more than just external conformity to His Law. 

“Show me Your ways…” Lord – how would YOU do it?

“Teach me Your paths…” Lord where would YOU go? What direction do I take in this current situation?

“Guide me in Your Truth…” Show me in Your Word(s) where to go and what to do.

Why should God do this? Because “…You are my God, my Savior”. The Psalmist’s hope is 100% in God. He hasn’t “hedged his bets” in case God doesn’t come through. The Psalmist is all in. There are no other options.

Remember this… Don’t Remember That

6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
    for they are from of old.

Remember what You did in the past – I am counting on the same mercy and love to be seen in the present.

7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
    and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
    for you, Lord, are good.

The ground of forgiveness is God’s goodness. Lord DON’T remember my sins… DO remember your mercy extended toward me.

The Authority of our Teacher

8 Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

יָרָה3 yārâ3, v. to teach, instruct, give guidance, in a formal or informal setting, with an implied authority for the teacher and the content of what is taught.

Who the teacher is gives increased gravitas to what the teacher is teaching. You are getting a Master Class from the Master Teacher. And who is He instructing? Sinners. Here David is not referring to his enemies, but rather to is he referring to himself. Part of the mark of a true Christ-follower is a sense of humility concerning their nature. Paul the Apostle referred to himself as the chief sinner in his letter to  Timothy:

1 Timothy 1:13-16

13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 

RLRMTR Instruction

9 He guides the humble in what is right
    and teaches them his way.

לָמַד lāmad, v. to teach, instruct, cause to learn; with implication that the learning will be put to use.

In this case, the emphasis is on the content being taught – which will be practical, RLRMTR (Real Life Rubber Meets The Road) content.

Because God is good…

He instructs

He guides

He teaches

10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.

God expects us to be good students of what He is teaching us.

11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
    forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

Again – Paul’s testimony mirrors david:

1 Timothy 1:15

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

Lord, as hard as I am trying to follow Your ways, as hard as I am trying to emulate You, I know my iniquity is great. At the core of my nature, I rebel. I have no recourse but to rely on YOUR nature to overcome mine. My iniquity is great… but Your grace and capacity to forgive is greater. I am relying on that.

Who are God’s Children?

12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
    He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.[b]

Who are those who fear the Lord? Those whom He teaches.

13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
    and their descendants will inherit the land.

14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;
    he makes his covenant known to them.

סוֹד sôd, confidential talk, council, confidant

The relationship with God is a two-way street. We talk to Him, but HE also talks to us. He speaks to us in our spirit, through fellow believers, and through His Word. And he speaks to us as a confidant, a sharer of secrets. This is not frivolous conversation. 

I have personally experienced God speaking to me in each of those areas.  It was during a worship service that I suddenly realized the depth of my depravity. At numerous points in my life fellow believers have given me prophetic words that specifically spoke to what I was wrestling with at the time (and what I was wrestling with was unknown to them). God has spoken to me with and through dreams. In several instances over the last 20 years, God has given me dreams of my future as it relates to Him. He has shared some secrets with me. I am not going to share them, because they are secrets between God and I. Suffice it to say that I am not afraid of death, but rather am looking forward to the day when I close my eyes here, and open them there – in His Presence. I can’t even begin to count how many times I have been reading the Bible and had a verse or passage be incredibly appropriate pertaining to whatever I was experiencing at that moment.

My Eyes are on the Lord

15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,
    for only he will release my feet from the snare.

A snare captures an animal because it is unaware that the snare is there. The trap is hidden, and the animal is captured, not through any fault of its own except that it did not see the snare. Based on my track record with the Lord, I will always look to Him. He has, and always will, deliver me. He has delivered me not only from the errors of my own invention, but also from those who snared me unawares. There have been situations I needed deliverance from that were of my own doing. I sinned, I stumbled, I needed His help. My experience with Bankruptcy is an example. My foolishness with money led to my downfall. My getting fired from my last job in corporate America was a complete surprise, out of the blue.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.

Turn to me, Lord, because I am lonely. There is no one else.

17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
    and free me from my anguish.

18 Look on my affliction and my distress
    and take away all my sins.

I am not so ignorant that I believe my sins have nothing to do with my affliction and distress. Countless times throughout the day you will hear me mutter the words “Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy”. Those are the lyrics to the opening music in the Mass, called the “Kyrie”. I am ever conscious of my personal sin nature and my sins. I am continually in need of His mercy and grace. There is a definite cause and effect between my sin(s) and my circumstances, therefore a continual need for His deliverance.

My Hope is in You

19 See how numerous are my enemies
    and how fiercely they hate me!

We live in a world that is, at best, apathetic towards us. We live in a world that is, at its worst, violently opposed to us and is focused on our destruction.

20 Guard my life and rescue me;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    for I take refuge in you.

21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
    because my hope, Lord,[c] is in you.

I can be confident because He is my refuge. I can count on Him to impute integrity and uprightness because my hope is in Him. I am all in. My life is not based on God plus ANYTHING or ANYONE. My life is based on God. Period.

22 Deliver Israel, O God,
    from all their troubles!

Amen.

In His Grip,

Paige