Lessons from Psalm 25: A Prayer for Learning God’s Paths

“To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you will be put to shame. They shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to 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 long.” -Psalm 25:1-5 (ESV) [Read Psalm 25]

On this Palm Sunday, 2018, I could have chosen the Scripture for Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, with palm branches scattered in His pathway. Perhaps in your church, the children have the processional waving the palm branches. It is a joyous reenactment of an important event in the life of our Lord. Enjoy Palm Sunday, and the forthcoming Holy Week, and Easter.

But for this devotional today, consider Psalm 25 to be our Bible lesson. As Jesus had the way leading into Jerusalem to follow, according to prophecy, so we, as the Psalmist declares in the 25^th Psalm, should travel in the path the Lord directs us. Psalm 25 is a prayer asking God to direct the believer’s path. We all need to pray the prayer the psalmist so aptly penned.

Psalm 25 is both a lament and an acrostic Psalm (using letters of the Hebrew alphabet to begin each section). As the writer, believed to be David, prays that God will direct His path, he also lifts a lament, using the pattern of the Hebrew alphabet to guide his thoughts. In the English Standard Version Study Bible, the 22 verses of this Psalm are set in paragraph form. Here, briefly summarized, are the elements of the prayer:

      Trust (1-3): “To You, O Lord, I lift my soul” (v. 1). The believer expresses confidence and reliance on God, his source for help whatever the circumstances.

      Guidance (4-5): “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.” Who but the Lord can give the one who prays the direction needed? The Psalmist desires to know, to be taught; and so should we.

      Love, mercy and forgiveness (6-7): The Psalmist does not rely on his own goodness for forgiveness, but upon the steadfast love and forgiveness of the Lord.

      God’s instruction and its results (8-10): Because of who He is, God instructs sinners in His way, leads the humble in what is right, and rewards those who keep His covenant.

      Reasons for faithfulness to the Lord (11-15): God pardons the guilty, instructs those who fear Him; both the believer and His offspring shall follow the Lord and inherit the land. God renews His covenant to those who love Him. He keeps safe those who trust in Him, plucking “them from the net” (a metaphor for Satan’s trap).

      Request for forgiveness and protection (16-18): The believer is not free from trouble and affliction, but he turns to God for help in difficult times (and, indeed, all the time).

     Despite enemies, the believer will be faithful to God (19-21): These verses remind me of another acclamation: “God is my refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). The Psalmist says confidently: “I take refuge in You. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You” (Psalm 25:20b-21).

      Prayer for Israel (22): The first 21 verses have been an individual prayer and lament. The psalmist now prays for his country: “Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles” (v. 22). This ending is a timely reminder to us that we should pray for our own country consistently and frequently. As we pray for ourselves and our own relationship with God, that we might know His paths and walk in them, as the Psalmist, we should likewise pray this prayer for our own country, America. Where we live and dwell and have our being matters. We pray for ourselves. We ought also to pray for our country. For self and for country, our prayer should be “”To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust!” (Psalm 25:1-2a).

On this Palm Sunday, let us remember Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event in His life fulfilling prophecy (see Zechariah 9:9, Isaiah 62:1-2). As Christ walked that way in direct fulfillment of God’s plan, let us, too, as Psalm 22 teaches us, seek to find and walk in God’s ways. If we pray to find and follow God’s way, He will show us and lead us into His way everlasting and His plan for our time on earth. Selah! - Ethelene Dyer Jones 03.25.2018