Summary
While we tend to emphasise the “Go” of Jesus’ Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) as a command, the commission is actually to “make disciples” from all the nations. Making disciples involves teaching those disciples what Jesus commanded, so they can follow in his ways. Teaching is an integral part of the walk of faith.
Psalm 25 focuses on the importance of teaching, of learning to follow God’s ways. It is an acrostic psalm in Hebrew, focusing on a request for preservation and learning from God. It neatly forms into three sections, where David (the author) pleads for God’s help, proclaims God’s goodness, and prays for deliverance and protection. Threaded through is a desire to learn God’s ways in order to follow them.
Our passage explained
v1-7
In the first section of Psalm 25, David pleads for God’s help. Like many psalms he wrote, it is possible that troubles and enemies drove him to song. Addressing his covenant God directly, he lifts up his soul and in faith proclaims “my God, in you I trust” (v.2). He asks that he “not be put to shame” nor his enemies be exalted over him (v.2), expressing confidence that “none who wait for you shall be put to shame” but instead those who deal treacherously (v.3).
David then moves to asking God’s teaching help. He asks God to “make me to know your ways…teach me your paths” (v.4). Not only does he need God’s rescue from troubles, but enlightenment in the way to walk. He asks God to “lead me in your truth and teach me” because God is his Saviour and the one he looks to in trust “all the day long” (v.5).
David’s plea for help then shifts to asking God to remember his covenant mercy. He asks God to remember his covenant love and his mercy, “remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions”, and remember him as an individual (vv.6-7). His sins trouble him, and he hopes God will see him forgiven as a faithful member of the covenant, not the sinner he is. He trusts in God’s goodness (v.7) to make this plea.
v8-15
The second section of Psalm 25 expands on the goodness of God in which David trusts. God is good, and so he teaches sinners how to follow him (v.8). He “leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way” (v.9). For those who follow God’s ways, his paths are loving and faithful, reflecting God’s character (v.10).
The loving and faithful character of God encourages David to seek God’s pardon for his guilt (v.11). He fears God, so seeks forgiveness, knowing that God will then “instruct him in the way he should choose” (v.12). He will experience the covenant benefits of peace with God and blessing on his children (v.13), enjoying God’s friendship and knowledge of God’s promises to his people (v.14) which provides assurance. For this reason, David continually seeks to follow God, and trust in him for deliverance (v.15).
v16-22
This trust in God’s goodness leads to the third section of Psalm 25, which seeks God’s deliverance and protection. David asks God to “turn to me” and be gracious because of his troubles which weigh heavy on his heart and cause him distress (vv.16-17).
David again seeks pardon for sin, asking God to consider his affliction and trouble and forgive his sins (v.18). Secondly, he asks God to see his many does who hate him, and deliver and protect him from their plans (vv.19-20).
David seeks shelter in God, because he trusts in God’s goodness. It encourages David to pray that God would preserve him because of God’s own integrity and uprightness (v.21), and that God’s deliverance and protection would be not only for himself, but for all of God’s people (v.22).
Our passage applied
This psalm covers themes we have encountered before in previous psalms. A desire for forgiveness from sins, for deliverance from enemies, and for God’s sheltering presence. That we see these themes repeated so often reminds us that the Christian faith is not an effortless skip along clouds, but sometimes a walk in dark and troubling places, where we must rely on God to deliver us.
And we can rely on God to deliver us because of his character. His goodness, his righteousness, his integrity and his faithfulness show God is reliable. God will deliver us and protect us from those who seek to utterly destroy us, either in this life or the next. God forgives us for the sins of our youth, today, and tomorrow too. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
God’s goodness is why we seek to follow his ways. What better way to walk the path of righteousness, of intimate friendship with God, than by learning his paths. God leads and teaches those who seek him how to follow his ways. So let us follow God’s paths, where we find deliverance and protection, and friendship with God.
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