The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. Psalm 25:8
Have you given any thought to what the Lord offers us compared to what we have to offer Him? It seems rather lopsided, doesn’t it? David, in Psalm 25, offered God something He wanted.
He began this Psalm with a commitment by saying, “O Lord, I give my life to you.” That seems like a raw deal for God because our lives are often in shambles.
He not only wants our lives, but He wants us to put our complete trust in Him. The Lord didn’t arbitrarily create us. He had a purpose in mind when He made us.
Initially, He had fellowship with Adam in the Garden of Eden. That stopped, however, when Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord. Our fellowship with Him will resume in eternity.
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. Revelation 21:3
God intended all along to fellowship with those created in His image. He will maintain His relationship with us throughout eternity, but now we must keep our relationship with Him.
He doesn’t expect us to maintain that relationship on our own. In fact, without His help, we would be lost like sheep without a shepherd. Look what the Prophet Zephaniah said.
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord is Good, Trust Him
So, after David committed his life to the Lord, he commented on how good God is. He trusted God enough, knowing He would never bring disgrace upon him.
No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. Psalm 25:3
Do you consider the Lord good like David did? The king had his faults, but he sincerely wanted God’s direction in his life. I know we have our faults, but shouldn’t we seek His direction too?
Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. Psalm 25:4-5
David wanted the Lord to remember some of the good things He did for him. But David also asked the Lord not to remember the rebellious acts of his past.
Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past. Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Psalm 25:6-7
So after David laid those two things before the Lord, he asked Him to combine the two. He wanted the unfailing love of the Lord to overshadow his failures.
Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord. Psalm 25:7
In our verse for today, the king reviewed how good the Lord treats His children. He said God provides the path for those who humbly follow Him.
He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands. Psalm 25:9-10
The Fear of the Lord
David continued by discussing how God puts those who fear Him on the right path. To fear the Lord means understanding His superiority and humbly respecting and obeying Him.
For the honor of your name, O Lord, forgive my many, many sins. Who are those who fear the Lord? He will show them the path they should choose. Psalm 25:11-12
David stayed on the theme of those who fear the Lord. The Amplified Bible describes fear as follows: “With awe-inspired reverence and worships Him with submissive wonder.”
Hopefully, you live with an awe-inspired reverence of God, worshiping Him with submissive wonder. If you do, the Lord will reward you with good benefits.
They will live in prosperity, and their children will inherit the land. The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant. Psalm 25:13-14
We can communicate with others by telling them how much we fear the Lord. Or we can let others see how much we fear Him through our words and actions, as David did.
My eyes are always on the Lord, for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies. Psalm 25:15
Take Your Problems to God
Sometimes, we feel we have a handle on life when, in reality, we don’t. For some reason, we allow pride to keep us from taking our petitions to the Lord. David freely took his problems to God.
- Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress.
- My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all!
- Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins.
- See how many enemies I have and how viciously they hate me!
- Protect me! Rescue my life from them! Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge. Psalm 25:16-20
David brought this chapter to a close by addressing two very personal subjects. He asked God that his integrity and honesty protect him. First, let’s define integrity.
Integrity is the quality of being honest and having solid moral principles. A person with integrity behaves ethically and does the right thing, especially when no one is watching.
The moral character trait of honesty involves truthfulness, sincerity, and trustworthiness. It stands at the opposite of lying, cheating, or stealing, traits that will keep a person out of heaven.
But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. Revelation 21:8
Do you stand by the two good traits of David when he said the following to God?
May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you. Psalm 25:21
Lord, may our integrity and honesty protect us as we follow the good paths you have for us.
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