Psalm 25 Continued…
The next two verses give us three basic principles of guidance:
a) He was wanting to be led (v. 4)
b) He was willing to be led (v. 5a)
c) He was waiting to be led (v. 5b)
Psalm 25:4 Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths;
There are two ways a man can go. He can go God’s way or his own way. God gives us a choice. We can walk down the path of our choosing. “There is a way that seems right to a man,
but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12). What a glorious thing it is to be able to call out to God and ask Him to show us the way we should go.
Many of us say we want to be led but we really don’t want God to show us His will; we simply want Him to confirm our will.
David was wanting to be led. David’s prayer here echoes a prayer of Moses in a similar time of bewilderment. Moses had ascended the mountain of God where he received the Ten Commandments and instructions from God. Then Moses had come down from the mount only to find that the people had lapsed into idolatry and were dancing naked around a golden calf. God told Moses to stand aside so that He could pour out His wrath upon this faithless people but Moses played the part of a mediator and God’s wrath was turned aside. It was a time of great bewilderment for Moses. He took the tent of testimony, the place where God met with him and carried it outside the sinful camp. There God, in grace, talked to him. “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.” (Exodus 33:11) Moses poured out his bewilderment to the Lord: “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you.” (Exodus 33:13). He did not dare make a move without God. No angel, no matter who that angel might be, not Gabriel the messenger angel, nor Michael, the battle-hardened angel, would do. It had to be God guiding and leading or there was no point in going on. So David prayed the same way. He was wanting to be led. When God sees that we really want to be led, then He will lead.
Psalms 25:5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
David is calling on God to show him the way, to teach him the way. This leads me to say that this is what is known as an acrostic psalm. That is, it is built upon the Hebrew alphabet. Each verse begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Unfortunately, in English we miss it.
Guide me! . . . and teach me! (vs. 4, 5)—If you utter this prayer in all sincerity, wait for the answer; be sure that it will come, and if you are not yet told what to do, wait until you know for certain, for the answer will surely come.
David was willing to be led. God does not say, “Follow me and I will give you an exotic and an exciting experience; follow me and I will guarantee you good health and money in the bank.” God says: “Follow me no matter what!”—until we are willing to be guided God will not reveal His will to us. And notice, David says, “Guide me in your truth, and teach me.” Guidance begins with the Word of God: “You see this book? Get into it and I will lead you.” David was wanting to be led and he was willing to be led.
David was waiting to be led. “My hope is in you all day long.” An important principle of guidance is that God is never in a hurry. Often he will make us wait and wait before finally making the path clear. That is where most of us break down; we are impatient so we act without God’s guidance, and then complain when things go wrong. Often when facing an important decision we will find that everything is cloudy at first. Guidance will come only as we wait. It is Satan who says: “Hurry; act now!” It’s now or never! If you miss this you’ll miss God’s will.” Satan guides by impulse. God guides while we wait. God cannot lead us if we are rushed and hurried, dashing here, there, and everywhere—always reacting to pressure. David was wanting, willing, and waiting to be led. “Lord, protect me, guide me.”
PRAY
Father help me to have the desire and the willingness and the patience for your continued guidance each day. Help me slow down enough to hear You and listen and obey.