Psalm 25

Psalm 25:4-10
4.Make me know Your ways, O LORD ; Teach me Your paths.
5.Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation ; For You I wait all the day.
6.Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been from of old.
7.Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions ; According to Your lovingkindness remember me, For Your goodness' sake, O LORD.
8.Good and upright is the LORD ; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
9.He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.
10.All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.


What strikes me about this passage is the author’s dependence on God. The focus is not on what the speaker is doing or planning, but on waiting for God to move and carry out His plan.



Verses 4-5 show dependence on God in thoughts, plans, and actions. The author asks that God make him know His ways. He asks God to teach him His paths, and asks God to lead him in truth. He knows God is trustworthy because Yahweh is the God of his salvation. The phrase “for You I wait all the day” is counterintuitive to my tendencies. I want to move ahead, to get something done, but waiting on God shows true dependence on Him.


Verses 6-7 show spiritual dependence on God. The psalmist knows that he has committed sins, and that his sins condemn him as guilty and worthy of death before God. He is dependent on God’s compassion and lovingkindness. He knows that God has possessed these characteristics “from of old” and that He will not change, so He can be depended on. The psalmist also knows that God is good, and in His goodness He remembers sinners with lovingkindness.


Verses 8-9 are an incredible testimony to the mysterious goodness of God. He bestows His attention and energy on sinners and the humble. It is incredible to me that this verse does not say God teaches the diligent, the hard-working, the sincere; rather, He teaches those who have wronged Him and are least in the world’s eyes. I can have confidence in God’s love for me because He loves because of His goodness, not because of who I am.


To all those who choose to follow after God as He instructs them in His way, “the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth.” Lord, teach me Your ways, and enable me to walk after you, that I may walk in Your lovingkindness and truth.