February 4, 2009
Looking for Truth and Hope
Psalm 25
Doug Williams
Central Truth
Look to God for truth, teaching, and hope.
Key Verse | Psalm 25:5
Guide me into your truth and teach me. For you are the God who delivers me; on you I rely all day long. (Psalm 25:5)
Psalm 25
Teach Me Your Paths
1 25:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet Of David.
1
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2
O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
3
Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
4
Make me to 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 long.
6
Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
7
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!
8
Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
10
All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
11
For your name's sake, O LORD,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12
Who is the man who fears the LORD?
Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
13
His soul shall abide in well-being,
and his offspring shall inherit the land.
14
The friendship
2
25:14
Or The secret counsel
of the LORD is for those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant.
15
My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17
The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
18
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
19
Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20
Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21
May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.
22
Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all his troubles.
Dive Deeper | Psalm 25
Psalm 25 is truly an amazing psalm. It's an acrostic poem, meaning the verses begin in successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This is another time I wish I could read Hebrew.
Looking to God for teaching, truth, and hope can be an amazingly hard thing to do these days. There are so many news media, talking heads, magazines, papers, literature, and television programs that focus on anything but God's truth. We are taught to be independent and make our own luck and success, to be our own person, and to be self-reliant until that does not work, then we can rely on the government for the ultimate bail out! Many of us look for little intervention from the outside and want to call all our own shots. We need to remember to look to God's Word and teaching before looking to our own judgment and invite His wisdom and guidance into our thoughts, words, and deeds.
When you read this, we will have just sworn in a new President of the United States. As I was writing the devotion, I was listening to the second presidential debate. There were only questions about what man or government can do to help the citizens of this country and to fix the current stock market downfall. Never once did anyone ask the senators how, or even if, they would rely on God's Word and teachings to guide their judgment to help our country.
We are a country built on Christian values, ethics, and history, but when it comes to electing the most powerful person in our country, we hardly emphasize how or if the candidates look to God for guidance, as David did in the Psalms. Maybe we should take a minute now to ask God to lead our thoughts toward His truth and teachings and to revitalize hope in us, our families, and our country.
Discussion Questions
1. When you look for truth and hope, where do you look first?
2. How do we explain to our friends and colleagues what guides our lives and values?
3. What are you going to do the next time you need truth, guidance, or hope in your situation?