Psalm 25 (part 1): the importance of praising God
The subtitle for this psalm is “Prayer in danger”. But when I read it, I see no mention of danger in it until verse 15, which is in the second half. What does David do for the better half of the psalm? He praises God. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, for my benefit as well as yours: the first thing we should do is to praise God when we’re in trouble. He’ll take care of us, He’ll come through. We don’t have to worry. We can sleep well at night knowing He’s working on our behalf: “Calling to you, none shall ever be put to shame…” But God won’t help those “who groundlessly break faith.” So it behooves us to make sure we’re right with Him. How do we do that? Through prayer: “Hold not my youthful sins against me,” David writes in verse 7, and adds in verse 11, “Let my sin, great though it is, be forgiven, Yahweh, for the sake of your name.”
I really like verse 4: “Direct me in your ways, Yahweh, and teach me your paths.” Those of us more accustomed to the KJV may recognize it better this way: “Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.” Like the sheep who need the crook in the shepherd’s staff, we need direction in our ways. We need to walk in God’s path and not stray from it. We need encouragement, and we need to be taught what’s right if we’re to be saved: “Encourage me to walk in your truth and teach me since you are the God who saves me.”
How does God do that, practically speaking? He does it through the still, small voice in our heads that tells us when we’ve done something wrong. We can’t hear that voice if we drown it with loud music, constant busy-ness and partying, or alcohol or drugs. We hear it when we spend time with God in prayer and in Bible study. And God also instructs us through Christian friends or strangers, who may or may not know they’re being used by God to bring instruction to others. They may simply find themselves in odd circumstances, and if they don’t behave in Christian ways, they’re discouraging, not encouraging others. Therefore, it behooves us to make sure we’re always acting in ways that wouldn’t put God to shame, no matter where we are. We never know when others are looking to us as an example. It’s a sobering thought, I know.
