Psalm 25

Seeking the Lord's Guidance

Intro

√ David seeks the Lord's direction & forgiveness

Psalm 25 reveals David's confidence in the Lord to direct & guide him in the important decisions in his life.

That is, David was sure that if he went to God in prayer, that the Lord would answer him and reveal His will for his life.

But, note as we go through this psalm that David doesn’t make the assumption that God is bound to answer everyone's prayer…

…rather, David recognizes that God answers those who come to Him with a right heart attitude and with a right standing before Him.

Thus, we find David's request for God's guidance bathed in humility and repentance.

"God resists the proud but gives Grace to the humble." James 4:6 & I Pet. 5:5

If we truly desire to hear from God we must come to Him with an attitude of humility.

Ap. How about you?

Have you ever wanted the Lord's direction in your life? Have you ever prayed that God would guide you in when making important decisions in your life?

Of course you have!

Well, this psalm reveals the type of people that God speaks to - the type of people whom God guides.

If you're seeking God's guidance, check yourself to see if you're in a right place to hear from Him.

Those who trust in Him (vs. 1-2)

Ps. 25:1 To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

Ps. 25:2 O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.

√ Trust in God

David is seeking the Lord's direction and help as he deals with the many people who had set themselves against him.

Note that David begins his prayer for the Lord's direction by affirming his trust in God.

The point? Simply this, the person to whom God speaks is the person who actually believes that God is real, that He is listening, and that He can and will respond to his/her prayer!

Prayer is more than just words spoken, prayer is an expression of faith in an unseen God!

Note…

Heb. 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The prayer of faith believes that…

God is

God cares

God can & will respond

So, God speaks to those who trust Him.

Those who wait on Him (vs. 3)

Ps. 25:3 Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

√ Wait on God

David reminds us that the person whom God guides, whom God delivers, whom God speaks to…

…is the person who waits for God!

Waits? In what sense?

The person who waits for God's answer!

Our human nature is to grow impatient, rather than wait for God to answer our prayer we simply go ahead with our own agenda when we grow tired of waiting for Him to respond!

Ex. King Saul - I Sam. 13

Saul grew impatient waiting for Samuel because he delayed his coming, the people were restless, so Saul took it upon himself to offer the sacrifice that only a priest could offer.

As a result God rejected Saul and replaced him with David!

God speaks to those who wait on Him.

Those who wait even when the circumstance and pressure of people might compel you to go ahead without a clear answer from the Lord.

Ap. Do you wait for God's answer?

I think we're all guilty of asking God about some decision, then after waiting for what we think is enough time for Him to answer…

…just going ahead with what we think is best - often to make a mess out of the situation.

You will never be ashamed if you wait for God's answer.

√ One more point about waiting

We don't know what's going on in the spirit realm that may be hindering the answer to our prayer.

Ex. Daniel

Dan. 10:12 Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.

Dan. 10:13 “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.

Dan. 10:14 “Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”

So remember, it's never a waste of time to wait on the Lord - God speaks to those who wait for Him.

Those who ask of Him (vs. 4-5)

Ps. 25:4 Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.

Ps. 25:5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.

√ Ask God

In these verses we find David asking God to…

Show him the way

Teach him the path

Lead him in truth

…reminding us that God wants us to know His will, but, also wants us to ask Him what it is!

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

We might wonder why it's so important for us to ask God for what He already knows we need!

There are probably many reasons, but here are three…

Blesses the Father to respond:

Luke 11:11 “If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?

Luke 11:12 “Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

Luke 11:13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Just like an earthly father delights to bless his children, much more does God delight to bless you and me who have trusted in Him.

Brings glory to Christ:

John 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

John 11:42 “And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”

John 11:43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”

John 11:44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

God wants us to ask in part so that the unbeliever might see the power of God demonstrated in a real way…

…that they might believe in Jesus!

Demonstrates dependence upon God:

Both of the scriptures we've just looked at imply a right attitude on the part of the person who desires to know God's will for their life.

That is, the very act of asking God for direction implies an attitude of humility.

The proud don't ask for help - even from God!

The humble in heart are all too happy to express their dependence upon God for all that they need in life!

Pr 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

Pr 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Ex. Asking for direction when driving!

So, God speaks to those who ask Him for direction.

Those who are forgiven by Him (vs. 6-7 & 16-22)

Ps. 25:6 Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old.

Ps. 25:7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O LORD.

And…

Ps. 25:16 Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted.

Ps. 25:17 The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses!

Ps. 25:18 Look on my affliction and my pain, And forgive all my sins.

Ps. 25:19 Consider my enemies, for they are many; And they hate me with cruel hatred.

Ps. 25:20 Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.

Ps. 25:21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You.

Ps. 25:22 Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all their troubles!

√ Access to God

Here we find David pleading with God not to remember his sins, but rather, to deal with him on the basis of God's…

Mercy

Loving kindness

…and thereby to extend forgiveness to him.

In another place in the psalms David writes..

Ps. 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.

The point is that David understood that God is not under any obligation to entertain the prayers of unrepentant sinners.

Rather, God opens His ear and His heart to those who have acknowledged their sin and asked God to forgive them of that sin.

The Bible tells us that God longs to hear our prayers and to do good on our behalf.

However, if we're asking for His help and direction while we're involved in sin and unrepentant…

…God chooses not to respond because to do so would be to encourage our sin.

The solution then is to follow David's example and come before God with an open heart confessing & repenting of our sin before Him.

Once we're right with God He is then free to bless us by answering our prayer and giving us the direction we need.

Ap. Don't think for a moment you're going to get new direction from the Lord if you're not obeying what He's already told you to do!

Do what He's made clear to do in His Word - then you're ears will be clean so that you can hear His answer.

So, God speaks to those whom He has forgiven.

Those who submit to Him (vs. 8-15)

Ps. 25:8 Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.

Ps. 25:9 The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.

Ps. 25:10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.

Ps. 25:11 For Your name’s sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

Ps. 25:12 Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.

Ps. 25:13 He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth.

Ps. 25:14 The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.

Ps. 25:15 My eyes are ever toward the LORD, For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

√ God does not guide rebels

Rather, it is His joy to lead and direct those who fear Him and submit to His will.

The most obvious reason of course is that those who fear God and willingly submit to His will are all too happy to do whatever it is that God asks of them.

But there's a less obvious reason that the rebellious and proud person does not hear God's direction…

…that is, they aren't listening!

I believe that often times God has spoken very clearly to a person and revealed His will for their life.

Yet, because it's not what they wanted to hear…

…they ignore His direction.

Ex. People involved in sin

Often the worst offenders are those who profess to love the Lord, but have chosen to follow some path of sin. They claim to want to know God's will for their life…

…but then refuse to hear it when it's plainly laid out to them.

Ex. The error of Ahab & Jehoshaphat

1Ki 22:15 Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall we refrain?”

They proclaimed to want to know the Lord's will, yet, ignored it and went into battle anyway.

God's justice and grace displayed…

The rebel who ignored God's word was killed.

The humble who ignored God's word escaped.

The point, God spoke loud and clear - but they didn't listen.

So, God speaks clearly to the person who submits their own will to the Lords.

Close

√ Do you want to hear from the Lord?

God wants us to know His will, if you've prayed and haven't heard a clear direction from the Lord do this…

Check your life…

He speaks to those who trust Him

He speaks to those who wait on Him

He speaks to those who ask of Him

He speaks to those who are forgiven

He speaks to those who submit to Him

…if that's all in order in your life, then trust Him, confident that He will answer your prayer - but wait for the answer!