For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Psalm 25:1-15 – Teach me your ways

1 In you, Lord my God,
    I put my trust.

2 I trust in you;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
    will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
    who are treacherous without cause.

4 Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Saviour,
    and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
    for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
    and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
    for you, Lord, are good.

8 Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
    and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
    forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
    He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
    and their descendants will inherit the land.
14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;
    he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,
    for only he will release my feet from the snare.

A. Find Out:    

1. How does the Psalmist approach the Lord? v.1-3
2. What does he ask of the Lord? v.4,5
3. Who does the Lord instruct? v.8
4. Who does He lead? v.9
5. Who receive love and faithfulness? v.10
6. Who will the Lord guide as a friend? v.12,14

B. Think:

1. How does the theme of “guidance” or “following the Lord” keep coming up in these verses?
2. What are the characteristics of the man who will be guided by God?
3. Of what about himself is the Psalmist aware?

C. Comment:

     First comes TESTIMONY. The psalmist declares his trust in the Lord, sure that he will not be disappointed (or shamed).

     Then comes PETITION as he calls out for the Lord to teach him His ways, or his paths i.e. the ways the Lord goes, the way He walks (or operates). These paths are paths of love and faithfulness (steady, unchanging commitment) and are for those who seek God and desire to follow His agreed ways (covenant and testimonies).

    The knowledge of the Lord is reserved for those who hold Him in high regard (reverential awe) and that person will know friendship, guidance, security and blessing from the Lord.

     Note also, weaving its way through these verses, is the theme of the psalmist’s own UNWORTHINESS. He is aware of the folly of past youth, and yet even more he is aware of his own present unworthiness. God has instructed (taught by telling) him as a sinner, but he yearns to know the Lord more intimately, because from Him come all blessing, security and holiness.

D. Application?

1. Am I seeking to know the ways of the Lord so that I may walk closely with Him?
2. Am I increasingly aware of my own unworthiness as I know Him more and more?

Passage: Psalm 25:16-22 – See my afflictions

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
    and free me from my anguish.
18 Look on my affliction and my distress
    and take away all my sins.
19 See how numerous are my enemies
    and how fiercely they hate me!

20 Guard my life and rescue me;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
    because my hope, Lord, is in you.

22 Deliver Israel, O God,
    from all their troubles!

A. Find Out:

1. What was David feeling? v.16   
2. What had happened and with what consequence? v.17
3. What did he ask the Lord to do? v.18
4. What had happened? v.19
5. So what did he ask of the Lord? v.20
6. What was his hope? v.21

B. Think:

1. How was David aware of people?
2. Of what else was he aware?
3. In what did he place his hope?

C. Comment:

     In the first part of this psalm David had called to the Lord to lead and guide him. He had been aware of the folly of his youth. Now he fully faces his present state.

     He is first of all aware of his own sins, his own failings. It is these which upset his heart, he is in deep distress because of them.

     Next we find he feels that because of them he has become isolated and everyone is against him. In this David makes a connection that many of us are slow to make: sin does have consequences! When we hold onto known sins, God cannot bless us as He wants to and indeed, in His love for us, He disciplines us (Heb 12:5-11), sometimes by lifting away His hand of protection from us so that the enemy seems to rise up against us. In that situation we repent and cry out for the Lord.

    That seems to be the situation here. David is aware of his sins and he is also aware of his enemies who have risen against him. In this state he cries out to the Lord to rescue him and take away his sins. He wants his life to be characterised by integrity and uprightness as he turns back to the Lord and puts his whole trust in Him.

D. Application?

1. Known and tolerated sins in our lives hinder the blessing of the Lord coming upon us.
2. In such a state the Lord comes and disciplines us to drive us back to Him in repentance. It is an act of His love for us.