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“To you, LORD, I lift up my soul.
My God, I have trusted in you.
Don’t let me be shamed.
Don’t let my enemies triumph over me.”
(Psalm 25:1–2)
This psalm is a cry of a man who knows two things very clearly:
1. His own weakness, sin, and vulnerability.
2. God’s covenant mercy, guidance, and power to deliver.
The central theme in these lyrics and in Psalm 25 is this:
A life that is guided by God’s grace—through His covenant mercy, His instruction, and His friendship—produces protection, cleansing, direction, and ultimate vindication.
David is not approaching God based on his own righteousness. He comes as a sinner, surrounded by enemies, burdened by inner distress, asking for:
Everything in this psalm hinges on who the LORD is:
So we begin by saying: Guidance is not primarily a technique. Guidance is a relationship.
God guides those who humble themselves, fear Him, and align with His covenant.
Let us look carefully at what the Word of God says.
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Psalm 25 is a psalm of David. Most scholars understand it as an acrostic psalm (following the Hebrew alphabet), which already tells us something important:
David is not merely pouring out emotion; he is giving a structured, ordered prayer of dependence, repentance, and trust.
What kind of man is speaking?
“Consider my enemies, for they are many. They hate me with cruel hatred” (v.19).
David lived surrounded by tangible enemies—Saul, Philistines, traitors, conspirators. Yet behind the physical enemies there were spiritual forces of wickedness (Ephesians 6:12).
“Don’t remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions” (v.7).
“Pardon my iniquity, for it is great” (v.11).
He is not a man claiming perfection. He is a man who knows the reality of guilt, failure, and the need for pardon.
He refers to “loving kindness” (chesed), “tender mercies,” and “your covenant and your testimonies.”
David knows God not only as Creator, but as Covenant God of Israel, who has bound Himself by oath to His people.
What is the situation?
The psalm itself does not specify one exact historical event. But the internal evidence points to:
So imagine David:
This psalm is therefore perfectly suited for believers who:
David, though anointed, though king, does not stand on his achievements. He lifts up his soul to the LORD and makes God alone his place of trust and refuge.
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Let us focus on two key Hebrew terms that are central to this psalm and to the lyrics:
### 1. “Loving kindness” – Chesed (חֶסֶד)
Verse 6:
“LORD, remember your tender mercies and your loving kindness,
for they are from old times.”
Verse 10:
“All the paths of the LORD are loving kindness and truth
to such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.”
The word translated “loving kindness” is chesed. This is one of the most important words in the Old Testament.
When David says, “Remember me according to your loving kindness” (v.7), he is not saying, “Be sentimental toward me.”
He is saying:
“Deal with me on the basis of your covenant loyalty, not on the basis of my failures.”
So when we sing of God’s guidance and mercy, we are not appealing to our performance, but to His chesed—His covenant faithfulness, which for us has been sealed in the blood of Jesus (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 13:20).
### 2. “Guide” / “Instruct” – Yarah (יָרָה) and related terms
Verse 4:
“Show me your ways, LORD. Teach me your paths.”
Verse 5:
“Guide me in your truth, and teach me…”
Verse 8:
“Good and upright is the LORD, therefore he will instruct sinners in the way.”
Verse 12:
“What man is he who fears the LORD? He shall instruct him in the way that he shall choose.”
The verbs for “teach” and “instruct” are related to yarah, which at root means “to throw, to shoot,” and by extension, “to point out, to direct.”
From this root we also get the word Torah—God’s instruction, His revealed law and teaching.
So when David says:
He is speaking of God:
This is not vague “spiritual guidance.” It is specific, moral, covenantal direction—showing us how to walk, how to live, how to respond.
And notice:
“He will instruct sinners in the way” (v.8).
God’s guidance is not reserved for the perfect. It is extended to sinners who will humble themselves and submit to His instruction.
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We will move through the themes expressed in the lyrics and the psalm.
### A. Lifting up the Soul and Trusting under Pressure
“To you, LORD, I lift up my soul.
My God, I have trusted in you.
Don’t let me be shamed.
Don’t let my enemies triumph over me.”
To “lift up” the soul means:
Shame in Scripture is often connected with:
This is a law of the kingdom:
This is a key aspect of spiritual warfare. The enemy wants:
David answers this by lifting his soul to the LORD and openly declaring his trust.
This is the language of faith in conflict. It parallels Ephesians 6:16: “the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.”
### B. Asking for Guidance: God’s Ways, Paths, and Truth
“Show me your ways, LORD.
Teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation.
I wait for you all day long.”
David does not first ask for change in his circumstances. He first asks for instruction in the ways of God.
Notice the sequence:
1. “Show me your ways” – reveal your patterns, your moral order, your dealings.
2. “Teach me your paths” – how do I walk step by step in those ways?
3. “Guide me in your truth” – lead me by the standard of your revealed truth.
This is guidance grounded in:
For the New Testament believer, this is fulfilled in:
To be guided by grace is to be guided by:
### C. Appeal to Covenant Mercy and Forgiveness
“LORD, remember your tender mercies and your loving kindness,
for they are from old times.
Don’t remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions.
Remember me according to your loving kindness,
for your goodness’ sake, LORD.”
David contrasts two kinds of “remembering”:
This is the heart of grace:
Not that sin is ignored, but that sin is not remembered against us because of God’s covenant mercy.
In New Testament terms:
David is aware of:
He does not justify them. He brings them into the light and appeals to God’s chesed and God’s goodness.
This is essential for deliverance. Many believers seek freedom from enemies and distress but do not adequately face:
David’s prayer: “Forgive all my sins” (v.18) is not a vague religious phrase. It is an explicit renunciation of all grounds of accusation.
### D. God’s Character: Basis of Guidance and Instruction
“Good and upright is the LORD,
therefore he will instruct sinners in the way.
He will guide the humble in justice.
He will teach the humble his way.
All the paths of the LORD are loving kindness and truth
to such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.”
Notice the order:
1. Who God is:
2. Therefore what He does:
3. The condition:
God’s guidance is not morally neutral. He guides:
Humility is the doorway to guidance.
Pride is the barrier. James 4:6: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
All God’s paths are:
If you will walk in covenant loyalty and obedience, you will discover that every path God leads you on is marked by love and truth, even when it passes through affliction.
### E. The Fear of the LORD and the Friendship of God
“For your name’s sake, LORD,
pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
What man is he who fears the LORD?
He shall instruct him in the way that he shall choose.
His soul will dwell at ease.
His offspring will inherit the land.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him.
He will show them his covenant.”
Here we reach a high point.
1. David appeals to the name of the LORD as the basis of pardon:
“For your name’s sake… pardon my iniquity.”
God acts to forgive because His name is bound up with His mercy and covenant.
2. Then he speaks of the fear of the LORD.
The fear of the LORD in Scripture is:
3. To the one who fears the LORD, God offers three remarkable blessings:
And then an even deeper promise:
> “The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him. He will show them his covenant.”
The word “friendship” here can also mean “secret counsel,” intimate confiding.
God draws near to such a person and opens up His covenant to them—His plans, His ways, His purposes.
In New Testament terms, this is fulfilled in John 15:14–15:
No longer do I call you servants… but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
To be guided by grace is ultimately to be brought into friendship with God, grounded in holy fear and obedient love.
### F. Eyes on the LORD in the Midst of the Net
“My eyes are ever on the LORD,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.”
The “net” speaks of traps, snares, hidden dangers—set by enemies, both human and demonic.
David says:
This is crucial for spiritual warfare:
Hebrews 12:2: “Looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”
Psalm 91:3: “Surely he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler.”
Guidance by grace is tied to where you look.
Your focus determines your freedom.
### G. Honest Lament and Total Dependence
“Turn to me, and have mercy on me,
for I am desolate and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged.
Oh bring me out of my distresses.
Consider my affliction and my travail.
Forgive all my sins.
Consider my enemies, for they are many.
They hate me with cruel hatred.
Oh keep my soul, and deliver me.
Let me not be disappointed, for I take refuge in you.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.
God, redeem Israel out of all his troubles.”
Notice the elements:
David is not practicing religious denial.
He acknowledges:
But he brings all of it under the covering of God’s mercy and covenant.
He ends on a corporate note: “God, redeem Israel out of all his troubles.”
The man guided by grace is not concerned only with his own welfare; he carries the burden of God’s people.
---
Let us be very practical. How do we live a life “guided by grace,” as Psalm 25 portrays?
### First, we must deliberately lift up our soul and declare our trust.
Make a conscious, verbal act:
This is especially important:
Proclamation is a weapon. It aligns your soul with the truth of God’s Word.
### Second, we must submit to God’s instruction, not merely ask for His intervention.
Many want God to rescue them, but not to teach them.
You must choose to:
Guidance by grace is not random impressions. It is the outworking of a life submitted to:
### Third, we must deal with sin and past ground of shame.
If you want to walk in guidance and deliverance, you cannot bypass:
Apply 1 John 1:9 personally. Name the sins the Holy Spirit brings to mind.
Ask God to no longer “remember” them against you, but to remember you according to His chesed.
This closes doors the enemy has used to trap and accuse you.
### Fourth, we must cultivate the fear of the LORD and the friendship of God.
These two go together.
Practically, the fear of the LORD means:
As you walk in that fear, expect:
Make it a daily commitment:
### Fifth, we must fix our eyes on the LORD, not on the net.
You may be in a situation where:
This psalm teaches us:
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### Proclamation
Speak this aloud, slowly, as an act of faith:
“I lift up my soul to you, LORD.
You are my God; in you I trust.
I declare that I will not be put to shame,
for I wait for you, and your Word says
no one who waits for you will be shamed.
LORD, show me your ways.
Teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation.
I wait for you all day long.
Remember your tender mercies and your covenant love toward me,
and do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions.
Remember me according to your loving kindness
and for your name’s sake, O LORD,
pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
I choose humility and the fear of the LORD.
Therefore you instruct me in the way I should choose.
My soul shall dwell at ease,
and my offspring shall inherit your promises.
My eyes are ever on you, LORD,
for you will pluck my feet out of every net.
You keep my soul and deliver me,
for I take refuge in you.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.
Through the blood of Jesus,
I am in covenant with you,
and all your paths toward me are loving kindness and truth.
Amen.”
### Prayer
“Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
I come to you as David came—weak, needy, conscious of my sins,
but trusting in your covenant mercy.
I ask you now:
Show me your ways.
Teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth by your Holy Spirit.
Where I have opened doors through sin, disobedience, or unbelief,
I confess those sins to you.
Let the blood of Jesus cleanse me from all unrighteousness.
Plant in me a deep fear of the LORD.
Deliver me from pride, stubbornness, and self-will.
Bring me into your friendship, where you reveal your covenant to me.
You see every net the enemy has set for my feet.
You see every hidden trap, every scheme of darkness.
I ask you now to pluck my feet out of the net.
Keep my soul and deliver me,
for I take refuge in you alone.
Let integrity and uprightness—your own work in me—preserve me,
as I wait for you.
And I ask also: redeem your people,
your church, out of all her troubles.
Do it for your name’s sake,
that Jesus may be glorified.
Amen.”
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