Finding the Path of God

Psalm 25 begins with David lifting up his soul to the Lord and saying, “In you I trust.” David does not start by acting like life is easy. David sees enemies, shame, guilt, trouble, and people who are “wantingly treacherous.” Yet David keeps coming back to the same place: God is great, God is faithful, and God’s path is the only path worth taking.

The path of the world looks wide and busy, like a trail that everybody else seems to be on. The path of the world, though, does not lead in the right direction spiritually. David asks God, “Make me to know your ways. Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me,” because following God does not just happen naturally. Sinful people naturally go the wrong way, and God must constantly teach, lead, and correct them through his Spirit, his Word, and his people.

God’s mercy stands at the center of David’s prayer. David asks God to remember mercy and steadfast love, but not to remember the sins of his youth and his transgressions. God’s remembering is not merely mental. God remembers in a way that acts. God acts in covenant love, forgiveness, and grace. David does not rely on how wonderful he has been, because his only hope is God’s goodness, forgiveness, and mercy.

Psalm 25 calls sinners to humility rather than self-confidence. God instructs sinners in the way, and he leads the humble in what is right. The humble person does not claim to have everything figured out, does not pretend to know the future, and does not refuse to ask for directions. The fear of the Lord means reverence and respect for the truth of God’s ways. God’s paths are steadfast love and faithfulness, not because every road feels easy, but because God knows what is actually good.

David also names the blessings of God’s path: well-being, covenant friendship, instruction, and deliverance from the net. The friendship of the Lord gives his people the inside scoop on how life really works. God’s way may look foolish to people walking another path, but God’s way leads away from bondage and toward freedom.

David ends where he began, taking refuge in God while trouble remains. God’s path does not guarantee that enemies will stop coming or that guilt will never need to be confessed again. God’s steadfast love, grace, forgiveness, and faithfulness remain the only hope when life gets awful, when sin has brought distress, and when a person needs to be brought back to the right path.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God’s path requires constant instruction [12:15] David’s repeated words, “make me,” “teach me,” and “lead me,” show that nobody simply wakes up knowing how to follow God. The natural path is not neutral but bent toward foolishness and sin. God uses Scripture, the Spirit, and wise believers to keep his people from driving in circles. Humility receives that direction instead of pretending to already know the way. [12:15]
• 2. Mercy remembers covenant love, not sin [15:39] David asks God to remember mercy and steadfast love while refusing to cling to his own record. God’s forgiveness is not God overlooking sin as if it did not matter. God deals with sin through grace and then does not hold forgiven guilt over his people forever. The soul finds rest when God’s goodness, rather than personal performance, becomes its hope. [15:39]
• 3. God instructs sinners, not the self-righteous [20:39] Psalm 25 gives hope precisely because God instructs sinners in the way. The humble person admits, “I cannot do this on my own,” while the proud person insists that no help is needed. God’s path opens before those who stop defending themselves and begin seeking his mercy. Christ meets people in real guilt, not in made-up perfection. [20:39]
• 4. Fear of God trusts what is true [26:39] The fear of the Lord is not panic that God might hurt someone. The fear of the Lord is reverence that recognizes God’s ways are true even when the culture says otherwise. God’s counsel gives the inside track on what leads to life, freedom, and blessing. The world may call obedience boring, but sin always brings bondage. [26:39]
• 5. Refuge in God holds through trouble [33:03] David takes refuge in God while enemies still hate him and troubles still press in. God’s path is not an escape from every hard thing, but it is the place where deliverance, integrity, and hope are found. God can pluck his people out of the net even after sin and suffering have tangled their lives. His steadfast love does not let go.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:18] - Starting Second Samuel Next Week
• [00:45] - Finding the Path of God
• [01:12] - Life Before GPS
• [02:33] - The World’s Path Leads Wrong
• [03:06] - Psalm 25 and God’s Ways
• [04:38] - Trusting God With Everything
• [06:54] - Lament and Confidence Together
• [10:19] - Teach Me Your Paths
• [15:13] - Remember Mercy, Not Youthful Sins
• [19:33] - God Instructs Sinners
• [25:19] - Blessings for Those Who Fear God
• [29:22] - Refuge During Trouble and Opposition
• [34:16] - Integrity, Failure, and God’s Faithfulness
• [36:51] - Christ’s Forgiveness and the Good Path

1. To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. [04:38]
2. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. [04:49]
3. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. [04:54]
4. Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. [10:37]
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. [10:41]
6. Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. [10:51]
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! [10:55]
8. Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. [19:46]
9. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. [19:50]
10. All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. [19:56]
11. For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. [20:04]
12. Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. [25:29]
13. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. [25:36]
14. The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. [25:38]
15. My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net. [25:46]
16. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. [29:31]
17. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. [29:36]
18. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. [29:42]
19. Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me. [29:47]
20. Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. [29:49]
21. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you. [30:04]
22. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. [30:04]

1. What problems does David name in Psalm 25, including shame, enemies, guilt, loneliness, and distress? How do these problems appear alongside his repeated trust in God? [06:54]
2. What repeated requests does David make in verses 4–5, and what do those words show about his need for God’s direction? [12:15]
3. In verses 6–7, what does David ask God to remember, and what does he ask God not to remember? [15:13]
4. According to Psalm 25:8–10, whom does God instruct and lead? What descriptions are given of God’s paths? [19:46]

1. David asks God to “remember” mercy and steadfast love. How does this prayer show that forgiveness rests on God’s goodness rather than David’s record? [18:24]
2. Psalm 25 says that God instructs sinners and leads the humble. What is the difference between humble dependence on God and simply feeling bad about sin? [21:25]
3. What does fearing the Lord mean in this psalm? How is reverence for God different from being afraid that God is looking for a reason to harm someone? [26:20]
4. David says that God will pluck his feet out of the net, yet he still speaks of enemies and trouble. What kind of deliverance and refuge is David expecting from God? [29:00]

1. Where is there a temptation to follow the wide and popular path instead of God’s path—perhaps in relationships, work, entertainment, money, speech, or private choices? What makes that path look attractive? [02:28]
2. David prays, “Make me to know your ways,” “teach me,” and “lead me.” What is one area of life where direction from God is especially needed right now? What could it look like to seek that direction through Scripture, prayer, and trusted believers? [14:03]
3. Are there sins from the past that still bring shame, even after they have been confessed to God? How does Psalm 103:12 give hope for bringing those sins honestly to the Lord? [17:45]
4. Humility includes admitting, “I cannot do this on my own.” Is there a decision, struggle, or habit where pride has made it hard to ask for help? What would a humble next step look like? [22:26]
5. God’s ways may look foolish or restrictive to people around us, but sin eventually brings bondage. When have God’s commands protected someone from a painful result, or brought greater freedom than the world’s way promised? [27:20]
6. When trouble grows, it can be easy to turn inward, panic, or pull away from God. What helps keep one’s eyes “ever toward the LORD” during loneliness, conflict, guilt, or fear? [28:47]
7. Christ died for people while they were still sinners. How does that truth change the way a person approaches God after failure this week—in confession, trust, and hope? [20:57]