Learning is a lifelong process. A famous and universally accepted quote says, “What one knows is only a handful, whereas the unknown is the size of the world.” How much you learn is like a handful of sand in the world, and you still have a whole world to study. We should not stop learning, thinking that we have learned everything. We teach others with the handful of knowledge we gained but stop improving our knowledge. Almost all Psalms of David are his learnings through hardships, and he composed them for our benefit.

I Trust You Lord

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

Psalms 25:1-3

David had faced bitter experiences on account of his enemies, and he prayed to God to not allow him to be ashamed in the sight of his enemies. More than friends, enemies play a vital role in bringing us near God. David learned to trust God because there was no one else to trust during hostility. When we face problems, do we understand that there is no one to trust except God? Often, we fail to trust God and try to find solace with the support of some influential people in our lives. It takes decades to trust God, yet, He stays by our side during our journey to get to that place.

David trusted that God never allowed anyone’s enemy to triumph over them if they put their trust in Him. David did not see God only in the perspective of his problems but looked upon Him as a Saviour of all people. Sometimes, we would like to limit His resources within a boundary that we laid ourselves.

Great Mercy And Love

Show me your ways, LORD,
teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.

Psalms 25:4-6

The scripture says that “All your children will be taught by the LORD, and great will be their peace (Isaiah 54:23).” We apply this verse to our children’s lives, and at the same time, we are reluctant to take it for ourselves. If God does not teach us, no one else will teach us His mercy because none other is worthy enough to teach it. We will be confused by seeing how the evildoers are still flourishing when we do not understand His mercy.

Perhaps our parents would have dealt with the above verse as we do. We should apply this verse and implement it in their lives to bring a change in our children. Lacking personal learning experience, we teach our children without realizing that it sends them far away from God rather than drawing them near Him. Let our children not only hear us singing “Nearer to Thee,” but let them see and understand that we are near to Him.

If we believe that God will teach our children according to Isaiah 54:23, why do we hesitate to learn the ways of God from them? We predominantly place ourselves in a higher position and do not even imagine listening to them in spiritual enlightenment. At the same time, we do not hesitate to learn how to operate the latest gadgets and apps. The word of God teaches everyone irrespective of age and education. The slave girl of Naaman had a piece of important information for the cure of his leprosy. The infants’ cry teaches us how to express our feelings to God, our Father, to make our enemies know the presence of our God.

You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.

Psalms 8:2

David asked God to show him His the path and teach him to walk in it so that he would pass on his experience, to the next generation. David asked God to guide him in His truth and teach him His ways. God, in response to David’s prayer, revealed to David His mercy and love that sustains the evildoers towards a day of hope and repentance.

The Psalmist understood His ever-existing grace and love and passed it on to generations through his writings. As we do not know His grace and love that carried us thus far, we stop our children from discerning His mercy and love on their own. Not providing our children with enough opportunity to understand God’s grace and love, we train them to attend church regularly. We force them to read the Bible rhetorically and teach them to recite the prayers monotonously.

Sins Of My Youth

Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, LORD, are good.

Psalms 25:7

Till we do not understand the love of God that forgave a thief hanging next to Him on the cross, we will not have the confidence to approach Him to get rid of our sins. While our sin still lingers in our minds and blood, the devil will make us feel guilty and threaten to expose our sinful lives to others. Having guilt within us, we try to live a righteous life not because we fear God but because we fear the society. Fearing people will not allow us to accomplish His will in our lives. The sin hidden in us will make us paranoid about everything that happens in our surroundings.

Understanding His mercy and love gives us the courage to ask pardon for the sin we committed during our youthful days. To overcome the fear chasing us, we should confess our sin in totality. Then, the fear-inducing devil will flee from us as he couldn’t find any flaw in us to expose. When we do not have sin hidden in us, we will not find any in others. We will be thanking God for forgiving our sins and showing us the path to eternal life.

For The Sake Of Your Name

Good and upright is the LORD;

therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

He guides the humble in what is right

and teaches them his way.

All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful

toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.

For the sake of your name, LORD,

forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

Psalms 25:8-11

David observed that no one corrects the evildoers to bring them to God. David acknowledged the goodness of God when he realized that God instructs the sinner in His ways and guides the humble hearts to walk in His way. As David kept His commandments, he understood that the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for all who keep the demands of His covenant.

When we think of the goodness of God, we attribute them to His love and mercy. Surprisingly, David attributes the goodness of God to His matchless name because His name is love and compassion. One cannot separate the love and grace from His name. There is nothing above His name. God created everything for the sake of His name (Colossians 1:16). If God is silent without punishing the wrongdoers, it is for His namesake (Isaiah 48:9). If God is kind and shows His mercy and love to us, it is for His namesake. If God uses us mightily, it is not to make us famous but glorify His name by adding us and many others into His fold.

My Eyes Are Ever On The LORD

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

Psalms 25:12-15

To the people who fear the Lord out of love, Lord instructs them in His ways. Everyone fears God, but not all of them fear Him out of love. Some people fear Him because of His wrath and punishment. They could not discern the truth that God had punished His Son as their substitute and avenged His anger forever. They still do not understand that God revealed to them His love by giving His Son as an atonement for our sins. But for the people who realize His love, God blesses them and their generations. God loves to stay with the people who fear Him because of the love He bestowed on them.

The world entices us with its charm and inveigles us towards eternal death. God loves to deliver us from the snares of this world. If we love Him more than the charms of this world, His mighty hand will release us from all the bondages. God does not feel ashamed to call us His sons and daughters and give us the Sonship. Jesus did not hesitate to endure shame on the cross to see our presence in heaven with His Father. For this reason, we have to fix our eyes on Him forever.

Take Away All My Sins

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

Psalms 25:16-19

This portion of Psalm teaches us the importance of identifying the cause of our distress and surrendering our lives to God. Whenever we fall sick or encounter problems in our lives, we ask God the reason, knowing it very well. To protect our image, we exchange the truth for a lie. The Psalmist connects his affliction and distress to his sins and asks God to forgive all his sins. David figured out that the reason for the growth in the numbers of his enemies was his sin.

In the Old Testament, we often see God handing over His people to their enemies because of their iniquities. In the New Testament era, God turns our attention towards our real enemy, the devil who strives to kill our soul. The devil does not lead us to sin, but the act of sinning invites the devil to accomplish his purpose. Like people who know God but do not glorify Him, we know God and the love that forgave our sins but do not give Him thanks. If we continue to live by justifying our sins, God will leave us to fulfil our sinful desires.

Do Not Let Me Be Put To Shame

Guard my life and rescue me;
do not let me be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope, LORD, is in you.
Deliver Israel, O God,
from all their troubles!

Psalms 25:20-22

Often we cry to God that He should not put us to shame. But this Psalm gives us an insight into how foolish is it to ask God not to put us to shame because God never leaves us to be ashamed. It is not God but our filthy thinking and shameless actions, that put us in awful situations. Jesus teaches us to ask God not to lead us to temptation so that we might not be ashamed of being victimized. The Psalmist’s prayer to God not to put him to shame is in line with our Lord’s prayer.

The Psalmist asked God to strengthen his integrity and uprightness and make these two the resource for his protection. Integrity invites more responsibility, and uprightness helps to fulfil those responsibilities. God entrusted the responsibility to pray for the deliverance of Israel by strengthening his integrity. To raise a prayer for the revival of our nation, we should maintain our integrity with God beyond doubts. 

Sovereign God, teach us each day to grow in your love and sustain my integrity beyond doubts. Fasten my relationship with you so that you will entrust us with the responsibility of praying for the revival of our nation.