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1 event,
June-30-0457-God guides the godly
457_God guides the godly Psalm 25:1-15 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. 3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 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. 6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. 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! 8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. 11 For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. 12 Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. 13 His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. 14 The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. 15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net. Have you ever tried navigating a dense forest without a map, compass, or guide? A group of hikers tried it once in the Appalachian Mountains. Confident in their GPS and a general sense of direction, they ignored the marked trail. A few hours in, their signal dropped. Every direction looked the same. It became dark. Panic set in. A fun weekend adventure became a desperate search for the way home. The turning point came when they decided to stay put, keep warm, and wait for help. Rangers found them the next morning, exhausted and humbled, but safe. They were easy to find because of their posture - of stillness, dependence, and expectation. In many ways, Psalm 25 is the cry of a soul that has decided to stop wandering and wait for divine help. David is not charging ahead in self-confidence. Instead, he pauses to think and to wait. He calls for guidance to the only one who knows the way. This psalm is an acrostic, each verse beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. While this is perhaps a poetic technique to aid memorization, it also captures the A-to-Z of what it means to be guided by God. The psalm opens in a cry: “To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust.” This is all we can say once we learn that the only safety is in God. David declares his trust in God, as
1 event,
July-01-0458-A life marked by living faith
458_A life marked by a living faith Psalm 26 Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. 2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind. 3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness. 4 I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites. 5 I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O Lord, 7 proclaiming thanksgiving aloud, and telling all your wondrous deeds. 8 O Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells. 9 Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men, 10 in whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes. 11 But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me. 12 My foot stands on level ground; in the great assembly I will bless the Lord. A few years ago, a well-known sculptor was asked how he carved such a lifelike image of a lion from a block of marble. He smiled and replied, “I just remove everything that doesn't look like a lion.” It was such a simple but revealing answer to what seemed a complex task. He could already see the shape of the lion in the marble. The real art was in taking away anything that didn’t belong. As God’s people, God does not want us to wear a mask of virtue or perform or become something that is alien to us. Rather, he wants to shape us, removing all that does not look like Christ in us. Such a life is one of integrity, marked by constant surrender. A life marked by living faith is one that says, “Search me, O God… see if there is any wicked way in me.” Thus, Psalm 26 offers a window into David’s heart. Not just the man who slew Goliath or ruled Israel, but a man who walked with God constantly and in secret. A man who longed for his life, both inside and out, to reflect faith in a living, holy God. The psalm begins “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.” David’s confidence here is not in his perfection of morals or life. All he has to boast of is that his heart is perfect towards God. He has never desired any other God. He has never wanted anything of life that God is not pleased to give him. His trust in God has been consistent and sincere. Most of us shrink at the thought of being fully known—our thoughts, motives, secret desires exposed before God. But not David, who says in verse 2: “Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” All he longs for is the approval of God on