In Psalm 25 David pulls back the cover and lets us look into his heart like no other Psalm. This is one of the seven Penitential Psalms.  It is the mark of a true saint when his sorrows remind him of his sins and his sorrow for sins drive him to his God.

This is the first instance of an inspired acrostic. There are twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet and each verse in this Psalm starts with one of those letters. This truth magnifies the influence of the Holy Ghost over the mind of natural man to bring to pass the sovereign crossing of His ‘T’s’ and dotting of His ‘I’s’. 

John Phillips said, “The over riding theme of this great Psalm is God’s guidance.” Abraham Lincoln said, “I have often been driven to God by the over whelming sense that I had no where else to go.”

This Psalm belongs in the prayer book as much as the hymn book.  It is made up of three prayers.  In verses 1-7 there is a PRAYER FOR REMEMBRANCE, verse 11 a PRAYER FOR REMISSION, verses 12-14 there are PRINCIPLES OF REMINDER, and verses 15-22 a PRAYER FOR REST.

Let us look this week at David’s PRAYER FOR REMEMBRANCE.  In verses 1-7 David says, “Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed which transgress without cause. Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.”

In verses 1-3 David reminds God of HIS GARRISON about him.  In verse 1 David lifts up his soul to God.  O, to lift up the real me, the inner person, the secret places of myself to God is a real intimate step in prayer.  If there is no soul lifted up in our prayer, it is a lifeless prayer.  O, what blessing to know He has my soul garrisoned about and knows all my ways long before I tell him of my desires and affections.

In verse 2 David reminds God of the GARRISON OF HIS FAITH.  He has put his trust in the LORD.  He cries to the LORD not to fail him now and his enemies be able to say, ‘Where is your God?’  Faith is the cable that binds our soul to God and by prayer we tug upon this cable thus drawing near to Him.

In verse 3 we see David reminds God of HIS GUARDING.  In these verses David tells us that he is waiting upon God.  If need be he will wait all the day.  The great principles in waiting upon God for guidance is to remember He never gets in a hurry.  Satan guides by impulse.  He will say, hurry up, act now, it is now or never, and if you miss it you will miss God.  God only says wait upon me. I will lead you in a plain path.

In waiting upon God it will involve Him showing us His ways.  O, to know not our will but His will for our lives.  David says that waiting will cause God to teach us His paths.  There is a learning experience to knowing which path God would have us walk.  We see that while waiting we should be in the truth of God’s Word and from its pages God will give direction.