DIRECTION FOR THE UNTRODDEN WAY

This verse is taken from:
Psalm 25
Thought of the day for:
4 December 2023

This contemplative passage is encircled by troubled conditions: enemies, treachery, personal iniquities and sins, an entangling net, desolation, troubles and distresses, affliction and travail, vv. 1-3, 11-22. Round and within, there is only besetment, but he looks up and cries to the Lord, vv. 1, 15,21. In doing so, he considers his prospective way. Does his lot represent ours? Then let our cry match his. In the opening verses, we have an introversion:

  1. The Lord’s paths desired, v. 4.
  2. The Lord’s guidance requested, v. 5.
  3. The Lord’s past mercies pleaded, v. 6.
  4. David’s faults recognized, v. 7.
  5. The Lord’s present goodness affirmed, v. 8.
  6. The Lord’s response conditioned, v. 9.
  7. The Lord’s paths described, v. 10.
  8. David’s faults confessed, v. 11.

At the heart of the cry is the ready acknowledgement of the sins of immaturity and the failures of rebellion, v. 7, with a plea for divine non-remembrance thereof based on the goodness of God. The cry is completed by confession and a call for pardon, v. 11. When the past is cleared, the prospect is clearer. Then we hear the desire to know the Lord’s ways (principles of action) and the paths of His directing, v. 4, knowing the worth of all His directives to the faithful, v. 10. Now David desires to walk in those paths and requests guidance: “show me”, “guide me”, “teach me”. For such he will constantly wait, for salvation is only in his God, v. 5. He is confident of the response if conditions are met. The Lord will teach the teachable, v. 9. David bases his confidence on the unchanging character of God, v. 6, and strengthens it with the conviction of the constant goodness and rectitude of God’s present character. What He has been, so He will be, v. 8.

The Lord will instruct in the way that He shall choose, v. 12, giving with it soul-ease, v. 13. The secret of the Lord may be known, v. 14. He will deliver from life’s distresses, vv. 15-17; He will forgive, v. 18, when confession of the past is made and heart desire for His paths is expressed.

“This is the way, walk ye in it”, Isa. 30. 21.

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