Psalm 25 -  “Of David. To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.”

The soul is the deepest, most core part of a man’s being, the eternal part that will live forever. To lift up one’s soul to God is to lift up or lay down all one’s greatest desires, most inward thoughts, the very depth of who we are in our being. Surely there is only one being in heaven or on earth who is perfectly trustworthy to receive our soul and do what is best with it - “whom have I in heaven but you?” (Psalm 73) Interestingly, the regular practice of lifting up his soul in trust to God is the very thing that stirs him with the desire to know God!

Thinking about God as refuge, as protector, thinking of Him as the eternal savior who provides ultimate sanctuary for those who trust Him, does something deep in the heart of David, where he begins to yearn for the knowledge of God. Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the One true God, and Jesus the Christ whom you have sent.” (Joh_17:3) Jesus describes the “living water welling up from within us” (Joh_4:14), this eternal life, as the desire of and the fulness of the knowledge of God.

A great key lies within here - for our hearts do not always flow with the desire for God to “make me to know your ways, teach me your paths!” in the pursuit of the knowledge of God. Perhaps the root is that we have not done the first thing, lifting up our soul unto God. In our hurriedness, we forget to entrust everything to Jesus. The cares of this life are said to “choke the seed” of the Word of God (Mar_4:19). If we don’t lift up to the Lord our burdens, lay down our anxieties, and cast our cares upon Him, they will surely “choke out” the desire to know the ways of the Lord and the knowledge of Him.

“Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” (vs. 5) As David lifts up His soul, He worships, but His worship isn’t merely words to God, but a desire to hear words from God Himself. His recognition and acknowledgement of God as savior provokes in Him desire for a Holy dialog with God.

God desires that the light of His countenance be that which draws us in to more of Him. He gives revelation of Himself to draw us nearer, to take us deeper into who He is. As an unraveling ball of yarn, one revelation can quickly lead to another and another and another.

This is why it is good to meditate on one aspect of God, say as Savior, for a period of time, thinking and going over scriptures about that aspect of God, until something breaks and the Holy Spirit illuminates that not only that aspect but another as well! Jesus said, don’t just read the scriptures to go over them, read them so that you may come to me and know me, for the scriptures are that which testifies of me! (Joh_5:39)

David desires this with God, and doesn’t want anything in the way. The guilt of His soul from the sins of His youth threaten to push Him away from the Lord, so He pleads the mercy of God over His soul! Of late I’ve experienced this to some degree, as I mentioned in the last study, that the closer I draw to Jesus, the more I feel the enemy accusing me of former sin, condemning me with guilt and keeping me weighed down with a distressed soul. This he does for the sole purpose of distracting me from Jesus.

This is partly the case because the closer we are to Jesus, the more His light shines into the deeper depths of our heart, indeed exposing hidden areas and perhaps sins we weren’t aware of previously. When this occurs, Jesus’ desire is always to redeem and Satan’s desire is always to condemn. We MUST recognize this and go onwards towards Jesus’ redemption of that area, not shrinking back in fear, condemnation, and the guilt that is thrown at us to keep us from getting free of it in Jesus’ name!

If we are able to go through this HUGE hurdle, which many never make it over, then we will go on to a deeper cleansing of heart and a greater knowledge of Jesus. David’s thirst in this passage is satisfied, His asking for instruction is almost immediately satisfied after he passes the hurdle of trusting Jesus for the redemption of His sinful heart in vs 7.

Look carefully in vs.4-6, David asks to understand God’s “ways” “paths” and “truth.” Then, after vs. 7, David receives revelation of God’s “truth” in vs. 8, His “ways” in vs. 9, and His “paths” in vs. 10. Amazing! God answers prayer!

“Good and upright is the Lord” - truth, and knowledge of God. “He instructs sinners in the way” - truth, and knowledge of God. “He leads the humble in what is right” - truth, and knowledge of God. “He teaches the humble His way” - a “way” of the Lord. “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness - ” - the “paths” of the Lord.

So, in summary of vs.1-10 - we have David first lifting up His soul to God, all that He is trusting in all that God is as sufficient to protect and save Him. This action stirs in his soul a desire to know the Lord, to have that eternal life well up from within Him. He begins to cry out that God  would show Himself, His ways, and His paths to Him. In that moment, the Lord draws near to reveal Himself, and David is caught in a curious crossroads. He has the Lord approaching, His marvelous light exposing even greater depths of His heart, and he then has his own thoughts (and perhaps the enemy himself) accusing him, drawing back from the Lord as Peter did, thinking, I’m too unclean for the presence of Jesus!

However, instead of ending the psalm with a quick praise and then shrinking back, He acknowledges his feeling to the Lord and cries out for God to remember His steadfast love in dealing with him. Then, something great happens in between vs. 7 and 8, namely, God revealing Himself to David! 3 verses of answer specific to the very questions he asked in the first place! He wouldn’t have had this revelation if he has shrunk back, and neither will we!

To go on would find David again face to face with His guilt, His affliction and trouble once more, but He takes His stand on the promises of God and says “my eyes are ever toward the Lord” - and so should we! He recognizes that God ALWAYS acts in goodness and love towards Him, though it not be as he would expect, He ALWAYS acts in goodness, there for our eyes should ALWAYS look unto Him.