Psalm 25: The Seekers Psalm

[0:00] Well if we could, this evening with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling, if we could turn back to that psalm, psalm 25.

[0:17] And I'd like us just to look at the first 10 verses of this psalm, but we can take as our text the words of verses 4 and 5. Psalm 25 at verse 4.

[0:30] For David says, Make me to know your ways, O Lord. Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me. For you are the God of my salvation. For you I wait all the day long.

[0:45] It has often been suggested that Psalm 22, Psalm 23 and Psalm 24 have, they've often been considered as a trilogy of psalms.

[1:05] In which these three psalms, the group of three psalms, they focus upon the theme as Jesus Christ being the shepherd of his sheep.

[1:15] Because in Psalm 22, Psalm 22 as you know it's the song of the suffering shepherd. Where it opens with those words of agony and abandonment. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

[1:28] And in Psalm 22 we see Jesus, the suffering shepherd, laying down his life for the sheep. But then in Psalm 23, we have the song of the saving shepherd.

[1:40] Because as we saw this morning in Psalm 23, Jesus gives to us the assurance of all his promises. That when we confess the Lord to be our shepherd, he will provide for us peace, pardon and his presence all the days of our life.

[1:55] And then in Psalm 24, Jesus is presented to us as the sovereign shepherd. He is the shepherd who has arisen and he has ascended into the highest heavens to sit upon his throne.

[2:07] He is the king of glory who has returned from battle and he now awaits the day when he will come again to judge the world. And so it's often said that these three psalms, Psalm 22, 23 and 24, they're a trilogy of psalms.

[2:21] Psalm 22 is the song of the suffering shepherd. Psalm 23 is the song of the saving shepherd. And Psalm 24 is the song of the sovereign shepherd. But this evening I'd like us to add a sequel to this trilogy of shepherd psalms.

[2:36] And I'd like to suggest that Psalm 25 is the song of the seeking shepherd. It's the song of the seeking shepherd. Because although the good shepherd, Jesus Christ, although he's the suffering shepherd who died on the cross, and he's the saving shepherd who rose again from the dead, and he's the sovereign shepherd who ascended up into heaven, I believe that Psalm 25, in Psalm 25, we see that the efforts of this shepherd, they haven't stopped.

[3:07] They haven't diminished. He's still seeking and he's still searching for lost sheep. This shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep is still seeking to find those lost sheep and bring them to himself.

[3:23] And so Psalm 25 is the song of the seeking shepherd. But what's remarkable is that the seeking is twofold. Because it's not only the shepherd who is seeking the lost sheep.

[3:38] It's also the lost sheep who is seeking the shepherd. And the lost sheep, which is David here, he's seeking the shepherd because he knows that he's a sinner in need of salvation.

[3:50] He's aware that he doesn't deserve God's mercy or God's forgiveness. He knows that he's completely unworthy of knowing the shepherd. But he also knows that if he doesn't seek this shepherd with all his soul, he will remain lost for all eternity.

[4:08] And you know, when we consider, as I said, the first 10 verses of this psalm, we can see that it's very similar to what we saw this morning in Psalm 23. This morning we said that Psalm 23 was a personal psalm.

[4:21] And the good shepherd calls us to himself individually, personally, by name. But Psalm 25, it's also a very personal psalm because David describes his personal experience of seeking the shepherd who is seeking him.

[4:38] He's describing his experience of seeking the shepherd who is in turn seeking him. And David describes his experience here using four my's.

[4:49] Four my's. My soul, my salvation, my sin, and my saviour. My soul, my salvation, my sin, and my saviour.

[5:01] And that's what I'd like us to look at this evening. These four my's. So we look first of all at my soul. My soul. He says in verse 1, And you know, there's something so beautiful about the way in which David opens this psalm.

[5:31] He says, And as soon as we hear those words, we know that this prayer, it's a genuine prayer.

[5:42] It's sincere. It's earnest. It's honest. It's from his heart. To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. And you know, what better way to seek the shepherd than to seek him with all his soul?

[5:55] Because what David came to realise, and what every lost sheep comes to realise when they're seeking the Lord, is that there is nothing and no one in this world worth lifting your soul up to than this shepherd.

[6:08] To you, I lift up my soul, O Lord. But you know, we have to ask, if we can ask the question, What is our soul?

[6:20] What is our soul? If we are to lift up our soul to the Lord, what is our soul? And the greatest commandment we have in Deuteronomy chapter 6, it tells us that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength.

[6:38] And that's the way in which the Jews considered a person. They viewed the life of a person as a trichotomy of three parts, heart, soul, and body.

[6:50] Where our heart is our emotions, it's our feelings, our passions, our excitements. Our body, well, that's just our physical body. But our soul, our soul is also a trichotomy.

[7:04] It's made up of three parts, because our soul is made up of mind, will, and conscience. Our soul is made up of the mind, the will, and the conscience. You could say that our soul is our moral compass.

[7:17] But, you know, where does all that come from? Where does our moral compass come from? Where does our soul come from? Because it's not an organ in our bodies, we all know that. It doesn't function like our liver or our kidneys, we all know that.

[7:29] It can't be found in our DNA, or in any of our substance of our human being. So where does it come from? Where does our soul come from? Well, the Bible tells us that, at the very beginning, in the book of Genesis, that when God breathed life into Adam's nostrils, he became a living soul.

[7:50] And when God made Adam, he made him heart, soul, and body. And he made him perfect. His heart, his soul, and his body were perfect.

[8:00] They were without sin. Adam's soul was a perfect soul. And because his mind, his will, and his conscience, which made up his soul, it wasn't defected by sin.

[8:13] Meaning that his moral compass, it was always pointing north. His moral compass was always pointing north, always in line with God's will and God's commandments. To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.

[8:27] It was always pointing in the right direction. But when Adam fell from that perfect estate wherein he was created, we were all affected. Because his sin affected and infected our heart, our soul, and our body.

[8:45] Our heart began to be drawn towards things that are unholy and unrighteous. Our feelings and emotions, they could easily deceive us. Our body as we know it, it's full of defects.

[8:58] It's full of decay. And it's always ebbing ever closer towards the grave. But our soul, our soul was also corrupted at the fall.

[9:09] Meaning that our mind, our will, and our conscience was corrupted. And because it was corrupted, our moral compass became absolutely useless.

[9:21] There was, the dial on our moral compass was, you could say, completely turned south. Going the opposite direction. It's going all over the place. And it was pointing us away from God.

[9:31] And away from his moral standard. And that compass, it wasn't directing us in the way that we should go. It was pointing us in the opposite direction. Towards a state of lostness.

[9:43] And that's how we became lost. Lost sheep in desperate need of a shepherd. And yet the shepherd is seeking us. But are we seeking the shepherd?

[9:56] And there's the question. Are you seeking the shepherd? Do you see that your soul needs the shepherd? Have you come to realize that you're lost?

[10:07] That you're lost? Have you come to realize that there's nothing or no one in this world worth lifting up your soul to than this good shepherd?

[10:18] Are you saying to the Lord tonight, 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 exalt over me.

[10:30] And you know, with that opening request, David, he didn't want to be put to shame. He didn't want to be ashamed of the Lord and embarrassed of his cause.

[10:40] He didn't want to keep his love for the Lord hidden and keep it to himself. He didn't want to do that any longer. He wanted to lift up his soul to the Lord and make it known to others that he himself was the Lord's.

[10:54] And that he lifted up his soul. He wanted nothing or no one else to take the place of the Lord in his heart. But you know, many of the enemies, many of his enemies, they wanted him to be ashamed and embarrassed of his shepherd.

[11:13] His enemies were those who didn't love the shepherd. They didn't follow the shepherd. They wanted David to be ashamed and embarrassed of the shepherd. And that's emphasized by the amount of times the word shame is used in verses 2 and 3.

[11:27] He says, David's enemies wanted him to be ashamed of the Lord.

[11:46] They wanted him to be uncomfortable and self-conscious about publicly seeking the Lord and lifting up his soul to the Lord.

[11:57] But what we see here is that despite what the world thought of him and what the world had to say about him and about his Lord, David says, In you I put my trust.

[12:10] In you I put my trust. And is that you, my friend? Is that you? Because I know that the world wants you to be embarrassed about Jesus.

[12:21] I know that the world wants to make you self-conscious of your faith and ashamed of being known as a Christian. The world doesn't want you to follow the good shepherd. The world doesn't want you to give up the life that you have and what you live for.

[12:35] The world doesn't want you to commit your life to Jesus. And you know, yet despite all that they think and all that they say and all that they do, is it not the case that you still feel drawn to follow this good shepherd?

[12:52] And maybe you're saying to Jesus tonight, To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. In you I put my trust. But you know, Jesus warns us about hiding our faith.

[13:05] And being ashamed and embarrassed of him. And he warns us, even as Christians. You remember what Jesus said, Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, Of him the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in his own glory.

[13:21] And in his Father's and of the Holy Angels. My friend, we need to adopt the passion and the boldness of the Apostle Paul. He said, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

[13:34] It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. And so what David is affirming to us is that we are not to be ashamed or embarrassed about seeking this shepherd or following this shepherd.

[13:50] And we're to lift up our soul to him and to no other. Because it's only this good shepherd who can provide for us the wonder and glory of salvation.

[14:01] And that's what we see here, secondly. As we said, David is describing his personal experience. You could say it's his testimony. He's describing his experience of seeking the shepherd using my's.

[14:15] He speaks about my soul. To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. But secondly, he speaks about my salvation. My salvation. He says in verse 4, Make me to know your ways, O Lord.

[14:29] Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth. And teach me. For you are the God of my salvation. For you I wait all the day long. And so as David continues to describe his experience of seeking the shepherd.

[14:44] The shepherd who is also seeking him. He describes how he came to know the Lord. And how he came to confess him as the God of my salvation.

[14:56] Because having begun earnestly seeking the Lord. By confessing to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. In you I put my trust. David now comes before the Lord. And he's saying, Lord, show me.

[15:09] Teach me. Lead me. Lord, show me. Teach me. Lead me. It's a beautiful prayer. He's saying, make me to know your ways, O Lord.

[15:19] Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth. And teach me. For you are the God of my salvation. Lord, show me. Teach me. Lead me. And David prays these words because he's come to discover, like every other Christian, that he is lost.

[15:37] And in need of a good shepherd. David came to discover that his mind, his will, and his conscience were defected by sin. David knew that the soul of his moral compass, it had led him astray.

[15:53] Because as we said, it had pointed him away from God. And away from God's ways. And God's paths. And God's righteousness. And God's holiness. Because of his sin, David's moral compass was useless.

[16:06] The dial was directing him the wrong way towards a state of lostness. But when David and every other sinner who comes to the end of themselves, and they discover that they're lost and in need of a good shepherd, they have to cry out to the Lord.

[16:22] And they have to lift up their soul to the Lord. And they have to confess that he is the one in whom they put their trust. And they have to plead with the Lord. Lord, show me. Teach me. Lead me.

[16:33] And that's the emphasis of the psalm. David is not only earnestly seeking the Lord. He's seeking direction for his whole life. He wants the Lord to direct him in the paths of righteousness.

[16:47] And David is saying to the Lord, don't allow me to go my own way any longer. I've spent my life going my own way. And doing my own thing.

[16:57] I've spent many years away from you and afar off. Chasing other things and trying to satisfy my soul with them. But they only left me empty. Lord, show me your ways.

[17:08] Make me to know your ways. Bring me onto your ways. Don't allow me to go away any longer. Don't let me stumble along in life. Don't let me drift and drag anymore.

[17:20] Because, well, there were times when I was close. But these times passed. There were opportunities that came. But I let them go. But Lord, don't allow this one to pass me.

[17:32] Don't let me go. Don't allow me to fall from this. Lord, hold on to me. Hold on to me. Show me your ways. And he says, teach me your paths.

[17:45] Teach me your paths. Teach me to walk in the paths of righteousness. Teach me that instead of following my own devices. And doing what I think is best. And pleasing myself.

[17:56] And cutting out for myself new paths. And going in my own direction. Lord, teach me. Lord, teach me to submit to your word. Teach me to be obedient.

[18:08] Teach me to follow you wholeheartedly. Teach me to walk in paths of righteousness. Lord, teach me, sing. Lord, teach me.

[18:20] And you know, David never stopped praying that prayer. David never stopped asking the Lord, Lord, teach me. And no Christian should ever stop asking the Lord to teach them.

[18:32] We sang earlier from Psalm 86. And in that Psalm, David, he was still pleading for the Lord to teach him. He's saying, teach me thy way.

[18:42] And in thy truth. O Lord, then walk will I. Unite my heart. That I thy name may fear continually. And that should always be our prayer. Lord, teach me.

[18:53] Lord, teach me. Or if we're going through trials. We should ask the Lord. Well, Lord, what are you trying to teach me in this? What are you trying to show me in this?

[19:04] Lord, teach me. And you know, when anyone begins to seek the Lord. And when they become a Christian. When anyone becomes a Christian.

[19:16] They immediately enroll. In the school of Christ. And they remain in that school. For all eternity. You never graduate.

[19:27] The Christian never stops learning. Because we will never be like God in our knowledge. And because we'll never be like God. We'll never stop learning.

[19:37] Even in heaven. In heaven, the Christian will go on learning about the wonder and glory of salvation. Through Jesus Christ. That's the beauty of this.

[19:49] Of following the Lord. Lord, show me. Lord, teach me. Lord. He says, lead me. Lead me. I love the metrical rendering of these verses.

[20:01] We were singing. Show me thy ways, O Lord. Thy paths. O teach thou me. And do thou lead me in thy truth. Therein my teacher be. Lead me in your truth.

[20:12] Because that's my teacher. Lead me by the word of God. And direct me in the way that I should go. And when David says, lead me. He's confessing that his soul has led him the wrong way.

[20:26] He's confessing that his soul has led him away from the shepherd. He's saying that his moral compass directed him to paths of unrighteousness. And he's saying that he can't trust his conscience to direct him.

[20:39] Because his conscience can be easily silenced. He knows that he can't trust his heart or his emotions or his feelings. Because, well, they just ebb and they flow.

[20:50] And so David says, Lord, teach me in your unchangeable truth. Lead me in the truth of your word. And let that be my teacher and the only rule to direct me on how I may glorify your name.

[21:08] And the wonder of David's prayer is that he's already had the answer promised to him. We saw this morning in Psalm 23 that David says, My soul he doth restore again, and me to walk doth make within the paths of righteousness, e'en for his own name's sake.

[21:28] He's already had the answer promised. The Lord is leading him in paths of righteousness. And so in these verses, David is describing to us how he came to know the Lord and to confess him as the God of my salvation.

[21:45] He prayed like many Christians have. Lord, show me. Lord, teach me. Lord, lead me. But before we move on to the next section, I just want to ask the question, how do you know if the Lord is answering this prayer?

[21:58] If this is your prayer, how do you know if the Lord is answering the request? Show me, teach me, lead me. Well, the evidence that the Lord is answering this sort of prayer is that if your desires are changing and you have a desire to know more about the Bible and to learn about the Bible and to follow the teaching of the Bible and you have this growing interest in the things of God and his church and you want to spend time with other Christians and with their company, you want to be with them.

[22:31] But more importantly, if you're asking the Lord, Lord, show me, teach me, lead me, the Lord will be showing you more of your sin, more of yourself and your lost state and he'll also be showing you your desperate need of this good shepherd.

[22:50] And you know, I hope and pray that David's description of his personal experience is the description of your personal experience. Because we can see here that David is describing his personal experience by all these my's.

[23:08] The first was my soul. To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. The second was my salvation. Lord, show me, teach me, lead me, for you are the God of my salvation. And then the third is my sin.

[23:22] My sin. Look at verse 6. He says, And in these verses we say that David prays that the Lord would remember things.

[23:52] But each request to remember something is different. And David gives, you'll see that the word remember is used three times. He gives this threefold request for the Lord to remember.

[24:04] Now, when David is asking the Lord to remember things, it's not because he thinks that the Lord is forgetful. David doesn't think that things have somehow slipped the Lord's mind and he has to remind the Lord to do them.

[24:16] Not at all. Because when we see the word remember in the Bible, it's, and it's used in relation to God himself. We have to remember the word remember.

[24:30] We have to remember that it's a covenantal word, which indicates that God is acting according to his covenant of grace. And that's actually the first request that David makes here in verse 6.

[24:43] He says, And in this request, David is asking the Lord to remember his covenant with Abraham.

[24:57] And we know this because of the words that David uses. He uses the words mercy and steadfast love, which are also covenantal words, especially the word steadfast love.

[25:08] You'll find it all over the Bible. And it refers to God's covenant love towards sinners, in which the Lord promises to love people, to love his people despite their failures and all their waywardness.

[25:23] And you know, this is the beauty of God's covenant love, his steadfast love, that there's nothing we can do. No amount of works that we can perform, no duties that we can carry out, no amount of faithfulness to the Lord.

[25:36] There's nothing we can do to make the Lord love us any more than he already does. And there's nothing we can do, no amount of sin, no amount of waywardness. There's nothing we can do to make the Lord love us any less.

[25:49] Because his steadfast love, as the Bible says, it endures forever. And as David says, it has been affirmed to us from of old. It was affirmed to us through the covenant made with Abraham.

[26:04] Because when Abraham was called out of the idolatrous land of Ur of the Chaldees, he brought Abraham from his lost estate into an estate of covenant blessing, in which the Lord promised to Abraham that through his seed, all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

[26:23] Abraham received the Lord's promise of mercy and steadfast love. And that's the promise David is pleading. He's pleading that the Lord would show him mercy and steadfast love, according to his covenant made with Abraham.

[26:40] David is looking back to the Lord's promise of blessing through Abraham's seed. David was looking back to this promise of a saviour, who would deal with his sins.

[26:53] And you know, that's what we have to do too. We have to plead with the Lord to show us his mercy and his steadfast love, according to his covenant. But we don't have to look back to Abraham, and cling to the promise of blessing through Abraham's seed.

[27:09] We don't have to look back to Abraham, because Abraham's seed has come in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is our good shepherd, and he was and is the fulfilment of that covenant promise with Abraham.

[27:25] And we're not to look back to Abraham. We're to look back to the cross, and his demonstration of mercy and steadfast love. Because it's at the cross, says Paul, that God demonstrates his love towards us, that whilst we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

[27:47] But you know, as David looks back to this promise of blessing and salvation through a saviour, it's then that he begins to look back over his own life.

[28:01] And he asks the Lord to remember his sins no more. He says, remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions. David looks back over his own life, and he considers his sins and faults of youth.

[28:17] And I'm sure that many of us can relate to what David is saying here. When we look back over our own lives, and we think of the things we did, and the things we got up to, and the places we went, and the things we said.

[28:29] And sometimes, maybe we shudder when we think about it. But you know, we marvel all the more that the Lord kept us. The Lord protected us.

[28:42] The Lord watched over us, even when we were completely oblivious to it. And the wonder of the Lord's care and compassion is that he has watched over us from our first day we entered this world until now.

[28:57] And he's never failed us. But now as we seek him, we seek his forgiveness for our sins. And when we seek the Lord, he promises, as it says here, to remember our sins no more.

[29:13] To remember our sins no more. The metrical version of the psalm, it reads, my sins and faults of youth, do thou, Lord, forget. We would often view forgetfulness as a weakness.

[29:26] If you're anything like me, you're always forgetting things. You forget your keys, you forget your mobile phone, you forget your wallet, you forget to put things in the intimations, all these different things.

[29:38] And so to say that the Lord forgets our sins, you could say it's a sign of weakness. But the wonder of what David is actually saying here is that the Lord chooses not to remember our sins.

[29:51] And you know, that's the promise of the Bible. The promise the Bible gives, the Lord says to us in Isaiah 43, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

[30:07] And in Micah 7, the prophet asks, who is a God like you? Pardoning iniquity and passing over transgressions for the remnant of his people.

[30:20] He does not retain his anger forever, he says, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us. He will tread on our iniquities under his foot.

[30:32] And then he says, You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob, your steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.

[30:45] You know, Micah was pleading the same promise that David was pleading. And Micah was looking back to the same covenant promise of blessing through Abraham's seed.

[30:56] And he was pleading for forgiveness, and that the Lord would act according to his covenant mercy and steadfast love. It's wonderful to know how the Bible all fits together, and they're all pleading the same promise.

[31:13] This promise of the coming seed. But you know, I love what the writer to the Hebrews says in the New Testament. The writer to the Hebrews, his entire letter, it's all about taking what was said and done in the Old Testament, and pointing to Jesus and saying, Jesus is better.

[31:32] Jesus is better, he says. He takes all the types and shadows of the Old Testament, and he points to Jesus, says, Jesus is better. Follow Jesus, he's better.

[31:44] And that's what he says about Abraham's, the covenant that was made with Abraham. He says, the covenant that was made with Abraham long ago, it was reaffirmed to Isaac, and to Jacob, and to Moses, and to David, but he says, this Jesus, this Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant, made with better promises.

[32:08] And the promise, he says, is from Jesus himself, where he says, I will be merciful towards their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.

[32:20] It's wonderful, isn't it? Wonderful to know that the promises still stand. And you know, if we were to keep reading in the letter to the Hebrews, you can read it when you go home tonight.

[32:31] If we were to keep reading, the writer would tell us that Jesus is better than all the Old Testament sacrifices that were offered at the tabernacle, and later at the temple, he says that every priest in the Old Testament, he stood daily.

[32:45] They stood daily at their service, offering the same sacrifices repeatedly, one after another. But he says, they never, they could never take away sins. But then he says, when Christ offered himself, as a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down.

[33:06] The priests stood daily. They stood daily, but Christ sat down at the right hand of God. And through the Holy Spirit, he says to us, this is the covenant that I will make with them.

[33:17] I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. No more. No more.

[33:29] My friend, when we come to Jesus confessing our sins, we have the greatest assurance of his forgiveness, his mercy, and his steadfast love. That's his promise.

[33:39] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Why? Because the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sins.

[33:56] But you know, our problem is, we look too much to self. Too much to self. And we take our eyes off Jesus. And yet all his promises, they are held out to us in his word.

[34:13] They're held out to us. They're signed and sealed in his blood. And they're there for the taking. They're there for the taking. And you know, it's no wonder David comes before the Lord, pleading the covenant promises, looking to the Lord, and he says, Lord, remember me.

[34:31] Lord, remember me. The seeker who is seeking the shepherd, he wants to claim all these promises to himself. all the promises of Jesus.

[34:42] He's saying, Lord, remember me. And you know, there was another person in the Bible who made the same request. I'm sure you all know who he is.

[34:54] He made that request only moments before he died. He had lived a life of immorality. His compass was completely corrupted.

[35:05] He was living far away from the good shepherd. And yet in his dying moments, nailed to a cross beside Jesus, he turns to him and lays hold of all the covenant promises that were being held out to him.

[35:22] And he says, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And you know, the dying thief who died beside Jesus, he ought to be a comfort to all seekers.

[35:40] But he ought to also be a warning to all seekers. The warning that you're never too young. You're never too old.

[35:51] You're never too early. But we might be too late. And so when we look at David's experience using these four minds, we can see the first my was his soul.

[36:07] My soul to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. The second my was my salvation. Lord, show me. Lord, teach me. Lord, lead me. For you are the God of my salvation. The third my was my sin.

[36:18] Remember my sins no more. And the last my, very briefly, is my saviour. My saviour. He says in verse 8, Good and upright is the Lord.

[36:32] Therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

[36:48] And you know, in these verses, verses 8 to 10, we ought to see that David is no longer someone seeking the shepherd. He now knows the shepherd as his saviour.

[36:59] And David, he's now testifying, you could say, as a Christian that the Lord is good and that he does instruct sinners in the way. When David was seeking the Lord, he was pleading with the Lord, show me your ways.

[37:13] Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth. But now as, you could say, a converted sinner, David is affirming that his prayers have now been answered.

[37:24] David is testifying that God is good and he is upright and that he does show sinners the way and he leads sinners in the paths of righteousness and he teaches them in the ways of truth.

[37:35] And with that, David says in verse 10, he says, all the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

[37:48] And what David is saying here is so beautiful because he's saying that now as a Christian, the path he is on is a path of steadfast love and faithfulness.

[38:01] And I love that description, that the path of the Christian is the path of steadfast love and faithfulness. Because the word steadfast love and faithfulness, when you find them together in the Bible, they're translated in the New Testament as grace and truth.

[38:19] Grace and truth. And if you remember, those are, they're the words that the Apostle John used to describe Jesus. He said, the word became flesh. He dwelt among us.

[38:31] We beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, full of steadfast love and faithfulness.

[38:43] And so David is saying in his last, my, he's described his experience with the my's, my soul, my salvation, my sin, and my saviour.

[38:53] And in the last my, David is saying that he's now come to confess Jesus as my saviour. My saviour. And that as a Christian, he now walks in the path that follows in the footsteps of the good shepherd, Jesus Christ.

[39:14] He knows it's a narrow path, but it's a path that leads to eternal life. He knows it's a narrow path, but it leads to eternal life. My friend, we are all on a path tonight.

[39:29] We're all on a path of some sort. But which path are you on? The Bible only describes two. Are you on the narrow path that follows in the footsteps of Jesus?

[39:44] A path that leads to eternal life. Or are you still on the broad road? The broad road that follows in the footsteps of the world that is ashamed of Jesus and a path or a road that leads to eternal destruction in hell?

[40:05] Which path are you on? Which path are you on? Maybe I should ask the question, which path do you want to be on?

[40:21] You make sure, you make sure that you pray like David, that you too would be brought onto the narrow path and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, a path that leads to eternal life.

[40:39] So may the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. O Lord, our gracious God, we give thanks to Thee for Thy Word, that it is the only rule to direct us, that we cannot trust ourselves or other men or even the advice maybe from others, but to trust the Word, to trust what the Lord is saying to us and to trust as Solomon wrote long ago, to trust the Lord with all our heart, to lean not upon our own understanding, but in all our ways to acknowledge Thee for Thou art one who shall direct our paths.

[41:17] O keep us, Lord, we pray, bring us onto the path that leads to life. Help us to walk the narrow path and to keep our eyes firmly fixed upon Jesus and to know Him as the author and the finisher of our faith.

[41:32] Cleanse us then, we pray, bless us and go before us in the week that lies ahead that Thou wouldst keep us on the way and do us good for Jesus' sake. Amen. We shall conclude by singing the words of Psalm 25.

[41:51] Psalm 25, page 231. We're singing from verse 6 down to the verse marked 10. Psalm 25 from verse 6 down to the verse marked 10.

[42:11] Thy tender mercies, Lord, I pray Thee to remember and loving kindnesses for They have been of old forever. Down to the verse marked 10. The whole paths of the Lord are truth and mercy sure to those that do His covenant keep and testimonies pure.

[42:28] These verses to God's praise. Thy tender mercies, Lord, I pray Thee to remember and loving kindnesses for They have been of old forever.

[42:57] my sins and thoughts of you to love O Lord for they have been my mercy think of me and for my goodness grace.

[43:24] what good and how bright is the way of sinners show the meek in judgment He will guide and make His path to go the Lord the Lord that sought the Lord by truth and mercy sure to those that do His covenant keep and testimonies pure.

[44:19] the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forevermore.

[44:31] Amen.