"Make me, teach me, lead me"

Psalm 25 is a prayer of the psalmist filled with a variety of requests and offering declarations of God's goodness and grace and mercy. Two significant verses in this Psalm are vv. 4-5. There are 3 requests in these two verses, and there are two corresponding reasons why the psalmist believes those requests will be answered based upon the character of God.

First, he says, "make me to know your ways, O Lord." The psalmist desires to know the ways of God, how God works in the world, particularly in his life. Second, he requests that the Lord "teach me your paths." The psalmist desires to know the path, the road that God is taking him down in life, how to follow God through life. Third, the psalmist requests that the Lord "lead me in your truth". He desires to know the truth, that which corresponds to reality. But, his request is not for intellectual knowledge of facts, but that he might follow and live according to the truth of God that is revealed to him, hence the word "lead". It is the truth of God that provides the framework for decision-making and obedience to what God has revealed.

Now, there are two corresponding reasons why the psalmist believes the Lord will answer these requests. First, the Lord will answer because "you are God of my salvation". All of the psalmist's hope is in the Lord. In v. 1 of this Psalm, he declares, "to you, O Lord, I life up my soul. O my God, in you I trust." Then, because his hope is in the Lord, he believes the Lord will answer because he "waits all day long" on the Lord. It is in the Lord that he hopes and waits because the Lord is always faithful to come through. Both of these declarations are evidence of faith.

There is an interesting thing to notice about these two verses. They have a parallel in the New Testament. That parallel is found in Jesus' words in John 14:6. There, Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life". Knowing the ways of the Lord, learning the paths of the Lord, and being led in the truth of the Lord is really about following a person; that person being Jesus, the one who is our teacher, guide, and our leader, the one who is the way of the Lord, who is the truth of the Lord, and who is the life of God in us.