Listen here.
Welcome to Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the
appointed Scripture readings for the upcoming Sunday. Thank you for being with
me today.
I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in
Hudson, OH.
This coming Sunday is the 17 Sunday after Pentecost. When we
read our psalm today, we will see that it touches on that theme we’ve been
discussing of God’s authority and our obedience. In the psalm the psalmist
places himself in a position where he is dependent upon God, he seeks God’s
forgiveness of disobedience and then rejoices in God’s leadership and teaching
which lead to obedience.
The Reading: Psalm 25:1-10
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2 O my
God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over
me.
3 Indeed,
none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are
wantonly treacherous.
4 Make me
to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
5 Lead me
in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait
all the day long.
6 Remember
your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
7 Remember
not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love
remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!
8 Good and
upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads
the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the
paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his
covenant and his testimonies. (Ps. 25:1-10 ESV)
Read again, slowly
Comments
I love this psalm. I sing part of it with our preschoolers
every time we have devotions together.
One of the messages that is central to this psalm is that we
are relying on God. To lift up our soul to him is really to put our lives in
his hands. We are saying, “You have given me life and breath and your have
rescued me from sin and death. My life – birth, childhood, growth, adulthood,
decay, death, and resurrection – are all in your hands. And as I trust you, I
know I will not be put to shame.” Why? Because our God is faithful and good –
and he is the God of our salvation!
So our desire is to know God’s ways. How do we learn them?
He teaches us. He teaches us through the Word and through the Holy Spirit’s
work in our lives, as he prompts us, reminds us, and guides us to apply God’s
Word to our situations.
A few years ago I saw an acronym with the word “frog” – they
used the word to remember the phrase F – fully, R – relying, O – on, G – God.
Fully relying on God. In many ways, this is what this psalm is about; fully
relying on God and living as he leads us.
Prayers
Let’s use the first seven verses of the psalm as our prayer
to wrap up our time together.
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2 O my
God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over
me.
3 Indeed,
none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are
wantonly treacherous.
4 Make me
to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
5 Lead me
in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait
all the day long.
6 Remember
your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
7 Remember
not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love
remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!
Thank you so much for using Devotions for Worship, I pray
that our time together has blessed you and given you something to meditate on –
some reminder of God’s grace to rattle around in your brain – for the rest of
the day.
One of the things we can do to help us meditate on God’s
word is to memorize it. Psalm 119:11.
Memory Verse: Psalm 25:5 - Lead me in your truth and teach
me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. (Ps.
25:5 ESV)
Would you do me a favor? If you got something out of this
devotional time, would you like and/or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or
wherever you do social media? That would help me get the word out, and
hopefully help these devotions be a blessing to others.
God bless you!
Comments