Psalm 25: Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica

¹ In you, Lord my God, 

I put my trust. 

² I trust in you; 

do not let me be put to shame, 

nor let my enemies triumph over me. 

³ No one who hopes in you 

will ever be put to shame, 

but shame will come on those 

who are treacherous without cause. 

⁴ Show me your ways, Lord, 

teach me your paths. 

⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me, 

for you are God my Savior, 

and my hope is in you all day long. 

⁶ Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, 

for they are from of old. 

⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth 

and my rebellious ways; 

according to your love remember me, 

for you, Lord, are good. 

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord; 

therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. 

⁹ He guides the humble in what is right 

and teaches them his way. 

¹⁰ All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful 

toward those who keep the demands of his covenant. 

¹¹ For the sake of your name, Lord, 

forgive my iniquity, though it is great. 

¹² Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? 

He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. 

¹³ They will spend their days in prosperity, 

and their descendants will inherit the land. 

¹⁴ The Lord confides in those who fear him; 

he makes his covenant known to them. 

¹⁵ My eyes are ever on the Lord, 

for only he will release my feet from the snare. 

¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me, 

for I am lonely and afflicted. 

¹⁷ Relieve the troubles of my heart 

and free me from my anguish. 

¹⁸ Look on my affliction and my distress 

and take away all my sins. 

¹⁹ See how numerous are my enemies 

and how fiercely they hate me! 

²⁰ Guard my life and rescue me; 

do not let me be put to shame, 

for I take refuge in you. 

²¹ May integrity and uprightness protect me, 

because my hope, Lord, is in you. 

²² Deliver Israel, O God, 

from all their troubles! 

 The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ps 25:1–22.

Theme: Trust God, God's ways, God's love, God's righteousness

Best Verse: ⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

Command to Obey: --

Sin to Avoid: --

Promise to Claim: God is my Savior.

Application to Make: Hope in God and follow his ways.

Something New About God: God guides us in his ways.

Reflection: This verse captures a major Biblical theme - we should put our hope in God and learn his ways, follow him, because he saves us. God saved Israel from Egypt, because he loved them, and then they entered the Mosaic covenant, and learned his ways. It was a response to God's love and saving action. In the same manner, God loves us so much he sent his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Because of this Jesus is our Savior. Therefore, we should respond to Jesus's love and the fact that he saved us by having faith in him, and we should learn his ways, we should obey his commands. Jesus is where my hope is.

Manuel Antonio National Park: Before we left Arenal Volcano we had a guided bird tour - but it rained the whole time! So we mainly watched the bird feeder from the deck, but the guide did help us find one yellow eyelash viper. Then we had a six hour drive to Manuel Antonio National Park where we stayed at Hotel San Bada, right by the entrance. The only thing we saw this day was the famous "Crocodile Bridge" (Tarcoles Bridge). However, there were few crocodile bridges because of all the construction. There was one very modern and commercialized rest stop, and it had a viewing platform, so you don't have to actually walk on the bridge. From it we saw a Snowy Egret, Black0necked Stilt and Tricolored Heron (on the way to Manuel Antonio Park) and a Southern Lapwing, Pectoral Sandpiper, and Neotropic Cormorant on the way to the airport. Its a great stop - be sure to have binoculars! We also, of course, saw a crocodile!