Weds 26 January - Psalm 25
Psalm 25
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 Saviour,
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!- - -
Meditation on Psalm 25
Trust; hope; show, teach, guide me; remember, don’t remember, remember; the LORD is good and upright; He instructs, guides and teaches; forgive, take away all my sins; lonely and afflicted; my hope is in the LORD; deliver your people.
These words and phrases make up this psalm. They cover almost every aspect of David’s life and are so relevant for us today.
Spurgeon summarises this psalm by writing: ‘David’s holy trust, his many conflicts, his great transgressions, his bitter repentance, and his deep distresses are all here; so that we see the very heart of ‘the man after God’s own heart.’
We don’t know any particular incident in David’s life that leads to this psalm. It seems to cover many possible circumstances and situations.
It’s a very personal psalm between David and the LORD.
It’s a very open and honest psalm and this is an encouragement to us in our daily walk with the Lord.
- GOD CAN BE TRUSTED Verses 1-3
David speaks of ‘my enemies’ and ‘shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause’.
We know that David faced many enemies and so often we read of him crying out to God for help and for deliverance.
We sometimes sing ‘What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear; what a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer. Have we trials and temptations, is there trouble anywhere; we should never be discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer.’
David would say ‘Amen’ to that because he had nowhere else to go and no-one else to turn to.
So with us today – how true are the words of that old hymn.
And David expresses his faith in God when he says, ‘In you, LORD, my God, I put my trust. I trust in you.’
And that’s’ where his hopes are grounded.
- GOD GUIDES AND FORGIVES Verses 4-7
‘Show me … Teach me … Guide me … Teach me’
This is our constant prayer as well. As Michael Wilcock writes: ‘when we pray these words, we mean the ways, the paths and the truth that God has already made known once and for all in Scripture.’
Deuteronomy 29:29 reminds us that ‘the secret things belong to the LORD our God but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.’
‘Remember … Do not remember … ‘Remember…’
The mercy of God (not getting the punishment we deserve) and the love of God (the very nature of God towards us) are ‘from of old’. The psalmist longs to know this for himself in everyday life. So, too for us – we long to be loved as Jeremiah 31:3 records: ‘The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.”
We also long that the sins of our youth are not remembered. Come back to Jeremiah 31:34b: “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Which brings us back to the love of God.
- GOD IS GOOD Verses 8-15
What are the characteristics of the goodness of God?
- He is upright
- He instructs us in His ways
- He guides the humble
- He teaches them His way
This is because He loves us.
He is faithful to us.
He forgives us.
He instructs us.
He blesses us.
He confides in us – ‘What a friend we have in Jesus.’
He brings us under His covenant.
He sets me free.
How do we respond? We fix our eyes on Jesus
GOD HELP ME Verses 16-21
The psalmist now turns all this into prayer as he calls out to God for protection from attacks, be they illness or enemy attacks.
He accepts his situation – ‘lonely and afflicted’; ‘troubles of my heart’; ‘sinful’; ‘hated by my enemies’.
He longs for God to act – ‘take away all my sins; guard my life; rescue me’.
He knows who to tun to – ‘I take refuge in you’; ‘my hope is in you’.
GOD BLESS YOUR PEOPLE Verse 21
Knowing he is not alone, David asks God to bless His people – Psalm 3:8 ‘From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.’
We give thanks to God – He can be trusted; He guides and He forgives; He is good.
We pray to God, asking Him to help.
We pray God’s blessing on the people of God.
‘How good is the God we adore, our faithful, unchangeable friend;
His love is as great as His power and knows neither measure nor end.
‘tis Jesus, the first and the last, whose Spirit will guide us safe home.
We praise Him for all that is past and trust Him for all that’s to come.’
- - -
(Roger Purdom)
New International Version - UK (NIVUK)
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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