Psalm 25 - Life's Hard...But!!!
I can guarantee that you have been through some things in your life. You live long enough and the tough times, and times of struggle often pile up one on top of another. Difficulty layered upon difficulty - struggle upon struggle.
In Psalm 25, King David expresses his own feeling when facing troubling times and he points to an answer to enduring such times.
Psalm 25 says…
Verses 1-3: “In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.”
I think it is both wise and humble of David to start with the truthful statements about his relationship with God (Yahweh).
David explicitly states that his trust in in God.
It is after acknowledging that - that David then redirects the psalm to be of a personal plea to his Lord and God (Yahweh) to act on his behalf.
He pleads wth God to not let him and his nation be put to shame. His concern for not just his own physical safety (because of his enemies), but rather by default - the safety of his kingdom.
When God acts in our situation, those that seek to destroy us will feel the shame of their actions under God’s judgement.
Verses 4-7: “Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good.”
Again David turns the focus back to his relationship with God. It is as if David is kneeling humbly before God and being honest in asking “I can’t fix this situation myself - please God can you…I know you can do anything…please do this!”
David asks God to share HIS wisdom with him, to show him the righteous path to walk. He links God’s love and mercy with the wisdom of God.
Then in that attitude of humility David admits that he is a flawed individual - I think that this in today’s self-absorbed world that this is something that is missing from the church. We often pray about God acting in our situation but not in our own lives where HE can change us for the better.
Verses 8-11: “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant. For the sake of your name, Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.”
David shows us how merciful that God is towards everyone - even the sinner.
God also loves those who are humble enough to come to HIM for help. But it takes us admitting our sin, repenting and living according to God’s commands.
It is in that space of repentance that God grants us forgiveness.
Verses 12-15: “Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. They will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land. The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.”
David highlights the benefits of following God.
If we place our trust fully in God and God’s love for us then we will make HIS ways known to us - then if we are obedient we will reap the rewards of that by having a good life.
Verses 16-19: “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish. Look on my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins. See how numerous are my enemies and how fiercely they hate me!”
As David leads us towards the end of this psalm he lays out perhaps his most poignant and personal statement of the whole psalm.
David’s words are soaked in depression and anxiety. it is in that dark place that David lays it all down at God’s feet and asks for God to set it right.
When we are in those dark times - when we find it hard to read the Bible, or we find it hard to pray - because the weight of everything is too much for us to bear - we just need to lay it at God’s feet and say “Please God, can you sort me and my mess out please?”.
God wants us to come humbly to HIM for help - he wants to be active in our lives - but we need to place ourselves in a position of humility for hHIM to do some truly miraculous things.
Verses 20-21: “Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.”
David asks God to guard and rescue him - he repeats his plea that he not be put to shame.
David wants personal integrity and righteousness to mark his life and his legacy. This is something that we too should strive for.
The only reason that David is asking for this is because his hope is deeply rooted in his faith in God.
Verse 22: “Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles!”
It is interesting that after spending many verses conversing with God about himself and his situation - David chooses to finish Psalm 25 with an appeal to God about the nation he leads, and the people he governs.
It is a short and impassioned plea for God to intervene in the lives of HIS chosen people and in the nation David ruled over.
David wanted peace, safety and prosperity for his people - which is exactly what a good leader wants for those they lead.
What is interesting is that this should be the prayer of the Israeli leadership right now as they move through these troubling times.
I hope and pray that this psalm encourages and strengthens you as you face difficult times. I pray that you place all your trust and faith on God, and let HIM do what is necessary to guide your feet and to intervene in your circumstances. May HIS peace be upon you.