Psalm 25
Psalm 25 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse. Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord. 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 for those who keep the demands of his covenant. For the sake of your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great. Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. He will spend his days in prosperity, and his 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. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish. Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins. See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me! Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you. Redeem Israel, O God, from all their troubles!
This psalm brings us to a new section. It begins a new series of fifteen psalms—25-39—which primarily record David’s personal experience, but look also to the future when the godly remnant of Israel is in trouble. These psalms are more personal, quiet, and intimate. They have a wonderful message and impact on our lives today. They are applicable to the past, the present, and the future. Some of these psalms may not be familiar, but they have much to say to us.
Psalm 25 and Psalm 34 are very similar and were probably written around the same time concerning the same events in David’s life. The psalm contains a short fervent prayer for the liberation of his people Israel from its distress.
We do not know when this psalm was written, but the best conjecture is that it was written sometime during the Absalom rebellion. It is a psalm which belongs as much in the prayer book as in the hymnal.
The underlying theme of this psalm is guidance. David’s circumstances are dire, he hardly knows which way to turn, so he turns to God. Abraham Lincoln once said, “I have often been driven to God by the overwhelming sense that I had nowhere else to go.”
PRAY
Father God show me the way each day how I should live!