Psalm 25 Continued…
Psalm 25:11 For the sake of your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
Here in the very center of the psalm (v.11) there is a simple, yet profound confession of sin [the first confession of sin in Psalms] and petition for pardon which is grounded in the very nature of God. Conscious of how great his sin is and pleading, as in verse 7, no virtue of his own, David throws himself upon the mercy of God. No suggestion is made in this psalm that the speaker feels himself to be pure by nature. Rather he would regard himself a forgiven sinner. He appeals to what God is in His innermost being, what God feels in terms of responsibility to His own covenant people.
David’s whole life came apart after his sin with Bathsheba. God says He will not even hear the person who cherishes iniquity in his heart. If we want God to lead us, confession is of prime importance. If we don’t get unconfessed sin out of the way, it will be impossible for us to hear what God is saying.
“For the sake of your name” is a reminder of how much the Old Testament writers count on God’s Name! It is His character, His truth, Himself (Joshua 7:9; Isaiah 63:14, 16; Ezekiel 36:22-23).
Psalm 25:12 Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
The influence of the literature of Hebrew wisdom, with its method of question and answer and its emphasis upon God’s retribution is apparent in verses 12-14. God rewards the man who reverences Him by teaching him to choose the right way, by permitting him to experience throughout his own life the goodness of God and by granting to his descendants what the Palestinian peasant most desired, permanent ownership of the land. Intimacy with God is the reward for reverencing Him and opens the way for the Lord to impart the meaning and blessings of His covenant.
The Bible says that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” A right attitude toward the Lord is essential. This was the great prerequisite of Israel’s guidance in the wilderness. God led His people by means of the Shekinah glory cloud. Any Israelite could know he was exactly in God’s will simply by looking toward the cloud. When it moved, he moved; when it halted, he halted. The stops as well as the steps of the people of God were daily and divinely directed. Their guidance was conscious, conspicuous, and continuous. The Lord is willing to lead us, too, just as clearly if we get our eyes firmly fixed upon Him. That is the first great prerequisite.
Psalm 25:13 He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.
We should note the true sense of verse 13. It would be more accurate to read, “His whole being shall abide in what is good for him,” that is, in the goodness of God aimed at him; “and his descendants will inherit the land.” In fact, Jesus made reference to this when He said in Matthew 5:5: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” That is what God’s goodness does for His covenant people.
Psalm 25:14 The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.
God’s covenant with Israel, of course, was contained on the tablets of stone laid up within the ark. God’s covenant with us is likewise contained in His Word. Nobody can hope to have any real guidance unless they are willing to spend time with the Word of God, seeking out the great secrets of the Lord which are contained in Scripture. There is no situation we can face in life which is not covered by some specific Word of God.
When David was writing this psalm he was in trouble, in desperate need of help from God. His whole world had collapsed. This discussion of the priorities, principles, and prerequisites of guidance was no mere academic exercise. David needed help. In the closing verses he made that clear.
Psalm 25:15 My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.
Absalom’s plots were cleverly and cunningly laid. He had succeeded in winning the hearts of the men of Israel and David’s plight was real, yet he could say, “My eyes are ever on the LORD”—do not look down at your feet, but up to His face.
Psalm 25:16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
David now returns to the predominant mood of grief that began the psalm. In loneliness and need, still surrounded by many enemies who are hating him without cause, he turns the eyes of His soul to the Lord, who alone can deliver him from his stress.
One translator renders that last phrase as, “lonely and humbled.” David, long used to being the national hero, had discovered in the Absalom rebellion just how much his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah had alienated the goodwill of his people. He had lost the respect of the youth of the country.
Psalm 25:17 The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish.
Adultery and murder had stocked his steps, breaking out again and again in his family circle. The rebellion of his beloved and favorite Absalom broke his heart. It was as Shakespeare would have said, “The most unkindest cut of all.” The troubles of David’s heart was enlarged. He had sinned with his heart and now he must pay with his heart. This is also a good prayer for you and me when we experience times of trouble.
Psalm 25:18 Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.
David cannot get the troubled terrible past out of his mind. Although he was long sense forgiven by God, yet his guilt still haunts his mind. When we are in trouble we are more likely to confess our sins! When we confess our sins, God forgives and He forgets; but we do not forget. We must wait until we are with Him and are made perfect in Him.
Psalm 25:19 See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me!
The whole nation, except for Joab and a handful of loyalists had joined the rebellion. David must have felt very much alone. His life was in real jeopardy. That is how David evaluated his plight. It was serious. But not for a moment does he lose sight of God. That helps him keep his sanity and his soul.
Psalm 25:20 Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
When we are unable to keep ourselves for God, let us trust Him to keep us for Himself. He is able to do this; and it is best to transfer the entire responsibility to Him: “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12).
No matter how dark and desperate his situation, no matter, even, that its roots could be found in his own sin—he would trust God. God had forgiven his sin, so God’s integrity and uprightness would now be his preservation as once it had been his peril. The very attributes of God which seem to frown upon us when we are in our sins actually fortify us when we are standing upon salvation ground, so David planned to evade his plight, as a person, simply by taking refuge in the integrity and uprightness of God. But David was more than an ordinary citizen. David was a king, so his plight involved not only himself but his kingdom. He tells us in closing how he planned to evade his plight.
Psalm 25:21 May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.
In petitions which breathe the spirit of trust he prays for God to pay heed to him, to take note of the nature and extent of his trouble. Then comes the major request of his distressed soul, his petition for forgiveness, his innermost spiritual need. Although the deepest, it is not his sole need. While still facing danger from his enemies, he prays for rescue and protection. Thinking in the mood of personification, of two noble character qualities of which he now stands in need, “integrity and uprightness,” he prays for their protecting presence in his life.
Psalm 25:22 Redeem Israel, O God, from all their troubles!
There are two Hebrew words translated “redeem” in the English Bible. There is the word which means to redeem from bondage by purchase—the way Boaz redeemed Ruth.
There is the word which means to redeem from bondage by power—to release, to liberate. That is the word David uses here. The kingdom had fallen into the hands of a rebel. The popular movement against the establishment had been swift and strong. God would have to redeem Israel by Power.
So, David finds himself driven back on God as the only solutions to his embarrassments and to the nation’s embroilments. On this note he closes the psalm. There are times when the consequences of our own behavior involve other people, those given to us as a sacred trust. There are times when we fail miserably in this trust and the disobedience in our own lives is reproduced in theirs—often in an arrogant and aggressive way.
Then what are we to do? Fly back to God and weep out our confession in His ears and ask Him to redeem those enslaved because of our failures—to redeem them by His power.
As David, in a sense, “signs off,” he hides his personal signature in a fervent prayer for the redemption of his people as a whole from their distress. Through this prayer, the individual lament with which he began the psalm becomes a prayer for the nation of Israel and for the day of trouble that is coming upon the earth.
PRAY
Father help me to grieve over my sins like David. Help me, Lord, to pray for my own nation’s redemption like David as well.