Psalm 25: 1 – 22
Lord, rescue me
A Psalm of David.
1 To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies’ triumph over me. 3 Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. 4 Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. 6 Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindnesses, for they are from of old. 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O LORD. 8 Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore, He teaches sinners in the way. 9 The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. 10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. 11 For Your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. 12 Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. 13 He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. 14 The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. 15 My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net. 16 Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, for I am desolate and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses! 18 Look on my affliction and my pain and forgive all my sins. 19 Consider my enemies, for they are many; And they hate me with cruel hatred. 20 Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You. 21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You. 22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all their troubles!
I think the biggest sin that we bear is that we do not ‘trust’ our Holy God. In truth He has rescued us 100 %. In today’s Psalm we see David underwent the same difficulties that we encounter.
I love the words of Psalm 50:15 which says, “Pray to me in times of trouble. I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”
I had memorized that verse some years ago. I’m not sure why I chose it at the time, but now it means the world to me. It is a promise, and God does keep His promises.
I am an emotional person to say the least. I often have moved from being very depressed and unproductive, to very hyper and productive. Like most things in life that sound like a curse, it can be harnessed and be a great blessing.
My tests and trials are great, and my sorrows are deep and painful.
Each time something awful would happen I would come crashing down, feeling like I was defeated. Each time I was sure it couldn’t get any worse, and then it got worse. I’m sure this hasn’t happened to you, right?
Yet in truth, each time when I got to the point where I felt I could pray no more and Satan won, the Lord would rescue me.
How He would rescue me, was always a surprise. He teaches us in the book of Isaiah chapter 55, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Something or someone would be in the right place at the right time to change the situation or to change my frame of mind. I would find encouragement and the Lord wound up making things happen that were better than before the tests and trials started. It happened over and over and over.
So what did I learn from this, really?
1. He will always save you. It may get far worse than you think, but He will always, always, always save you. He Is alive, He does care, He Is here, and He will rescue You. Wait on Him.
2. Second, and this is life changing, when my faith grew to the point where I knew He would save me, my fear of trials decreased dramatically. Because I know He Is with me, I can face what life throws at me. I know soon again I will be miserable and crying out, but it is okay, because He will rescue me.
It is amazing the power this gives you. At one time Satan only had to rattle his sword and I would step back in fear. I wonder how many times I failed to fulfill the will of God because I was afraid of the tests and trials. I am not naive enough to think I won’t fail again for God will rescue me, and you, every time!
Because He rescues me every time, my trials and suffering bring Him great glory. Bringing God glory is the purpose of our lives. So now, I try to thank God for my tests and trials (Remember I said ‘try’). It is a huge change in your life when you can thank God for the tests and trials. So, the more our enemy brings to the war, the more he will lose.
God will rescue us, and we will be so much stronger for it. He will always rescue us. Because He will rescue us, we need not fear even the worst trials.
Our faith through trials brings Him glory, which is our purpose in life, so thank Him for our trials and pray for the courage to stay the course.
A Psalm of David.
1 To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies’ triumph over me.
We have here again an indication that this is one of the Psalms associated with the house of David, and many see it as an indication that David wrote the Psalm, although no indication is given of any particular time in his life to which it might apply. But it is clearly written by someone in his maturity for he refers to the sins of his youth,
In verses 1-2 the Psalmist lifts up His soul to God, and prays that his cause might be upheld, and then in verse 3 he asserts his confidence that God will indeed hear his prayer. This is followed in verses 4-5 by a request to be taught by YHWH because He is his saving God for whom he continually waits, and a plea in verses 6-7 that YHWH will remember His own tender mercies rather than the Psalmist’s sins. It follows the pattern of: dependence on God (1-2), confidence in God (3), a desire to obey God (4-5), and a longing that God will deal with him in mercy rather than in accordance with his past sins (6-7).
It is to YHWH that he ‘lifts up’ his inner life, recognizing that YHWH Is his only God. It is to YHWH and His ways that he is committing himself (in contrast to committing himself to vain things, that is, ‘lifting up his soul to vanity’). He is putting YHWH before anything else, offering him his very life, and he wants Him to look on him, to examine his inner life, and to observe his true faith in Him. His greatest concern is that his relationship with his God might be close, and right.
How wise we are when we lift up our souls to God, that we might come under His observation.
He asks YHWH to be aware that he has trusted in Him, when others have looked elsewhere, and on this ground of faith he asks that he not be let down (put to shame) but that YHWH will prevent those who oppose him from triumphing over him. It is a reminder to us that if we have faith in God, and seek God and His Kingly Rule, everything else will be added to us, including His protection, because we will be under His Fatherly care (Matthew 6.33).
3 Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.
Having first committed himself to YHWH he now asserts his full confidence in Him. His prayer was not in doubt but in faith. He wants YHWH to know that he has no doubt of the fact that no one who waits on YHWH will be disappointed. They will not have cause for being ashamed of trusting in Him. Rather it is those who deal treacherously, when there are no real grounds for them to do so, who will be put to shame. This idea of ‘waiting’ in expectancy is repeated in verse 21, ‘let integrity and uprightness preserve me for I wait on you’. So those who wait on Him must do so in total integrity and uprightness (in contrast with the treacherous) if they are to expect a response.
The treacherous are those who deal treacherously with His word. ‘I beheld the treacherous dealers and was grieved, because they observed not your word’ (119.158). They put on an outward show of piety and religion, but they do not really observe God’s instruction. They seek their own ways, and plot against the truth. Compare also Jeremiah 3.20, ‘as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel’. Like faithless wives they have deserted YHWH. We are reminded of The Lord Jesus’ condemnation of the Scribes and Pharisees for the same reason (Mark 7.8, 13). How careful we must be that we do not forsake the living God, by allowing a false image of Him to replace what He really is.
And what will be the result of his waiting on YHWH, his looking constantly to YHWH? ‘Those who wait on YHWH will renew their strength, they will mount on wings as eagles, they will run and not be weary, they will walk and will not faint’ (Isaiah 40.31). He will find his inner strength daily renewed. ‘I wait for YHWH and my soul waits, and in His word do I hope. My soul looks for the Lord more than watchmen look for the morning.’ The idea is of an expectant and confident waiting that looks with determined faith to the response that it will receive, and is closely connected with prayer.
This is the first section in a three-stage pattern, the first two stages of which can be illustrated as follows:
4 Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths
The Psalmist knows that if his ‘waiting’ is to result in a successful outcome it must be connected with living in accordance with God’s ways, and walking in His paths, and so he asks that YHWH will show him His ways and will teach him His paths. For this is his longing, to walk in the way of righteousness, the way of full obedience to YHWH. It is the heart cry of all who truly know God.
‘Show me your ways’ was the prayer of Moses when he was in perplexity and was not clear about the way ahead (Exodus 33.13). And God’s final reply to him was to show him His glory. Once he had experienced His glory he knew that he could trust God in the way ahead, and he did not need to know any more. And for us that glory is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4.4-6). It is from knowing Jesus more fully in His glory (by meditation on His word and through prayer) that we will know His ways. If we neglect Him, we will soon neglect His ways.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.
He prays that YHWH will guide him in His truth and teach him. He wants to know the true way of God. This is important to him because while he knows that God is his saving God, his Savior, and he is waiting on him for deliverance, he also knows that parallel with God saving him must be his own obedience to His truth. What God is working in him to will and to do of His good pleasure, he must work out with greatest care (Philippians 2.12-13). Total confidence in God must go along with full obedience to His truth. We cannot look to Christ as our Savior if our desire is not to be guided into His truth.
the word for ‘truth’ can also mean ‘. It may be that what the Palmist means is ‘let me become more aware of Your total trustworthiness’, thus indicating his desire to have an increasing confidence in God. This would tie in with the fact that he has already prayed in the previous verse that he might be taught His paths, so that he does not need to pray it again. On the other hand we should note verses 9-10 where again the emphasis is on knowing and following God’s ways.
Both attitudes are of course necessary for the believer, that of trusting and having confidence in God, and that of obedience to His word. That is what this Psalm makes clear.
6 Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindnesses, for they are from of old.
in seeking God with his whole heart, the Psalmist is reminded of how he has failed God in the past, and so now he calls on Him to remember that He is a God of tender mercies, a God Whose lovingkindness and ‘covenant love’ has been manifested from of old, even from everlasting. He is the unchanging God (Malachi 3.6) who has drawn him, and has loved him with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 2.2; 31.3). He does not want God to look on whether he is worthy or not, for he knows that he is not. He wants Him to be loving and merciful towards him, in terms of the covenant of love that He had made towards him and towards His people. The word translated ‘lovingkindness’ basically means ‘covenant love’. He wants Him to remember that ‘the mercy of YHWH is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him’ (103.17), because He Himself is from everlasting (90.2; 93.2). Then he will be caught up in that everlasting mercy. He will know that ‘the eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms’ (Deuteronomy 33.27). In the same way we also must come to our Heavenly Father, and to Jesus Christ our Lord, pointing not to ourselves but to His covenant of mercy towards us established through the cross (Colossians 2.14; Hebrews 8.6-13). We come claiming no merit of our own, but openly admitting our sinfulness, as the Psalmist did, knowing that the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1.7).
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O LORD.
So he prays that YHWH will not remember the sins of his youth, how he had failed God in the past, nor remember his recent transgressions, but will rather remember him in terms of His loving covenant towards His people, because He is truly good. He throws himself on the goodness and lovingkindness of God. He knows that if that is his hope and his confidence he has nothing to be afraid of.
This is something that all of us must do. For this is the evidence of our genuine relationship with Him. Admitting and turning from our sin daily (Matthew 6.12), we must daily allow it to drive us to an awareness of the love and compassion of God, knowing that our sin has been wholly dealt with in the cross, and we are now walking in newness of life.
The word for ‘sins’ indicates a missing of the mark, a losing of the way. It expresses an awareness of coming short, an awareness that ‘all have sinned and come short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3.23), including ourselves. The word for ‘transgressions’ contains within it the element of rebellion. It is an indication of the rebellious spirit. For in the end that is what our sin is, rebellion against God and His ways, rebellion against His love.
Having called on God to guide him and show His covenant mercy towards him, the Psalmist now points out that this is in fact what YHWH, Who Is good and upright, does for all sinners who are willing to be responsive to Him. He guides and leads them in His way and reveals His covenant love and faithfulness towards those who keep His covenant and His laws. The main emphasis here is on the activity of YHWH.
8 Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore, He teaches sinners in the way. 9 The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way.
Because YHWH is good and upright that is why He does not just leave sinners to struggle on in ignorance, but instructs them in the right way, and when they are humble and responsive, guides them in what true righteousness involves, and indeed in His own way, the Way of Holiness (Isaiah 35.8).
‘Instructs’ is from the same root as the word ‘torah’, (God’s instruction). Thus He instructs them in His Law. ‘Meek.’ These are the humble minded who are ‘poor in spirit’ (1 Peter 5.5). ‘Justice.’ This is referring to the way of righteousness (Proverbs 1.3).
10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
to those who are responsive to His covenant and to His instructions He reveals His own ‘covenant love’ (lovingkindness) and genuine faithfulness (Exodus 34.6). He never fails them but goes with them every step of the way, leading them in His own paths, paths which are paths of lovingkindness and truth.
His covenant, which contained His ‘testimonies’, His commandments (Deuteronomy 4.45), was made with His people at Sinai based on earlier covenants (Exodus 20-23). There Israel had committed themselves to the covenant, so the requirement here was that they fulfil their promise. And YHWH would respond with covenant love and true behavior.
11 For Your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
The thought of God’s faithfulness to responsive sinners reminds him again of his own sins, and recognizing how great his sins are, he again humbly calls on YHWH for pardon ‘for His Name’s sake’.
‘For His Name’s sake.’ In other words, because He Is the One Who has represented Himself in His Law as the Great Forgiver, He must therefore forgive to maintain His honor, and in order that the world might know that He fulfils His promises.
It is significant that he does not speak here of forgiveness being available to those who respond to YHWH, although he is no doubt very much aware that it is. He refers rather to his own need for forgiveness. This was clearly because he had such a deep sense of his own sinfulness that at this stage he was overwhelmed by it. It reveals someone with a true heart, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13.14).
‘Iniquity.’ Activity that is crooked or wrong resulting from a heart that is wrong.
Now it His people’s benefit that is in mind. He who reverentially fears YHWH will receive His instruction, will dwell with ease of soul, his children will inherit what God had promised, he will experience His friendship, will have the truth of the covenant made known to him by Him, and because his eyes are on Him will have his feet plucked out of the net that ensnares sinners. This is one step further than God not remembering his sins (verse 7) and pardoning his iniquity (verse 11). It is practical deliverance from sin. ‘Sin will no longer have dominion over you, for you are not under Law but under grace’ (Romans 6.14).
12 Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.
The Psalmist now points out what kind of a man God will have dealings with. It is a man who ‘is in awe of YHWH’ sufficiently to respond to His requirements. It is such a man who will be chosen by YHWH, so that YHWH will instruct him in His chosen way (Isaiah 30.21), or in his chosen way (Psalm 119.30, 173; Proverbs 1.29).
13 He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth.
And the result will be that his inner life is at peace (his soul will dwell at ease) and his children will receive their God promised inheritance. Compare here Jesus’ promise, ‘blessed ones are those who are meek, for they will inherit the land’. ‘Inheriting the land’ basically means receiving the future that God has promised.
14 The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.
And those who fear Him will also enjoy the intimate friendship of YHWH, the kind of friendship which results in the sharing of secrets. The word for ‘friendship’ signifies the idea of a confidential and intimate relationship. And He will also show them (‘make them to know’) His covenant. They will have it ever recalled by Him (through His word) and will experience it in ever deeper measure because of their relationship with Him.
15 My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net.
finally because the Psalmists eyes are ever towards YHWH, the Psalmist knows that YHWH will preserve him from being caught in snares and traps. (verse 11). There he had called for forgiveness for his iniquity. Here he asserts his confidence that he will be delivered from all that could cause him to stumble because of YHWH’s intervention on his behalf
Following the confidence expressed in the previous verses the Psalmist’s situation now again comes strongly home to him, and he sends up a heartfelt plea for deliverance. Three problems are especially in mind in the final verses of the Psalm,
1. his need to be delivered from his afflictions
2. his repeated need for forgiveness
3. his need to be saved from his enemies
The enemy and their activities may well have contributed to his afflictions and have increased the level of his sins. Once again during it all he is especially conscious of his need for his sins to be forgiven, something which has come out all the way through.
16 Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, for I am desolate and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses!
It is a salutary lesson that up to this point, while he has mentioned his enemies, the Psalmist has not mentioned his afflictions. He has been more concerned about his sins. To him his afflictions were less important than his continuing in the grace of God. But now he finally feels that he can bring them to God’s attention. So he calls on God to note his afflictions, and asks that God will turn towards him in them, for they seem to be getting bigger and bigger.
‘Have mercy on me.’ That is, ‘show your compassion towards me.’ He is very conscious that he needs to be held up by the love of God.
‘For I am desolate and afflicted.’ He is both lonely and afflicted. Every hand seems against him.
The troubles of his heart appear to be piling one on top of the other. They just seem to be getting larger and larger.
How often this can appear so to the believer. At such times we must remember that God is larger still and can enlarge us so that our troubles appear as nothing (119.32). It is amazing what a difference it can make if we remember that we are sons of the King, and that our citizenship is in Heaven (Philippians 3.20).
‘Oh, do you bring me out of my distresses’. So his final plea is that God will deliver him out of his distresses, which include his consciousness of his sins (verse 18).
18 Look on my affliction and my pain and forgive all my sins.
Once again, his consciousness of his sins comes to the forefront. He is aware that his afflictions and travail have caused him to fall short of what he should be, and so he again seeks forgiveness. This need is thus at the very heart of the Psalm, along with his persistence in having communion with God.
19 Consider my enemies, for they are many; And they hate me with cruel hatred.
His thoughts now turn back to his enemies whom he has disregarded for most of the Psalm, for what has mattered first of all has been establishing his confidence in God and in His covenant, walking in God’s ways and enjoying God’s forgiveness of his sins. But if his enemies do triumph over him (verse 2) he knows that that will bring dishonor on YHWH for they are treacherous (verse 3), both towards him and towards God. And so he prays that God will behold his enemies who are many, and are not only many but are full of the kind of hatred that produces violence. Such experiences often occur to those who are faithful to God and His word.
20 Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.
So he asks that his inner heart might be kept true, and that he might experience deliverance. For to be put to shame would reflect on the One in Whom he takes refuge, the One in Whom he trusts.
21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You.
His final concern is for the triumph of integrity and uprightness (in contrast with his enemies’ treachery - verse 3). He does not just want to be preserved but preserved in integrity and uprightness. He wants them to act as his Preserver. And this is because he waits on God. He knows that there is no point in waiting on God without integrity and uprightness. He can wait in expectancy for God to act because what he is reveals that he is God’s man, and he will be preserved in integrity and uprightness because he is waiting on God as God’s man.
22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all their troubles!
The Psalmists final plea is that God will redeem (deliver at a cost) Israel from all its troubles. He does not want to be thought of as just concerned about himself.
Many consider that this was added on when the Psalm was introduced into public worship. We should, however, note that the Psalmist has already had the true Israel in mind (verses 8-10, 12-14). Such a prayer is not inconsistent with the Psalm, and the use of ‘O God parallels the opening stanza. The prayer fits well with the concern of a king for his people. Having prayed through about his own position he now prays for his people.
