Psalm 25
A Psalm of David.
1Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.
2O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
3Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
4Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
5Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
6Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.
7Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.
8Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
9The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
10All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
11For thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
12What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
13His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
14The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
15Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
16Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.
17The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.
18Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.
19Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.
20O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.
21Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
22Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.
Chapter 25
Since I trust in God, He is the only One that I belong to and the One look to when talking to Him (v. 1). I seek out His guidance and direction when I know I'll need it. If I need to know the right words to say, for example, for a situation I'm dealing with, I can left up my soul to God and He'll help me out. God knows who my enemies are and He will make sure they don't defeat me (v. 2). In a way, that is expression of how God pretects His people from their enemies -- He intervenes so they won't hurt His people, which is really cool because I think that fact that God wants to protect His protect is a way in which He expresses His love towards them. In regards to verse 3 ("let them be ashamed which transgress without cause"), those who sin against me and act treacherously towards me will have to deal with God's wrath, especially since they won't end up having a (good) reason as to why they sinned against me. The fact that I won't be put to shame, won't be ashamed since I will have done what was right and will have followed His plan for my life is neat because I like knowing that it results in spending eternity with Him. I haven't have a habit out of sinning against His people, which wouldn't make sense if I did since I am one of His people. I continue to trust in God so He'll continue to lead me on a path that is not a bunch of baloney (v.5). With Him, there's no deception. As a result of God's leading me to truth, I am being taught what is the true path as well as what is the false one. What I mean by that is, God is leading me in a path that in pleasing to Him and not a path that is meat to please the flesh. The false path, on the other hand, would be a path where God isn't in the equation and where I live to please the flesh. Since time doesn't exist to God, "on thee do I wait all the day." That reminds of the saying that God's timing is not our own. He wants me to be patient with Him because He knows when He's gonna provide for me when I ask Him for something and I don't. God shows mercy and love towards me even when I don't deserve it (v. 6). It's crazy how I can mess up so much sometimes yet God continues to deal with me. God has erased the sins of my youth (v. 7) and I thankful to Him for that since I don't think I could live with being reminded of past sins. I am thankful that God remembers me for His goodness' sake and not because of sins I've committed. God continues teach me in the way He sees fit for my life (v. 8) and I continue to trust in Him for that since He won't let me down ("Good and upright"). If I tried trusting in man, though, there's no doubt that I'd evenetually be let down. I find comfort in knowing that He continues to teach me His way for my life even if I sin. I'm not implying that I abuse God's forgiveness and He leads me in the way despite that -- I'm saying that I may commit a sin or two and repent at the end of the day and God is graceful enough to where since I repent and try not to commit the same sins over and over again, the (repented) sin doesn't interfere with my walk with Him. I guess I like thinking of sin and repentence as sugar and sweets as they are depicted Food Guide Pyramid: though they may taste good, I shouldn't make a habit out of them because making a habit out of sin could cause me to drift away from God as eating nothing but sugar and sweets could be detrimental to one's health. Since I try to be meek ("humble," NIV) or patient, God will continue to teach me His way. However, if I am not patient with God, then I may miss out on knowing His way. I suppose verse is an extension of verse 9. The verse pretty much speaks for itself, but I wanna say that I am where God wants me at the moment since I have obeyed Him and since I haven't strayed away from Him. No matter how big a sin that I may commit in the future -- and hopefully not commit after that -- God's gonna forgive me of it if I ask of Him (v. 11). I guess with this verse I'm just being reminded of the simple yet strong theological truth that no sin is too big for God to cover, which is a good thing to be reminded of because I'm glad that since His Son took the sins of the world upon Himself, I don't have to carry the burden of my own sin. I am thankful that I am saved by grace and I don't have to be condemned (Romans 8:1). As a result of fearing God, He will (continue to) teach me and lead me in the way that He has chosen -- not in the way that I choose since what I may have chosen for myself probably wouldn't have been compatible with what He has chosen for me so for in my life (vv. 12-14). By His leading me, He has kept me away from making bad choices that would've otherwise caused me to not live for Him. I am at ease since God directs me where He wants me to go and what He wants me to do (v. 13). I guess that reminds that God won't lead me into a path of death and destruction, but rather into one of life and blessings. Keeping my eyes on Him means that He will protect from any snares (v. 15). I like that because it's a sense of confirmation that God has displayed in my life. So far, as a result of keeping my eyes on God, I haven't been caught in any traps. If I am dealing with distress, like I have in the past, I can ask God to help me out (v. 16-18). I feel that those verses pretty much speak for themselves and I don't have to repeat what I've said, but I do wanna comment on the last couple verses. It's cool knowing that if I am dealing with multiple enemies that express hatred towards me, God will rescue me from that as a way of protecting me (vv. 19-20). I imagine if that were to occur, I'd praise Him immediately for it. I will have to wait on God's deliverance (v. 21), but that doesn't mean the wait won't be worth it. Matthew Henry comments on the last verse by stating, "God would, at length, give Israel rest from all their enemies round about. In heaven, God's Israel will be perfectly redeemed from all troubles." I think I'll just leave y'all with that.
Source used:
Henry, Matthew. "Concise Commentary on Psalms 25". "Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
on the Whole Bible". <http://www.searchgodsword.org/com/mhc-con/view.cgi?book=ps&chapter=025>.
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