"Of David.
1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
4 Make me to know 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;
for you I wait all the day long.
6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
11 For your name's sake, O Lord,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord?
Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
13 His soul shall abide in well-being,
and his offspring shall inherit the land.
14 The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant.
15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
18 Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
19 Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20 Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.
22 Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all his troubles."
Psalm 25
The message of this Psalm is not one that can well be summed up in a simple con- cise sentence. The fact is, it contains many lessons, and it is these together that constitute its message to us. The Psalmist is in deep affliction of soul, as in many of the Psalms, and yet just as often he is in communion and fellowship with God. He is conscious of his enemies, yet he is even more conscious of his God. It is here, in this realm, in 'the teaching on the persistence of communion with God in face of continued troubles' that the prominent lessons lie. It is impossible to read through theses verses without becom- ing very conscious of the fact that the Psalmist was beset all around with enemies. This in itself is a lesson for us, for it reminds us that the true spiritual life is ever one in which pressures assail the soul. 'In the world', said our Lord, 'ye have tribulation'. To walk in fellowship with Him is to be at odds with the world and the prince of this world. 'Fight- ings without, fears within' - this is the characteristic key-note in both Old Testament and New Testament religion, and it is misleading to paint the Christian life in any colours that do not clearly indicate the battlefield. We may as well know, therefore, what we are in for, when we commit ourselves to the Christian life. When Jesus said, 'Narrow is the way which leadeth unto life' the word He used was 'tethlimmene' which means 'afflict- ed'. It is a way of tribulation. As Paul puts it in Acts 14:22, 'We must through much tribu- lation enter into the kingdom of God'. This, then, is the setting of the Psalm.