"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
It would not be difficult to find a number of situations in David's experience which would match the frequent mention of his enemies throughout the Psalm. But, from the significant remark in 7 about the sins of youth, we may gather that he is speaking from maturity, and guess that the circumstances may well be those surrounding the revolt of Absalom. If this is so, a great deal of light is shed on the situation, and we are able to understand more fully David's distress. For that sad and sorry episode of his experience can in fact be traced to the sins and faults of his youth (cf 1 Samuel 27:1ff), where his lapse of faith led him to the land of the Philistines, and it was there that he married Maacah, the mother of Absalom. Well might David seek forgiveness for the sins of earlier days! This is a word of warning, perhaps especially to young people about alliances contracted when out of the divine will, when things may be said or done that a lifetime will not suffice to allay the regret and remorse of them, even though they are abundantly forgiven. So it was with David: and the opposition and pressures that come from simply being a believer are complicated by the pressures brought about by his own foolishness. But we need to see something else there. Behind both, there lies the grim reality of the devil himself; behind the enemies there is the Enemy, who co-ordinates all the attacks and all the pressures against us. Nor should we forget that Satan comes as the accuser of the brethren, to disturb and distress. It is one thing for David to realise the source of his distress in his early sins, but it is quite another for him to be afflicted and convicted by the devil, who rakes up the old sins that were forgiven long ago. The accusations of the devil about sins long past are among the most acutely agonising of all experiences, if one does not know how to deal with them. That will be the theme of the next Note.