AN ALPHABET PSALM FOR GUIDANCE

From Psalm 25 through Psalm 39, 15 Psalms record David's personal experiences. These are words from his heart and soul, not repetitive words like a nightly prayer some people repeat. There is a sense in which the words of this psalm resonate with many people today. It is a poetic psalm that begins with each succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet (with some exceptions), so there is no logical order of thought. Each verse has a subject of its own, similar to when a person prays, and thoughts come into one's mind that need to be immediately expressed. This psalm is a series of prayers, some of which have been set to tunes and are sung today in Sunday Schools and youth meetings.

The first seven verses are expressions of general truths such as trust, confidence, and dependence on the Lord. It is a prayer for protection because there are always enemies near us. In this prayer, "Unto Thee, O Lord...," David is making his appeal, even as he expresses his trust in the Lord to preserve him. Enemies are a constant threat to God's people, even though they may not have triumphed over us. Our enemies are anything or anyone who opposes us and opposes the way God intends us to live. Money, success, fame, and lust are all enemies. Our enemies not only have an effect on us but can also be obstacles to other people putting their faith in Christ.

I really need to ask myself on occasion, "Do I really want God's way or my way?" When we stop to consider God's ways with us, we remember His loving kindness to us as His people. He goes way beyond what we ask or think in blessing us. That loving-kindness has been experienced throughout our own lives and throughout history. We remember the Lord's long-standing mercy and love for us, and so we should always remember them. However, one can certainly identify with the psalmist who said, "Remember not the sins of my youth," my longstanding sins of the past that we may find hard to forget.

So, like David, we pray for protection from enemies that are always near; we are disciples who need guidance from the Lord. We are sinners who need forgiveness, and we should be worshippers who need true humility. Forgiveness is granted to us for Christ's sake, not our sake. Why do we need guidance? We don't really know what is ahead of us, but God does. How does He give guidance to us? His word, the Bible, gives the answers when we seek Him, read and learn from His word, and practice and obey what He teaches.

In verses eight, nine, and ten, the character of God is considered, upon which the psalmist has obviously been meditating. "Good and upright is the Lord" is a declaration of the nature of God. He understands, as we should, that God is just, holy, righteous, and full of loving-kindness and truth. His mercy and grace are constant, and with all that He is in Himself, He will teach and guide us. The objective is that we will know those same "paths of the Lord" and that those paths will be our paths in life.

Then, next, we need to consider our relationship with God. "What man is he that feareth the Lord?" A reverential respect and genuine trust in the Lord are what our relationship with Him is based on. The Lord Himself is unchanging. "Jesus Christ, [is] the same, yesterday, and today and forever." When our minds are "stayed" on Him, our relationship with our God can be maintained in spite of traps set to snare those who "Trust in the Lord with all [their] heart, and lean not on [their] own understanding." If a person always has questions about why God does this, or why God does not do that, or I can't understand why God would allow that to happen, there is something wrong because that does not indicate faith in God. We know then that the person does not fear God. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him."

The "fear of the Lord" means we recognize God for who He is. When we have the right understanding and regard for God, we will recognize how weak, needy, and helpless we really are. It is then that we are humble enough to receive instruction. He will show us the right way and how to choose that path. The person who fears the Lord will know clear guidance, full provision, a secure family inheritance, and fellowship with the Lord.

In this psalm, we also have a prayer for deliverance. As an individual, David used specific words to indicate the need he had to be protected from his enemies. "Pluck my feet out of the net" means he knows he has been, or maybe, snared by someone or something. "Turn Thee unto me" are the words of one who is conscious of the distance between him and the Lord. "Bring me out" tells us that he is either in the wrong place or is in danger of being there. "Look upon mine affliction" indicates the problem he is in, either physical or spiritual sickness or fears he has that is causing the pain of a broken relationship with the Lord. "Forgive my sins" are the words of every believer who finds themselves out of fellowship with the Lord. "Consider mine enemies" is a confession that he is not able to deal with the difficulties that surround him unless he has the help of the Lord. "Keep," "deliver (preserve) my soul," is an open confession of one's need of God at all times. That is what a personal relationship with God is. It is not a one-time experience at conversion but a lifetime of living in harmony with God's will and the consciousness of God's presence with us in all of life's endeavors.

As a leader of God's people, Israel, David knew what affected him, and what he chose to do affected those who followed his leadership. A faithful leader knows his people and knows that there has to be a real awareness of God. Also, they need to know who they are as God's people, or they will fall. "Integrity and uprightness" are virtues that God can use to enable us to live moral and good lives. When people compromise those virtues, it is only God who can bring them back. In the case of Israel, that is yet in the future. The faithful in Israel will know what it means to be redeemed.

PSALM 25. A prayer for defense, guidance, and pardon (an acrostic poem in which each verse begins with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet) v.1-3. A PRAYER FOR PROTECTION He acknowledges God as the only object of his trust. He knows he will never be disappointed when his trust is placed in Him. Satan is the greatest of all enemies. David asked God to keep his enemies from overcoming him because they opposed all that God stood for. He didn’t want his enemies’ success to be an obstacle to the faith of others. His prayer is for all who trust the Lord alone. Those who deal falsely want to be put to shame.

v.4-6. A DISCIPLE SEEKING INSTRUCTION This is a desire for guidance. He wants to know the ways of the Lord, walk in His paths, and grow in His truth. His confidence and love for the Lord are real. v.7-11. A SINNER SEEKING FORGIVENESS He still remembers his sins from the past. The assurance of forgiveness as a result of confession hasn’t been made clear to him, or else he has not understood this. He has gone from prayer to contemplation and admiration for the Lord and His forgiveness. He recognizes God for who He is and what He does. He is humbled and realizes the value of humility in dealing with God.

The Lord will keep him from being turned aside and deliver him from what holds him bound.

v. 16-22. A FEARFUL ONE SEEKING MERCY He is lonely and afflicted. His heart is burdened as he is surrounded by enemies. He is asking for protection and vindication. He is reminded that he has failed in the past. He is looking for the problems to be turned into victories. When we call upon God in our need, He can turn the bad into good. God’s integrity and God righteousness are the source of his trust. Integrity involves one being what they say they are. Uprightness is being consistent with what we say. He concludes the psalm by identifying himself with Israel and praying for Israel’s redemption.