Psalm 25:1-15 NKJV
25 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 lovingkindnesses,
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.
Of this psalm Luther writes, “The 25th psalm is a psalm of prayer in which the righteous pray that God will make then godly, forgive their sins, guard them from sin and shame, and finally deliver them from all enemies and all evil. Along with this the psalm mocks the false, self-centered spirits and teachers. It belongs to the Second Commandment and the Second Petition” (From Reading the Psalms with Luther, p. 62).
It is indeed a beautiful psalm of David wherein he puts his trust in Yahweh and asks that he not be put to shame nor let his enemies triumph over him. David also asks that God not remember the sins of his youth and that God would show him His paths and truth.
The psalms are the hymnbook of Holy Scripture that every one of us may use, pray, and sing daily. The psalms really teach us how to pray, for they entail nearly every situation and concern that we face throughout our lives.
These petitions David puts forth in Psalm 25 are our petitions. And they are answered week in and week out in the Divine Service. In the Confession of Sins, we admit our sins and failings, and then the Lord delivers the Absolution – His forgiveness – through the mouth of our pastor as well as delivers forgiveness through His body and blood in Holy Communion. The Lord shows us His paths through our faithful pastor who preaches the Gospel and unpacks the liturgical readings. And finally, as we look forward to the life of the world to come, we know that, through faith and trust in Christ, our enemies can never again cause us harm, for we will be safe in the arms of Jesus forever in heaven. Indeed, “in You, Lord my God, I put my trust.”
Let us pray: O Lord, we implore You, let Your continual pity cleanse and defend Your Church; and because she cannot continue in safety without Your aid, preserve her evermore by Your help and goodness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. One God, now and forever.