#705 Spilled Out

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 ESV

These Psalms are also great prayers, the incense, the offering of which here is the petitioner's very soul. There is no safer place for it, no better place to identify with than the will of God, which is a most sovereign thing and independent of our wants or fears. They are still there for the poet, but look he is asking for help with this all the same, "let me not be put to shame." If I profess You, don't let my enemies stand gloating over me. He reassures himself that this is not the case for those who seek God, who resign to follow in His works, but rather shame shall find those who are deliberately reckless in their sin. Lord, I believe, please help me with my unbelief.

perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. 6 For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.…Romans 5: 4-6

Make me to know Your ways - In order to avoid the damages and embarrassment of sin we need to know what sin is, not just the symptom but also the root. Your ways are holy God, and I need  to understand them less I fall into offense. What seems right or just to me in my fallen nature, may be quite the opposite. 

God of my salvation - I want to know about You, what pleases You, what glorifies You, because You saved me. I happily wait upon you, not just sitting here, but as a servant waits upon his master so I wait upon you, what would You like me to bring You? What can I do that would bring honor to You?

Sins of my youth - The writer is not delusional when he speaks of things like integrity in other places. He is not saying that he is without sin, but rather asking that his sins be blotted out. He is confessing his failure and asking for grace based upon God's goodness.

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. 20 The Law was given so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased,grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness, to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.…Romans 5: 19-21

He leads the humble - It is the sick that need a physician, and also instruction towards being well. When a man recognizes pain, sickness or death's shadow, he may not know how to heal himself of such a plague, but he is infinitely better off than the man that refuses to acknowledge his condition. He leads and teaches what is right and the way, and though it is all of Him and from Him, yet He rewards those on the path that He has brought them to with His steadfast love and faithfulness. 

For Your name's sake - I ask You to forgive my sin, Oh God, not because I deserve it or because of who I am, but because of Your greatness, Your mercy, because of Who You are. Pardon my guilt for it is great, and this is a mercy that we have guilt, that we are shown our wickedness, that we are not left to think so highly and inappropriately of ourselves. It is a mercy that we are not just left here to know that we are sinners, but that there is a place to take such pain, a place to trade our every sin for hope, to find forgiveness.

Who fear Him - The terror of the Lord will be for the ungodly, those that trust in themselves. This fear is the fear of those wanting to be upright, who are humbled by their sin. It is an honest knowledge that whatever men may do or give, it is as they are, perishing. God is not dying, and the fear of Him is the deep respect that one knows when they are in the presence of the Creator, the righteous judge. It is also the fear of the child in disappointing.  

May integrity and uprightness preserve me - Regardless of what the situation looked like, David's hope would not change, it would rest in God. He will wait for God, and a man of integrity will always ask what is God's will and what does His word say, that is what I want to do and where I want to walk. There is no situational ethics with the Lord, He remains the same and clear. Let me have this integrity also God, that I wait upon You, that I don't even speak unless it be blameless before You. 

But in this way God has fulfilled what He foretold through all the prophets, saying that His Christ would suffer. 19 Repent, then,and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus, the Christ, who has been appointed for you.…Acts 3: 18-20