TRUST IN GOD
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Opening Prayer
Lord, help me to grow in my understanding of worship; enable me to worship you as you deserve.
Read PSALM 25
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Psalm 25
1In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.
2I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.
4Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.
5Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
6Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
7Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good.
8Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.
10All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11For the sake of your name, Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
12Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
13They will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land.
14The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.
15My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.
16Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
17Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish.
18Look on my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.
19See how numerous are my enemies and how fiercely they hate me!
20Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.
22Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles!
Reflect
‘But I trust in you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’’1 Take a moment to reflect: Are you trusting in God?
Within the darkness of our living—even though different from David’s experience and that of the Roman Christians—we also can choose to say, ‘In you … I put my trust’ (v. 1). There are many competing voices in our world (as there were for David). However, experience teaches us that there is none so reliable as our God. The rest of the psalm unfolds from David’s assertion of faith. Within the context of this trust, his prayer focuses on three areas: guidance, forgiveness, and deliverance.
There is a covenant of trust between us and God: we have trusted in him; he will honor our hope in him (vv. 2, 3). So, David can ask in faith for the Lord to guide him (v. 5). Humbly, trustfully, he acknowledges his sinfulness (v. 7)—the sins of his youth, the sins of the present (v. 11). As believers in Jesus, we also are assured of God’s mercy, love, and forgiveness (vv. 6, 10, 11). Then David turns to the outworking of his relationship with God. He reiterates his confidence in God and his care (vv. 12, 13). His words encapsulate his close relationship with God: ‘The Lord confides in those who fear him’ (v. 14). Within this context, David determines to keep his eyes on the Lord, the only one who can save him (v. 15).2
Now, the central point of David’s prayer: ‘Help me!’ (vv. 16—20). He is lonely, in trouble, in anguish, a miserable sinner; everyone is against him. He reminds himself (and God) of his words earlier: ‘my hope, Lord, is in you’ (v. 21; cf. v. 5). When we’re feeling at the end of ourselves, remember it is not our own ‘integrity and uprightness’ that protects us—it is our hope and trust in the Lord (v. 21).
Apply
Use this psalm as a prayer for yourself, then say it as a prayer for others you know, that they may receive deliverance ‘from all their troubles’ (v. 22).
Closing prayer
Father, thank you for the gift of your Word, which instructs me through both directives and examples. Help me to continue learning from it and follow its guidance each day. Teach me about your faithfulness; help me find you trustworthy, not only in Scripture but in my daily walk with you.
1 Ps 31:14 2 cf. Heb 12:2.
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