According to Your lovingkindness remember me

Psalm 25 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Prayer for Protection, Guidance and Pardon.

A Psalm of David.

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
² O my God, in You I trust,
Do not let me be ashamed;
Do not let my enemies exult over me.
³ Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.

⁴ Make me 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.
⁶ Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been from of old.
⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
⁹ He leads the humble in justice,
And He teaches the humble His way.
¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth
To those who 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 who fears the Lord?
He will instruct him in the way he should choose.
¹³ His soul will abide in prosperity,
And his descendants will inherit the land.
¹⁴ The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant.
¹⁵ My eyes are continually 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 Look upon my affliction and my trouble,
And forgive all my sins.
¹⁹ Look upon my enemies, for they are many,
And they hate me with violent hatred.
²⁰ Guard my soul and deliver me;
Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
²¹ Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for You.
²² Redeem Israel, O God,
Out of all his troubles.

David begins this Psalm, “To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.  O my God, in You I trust,”. As a worshipper, David knew the way into the presence of God. He also understood that God’s ways are higher than our ways, yet David’s desire is to know and understand the will of God. He says: ⁴ Make me 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.

Are we willing to wait all day on the Lord. Patience is something that is lacking in many of us. Our culture teaches us to want things instantly, to assert ourselves and get what is ours. God’s way, His path is often different. He is eternal, not locked into our finite time. Jesus says: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."(Revelation  22:13) Since He is the beginning and the end surly He knows our beginning and end as well as every day in between. In Psalm 139:16 it says: Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. There is a peace we will find when we trust our days to the Lord, the very one who has ordained each one of them. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says: seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. If we will, like David, seek God, His kingdom and presence, everything we need will be provided for us in His perfect time.

⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;… ¹¹ For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great….¹⁸ Look upon my affliction and my trouble, And forgive all my sins.  David understood that the one thing that separated him from the presence and from the will of God was his sin. David lived under the old covenant, there were prescribed sacrifices for sin. Yet because of his relationship with God, David saw past the requirements of that old covenant arrangement.  He says: For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day. ⁶ Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been from of old….¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. David saw by faith what we have now been given. In Matthew 26:27-28 it says:

And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; 28for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

What David saw by faith, we have been assured of by promise. There is nothing we can do or need to do to pay the price for our sin but to believe and receive through Jesus finished work on the cross. Because Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the old covenant in Himself we can walk in the compassion and lovingkindness of God. We can fully trust in Him and draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.(Hebrews 4:16)

Look at the ways David saw the deliverance of God:

⁹ He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way…. He will instruct him in the way he should choose. ¹³ His soul will abide in prosperity, And his descendants will inherit the land….  He will pluck my feet out of the net….

We may not always receive what seems like justice in the world. Jesus says: I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33) God’s justice is greater and His justice is eternal. Verse 13 promises that there is both spiritual deliverance, his soul will abide in prosperity and there is physical deliverance and inheritance for us, And his descendants will inherit the land. He will pluck my feet out of the net. Whether we are ensnared in the grip of sin or at the hands of men, God will pluck us from the place of danger as we trust in Him.

Regardless of the source or type of difficulty you face today. Make David’s prayer your prayer.

¹⁵ My eyes are continually 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 Look upon my affliction and my trouble,
And forgive all my sins. ¹⁹ Look upon my enemies, for they are many, And they hate me with violent hatred. ²⁰ Guard my soul and deliver me; Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You. ²¹ Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You. ²² Redeem Israel, (redeem me) O God, Out of all his(my) troubles.   Amen.