In the first installment on Psalm 25, we identified the agony for which the psalmist was praying for relief. The community around him shamed and ridiculed him as beyond the reach of forgiveness. Even his own memory tormented him that the sins of his youth would come back to haunt him. The daggers of the community are stabbing him, and this is why friendship comes up. In verse 3, the “treacherous” refers to friends who betray you. These are disloyal, stab-you-in-the-back companions, who turn traitor, who replace love with hatred. Shame from a stranger is a black eye. But shame from a friend is a knife to the diaphragm twisted slowly. The psalmist’s close associates rub his youthful sins in his face; they banish him as unforgivable, and they mock his faith—the Lord would never pardon you. Your waiting on God’s acquittal is in vain; his mercy will not reach you, not now and not ever.

And with his friends against him, the psalmist explores the topic. In verse 12, he asks about the man who fears the Lord. What are the characteristics of a God-fearer? The Lord instructs those who fear him in the way. God guides him in obedience and devotion. The God-fearer is favored with well-being and children who dwell in the land, which are the blessings of the covenant. Yet, most poignantly, the Lord’s friendship rests upon those who fear him. The covenant bond of fellowship and communion is revealed and bestowed upon the God-fearer. Human friends may abandon you, but for the one who fears Yahweh, his friendship never fails.

Thus, David professes his loyalty and dependence on God: “My eyes are continually upon the Lord.” He looks to God as his friend; he rests in his relationship with the Lord. The psalmist is one who fears God. David has humbly confessed his sins; he prayed for the Lord to teach him obedience. He pins his trust and hope in Yahweh alone. This is the DNA of a God-fearer. Even in the face of an overwhelming social shame, being betrayed by friends who label him as an unforgivable lost cause, the psalmist still locks his faith into God, his faithful friend.

So, David wraps up this psalm in the same way he opened it, by affirming his faith and hope in God. The waiting may not be short, but his faith and hope will not waver. He knows that it is good to wait upon the Lord, for good things come to those who hope in God. He repeats his request for the Lord to protect and deliver his soul. He asks for the uprightness and integrity of God to preserve him. And he is confident that these prayers will be answered, be it sooner or later, for Yahweh is steadfast and good to those who trust in him. Society will not forgive him; his friends show him no mercy. Even his own memory shames him that the follies of youth are irredeemable. Yet, the Lord’s trustworthy compassion will embrace him in pardon and love. Indeed, note the contrast in age. His sins date back to his teenage years, maybe a handful of decades. But God’s loving fidelity is from of old. His sure mercy dates from the primordial past, from eternity. The ancient grace of Yahweh far surpasses the youthful iniquities of the psalmist. And here is a situation where the old always gets the better of the young.

Yet, after this very personal confession of sin and affirmation of faith and hope, the psalmist concludes his prayer with a national request. “Redeem Israel, God, from all his troubles.” What is his flow of thought here? To redeem is to deliver from trouble, to purchase out of a state of bondage and guilt. Redeeming includes transferring from a place of curse and judgment into a status of forgiveness and blessing. The redemption of Israel is replicating the individual to the corporate. It is taking the forgiveness and restoration that will come upon the psalmist and applying it to all the people of God. May the Lord do for Israel what he did for David. As God forgave the youthful rebellions of the psalmist, so may he forgive Israel of the same.

Hence, David’s confession, his faith and hope, his fearing the Lord becomes an example. His humble trust should be ours. His patient hope ought to be found in us. And if so, then the Lord’s steadfast compassion will, without a doubt, be extended to even us. The confidence of his faith and hope is not just for him, but it is ours as well.

The question is, though, how long does the psalmist have to wait to be forgiven and so rescued from shame? There is no record of his prayer being answered in this psalm. Instead, it finishes with him waiting upon the Lord. He has anchored his faith in God and welded his hope to Yahweh. All that is left to do is wait! Amid his troubles and the community shaming him, the psalmist just waits. How long will forgiveness tarry? When will God remove his shame?

In the Old Testament, the Lord did apply forgiveness to his people in their lives. The saints of old experienced the joy of God’s steadfast compassion. David enjoyed the pardon and restoration of the Lord in his days. There was also a sense, however, that the fountain of forgiveness had not yet been opened. They were forgiven, but the cause of it was still to be accomplished. That is, the law taught them that there was no forgiveness without the shedding of blood. Sin created a debt that justice demanded payment for, and the only currency for sin was blood daubed upon the horns of the altar. And yet, the blood of bulls and goats could not ultimately pay the price. It was impossible for animal blood to take away sin. The sacrifices ended up being reminders of sin and that full payment had not yet been made. Thus, the waiting of the psalmist extends past his life span; he enjoyed God’s loving forgiveness in life, but the judicial ground of it was not filled. His hope waited, then, all the way to the cross of Christ.

What is the only blood that can save us from our sins? It is human blood, with the blood type of righteousness. With forbearance, God passed over former sins until the Father put forth a propitiation by blood, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. By his sacrifice, made willingly and in love, Christ provided a full atonement for all your sins. His blood paid for all the sins that came before the cross and after it. Ancient rebellions and modern sins, Jesus atoned. Little mistakes and massive felonies, his blood washes away. In the blood of the Lamb, the Father remembers you; but he remembers not your sins, not even the depravities of youth. In Christ, you are separated from sin and covered in his righteousness.

The shameful regrets of your teenage years that haunt you, that you cannot forget, well, the Lord does. The blood of Jesus erases your transgressions from the divine memory bank. His grace is greater than our guilty consciences; his merciful forgetfulness triumphs over your memory. Our guilty consciences whisper doubts in us: “God cannot forgive you that.” The world shames us as being unworthy: “You are too bad for a pardon.” The Evil One tries to bring charges against us, but the steadfast grace of God in Christ bests all of these. His compassion has done away with all your sins, past, present, and future. Therefore, you do not wait for forgiveness. We do not look forward to a yet-to-be atonement, but we trust in a finished atonement in the death and resurrection of Christ. Grace comforts you with completed redemption that removes all your guilt and your shame, so that the Father sees you not as a worthless thing, but as the apple of his eye united to Christ.

Hence, our waiting, our hope, is not for forgiveness, but for resurrection. Jesus appeared first to deal with sin; he is coming a second time to deal with death. And as we wait for glory, the Lord has supplied this psalm for you to keep your eyes on him. The waiting of David was spent with his eyes continually set upon the Lord and his steadfast love, and so it is for us.

And one of the most helpful things to keep our eyes focused on is beauty. We cannot look away from the beautiful. Most often, beauty is a short-lived good. Youth is brief; the gorgeous flower wilts; the sweet berry quickly fades. But one type of beauty that endures is literary. The amazing story, the captivating poem survives the generations. And so, the beauty of the psalm has survived for you. Its eloquence is from of old, and the beauty of its verse keeps you looking upon your even more gorgeous God and Savior, Jesus Christ, and God our Father.

Therefore, may we set our minds on Christ in heaven; let us pray this psalm to be constantly reminded that all who trust in the Lord will never be put to shame. This is the certainty of the gospel of Christ. If you trust in him for forgiveness, if you rest in him for justification, if you wait on him for resurrection, then your faith and hope will not be shamed, but it will be vindicated for your blessing, all of grace, and for the eternal glory of God. Praise be to the Lord and his steadfast love that endures forever.

Amen.

©Zach Keele. All Rights Reserved.

You can find the whole series here.

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Post authored by:

• Zach Keele

  

  Rev. Zachary Keele grew up on a ranch in a small town named Crawford, Colorado. He attended Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania and received his Master of Divinity from Westminster Seminary California. He has served as the pastor of Escondido OPC since 2006.

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