Text: Psalm 25:1-11
To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
Devotion
“For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity. Believe in Him, and He will help you. Order your way aright, and trust in Him. You who fear the Lord, wait for His mercy, and do not turn aside, lest you fall. You who fear the Lord, believe Him, and your reward shall not fail. You who fear the Lord, hope for good, and for everlasting joy and mercy. Look at the generations of old, and see. Did any ever trust in the Lord, and become confounded? Or did any abide in His fear, and become forsaken? Or whom did He ever despise, that called upon Him? For the Lord is full of compassion and mercy, longsuffering, and very full of pity, and forgives sins, and saves in time of affliction” (Sirach 2:5-11).
You can be sure that the Lord will lead your life to a glorious outcome, dear Christian, for you call on His name. You can expect it with certainty, as if you saw it already. He who loved you from eternity and gave you His only-begotten Son, He who is love and mercy and faithfulness without end, could He be the God of your destruction, your misfortune, and your demise? Impossible! So then, He must be the God of your salvation, as David here calls Him. Trust in His salvation in every need, whether it is spiritual need: anguish and worry over sin; or physical need: poverty, sickness, and danger. Trust and hope in Him. He is both willing and powerful to help you. If He doesn’t bring about the result you were expecting, then He will make it even more glorious. And if He does not come when you think, then it must happen that He will come at the right time. For He is wiser than you, just as He is more loving toward you than you are toward yourself. He will refine you, to glorify you. It is an unchangeable principle: “No one who waits on the Lord shall be ashamed.” “What about my sins!” you say. Yes, you should confess them and leave them with Him. David isn’t speaking about an angel. “Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions,” he says. “For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. … According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord. … Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.” Take your soul away from sin and unto Him, and believe His forgiveness. Then you are in His covenant, and as surely and truly as He lives, so surely and truly all His ways are mercy and faithfulness toward you!
Closing Prayer
Lord, guard my soul, and deliver me. Do not let me be ashamed, for I trust in You. Let innocence and uprightness preserve me, for I wait on You. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all their troubles. Amen.
Hymn
Thy way and all thy sorrows,
Give thou into His hand,
His gracious care unfailing,
Who doth the heav’ns command;
Their course and path He giveth
To clouds and air and wind;
A way thy feet may follow
He, too, for thee will find.
In vain the pow’rs of darkness
Thy will, O God, oppose;
High over all undoubting,
Thy pleasure onward goes.
Whate’er Thy will resolveth,
Whate’er Thou dost intend,
Its destined work performeth
True to its aim and end.
Gerhardt: L 186:1.5 ELH 208:1.5 tr. A. T. Russell;
tune: Befiehl du deine Wege