“To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord! Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.” Psalm 25:1-10

“The 25th psalm is a psalm of prayer in which the righteous pray that God will make them godly, forgive their sins, guard them from sin and shame, and finally deliver them from all enemies and all evil. Along with this the psalm mocks the false, self-centered spirits and teachers. It belongs to the Second Commandment and the Second Petition.” (Martin Luther, Reading the Psalms with Luther)

When was the last time something you did, or said, got you into a lot of trouble? Your first thought was to ask G-d for help and guidance but perhaps you were too ashamed of your sin. Or, maybe your problems were not due to deliberate sin, but rather because of immaturity or stupid decisions. Sometimes, even though we have prayed for guidance and wisdom, we still have to face the facts that what we have done is hurtful — and sometimes hurtful beyond measure. What should you do at such times?

Psalm 25 teaches us to seek G-d and G-d’s forgiveness in such times: “Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!” It appears that the book of James 1:5-6 might also give us some guidance: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.” This is what the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 25: “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.”

We should not live in fear of the Lord’s presence thinking we will be punished for sin — but instead seek the Lord’s presence and guidance putting all faith in a G-d who is forgetful of our past sins, and promises forgiveness for those who love and obey the Lord.

PRAYER

O Lord, our most merciful Father in heaven, be gracious to us and forgive us our sins. Rule in our hearts by Your Spirit, that we may hate and forsake all manner of evil. Restrain our enemies who would deprive us of our salvation, and be to us, and Your whole Church on earth, a very present help in time of need.

Amen.

“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully. They will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of their salvation. Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.” Psalm 24

“The 24th psalm is a prophecy of the coming worldwide kingdom of Christ. It calls on the “doors” of the world, that is, the kings and princes, to make way for the kingdom of Christ. They and those who for the most part rage against Him (Psalm 2) ask, “Who is this King of glory?” as if they were to say, “This beggar! Yes, this heretic! This criminal! Shall he be a king and shall we yield and submit to him? We shall not!” In this way the psalm shows that God’s Word will certainly be condemned and persecuted. This psalm belongs in the First Commandment and in both the Third Commandment and the Third Petition.” (Martin Luther, Reading the Psalms with Luther)

To serve our Lord Jesus, to serve the King of Glory, we face a spiritual battle every day. Paul says we are in a spiritual battle—but G-d provides our armor and our weaponry. And not only the armor, but our Lord provides the strength to endure. So how do we endure? Well, I would say that the beginning of our spiritual battle and will to survive is through prayer.

It is so interesting to me how similar we are to our Christian brothers and sisters from so many years ago. Yes, our technology has taken us to so much understanding of the world and the universe that our ancient brothers and sisters would just not understand. And yet, we still need the strength of the Lord and the armor of faith to help us get through each and every day. Why? Because we are in a battle between G-d and the Devil. Satan is so prevalent in our world, and so many people do not realize the power of evil that permeates our society. And, we could take the easy way out saying that Satan is not real. Or, we could take a stand and fight in the army of Jesus. Satan will make his side appear to be winning and he will make it look glamorous. But through the resurrection of Jesus we are assured that G-d has already won the battle. This means that no matter what we face and how dark our days may be, we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ.

PRAYER

Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child, Prepare a bed, soft, undefiled, A quiet chamber set apart, For You to dwell within my heart.

Amen.