Looking for an Anchor
Prayers from the Psalmist
In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.2 I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.4 Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, Lord, are good.8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
and their descendants will inherit the land.
14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
and free me from my anguish.
18 Look on my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
19 See how numerous are my enemies
and how fiercely they hate me!20 Guard my life and rescue me;
do not let me be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope, Lord, is in you.22 Deliver Israel, O God,
from all their troubles! Psalm 25
“The verses alternate between prayers or petitions and expressions of the psalmist’s confidence in God.”3
This is an important consideration. I have followed the outline from this commentary series (mostly) in regard to how the psalms are designated and outlined as “prayers.” Yet some psalms are both prayers and commentary. This psalm is called, “A Prayer of Trust.”3
Wiersbe says this psalm shows the psalmist crying out to God for wisdom as he makes decisions.2
Many times I’ve cried out to God while in the midst of decision-making. I have to ask myself how often I’ve actually waited for God and how often I’ve prayed and then jumped before I had an answer. Sometimes an answer comes with an open door, but it is harder to wait for God’s direction – especially if it is years in coming. It’s easier to jump than to wait. Scripture continually tells us to wait for God.
This psalm is a conversation between David, the psalmist, and God. David relies on the goodness, mercy, and faithfulness of God. He has unwavering assurances that he speaks of in this conversation.2
God is his only source of hope. God is the only one who can be fully trusted. David knows the source this hope is based upon the covenant nature of God, and this is why he can fully trust God to not bring shame upon him. He’s placing all of his hope and trust in God and God’s unfailing nature. He knows humans fail but God is worthy of trust.2,3
God can be trusted and only God can teach me and guide me. David desires to walk in God’s ways and not get off the path.2,3
I was listening to Dr. John Oswalt teach about the book of Hebrews last night. Specifically, Hebrews 2:1, “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard. So that we do not drift away.” Think about what causes a boat to drift. The boat has become unattached to a dock or a mooring, or if you are fishing, you will drift if the boat has no anchor. The boat is tossed and moved by the current or storm. Later the writer of Hebrews is going to tell us, “We have an anchor for our soul.” Drifting happens when we lose our anchor – when we take our eyes off of Christ. David is praying for that anchor. He wants only God to teach him and guide him. He wants God to remember his love for him and not the rebellious ways of his youth. David knows that God is his anchor.
David is surrounded by people who want to destroy him and knows that trusting in God is his only source of victory. It is not through his own worthiness that he turns to God for help. He confesses his unworthiness – his great sin and asks for forgiveness. He turns to God to release him from the snares that his enemies have set for him. He turns to God to alleviate his loneliness. Twice he asks God to forgive or take away all his sins.2,3
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. Psalm 51:17
David will not write this until 26 psalms later (at least the way it shows up in our Bibles) but he knows that in order for God to turn to him and be gracious to him he must confess his sin. He has to acknowledge his own unrighteousness and ask God to forgive him.
May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.
David is not dependent upon his own integrity and righteousness. He is dependent upon God’s righteousness.
Scripture teaches us that if we confess our sins, God is faithful to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Let’s start there. Then we can move on to praying that God would bring us into complete alignment with his purposes and he will increase our faith in him. He is trustworthy and the source of our hope. He is our anchor.