PSALM 25

Psa 25:1-22 An acrostic poem (the 1st word of each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet-- see PerspectivesB B.2. for the other acrostic poems). Said to: address being distressed, overwhelmed & purposeless; deal with enemies; provide fellowship with God, godliness, guidance, integrity & knowledge:

  To YOU, O LORD (YAHWEH), I lift up My soul; in YOU I put My trust, O My GOD (Majestic ONE). Do not let Me be put to shame, nor let My enemies triumph over Me. No one whose hope is in YOU will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse. Show Me YOUR Ways, O LORD (YAHWEH), teach Me YOUR Paths; guide Me in YOUR Truth & teach Me, for YOU are GOD My savior (the Majestic ONE of My timely salvation), & My hope is in YOU all day long. Remember, O LORD (YAHWEH), YOUR Great Mercy & Love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of My youth & My rebellious ways; according to YOUR Love remember Me, for YOU are good, O LORD (YAHWEH). good & upright is the LORD (YAHWEH); therefore HE instructs sinners in HIS Ways. HE guides the humble in what is right & teaches Them in HIS Way. All the Ways of the LORD (YAHWEH) are loving & faithful for Those who keep the Demands of HIS Covenant. For the sake of YOUR Name, O LORD (YAHWEH), forgive My iniquity, though it is great.

  Who, then, is the man [person] that fears the LORD (YAHWEH)? HE will instruct Him in the way HE has chosen for Him. He will spend His days in prosperity (lodge in goodness), & His descendants will inherit the land. The LORD (YAHWEH) confides in [guides] Those who fear HIM; HE makes HIS Covenant known to Them. My eyes are ever on the LORD (YAHWEH), for only HE will release (bring forth) My feet from the snare.

  Whatever our general lot in life, we can be sure it was the best alternative; in the light of the way HE has chosen for us (his will for our lives, the best course), all pursuit of greener-appearing grass is futile-- find yourself entangled because of your own choices? Recall: only HE will release My feet from the snare.

  Turn to Me & be gracious to Me, for I am lonely & afflicted. The troubles of My heart have multiplied; free Me from My affliction & distress & take away all My sins. See how My enemies have increased & how fiercely (violently) they hate Me! Guard My life & rescue Me; let Me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in YOU. My integrity & uprightness protect Me, because My hope is in YOU. Redeem Israel, O GOD (Majestic ONE), from all Their troubles!

  Now the above quote, the way HE has chosen for Him, ref. your general lot in life, presumes you are saved-- born again, a bona fide Christian. If you are not, you yourself have chosen your lot-- by default, simply by not choosing Jesus, the way, the truth & the life (John 14:6), as your savior. In this same way an infirm person determines his own destiny if he rejects the medical cure or procedure. But presuming you are indeed saved, then you stand on the rock-- but more: consider yourself an oil rig, initially connected to the reservoir. You are free to choose to remain connected. If so be the rock & the connection is deeply immersed in your life, no matter how & where God has planted you, you can bloom & bear fruit. No matter if you are surrounded by persistently eroding waves, scarce tolerance, occasional acceptance, or the presumption-of-guilt, you have the equal opportunity to remain connected-- or to reconnect. The rock & connection are deep within, so that it matters not the sea or landscape. Of course, we are mobile, so that the sea can be located at work, home or alas, at church. And today your job might be in the sea, tomorrow the oil rig's backdrop might be the sea-in-the-church. But who is the rock, but Jesus, who never leaves nor forsakes. And if God is for Us, who can be against Us? All the demons of hell cannot so much as dent the gate. David sang, I will remain praising the LORD-- from the school-of-hard-knocks, he realized God can make javelins as mere darts-- and if javelins are as darts, where be the original javelins? Scorns, insinuations, false accusations, etc., are only hurtful for awhile if so be we indeed labor for him & continue with his yoke (see Matt 11:28-30). Speaking of javelins: Recall when king Saul threw the javelin at David (who had been anointed-- Saul didn't know this, nor did David know that Saul's anointing had been taken away)? David not responding to the confrontation did not make him a wimp (though surely Saul had his cheering section who said, 'Way to go, Saul-- you showed him who's boss'). He merely let the javelin hit the wall behind him-- it was then on the back burner. He certainly didn't catch it & hurl it back (place it on the front burner); he didn't even catch it & toss it aside (place it on the middle burner). Later, in the Shimei incident (see PSALM 2 2ndSa<3>), David got to play the role of the water just flowing right on past the rock.