To You I Lift Up My Soul
A Song Of David [This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.]
To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in You, my God, I trust. Do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame; but those who are faithless without cause will be disgraced.
Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; all day long I wait for You.
Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and loving devotion, for they are from age to age. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my rebellious acts; remember me according to Your loving devotion, because of Your goodness, O LORD.
Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way. All the LORD’s ways are loving and faithful to those who keep His covenant and His decrees. For the sake of Your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, for it is great.
Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the path chosen for him. His soul will dwell in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them. My eyes are always on the LORD, for He will free my feet from the mesh.
Turn to me and be gracious, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart increase; free me from my distress. Consider my affliction and trouble, and take away all my sins. Consider my enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with vicious hatred. Guard my soul and deliver me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in You. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, because I wait for You. Redeem Israel, O God, from all its distress.”
Once more, David is in trouble and calling on God for help This psalm has inspired many memorable praise choruses. For one of the best ones, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjqlkWhz-aA .
“To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in You, my God, I trust. Do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.” What does it mean to “lift up my soul?” We pray to God, confessing our faults and begging Him to deliver us from our enemies. God is a good Father who will never ignore our pleas for help.
“Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths.” When we are under scrutiny, we must be as careful as possible not to put a foot wrong. One day, someone might enter the situation who can solve it. At that point, we don’t want to be found doing wrong things.
“Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and loving devotion, for they are from age to age.” Humans can fail, fall sick, and die. But God never changes. Even though the psalmist is begging God to remember His compassion and devotion, it’s David who needs reminding.
“Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way.” God is amazingly patient. Most of us will give up on someone who is recalcitrant; however, God never gives up. We might choose to run away from God, but He remains constant. And God will continue to forgive us as long as we come to him confessing our sins honestly.
“Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the path chosen for him. His soul will dwell in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them. My eyes are always on the LORD, for He will free my feet from the mesh.” Here the image is one of a bird with its feet caught in a netstruggling to free itself before being seized by the fowler. God promises to instruct believers so that they will take correct paths and avoid Satan’s traps.
“Turn to me and be gracious, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart increase; free me from my distress. Consider my affliction and trouble, and take away all my sins. Consider my enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with vicious hatred. Guard my soul and deliver me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in You. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, because I wait for You. Redeem Israel, O God, from all its distress.” Sooner or later, every one of us will face loneliness and afflictions leaving us feeling overwhelmed. We may find ourselves surrounded by enemies or critics who want nothing better than to see us fail. But praise God, we have a Redeemer who can deliver us from any problems. Our part is to remain faithful while His part is to save us.
APPLICATION: I don’t remember exactly when I discovered this psalm and began applying it to my situation. I was a nerdy teen-ager in a high school culture that glorified athletics and popularity. My academic success did not endear me to some of my classmates. To make matters worse, we moved during the spring of my freshman year and the summer between my junior and senior years, seriously disrupting the few friendships I had managed to form. Completing this perfect storm, I was extremely outspoken and critical, lacerating the feelings of those around me. It took a great deal of courage to be my friend.
“Turn to me and be gracious, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart increase; free me from my distress. Consider my affliction and trouble, and take away all my sins. Consider my enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with vicious hatred. Guard my soul and deliver me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in You. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, because I wait for You. Redeem Israel, O God, from all its distress.” The night I discovered Psalm 25 was a watershed moment for me. I found myself repeating these verses over and over until I was in tears. Did this psalm change me completely? No. But it did help me focus on God instead of my problems and it gave me hope.
Different psalms will speak to us at various moments in our lives. My suggestion? As we study these psalms, find the verses that appear to speak to your situation and copy those onto your cell phone so that you can review them throughout your day. You will find that the more you meditate on your special verses, the more God will use them in your life.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Thank You, that when we are lonely and afflicted, You are still there helping us and comforting us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment