Dealing with the Enemies of the Soul

Series on the Psalms

Text: Psalm 25

Title: Dealing with the Enemies of the Soul

Introduction

This is an acrostic Psalm which means that each successive verse begins with a successive letter of the alphabet. Poetry is more easily remembered than prose, and acrostic poetry is well suited to being committed to memory. The poetry of the Hebrews uses symmetry rather than the rhythm and rhyme of English poetry. J. A. Alexander points out that Hebrew poetry like ours is not addicted to form. There is no slavish adherence to a model and as rhythm and rhyme may vary in our poetry so there may be verses which are an exception to the acrostic. All in all there are probably nine Psalms out of 150 which are set in this acrostic form. Although there are many wonderful sentiments set forth in this Psalm it is remarkably united in its theme. Individual verses could be addressed very profitably, but as we look at the whole Psalm it becomes clear that the unifying theme is stated at the beginning and the end. In verse 2 David says Do not let my enemies triumph over me. In the concluding verse he prays, Redeem Israel, O God, from all their troubles. The two ideas need to be combined and we can do that rather easily. The more we are surrounded by personal enemies, the more troubles we have. But even if we are comparatively free of human opposition we still have enemies in the spiritual realm and so our troubles are multiplied. The issue here is how to deal with troubles in our lives whether they arise from opposition from the world, from the flesh, or from the satanic realm. It is our attitude, our perspective, our mind set and lifestyle that ultimately determine whether we are able to live through our problems or succumb to them. We shall look therefore at the principle, the prerequisite, and the power required to adequately deal with oppression.

I. The Principle for Peace

Very simply put the antidote to troubles is to hope in the Lord. Notice David says in verse 1, To you O Lord I lift up my soul, in you I trust, O My God. In verse 3 he says, No one whose hope in you will ever be pout to shame, that is, be defeated.. In verse 5 he says, My hope is in you all day long. And in his concluding prayer he says, May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you. The principle of peace is hope. Remember Paul in Romans 5 says tribulation brings perseverance and perseverance character and character hope, and hope does not disappoint us or make us ashamed. This is precisely what David is saying. These are twin affirmations. The Old and New Testaments converge in one tremendously important piece of advice. Hope in God. This means that our perspective is everything. If we are looking up and looking forward then the troubles of this life become small by comparison. If we are looking down and inward they become a millstone around our necks. Now I need to point out that this hope is not just intellectual. It is more than knowing the plan of salvation because David uses the word fear in the same breath. Those who hope are those who fear, vs. 10, 12, and 14, All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant…Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him…The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. This fear is nothing more than a recognition of who God is, that he is awesome and that we are totally dependent on his mercy and his guidance. This is the kind of hope that David is talking about, and when we have this hope, this perspective, then we are overcoming. As he says in verse 15, My eyes are ever on the Lord.

II. The Prerequisite for Peace

This leads us to the prerequisite of peace. David devotes a great deal of attention to this in the Psalm. The prerequisite is to be teachable. Do you ever get involved in teaching your children? Children are eminently teachable. Old people get set in their opinions and ways. Still we face many obstacles in teaching kids. They are sometimes lazy. They question the need to learn things. Many become easily discouraged if they don’t get the point the first time. They want everything to come easily. I’m sure you can think of other difficulties. The point is that we think we are better, but we are actually worse. We’re harder to teach. Look at what David prays for in this Psalm for it will amaze you. Show me your ways, in verse 4; guide me in your truth, in verse 5; God instructs sinners, in verse 8; God guides the humble and teaches them, in verse 9; God instructs the man who fears Him, verse 12; God confides in those who fear him, and makes his covenant known to them, verse 14. This is an overwhelming, nay embarrassing emphasis on the need to be guided, taught and shown. One of our problems when we have troubles is that we are not teachable. We listen to neither David or Paul. In fact we are lazy, we question the need to learn, we want to avoid the hard work of learning, we become discouraged because God has to teach us repeatedly and we do not get the point right away. We are even worse than our children. If you really want to deal with trouble in your life you must first of all realize that you have to look up and hope in God, in the things that are really important, and secondly you need to be teachable, because hope only comes through tribulation. So again Paul in Romans 5 Hope is the result of character and character is the result of perseverance, and perseverance is the result of trouble, and we don’t like the process of education. We must pray for this.

III. The Power for Peace

Along with our prayer there must be a realization of the ground for our hope. The power to be taught the right perspective in the midst of our troubles is a power that emanates from the Gospel. Look at what David says in verses 6-8, Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD. Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He rests his plea and his prayer on the mercy of God as God has revealed Himself in the Bible. This mercy and love is what David is referring to as the goodness and uprightness of the Lord in verse 8. He says again in verse 11, For the sake of your name, O LORD forgive my iniquity, or in other words based on your character. Again in verse 16, Turn and be gracious to me. All hope and all the process of learning to hope is ultimately grounded in understanding the character of God. Now for us this means the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nowhere is God’s character more fully revealed, nor his mercy shown than in the Gospel. The Gospel of forgiveness through Jesus sacrifice of himself. The Gospel of righteousness through a perfect Savior, this is the good news that uplifts This is what encourages us to keep our eyes ever on the Lord. In the words of the hymn, “God in the Gospel of his son makes his eternal counsels known, where love in all its glory shines, and truth is drawn in fairer lines. Here faith reveals to mortal eyes a brighter world beyond the skies, here shines the light which guides our way from earth to realms of endless day. The prisoner here may break his chains, the weary rest from all his pains, the captive feel his bondage cease, the mourner find the way of peace.” Peace then requires a hope which we must learn as we are empowered by the Gospel. This is how we can rise above our enemies and our troubles.

Summary of Psalm 25

Psalm 25 is an acrostic poem and prayer for deliverance from our enemies and our troubles in this present world. It sets forth the secret of rising above these troubles and finding true peace through a proper perspective. The anchor of the soul in this Psalm is hope in God. Such hope is born out of our tribulation and trouble but it requires that we be teachable. David prays for such a teachable spirit. Ultimately it is the character of God as merciful and good that is the ground of David’s hope. God is quite willing to teach his people who fear his name. David sees above and beyond his troubles because of God’s electing love. As Christians we have the greatest demonstration of the character of God in Jesus Christ and the good news that Christ died for our sins. Since we are assured of forgiveness we must gladly experience our troubles knowing, as Paul said, that perseverance brings character, and character hope, and hope eliminates the shame of defeat.