Well, let's turn to Psalm 25. The Psalm 25 this evening. We'll read the psalm together. Again, we welcome you in our Savior's name. Thank you for joining with us. Lovely to have you here at the house of God. Psalm number 25, and we'll read the psalm together. And the psalmist begins with the words, unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee. Let me not be ashamed. Let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed. Let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. Show me thy ways, O Lord. Teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth and teach me, for thou art the God of my salvation. On thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses. For they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. According to thy tender, or thy mercy, remember thy me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord. Therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way. All the paths of the Lord our mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. What man is he that feareth the Lord? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease, and his seed shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant. Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he shall pluck my feet out of the net. Turn ye on to me, and have mercy upon me, for I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged, though bring thou me out of my distresses. Look upon mine affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins. Consider mine enemies, for they are many. They that hate me with cruel hatred, O keep my soul and deliver me. Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in thee. Let integrity and brightness preserve me, for I wait on thee. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. Amen. And God will bless always the reading of his precious word. Well, tonight in our series, Ponderings in the Psalms, we come to the 25th Psalm, a significant point in our journey through this much-loved book of God's Word. I say significant because after this evening's message we will have considered a sixth of the 150 psalms that are contained in this old testament book so we're getting there slowly but surely someone suggested that they're going to be in glory by the time we get through this book i might be in glory by the time we get to the end of psalm 100 and 50. But Psalm 25 is a Davidic psalm. It's one of those 75 psalms in this book that contains in its title the name David. Now the circumstances, the specific circumstances as with many of the psalms as we've come to see are not given to us in this particular psalm. But we do get an idea of the general circumstances that led to the composition What we can say is this, that David, God's servant, God's child, was going through a most difficult time in his Christian life. If you cast your eye down there to the verses 16 through to 18, we come to listen to really David's appeal, or we could say his lamentation, that he makes to god notice what it says there in verse 16 turn thee on to me and have mercy upon me for i am desolate and afflicted the troubles of my heart are enlarged oh bring thy me out of my distresses look upon mine affliction and my pain and forgive all my sins you can hardly say that david's is experiencing blessing or what you would say, a time of peace within his life. We could hardly say that everything is rosy in the garden for David at this point of his life. He speaks about being desolate, afflicted, a distress, pained due to the troubles of his heart being enlarged. And yet, though divine providence had cast David down into the depths of despair, and it brought him to experience such distress and such affliction in his life as a Christian. David did a number of things to relieve himself of his present circumstances. He comes to do a number of things to bring relief as he finds himself in this most difficult passage of his Christian life. And it is those things that we want to consider for a few moments this evening, because maybe you're there tonight. Maybe you're going through a difficult passage in your Christian life. Maybe there's something in your family, something in your workplace, something in your school. And it just seems to be that there's no relief that is found for what you're going through. Well, in Psalm 25, it really gives us a pattern about what we ought to do or what we ought to adopt as we find ourselves going through maybe a similar situation as David was going through. Maybe you're downcast, maybe you're disconsolate. Maybe you're depressed, maybe you're dejected, maybe you're disheartened, maybe you're discouraged. I don't know your state tonight, but there are some things that you can do as a believer that will bring relief, that will bring help in your time of distress. So I want you to see, first of all, the first thing that David does and hear from his lowly position is that he lifts up his soul to God. That's the first thing he does. He lifts up his soul to God. Verse number one. See, David comes very quickly here to shift his focus away from his griefs. He shifts the focus away from his sorrows and on to the sovereign God of heaven, the one who is reigning over all. He comes to lift up his soul to God. Now he doesn't speak about lifting up his hands to God. He doesn't even speak about lifting up his voice onto God. Rather, he speaks here about lifting up his soul onto God. This is no casual approach onto God. Rather, brethren and sisters, this is an earnest, this is a sincere, this is an authentic seeking after God on the part of the psalmist. In other words, he's giving his entire being to this. Yes, he's going to lift up his voice. He's going to lift up his mind as well, but he's going to lift up his soul, that inner part, that part of the being that is unseen by man and yet as real as the physical body. He comes to lift up his soul on to God. And really this lifting up of the soul on to God is indicating for us that his present condition is that his soul is presently cast down. And the internal evidence within the Psalms suggests that's is the case. The language employed is not the language of someone who's on the mountaintop, but rather it's the language of someone who's down deep in the valley. And yet David doesn't allow himself to wallow in such a place. He doesn't parry himself, but he comes to do something about it. He comes to lift up his soul on to God. There's a wonderful thing regardless of our emotional, our spiritual, our physical state, we can always lift up our soul onto God. We can always draw near to God. The blood of Christ and the work of Christ gives us immediate access into God and onto God. The way to God now stands open for us, widely open through the rent veil, and therefore we can approach God and we can lift up our souls onto God. Now, there are a number of ways in which we can lift up our souls onto God. First of all, we can lift up our souls onto God in meditation. Now, when I speak of meditation, I'm not speaking about meditation that you would associate with some New Age therapy or some kind of yoga. When you think about meditation, rather I'm speaking about biblical meditation. What is meditation? Well, meditation is an activity whereby we come to think on some selected subject. It is a thinking upon. That's what meditation is, a thinking upon. I suppose all of the entertainment causes us not to think. The word amusement, A is the negative, muse is to think. Amusement is a non-thinking, it causes us not to think. That's why people run after amusements. They don't have to think. That's why they sit and watch their television, they watch their movies, they go to theme parks. It's all in order that they do not think. There is no thinking involved. Well, the child of God is not to be like that. The child of God is to be a thinker. We're to think on things. We're reminded of that in the New Testament. Whatsoever things are lovely in truth and so on, think on these things. Well, the Christian is to be a meditator. And in meditation, the soul is lifted up to God. Now, the Christian is encouraged to meditate on at least two things. First of all, they are encouraged to think upon and to meditate on the Word of God. In Joshua 1, verse 8, we read, This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein, For them thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and them thou shalt have good success. In Psalm 1 verse 2 we read that the blessed man, the happy man, is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And as we come to meditate, think upon, as we come to read the word of God and study the word of God, our souls cannot but be lifted up to God. not known that in your Christian experience? Have you not been down in the valley and you picked up the Word of God and you were given a fresh glimpse of God or you were brought to some promise and a promise from the Word was drawn to your attention it came with freshness to your soul, and your soul was then lifted up, elevated to God. That's what the Word of God does. There is a lifting up as we read the Scriptures. Not only are we to meditate on the Word of God, but we're to meditate upon the God of the Word, the God of the Word. We read of the psalmist meditating upon the very being of God there in Psalm 63 in the verse number 6. And it's amazing where he meditates. He does it when he's lying in bed. Psalm 63 in the verse number 6. When I remember thee upon my bed, meditate on thee in the night watches in other sounds we read the psalmist meditating on the works of God in Psalm 77 and the verse 12 Psalm 77 and The verse number 12, I will meditate also of all thy work and talk of all thy doings. Psalm 143 and the verse number 5. Psalm 143 and the verse number 5. He says, I remember the days of old. I meditate on all thy works, I muse on the work of God. thy hands. It's interesting to note in both Psalm 77 and Psalm 143 that the psalmist comes to meditate on the works of the Lord whenever he finds himself in a place of despair. Psalm 77 asks if he comes to ask a series of questions. Psalm 77, we're back there again. Keep your hand on 143 if you're there. Psalm 77, the verse number seven onwards. Will the Lord cast off forever? Will he be favorable no more? Is his mercy clean gone forever? Doth his promise fail forevermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah. And I said, this is my infirmity, but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the works of the Lord. Surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work and talk of all thy doings. What was the remedy for his despair? It was a meditation on the works of God. He reminds himself of what God has done in the past. And it's the same in Psalm 143. David in this Psalm, he speaks in verse 4 of his spirit being overwhelmed within him and his heart being desolate. But what's the remedy? What's the remedy? What's the cure? Verse 5, I will remember the days of old. I will meditate on all thy works and muse on the work of thy hands, a dwelling on God, a reminding of ourselves of God, and of his works of old causes the despair to lift and infuses fresh hope into the soul because it's by meditating upon God that our souls can be lifted up unto God. Brethren, sisters, we should never despair when God is on his throne. We should never despair when our God We should never despair when we consider what God has done in the past. Though we may not have seen history ourselves, though we may never have seen revival ourselves, yet thank God we can recount what God has done in the past. And because he is forever the same, brethren and sisters, we can trust and we can hope in God. And so let's lift up our hearts to God. Let's do it through prayer, meditating on the Word, that the Word of God lift your soul tonight. Some promise from God. Meditate on the God of the Word, the faithful God, the unchanging God, the omnipotent God, the all-wise God, the God of mercy and love and grace. The God who defends his church, the God who intervenes in the direst of situations, a God who breaks through and breaks out in almost a sudden manner. Oh, let's lift our hearts up to God. Let's not despair when God still reigns. so we can lift up our souls to God by in meditation we can also lift up our souls to God in gratitude you know we often dwell on the things that we don't have but we must not forget about the things that we do have and as we recall such things to our minds in gratitude we should lift up then our souls onto God and thank him for His blessings to us, the blessings that He has given to us. And maybe this is how David comes to lift up his soul to God. He lifts it up with thanksgiving and in gratitude. He reminds himself of all that God has done for him and all that God has given to him. Oh brother, lift up your soul to God tonight in gratitude and thankfulness. Lift up your soul tonight and thank Him that you're not in hell. Lift up your soul tonight and thank Him that you're one of His children, that you're one of His elect, that you were redeemed by His blood and you're in His family and you're sure of heaven as if your feet were standing on the streets of gold. Thank Him for the blessings you receive today, the health and the strength and the food and the clothing that you have. Let's be thankful to God. And so we can lift up our souls with gratitude. We can also lift up our souls in praise. Lifting up our souls to God in praise. Psalm 146 verse 1 and 2. Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live, I will praise the Lord. I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. You know, singing can lift the soul. Singing can lift the soul. Jesus Christ sang. as he went out to Calvary. It says they sung a hymn, lifted his soul. Paul and Silas, when they found themselves in Philippi's jailhouse, what did they do at midnight? They prayed and they sang praises unto God. It lifted up the soul. And you think of the martyrs. Many a martyr sang as they made their way to the stake. I and some of them even sang on the stake. One such person was Jan Hus or John Hus. We're told that whenever John Hus came to die, when he was tied to the stake, he died singing, Jesus Christ, the son of the living God, have mercy on me. They sang singing. lifting up their soul to God. From the valley of despair, David comes to lift up his soul on to God. And he does it in the valley. He doesn't wait until he gets to the mountaintop. Notice what he says again in our verses, that he's desolate, he's afflicted, troubles of his heart are enlarged, he's in distress, he's in affliction, he's in pain, and yet he still lifts up his soul to God. What a lesson it is for us whenever our lives take a turn down into the valley and bring us to walk in the dark passages of life. When we find ourselves, as David found himself in this psalm, let us never think that there is nowhere and that there is no one that we can turn to, but let us lift up our souls unto God. The 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, he said these words. He says, I have often been driven to God by the overwhelming sense that I had nowhere else to go. I have been often driven to God by the overwhelming sense that I had nowhere else to go. Maybe that's where you are tonight as a Christian. Maybe you feel that there's nowhere for you to turn. Maybe you feel that there is no one that you can turn to. Well, let me remind you this evening, you can always turn to God. You can always draw near to God. You can always lift up your soul to God. Though you have no friends, though there be no one in your family who is a Christian like you, you can still lift up your soul to God. Lift up your soul to Him. You know, the world lean. They lift up their soul to vanity, and they find in earth's vain things no anchor for the soul, but thank God the Christian can lift up their soul to God who knows all things and who can do all things. Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. I'm going straight to God. bypassing all my advisors within the royal court, bypassing my companion, my wife, and I'm going straight to God, because only God Only God really knows and only God really cares and really only God understands and really God is the only one who can help. Unto thee do I lift my soul. That's the first thing that he does. But then the second thing that David does from his lowly position is that he trusts in God. He trusts in God. Verse number two. Oh my God, I trust in thee. Let me not be ashamed. Let not mine enemies triumph over me. This is the language of faith. Oh my God, I trust in thee. I trust in thee. As David comes to lift his soul to God, his faith in God is strengthened. Now his circumstances, his circumstances were just the same. He's still deep in the valley, and yet he's found trusting in the Lord, and it causes us to ask the question, how, why has this come about? What has changed if his circumstances haven't changed? What has changed for this man? I'll tell you what has changed. David has got a sight of his God. That's what has changed. His vision has been readjusted and refocused as he has lifted up his soul to God, because as he lifts his soul up to God, he now comes to trust in God. It's that order. His faith is strengthened as he comes to lift up his soul to the Lord. Northright, the word of God, as you know, we're exhorted to trust in the Lord. We're warned against trusting in men and trusting in princes and trusting in our riches, trusting in ourselves. All such trust is vain. But to trust in the Lord, that's a different matter, brethren and sisters. That's a different matter altogether. That's the safest thing we can do. That's the only thing that we can do as God's people, to trust in the Lord. Proverbs 3 verse 5, trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not on to thine own understanding. What is trust in the Lord? A.W. Pink said, trust in God is that high act or exercise of faith whereby the soul, looking upon God and casting itself on his goodness, power, promises, faithfulness, and providence, that soul is lifted up above carnal fears and discouragement, above perplexing doubts and disquietment. either for the obtaining and continuance of that which is good or for the preventing or the removal of that which is evil. The word trust, it really means dependence, reliance. confidence in God really trust in the Old Testament is the New Testament equivalent or has the New Testament equivalent of faith faith and trust they are synonyms of each another they are the same we trust in God we have faith in God We have faith in God. We trust in God. It's really the same thing. When the person says that they're trusting in God, they're really saying that they've got faith in God. We are people of faith. That's what we are, brethren and sisters. We are people of trust, and the object of our trust and the object of our faith is not our faith. It's God. It's God. When He is the object of our faith, then we will never be disappointed. Put your trust in men, put your trust in a preacher, put your trust in yourself, you'll inevitably be disappointed. Put your trust in the Lord, and you'll never be disappointed whatsoever. Real trust, real faith in God. It isn't seen in the days of sunshine, and all things are going well. Their genuine faith is seen when the storm clouds roll in. Life takes us right into the middle of the storm and into the deep valley. That's when real faith is seen. David was in such a trying place in his life, and yet he says, I trust in thee. That takes faith. We have read his circumstances. We've read about his enemies. We've read about his affliction. We've read about the troubles of his heart. We've read about his stresses, his affliction, his pain. We've read about it all. And yet David says, I trust in thee. I don't understand it. I can't grapple with it. I can't, in other words, I can't take it in. Don't ask me what God is doing. But this, this I do. I trust in him. We find people like that in scripture. Remember what Job declared when he found himself in his day of testing, time of trial? He said there in Job 13 verse 15, though he, speaking of God, though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. But I will maintain mine own ways before him Paul there in the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by a crew of frightened sailors. What does Paul say? Paul says, Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer, for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. I believe God. I have faith in God. In the trials and the troubles of life, we're not always able to trace God's hand, but we can always trust His heart. That's a familiar quote, isn't it? Maybe you find yourself, maybe tonight you find yourself as a Christian, as a believer, maybe you find yourself struggling to trust God in your present circumstances. I don't know what they are. Maybe you're finding it hard to trust God in your present circumstances. Well, let me say you're not alone. Many of us struggle with that in our lives. We see things happening around us. We see things happening to us. It's difficult to say that we trust in the Lord, but there are a number of remedies to the problem of this trusting in God. First of all, remind yourself of the promises of God. When you're struggling to trust in God, just remind yourself of the promises of God. You know, the word of God is a great source of comfort for God's people. We read about the comfort of the scriptures, and in the word of God, there's tremendous promises, promises for the child of God as they go through the difficult passages of life. Walking in darkness and having no light, For that individual there to stay upon the Lord and to continue to trust the Lord and to understand that all things are working together for good. These are promises. And if you're finding yourself in a position where your faith in God is waning, just remind yourself of the promises of God and remind yourself that God is faithful and that the promises of God are yea and amen in Christ Jesus. And remind yourself that not one good thing have failed of all that the Lord has spoken. Though heaven and earth pass away, his words will never pass away. And then not only do that, but recall, recall how God has been faithful to you in the past. and recall how he has enabled you and helped you and delivered you when you find yourself maybe in a similar time of trouble, and then remind and recall to your mind that the God who helped you in the past is a God who hasn't changed, and that he can help you again, and that he will help you again. And not only do that, but remember who your God is. Remember that he is almighty. You remember that he's all-knowing and you remember that he's loving and he's gracious and he's merciful. And you remember that he only desires what is best for his child. But I hasten to say that his best may come only to us through the trials that he providentially sends across our paths. And so we must remember that. And then do something else. Recount to God. Recount to God your struggles with regard to faith. Be honest and be frank with Him as you come to Him in prayer. Tell Him that you're battling with mistrust. Tell Him that you're finding it hard to trust Him in your circumstance and seek Him until a greater degree of faith or trust fills that soul of yours. Be honest with Him. Tell Him These are but some of the remedies. And so he lifts his soul on to God. Secondly, he comes to trust in God. Thirdly, David comes and finally he comes to wait on God, wait on God. Verse number five, we read, lead me in my truth and teach me. For thou art the God of my salvation. On thee do I wait all the day. Having lifted his soul to God and declared his trust in God, the Psalmist now takes to waiting on God. Now waiting on God is not us sitting about twiddling our thumbs doing nothing. This waiting on God results in the waiter becoming proactive because waiting on God is just another way of saying that the psalmist comes to pray. Waiting on God is praying. When we pray, we come to wait on God. James Smith said, We cannot be said to wait upon God without prayer, for prayer is the fixing of the eye and the outgoing of the heart, the breathing of the spirit, the cry of the soul. And repeatedly in Scripture we're encouraged to wait on God. Psalm 27, 14, Wait on the Lord and be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Psalm 62, 5, My soul, wait thou only upon God. for my expectation is from him. Psalm 130 verse 5, I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. Isaiah 40 verse 31, they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Lamentations 325, the Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. And tonight we come to wait upon God. We come to wait upon him. We come to wait upon him in prayer. That is what it is to wait on God. It isn't just to sit back and fold our arms and do nothing. That's what we think about when we use the word wait. We're just waiting. No, that's not what is involved here. This waiting on God is a praying there is a seeking of God and really the rest of the psalm is really David's prayer and we come to find that as David prays he comes to do a number of things and I need to go very quickly first of all in prayer he comes to adore his God he comes to adore him David declares in verse 5 thou art the God of my salvation He speaks of God's tender mercies and God's loving kindness in verse 6. The mercy and the goodness of God are referred to by the psalmist in verse 7. David declares that God is good and God is upright in verse 8. As David prays, he comes to dwell on the one to whom he now is praying to, this God of my salvation, this God who is a God of tender mercy and loving kindness, a God of mercy and a God of goodness, a God who is good, a God who is upright. This is the God that I come now to address in prayer, and he comes to adore his God. And that's what we do when we come to pray, that's what we ought to do, we ought to focus. on our God, who our God is, His power, His wisdom, His mercy, His love, His justice, His goodness, so on and so forth. He comes to adore His God. Secondly, He comes to confess His sin. You find David referring to his sin a number of times in the psalm. Psalm 25 verse 7 remember not the sins of my youth nor my transgressions verse 11 for thy name's sake oh lord pardon mine iniquity for it is great verse 18 look upon mine affliction and my pain and forgive all my sins if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves brethren sisters The truth is not in us. Rather than concealing his sin, rather than cleaving to his sin, David comes to confess his sin because he knows, as well we know, that harbored sin does not bring the blessing of God into an individual's life or into a church fellowship. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Your sins have separated between you and your God. David does not hide from God the extent of his sin. Its extent in terms of its duration. David's sins go all the way back to his youth. Verse 7. He doesn't hide from God the extent of his sin with regard to their magnitude. For he terms them in verse 11 as being great. David doesn't think lightly of his sin. They're great. As a believer, they're great. Great sin. He doesn't even hide from God the number of his sins, for he refers to them in their plurality. He speaks about sins in verse 7, transgressions, sins in verse 18, plural. In prayer, we ought to confess our sin. We ought to have short accounts with God when it comes to our sin. Confessing our sins at the earliest possible moment and seeking the cleansing of them in the blood of Christ through prayer. For he will cleanse us of our sin. So he comes to adore his God, to confess his sin. Finally, he comes to present his supplications to God. The petitions that the psalmist offers really fall into two main categories within the prayer. Within the psalm, there is the prayer for himself, the prayer for himself. regarding divine deliverance, divine guidance, divine remembrance. And then there's prayer for others, for the success of the good and for the overthrow of the wicked. Brethren and sisters, it's good to exalt God in prayer. It's good to confess our sins to God in prayer. But it's also good to actually pray for something. I know that sounds very basic, but it can be lost on some people. We are to actually pray for something. We are to lay before God specific prayers and then look to God for their specific answers. Show me, teach me, lead me, remember me, pardon me, turn on to me, have mercy on me, bring me out of my distresses, look upon me, forgive me, keep me, deliver me, preserve me. These are all requests that David makes in this psalm. I've just summarized them for you. He actually asks for something. He actually asks for something. There's no vagueness here. Specific praying that requires specific answers from God. And that's what our prayers ought to be. Specific, being definite in our praying. At all times, both privately and publicly. And so David, he's in the valley. What do you do? Do you sit and wallow there? Do you sit and allow yourself to become more depressed? David didn't do that. He did three things. He lifted his soul up to God, and then he trusted in God, and then he prayed to God. May God help you and I to do that, even tonight. May we be found lifting up our souls to God, may we be found praying to God, and as we do so, may our faith be strengthened. May God be pleased to answer our petitions as we come and offer them in Jesus' name. May the Lord bless His word to our hearts. Let's bow our heads in prayer together. Let's stand for a word of prayer, for we're getting down to prayer after these announcements, so let's pray. We come now to thee, we draw nigh to God. We rejoice that the promise is that, Lord, thou wilt draw nigh to us. Lord, draw nigh to us as we lift up our souls to thee. Yes, we lift up our voices, but we lift up our souls to God. Lord, I cry to thee that thou wilt remove all hindrances to prayer tonight. Cleanse this heart of mine. Lord, give us a fruitful year in this congregation. Give us a year of soul winning, a year of revival, a year of sanctification among the saints, salvation among the lost, and the stirring again among even the cold and backslidden in heart. Lord, we lift up our souls to Thee Lord let us not be ashamed as we put our trust in thee in these days when everything around us would dictate and say there is no no reason why there would ever be reversal of all that has happened in our land and yet Lord we lift up our hearts to thee We say with Paul, I believe God. Lord, give us such faith in these days and bless us as we will wait on soon before thee. We offer prayer.