Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb19960428.htm

PSALMS: DIARIES OF GODLY OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS
Psalm Twenty-Five: Dealing Productively With Being Persecuted For The Sins Of Our Pasts
(Psalm 25:1-22)
  1. Introduction
    1. The longer we live, the more we can see the errors and foolishness of the sins of our pasts! What is particularly burdensome is the pain or cost we still incur because of those failures as opponents may try t o bring those things up to harass us for their own ends of controlling us or persecuting us!
    2. Psalm 25:1-22 is David's exampling instruction for us on overcoming the sins of our past as follows:
  2. Dealing Productively With The Sins Of Our Pasts, Psalm 25:1-22.
    1. When David wrote this psalm, he was suffering from the effective accusations of enemies who brought up to mind the sins of his youth, Ps. 25:7a with 25:2.
    2. Accordingly, David's interaction with God on this problem is most instructive in handling both our enemies who do this and the sins of our youth as follows:
      1. Step One - David maintained a confidence in God to give him a peaceful, shameless resolution, 25:1-3.
        1. He expressed confidence in God to handle the welfare of his entire humanity, the Hebrew term for "soul" (nephesh) used in Ps. 25:1b referring to physical, mental, emotional and spiritual existence.
        2. Entrusting his nephesh to God, David expected to escape the shame his enemies planned for him, 3.
      2. Step Two - David requested guidance from God as to what to do in his predicament, Ps. 25:4-5.
        1. David requested instruction from God as to what he should do, Ps. 25:4.
        2. He requested divine prodding to march him in the right direction so as to do the right thing, Ps. 25:5. This affliction made it difficult for David to think objectively, so he felt he needed the assurance of being prodded to march in the right direction, Ps. 25:5a with 9a and 9b. Ps. 25:9b shows that God actually teaches afflicted people who may have trouble thinking what is the right way.
      3. Step Three - David relied on God's loyal love (grace) to bless him in spite of his sinful past, Ps. 25:6-10.
      4. Step Four - Counting on God's grace, David confessed his past sins for forgiveness, Ps. 25:11.
      5. Step Five - Following forgiveness, David expected God's guidance and resulting blessing of his obeying that guidance to escape the problem of his enemies' charges of his past sins, Ps. 25:12-15.
      6. Step Six - David prayerfully requested deliverance from the narrow straits or pressures that his critiquing enemies had placed upon him with their charges of his past sins, Ps. 25:16-20:
        1. David expressed how lonely he felt as all others seemed focused on his past sins, Ps. 25:16.
        2. He felt incredibly pressured by the criticism as though he had no other place to hide, Ps. 25:17-18.
        3. He expressed how his enemies had brought up these past sins in hatred to get even with him, 25:19.
        4. David finally showed that his real dread was public humiliation with such charges of his past, 25:20.
      7. Step Seven - David prayerfully requested that his current integrity and uprightness guard him from public humiliation by his enemies' attention to his past failures, Ps. 25:21.
      8. Step Eight - David requested that this deliverance be widened to deliver Israel as a nation from the humiliation of being reminded of its past, embarrassing sins as a people, Ps. 25:22!
Lesson: The way to handle embarrassing humiliation pressures by opponents who try to dig up our past failures is as follows: (a) trust the Lord to supply a resolution as no trial is too big for us to handle with Him, Ps. 25:1-3; 1 Corinthians 10 :13. (b) Request Biblical instruction from God as to a resolution and seek it, Ps. 23:4-5. If the degree of trial is so strong that we have trouble thinking clearly, pray for God to prod us in the right direction just to be sure we are doing what is right , Ps. 25:5a with 9b. (c) Relying on God's gracious forgiveness, confess the sin if it hasn't yet been confessed to find that forgiveness, Ps. 25:11-15. (d) Pray requesting the following: ((1)) ask for deliverance from the persecution of the ene mies involved, detailing all that concerns us including the hatred of our opponents, Ps. 25:16-20. ((2)) Request that our current integrity be used as a shield from public humiliation by our enemies, Ps. 25:21. ((3)) Request that this personal deliverance become that which other believers might enjoy through God's grace, Ps. 25:22!