Seeking Forgiveness

"Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.  Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.  Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from old.  Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord" (Ps. 25:4-7, ESV).

Sometimes the simplest expressions make the most profound impact.  Here David is expressing his longing for the mercy of God.  If the Lord remembered (in order to punish) the sins of his people, they would be consumed by his rage.  However, in his steadfast love he prepared a way for their forgiveness through the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus the Christ.

David expresses a universal reality that we are all in need of instruction from God.  If we are to find God, he must reveal himself to us.  If we are to live a way that pleases him, it is his power that must manifest itself in us.  David's terms are very personal, "Make me to know your ways," and "Teach me your paths."  David's heart is fearing the sin within it.

This psalm is filled with confession.  It expresses guilt and anxiety over sin.  It drips with faith--ripe, full, and wounded.  It is a faith wounded by its own stumbling.  I do not know what David had been through prior to writing this psalm, but he obviously wanted forgiveness.  And David knew exactly where to find it.  He ran to the Lord.

David does not lay out a list of righteous acts which has a performed and ask God to remember them.  He does not lay charges against his enemies, he merely acknowledges that they are many and fierce. What he asks is for instruction, mercy, and forgiveness.

This can be a reminder for us.  In our sin, we need to turn to the Lord and seek forgiveness.  We need to confess our sins to him, and seek cleansing.  He is faith and just to forgive us of our sins, and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness (see 1 Jn. 1:9).  If we trust him to forgive us, through Jesus Christ the Son, then we will be cleansed by his grace and for his glory.