How to stay out of traps - Psalm 25

                                                      

Have you ever read the works of James Fenimore Cooper? From my childhood, I was a history buff, and historical fiction was just my cup of tea . . . Cooper's heroes and heroines were people of intelligence and acumen. He wrote into his novels wily and experienced men who could slip through the forest without disturbing a twig; men who knew well the signs of animals and men, and could determine not just who had stepped in a spot, but how long ago they stepped there!

And this was good, because in the pioneer era that Cooper detailed in his works, the forest could look quite safe but still be dangerous - natives and colonists alike could set snares and traps and hide them so a casual observer might never see them. Whether for food or for an enemy, a well-placed and concealed trap was something to watch out for . . . 

Most of the experience that I have with traps would be those shiny, metallic, boxy contraptions that one can use to trap and relocate squirrels. There's not much way to conceal those, so I don't feel so sorry for the critter when they are trapped - they could see the danger; they just were greedy for that bait! 

All of these were thoughts of mine as I read and re-read Psalm 25. That verse about God releasing our feet from the snare really stuck with me. Especially when David's psalm also speaks of being troubled by his mistakes and his sins . . . often when we find ourselves in "traps" in our lives, it's because of our own mistakes or our own sins. How can we learn to stay out of those traps?

If we jump over to the New Testament, we find a couple of verses that seem to be the perfect summary of our psalm for this week. Indulge me if you will, and turn there sometime this week to refresh your memory:

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. (James 1:5-6, NASB)

James has just finished talking about the need for wisdom in the midst of trials. Then, he tells us that we must seek God and His wisdom when we experience those trials -- and that is exactly what David is telling us in our psalm. He's telling us it doesn't matter how difficult our trials are. It doesn't matter if we caused them ourselves! We still need to seek wisdom from the Lord - and then trust Him to work in the trials for His glory, and for our good.

Whew! That's a tall order! I feel like we need an instruction manual, don't you? Aah, yes, we have one! First of all, we have our Bibles. In addition to being a book of history, and a book of prophecy, and poetry, and comfort, it's also the best set of instructions EVER. (Grin) And we have some particular passages that are truly helpful. Psalm 25 is one of those.

The scholars tell us that this psalm is an acrostic (I would never have known, but I will take their word for it!). An acrostic is a text where each verse begins with a successive letter of the alphabet. This may have been something that David and other psalmists used in order to make the psalms easier for people to remember. Just as it's good practice for us to memorize portions of God's Word nowadays, the Hebrew people did the same back then. This whole psalm has a theme of learning, and the alphabetical arrangement of the verses would have aided in memorization. 

We could say that in the midst of pouring out his heart, David wrote a primer on how to live so as the please God - in the midst of trials. If he'd been a Southern Baptist preacher, he probably would have tried to divide all of this into three sections, and if he could have titled each section starting with the same letter, it really would have cranked his tractor! (Grin) I'm guessing David's three sections would have been something like this: trials from sin and guilt, seeking the Lord for wisdom, and the Lord's ability to deliver us from the trials.

We've said before that God's children often find themselves in difficult (even frightening) circumstances. We're not absolutely certain about David's circumstances in this psalm. It's not like he titled it "I'm on the run and feeling guilty" or something else along those lines . . . in light of his repeated references to his sins (including the sins "of his youth") we can surmise that he was a little older. It's possible that since his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of her unsuspecting husband led to Absalom's leading a revolt, it may have been written during that time of his life.

Other clues to his circumstances . . . what else had David feeling trapped? In verses 2-3, he mentions enemies who are seeking to gloat over his troubles - even over his death! Verse nineteen says that the foes are many and that they hate David with violence. They seem to have gained advantage over David, because he describes his feet as already caught in their net (verse 15). Our old buddy David feels lonely and bereft, and he feels his troubles are growing worse instead of better (v 16-17). Lastly, David asks repeatedly for God to teach him (verses 4-5, 8-9, 12, and 14). He doesn't sound like someone who feels he has his act together, no? He is admitting that he needs instruction -- that he's confused in the midst of these circumstances. He feels trapped.

Wow. If David, who walked with God from his youth, was facing these trials as he was well, about my age, then none of us are exempt! Not young people, not older people, not even those who are wise in the ways of godliness. Sometimes we believers think, "I've been following the Lord and seeking Him. I've been trying to be obedient. WHY am I experiencing all these trials?" We needn't think that if we obey God, He gives us a "home free" card. No passes that exempt us from trials. Nope, we need to brush up on our Bible reading if we are thinking that way: many of the most godly men and women in the Bible went through difficult trials, so we needn't be surprised.

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. (I Peter 4:12)

Circumstances can seem to trap us. So can our own sins and mistakes. More on that next time . . .