Psalm 25; an expression of agnosticism?

Today I thought I'd also write about one of my favourites from the Book of Psalms. This wonderful collection of poetry has often been set to music (which may be one of the reasons I like it so much!) but Psalm 25 speaks to me even when unaccompanied. Here is the King James Version:

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.
Shew 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 lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou 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 are 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 shew them his covenant.
Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O 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; and they 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 uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles

Once you've read it, I'd encourage you to read it through again and find particular sentences which catch your eye. This Psalm is (I think) trickier to understand than it appears. There is the obvious direct meaning we can lift from the poem, which is an appreciation for the power and majesty of God, and the steadfastness of God's teaching and judgement. This is all very well, and is expressed very beautifully. But the text offers deeper and more subtle interpretations which (I think) come out better after much contemplation.

The first time I read the text of Psalm 25, I was meditating from a position of great uncertainty. I was reaching out for God (or indeed, any kind of certainty) at a time when I felt like I couldn't be sure of anything. "Lead me in your truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on you I wait all the day". I felt, at that point, exactly as if I had been waiting for God all day, and indeed was still waiting. I felt the great wisdom in these Psalms which showed me then a great understanding of and sympathy with the doubting, desperate, human person who is constantly waiting for a promised Saviour who they sometimes worry may never come. This expression of human agnosticism seemed to lift a lot of the weight of guilt about my fragile faith from my shoulders.

Another aspect of this Psalm which catches my eye is the running theme of repentance, a kind of begging to God to "remember... thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses". It is too often that I feel burdened by my past (and indeed, present and future) mis-deeds, and this Psalm lovingly acknowledges those and reminds us to leave them to God and not worry about them endlessly. For someone who is "desolate and afflicted", such a message can be not only welcome, but catalytic and life-changing.

There is a third theme which is perhaps esoteric, but which is in some ways more important than all of them - this is hope. The very last line says "Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles". This is something more than the repenance or penance which I expounded in the earlier paragraph - there is hope there, too. After all of these descriptions of "troubles of my heart", "mine affliction and my pain" and "cruel distress", we end with this cry, motivated by hope, for God to carry us away from all of this human misery and suffering. Whilst there are many things in life that challenge us and make us despair, we are never without a protector and we are never without rescue - the Psalm ends to remind us of this, the most comforting thing of all. 

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