For His Name's Sake

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.  O my God, in you I trust;

let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.

  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!...

For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt...

   Psalm 25:1-2, 7, 11a

David surely had a way with words, didn't he?  There was never a doubt where he was in his life.  He was up, and then he was down.  He was pensive, and then he was rejoicing.  He was feeling defeated, and then he was victorious.  He was tested and found pure, and then, as in this passage, he was found guilty.  And yet his faith in God was secure.  Even when he was waffling a bit, he always came back to the recognition of who God is and what He had done for him.

I believe there are three key elements in this passage that give us a hint of why David could come back to God over and over with the confidence that He would hear him.  And they had nothing to do with David!

• God's love for David was steadfast.  It didn't waiver as did David.  Oh, how thrilling to know that my God's love is steadfast for me!
• I love the statement (twice in this psalm), "For the sake of......"  For the sake of what?  Not for David's sake, but for the sake of God's goodness.  Oh, how liberating!  My goodness does not determine whether God is going to remember me, but it is for the sake of HIS goodness.  Does that not just thrill your heart and free your soul?  No matter how good we think we are, we simply are not good enough.  And yet we have a Savior who took our sins in His own body on the cross of Calvary, wiping clean the slate of our transgressions. We have a Savior, for the sake of HIS goodness, that allows us to be remembered fondly by Holy God.  Wow!  Revival sets into my heart when I think on this.
• David also pleaded to the Lord for the sake of HIS name.  Look closely at the poster at the top of the page.  What better way to start the day than to spend time in praise and worship for who God is and what He has done for us!  

1.  For HIS name's sake He leads me in paths of righteousness (Psalm 23:3). 
2. For HIS name's sake He remembers me. (Psalm 143:11)
3. For HIS name's sake He pardons our guilt (Psalm 25:11)
4. For HIS name's sake He delivers us (Psalm 109:21)

None of me, and all of HIM!  I am so eternally grateful that for HIS name's sake He will not let go of me.  I am an undeserving sinner bought by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

It is my prayer that everyone who reads this will be able to plead with the Lord for HIS name's sake because He is yours and you are HIS.

For HIS Name's Sake, and for the sake of HIS goodness,

Gloria