“Nary a leg to stand on?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Monday, January 15, 2024
Psalm 25 (Forward, p. 78) CEV p. 568
This old English phrase denotes the unfortunate and scary situation where a person has no grounds for defence, no backing for what he or she says or stands for. It might well describe the situation in which David finds himself in today’s psalm.
Generally, it is thought—by many people at least—that God does not listen to sinners (see John 9:31), which is echoed in Isaiah 59:1-2 “See, the Lord’s hand is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. Rather, your iniquities have been barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he does not hear”.
So, how can this be, that David freely admits that he is a sinner, and a particularly grievous one at that and still expects the Lord to hear and forgive him?
“Please, Lord, remember, you have always been patient and kind. Forget each wrong I did when I was young. Show how truly kind you are and remember me. You are honest and merciful, and you teach sinners how to follow your path” (verses 6-8).
“Be true to our name, O Lord, by forgiving each of my terrible sins” (verse 11).
“See my troubles and misery and forgive my sins” (verse 18).
But maybe, here in these words, we find an answer to our little conundrum.
Firstly, David freely admits to his sin, his wrongdoing. He owns up to it and confesses it, rather than trying to avoid it or cover it up. And then secondly, he turns to God in trust—he implicitly mentions his trust in God in verses 1, 5, 21 but also alludes to it elsewhere as well. He is trusting in God ‘s kindness and mercy, in other words, in His grace, His unearned favour.
So here he joins the ranks of the penitent tax collector in the Temple, who cried out, “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13), and the apostle Paul, who labelled himself as ‘the chief of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). And is
this not our cry and need as well? We are all sinners, we have all ‘erred and strayed like lost sheep’, and we all need God’s grace, favour, and abundant forgiveness. And, we can know, without even a shred of doubt, that God always hears and responds to this cry. And, so we do have a ‘leg to stand on’, the very best one we could ever have, namely God’s love and word and faithfulness. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; my God, I put my trust in you; let me not be humiliated, nor let my enemies triumph over me” (verse 1).
“In a framework for change and leadership I created called DIGNITY: Seven Strategies for Creating Authentic Community, the letter ‘I’ refers to the tenet of identity—of our communities and also ourselves as individuals.
We often face resistance and challenged when making change and trying to mobilize others to grow in capacity and become more authentic to their purpose. But in those moments, we must hold steady.
“This psalm could be a prayer for holding steady and firm when faced with adversity. It calls on us to put our trust in the Lord, not in ourselves, and to hold up our efforts to glorify God, not our selfish desires. The psalm reminds us to pray that the enemies of unwillingness, disinclination, or violent hatred toward us will not triumph over us but that integrity and uprightness shall preserve us. I imagine Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. prayed a similar prayer. As the United States honours Dr. King’s legacy today, let us remember his bold reliance on God to change the heart of a nation and the world.”
Moving Forward: “In what areas do you need to hold steady?”