Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.
Psalms 25:3
…without cause. Is there ever a cause to transgress? Is there ever a cause to deal treacherously period? David seems to recognize there is not and states it emphatically with the word “indeed.”
Ashamed. This word appears often in this psalm twice in this verse. (Psalm 25:2; 20) Its meaning should be made clear as it would differ from what we tend to think.
Since the word also occurs in verse 20, near the end of the psalm, the thought of shame provides a context or background for what is said.
To understand what David is talking about we have to realize that the Bible uses the words shame and ashamed differently than we do. In fact, the primary biblical use is not even in most of our dictionaries. When we speak of being ashamed we usually mean being embarrassed or feeling foolish. Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines shame this way: a “painful emotion excited by a consciousness of guilt, disgrace or dishonor.” This idea is found in the Bible, particularly in appeals to us not to be ashamed of God or of spiritual things. Jesus was speaking along these lines when he said, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory” (Luke 9:26). In a similar vein, Paul wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). We are warned against shame because we all are often embarrassed of Jesus or the gospel, though we should actually be embarrassed to be embarrassed.
Yet this is not the chief biblical idea connected with shame, as I said. The unique biblical idea is that of being let down or disappointed or of having trusted in something that in the end proves unworthy of our trust. (Boice Expositional Commentaries)
Personal reflection: David in this verse encourages me to trust in God’s revealed ways. God gave us Law to bring order out of chaos. This Law comes with punishments, so there is no need for me to step out of line to deal treacherously with anyone. His law is perfect restoring the soul (Psalm 19:7). My hope should only and always be placed in God and if it is, then I will not be let down in the end. And what happens in the end is what matters.
The following is taken directly from The Treasury of David by Spurgeon.
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EXPOSITION
Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed. Suffering enlarges the heart by creating the power to sympathize. If we pray eagerly for ourselves, we shall not long be able to forget our fellow sufferers. None pity the poor like those who have been or are still poor, none have such tenderness for the sick as those who have been long in ill health themselves. We ought to be grateful for occasional griefs if they preserve us from chronic hardheartedness; for of all afflictions, an unkind heart is the worst, it is a plague to its possessor, and a torment to those around him. Prayer when it is of the Holy Ghost’s teaching is never selfish; the believer does not sue for monopolies for himself, but would have all in like case to partake of divine mercy with him. The prayer may be viewed as a promise; our Heavenly Father will never let his trustful children find him untrue or unkind. He will ever be mindful of his covenant.
Let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. David had given his enemies no provocation; their hatred was wanton. Sinners have no justifiable reason or valid excuse for transgressing; they benefit no one, not even themselves by their sins; the law against which they transgress is not harsh or unjust; God is not a tyrannical ruler, providence is not a bondage: men sin because they will sin, not because it is either profitable or reasonable to do so. Hence shame is their fitting reward. May they blush with penitential shame now, or else they will not be able to escape the everlasting contempt and the bitter shame which is the portion of fools in the world to come.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed. To wit, neither by their own disappointments, nor mine. For this last some add because if he should fail of his hopes, he knew this would be a great discouragement to others. — Arthur Jackson, M.A., 1593-1666.
Let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. All persons who transgress, do it, in some sense, without cause; since they cannot excuse of justify their conduct. God is so amiable and excellent in every part of his great name, that he deserves our constant reverence and love. His law is so holy, just, and good, and all his precepts concerning all things so righteous and calculated to make us happy, that the mouth of every transgressor must be stopped. Hence we must all be covered with shame, if dealt with according to our deserts, for all have sinned. But since God has promised to be merciful to those who truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel, shame will be the portion of those only who wilfully persist in their wickedness, and refuse to return to God by Jesus Christ. These then are the persons whom the psalmist speaks of as transgressing without cause, and doubtless these have no cloak for their sin. — William Richardson, 1825.
Let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. Let shame be sent to the right owner, even to those that deal disloyally, unprovoked on my part. And so it was; for Achitophel hanged himself; Absalom was trussed up by the hand of God, and dispatched by Joab; the people that conspired with him, partly perished by the sword, and partly fled home, much ashamed of their enterprise. Oh, the power of prayer! What may not the saints have for asking? — John Trapp.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Shame out of place and in place.