1 <Of David.> To you, O Lord, my soul is lifted up.
2 O my God, I have put my faith in you, let me not be shamed; let not my haters be glorying over me.
3 Let no servant of yours be put to shame; may those be shamed who are false without cause.
4 Make your steps clear to me, O Lord; give me knowledge of your ways.
5 Be my guide and teacher in the true way; for you are the God of my salvation; I am waiting for your word all the day.
6 O Lord, keep in mind your pity and your mercies; for they have been from the earliest times.
7 Do not keep in mind my sins when I was young, or my wrongdoing: let your memory of me be full of mercy, O Lord, because of your righteousness.
8 Good and upright is the Lord: so he will be the teacher of sinners in the way.
9 He will be an upright guide to the poor in spirit: he will make his way clear to them.
10 All the ways of the Lord are mercy and good faith for those who keep his agreement and his witness.
11 Because of your name, O Lord, let me have forgiveness for my sin, which is very great.
12 If a man has the fear of the Lord, the Lord will be his teacher in the way of his pleasure.
13 His soul will be full of good things, and his seed will have the earth for its heritage.
14 The secret of the Lord is with those in whose hearts is the fear of him; he will make his agreement clear to them.
15 My eyes are turned to the Lord at all times; for he will take my feet out of the net.
16 Be turned to me, and have mercy on me; for I am troubled and have no helper.
17 The troubles of my heart are increased: O take me out of my sorrows.
18 Give thought to my grief and my pain; and take away all my sins.
19 See how those who are against me are increased, for bitter is their hate of me.
20 O keep my soul, and take me out of danger: let me not be shamed, for I have put my faith in you.
21 For my clean and upright ways keep me safe, because my hope is in you.
22 Give Israel salvation, O God, out of all his troubles.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 25
Commentary on Psalms 25 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 25
Ps 25:1-22. The general tone of this Psalm is that of prayer for help from enemies. Distress, however, exciting a sense of sin, humble confession, supplication for pardon, preservation from sin, and divine guidance, are prominent topics.
1. lift up my soul—(Ps 24:4; 86:4), set my affections (compare Col 3:2).
2. not be ashamed—by disappointment of hopes of relief.
3. The prayer generalized as to all who wait on God—that is, who expect His favor. On the other hand, the disappointment of the perfidious, who, unprovoked, have done evil, is invoked (compare 2Sa 22:9).
4, 5. On the ground of former favor, he invokes divine guidance, according to God's gracious ways of dealing and faithfulness.
6, 7. Confessing past and present sins, he pleads for mercy, not on palliations of sin, but on God's well-known benevolence.
8, 9. upright—acting according to His promise.
sinners—the general term, limited by the
meek—who are penitent.
the way—and his way—God's way of providence.
9. in judgment—rightly.
10. paths—similar sense—His modes of dealing (compare Ps 25:4).
mercy and truth—(Job 14:1-22), God's grace in promising and faithfulness in performing.
11. God's perfections of love, mercy, goodness, and truth are manifested (his name, compare Ps 9:10) in pardoning sin, and the greatness of sin renders pardon more needed.
12, 13. What he asks for himself is the common lot of all the pious.
13. inherit the earth—(compare Mt 5:5). The phrase, alluding to the promise of Canaan, expresses all the blessings included in that promise, temporal as well as spiritual.
14. The reason of the blessing explained—the pious enjoy communion with God (compare Pr 3:21, 12), and, of course, learn His gracious terms of pardon.
15. His trust in God is fixed.
net—is frequently used as a figure for dangers by enemies (Ps 9:15; 10:9).
16-19. A series of earnest appeals for aid because God had seemed to desert him (compare Ps 13:1; 17:13, &c.), his sins oppressed him, his enemies had enlarged his troubles and were multiplied, increasing in hate and violence (Ps 9:8; 18:48).
20. keep my soul—(Ps 16:1).
put my trust—flee for refuge (Ps 2:12).
21. In conscious innocence of the faults charged by his enemies, he confidently commits his cause to God. Some refer—
integrity, &c.—to God, meaning His covenant faithfulness. This sense, though good, is an unusual application of the terms.
22. Extend these blessings to all Thy people in all their distresses.