19 Consider mine enemies, for they are many, and they hate me [with] cruel hatred.
My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down [among] them that breathe out flames, the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
But they cried out in reply saying, Crucify, crucify him. And he said the third time to them, What evil then has this [man] done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will chastise him therefore and release him. But they were urgent with loud voices, begging that he might be crucified. And their voices [and those of the chief priests] prevailed.
and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people.
For the enemy persecuteth my soul: he hath crushed my life down to the earth; he hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead.
Keep me, O Jehovah, from the hands of the wicked [man], preserve me from the violent man, who devise to overthrow my steps.
{To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David.} Free me, O Jehovah, from the evil man; preserve me from the violent man:
O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assembly of the violent seek after my soul, and they have not set thee before them.
And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, who came forth of my bowels, seeks my life: how much more now a Benjaminite? let him alone and let him curse; for Jehovah has bidden him.
Thy tongue deviseth mischievous things, like a sharp razor, practising deceit.
But mine enemies are lively, they are strong; and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied:
When evil-doers, mine adversaries and mine enemies, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
Who hath delivered me from mine enemies: yea, thou hast lifted me up above them that rose up against me; from the man of violence hast thou delivered me.
{A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.} Jehovah, how many are they that trouble me, many they that rise up against me! Many say of my soul, There is no salvation for him in God. Selah.
and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid; and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only; and I will bring back all the people to thee. The man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: all the people shall be in peace. And the saying was right in the eyes of Absalom, and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel.
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.