Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 25:1

Clarke's Commentary

PSALM XXV

The psalmist, in great distress, calls upon God frequently, 1-5;

prays for pardon with the strong confidence of being heard,

6-11;

shows the blessedness of the righteous, 12-14;

again earnestly implores the Divine mercy; and prays for the

restoration of Israel, 15-22.

NOTES ON PSALM XXV

This Psalm seems to refer to the case of the captives in Babylon, who complain of oppression from their enemies, and earnestly beg the help and mercy of God.

It is the first of those called acrostic Psalms, i.e., Psalms each line of which begins with a several letter of the Hebrew alphabet in their common order. Of acrostic Psalms there are seven, viz., Psalms 25:0, Psalms 34:0, Psalms 37:0, Psalms 111:0, Psalms 112:0, Psalms 119:0, and Psalms 145:0. It is fashionable to be violent in encomiums on the Jews for the very faithful manner in which they have preserved the Hebrew Scriptures; but these encomiums are, in general, ill placed. Even this Psalm is a proof with what carelessness they have watched over the sacred deposit committed to their trust. The letter vau is wanting in the fifth verse, and koph in the eighteenth; the letter resh being twice inserted, once instead of koph, and a whole line added at the end, entirely out of the alphabetical series.

Verse Psalms 25:1. Do I lift up my soul. — His soul was cast down, and by prayer and faith he endeavours to lift it up to God.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 25:0 Forgiveness and guidance

In the distressing circumstances surrounding this psalm, David is concerned that his enemies should not triumph over him. This is not only to save him from personal shame, but also to save his faith from being shaken. The rebels, not the faithful, are the ones who should be defeated (1-3). David wants to know more of God and his ways, so that in all the affairs of life he will do what is right (4-5). If past sins are the cause of his present troubles, he prays that God, in his mercy and love, will forgive them (6-7).
As he thinks of the goodness of God towards humble and repentant sinners, David is encouraged to believe that God will forgive him. More than that, God will lead him into a life of truer understanding, obedience and faithfulness (8-11). The more people revere and obey God, the more they find that God is their friend. They know more of God and are more assured in their salvation (12-14).
In his present danger David is lonely and fearful. But he keeps his eye fixed on God, trusting in him alone for help (15-17). He asks again for forgiveness of his sins and deliverance from his enemies (18-21). He asks also that God will save the nation from its troubles. If he can be the saviour of the individual, surely he can be the saviour of the nation (22).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“Unto thee, O Jehovah, do I lift up my soul. O my God, in thee have I trusted, Let me not be put to shame; Let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, none that wait for thee shall be put to shame: They shall be put to shame who deal treacherously without cause. Show me thy ways, O Jehovah; Teach me thy paths. Guide me in thy truth, and teach me; For thou art the God of my salvation; For thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O Jehovah, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; For they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: According to thy lovingkindness remember thou me, For thy goodness sake, O Jehovah.”

“Let me not be put to shame” (Psalms 25:2). The distress of the petitioner is evident throughout the psalm. He is acutely conscious of his enemies and the treachery of those whom he has trusted. He is oppressed by the consciousness that he does not really know what to do under the distressing circumstances, hence the cry:

“Show me... guide me” (Psalms 25:4-5). “Man is so wanting in spiritual understanding, so morally blind and ignorant, that, unless enlightened from on high, he cannot discern `the way of godliness.’ He does not know at any given moment what God would have him do.”The Pulpit Commentary, p. 181.

The distress and uncertainty send the psalmist to God for sure and certain answers. He is acutely conscious of sins in his life reaching all the way back to his youth; and there is an instinctive reaction to this in that all suffering, disease, sorrows and distresses are associated in the human mind with sins. True, they are not always directly related, as in the case of the man born blind (John 9); but there is a sub-conscious reaction of the human race which does not fail to relate sin and suffering as cause and effect, whether true or not.

This is the background that prompts the psalmist to pray for the forgiveness of the sins of his youth.

“Remember thy mercies… lovingkindness… thy goodness” (Psalms 25:6-7). It is significant that David here based his plea that God “Remember not” the sins of his youth, not upon the basis of any merit of his own, but solely upon the goodness, kindness and mercy of God.

“Remember... remember not” (Psalms 25:6-7). Only God can “forget” sins, an achievement of which men are incapable. The promise that God would both forgive and forget sins was revealed by the prophet Jeremiah as the outstanding characteristic of the New Covenant. “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).

All of the forgiveness available under the Old Covenant fell short of the absolute sense of it in the New Testament, because the Atonement of Christ was yet in the future. In the practical sense, however, a type of forgiveness was granted to Old Testament saints in the action of God whose “passing over of the sins done aforetime” (Romans 3:25) may be viewed as a practical equivalent of New Testament forgiveness “in Christ.”

“Sins of my youth, nor my transgressions” (Psalms 25:7). There are two classes of sins here, concerning which the psalmist pleaded that God would not remember them. (1) These were the “sins of his youth,” and (2) his “transgressions.” Perhaps he had found, as so many others have discovered, that “the sins of youth” are never terminated automatically with the arrival of maturity. On the other hand, sins have a way of fastening themselves upon the sinner and increasing as the years go by. An apostle warned us that “wickedness shall wax worse and worse.”

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul - In meditation; in gratitude; in praise. The idea is, that the thoughts are lifted up from earth and earthly subjects to God. This is the beginning of the meditation; this gives character, perhaps, to the psalm. The state of mind is that of one who turns cheerfully away from earthly themes, and opens his mind to more lofty and hallowed influences. The mind begins with God; and, beginning with this, the current of thought is allowed to flow on, gathering up such ideas as would come in under this general purpose. Opening the mind to this influence, thoughts would flow in upon the soul embracing a wide range, and perhaps not very closely connected among themselves, but all of which would be fitted to raise the heart to God in meditation, thankfulness, and praise.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

1.Unto thee, O Jehovah! etc The Psalmist declares at the very outset, that he is not driven hither and thither, after the manner of the ungodly, but that he directs all his desires and prayers to God alone. Nothing is more inconsistent with true and sincere prayer to God, than to waver and gaze about as the heathen do, for some help from the world; and at the same time to forsake God, or not to betake ourselves directly to his guardianship and protection. Those who imagine that David here declares that he had devoted himself entirely to God, as if he had offered up himself in sacrifice, do not properly understand the import of the passage. The meaning rather is, that in order to strengthen the hope of obtaining his request, he declares, what is of the greatest importance in prayer, that he had his hope fixed in God, and that he was not ensnared by the allurements of the world, or prevented from lifting up his soul fully and unfeignedly to God. In order, therefore, that we may pray aright to God, let us be directed by this rule — not to distract our minds by various and uncertain hopes, nor to depend on worldly aid, but to yield to God the honor of lifting up our hearts to him in sincere and earnest prayer. Moreover, although the verb is properly rendered, I will lift up, yet I have followed other interpreters in changing it into the past tense, I have lifted up By the future tense, however, David denotes a continued act.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 25:1-22

Psalms 25:1-22 :

Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not my enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. Show me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all day. Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD ( Psalms 25:1-7 ).

Now David is changing his tune. Earlier he was saying, "Lord, remember my righteousness, and do good to me for my righteousness' sake." And now as he is growing a little older, and he is looking back in retrospect, he is saying, "Lord, don't remember the sins of my youth. According to Your mercy remember me. When You think about me, Lord, let it be covered with Your mercy. And for Your goodness' sake, O Lord."

Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. The paths of the LORD are mercy and truth [all of the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth] unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies ( Psalms 25:8-10 ).

So all of God's ways towards you are mercy and truth if you keep His covenant and walk in His testimonies.

For thy name's sake ( Psalms 25:11 ),

Remember we were dealing with this this morning. "For thy name's sake." He leads me in the path of righteousness for His name's sake. Now David is saying,

For thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great. What is man that he fears the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth. The secret of the LORD is with them that reverence him; and he will show them his covenant ( Psalms 25:11-14 ).

God's secret. Oh, the glorious mysteries. What is the secret of the Lord? Paul tells us the secret of the Lord. It is Christ in you, the hope of glory. That is God's secret. It is a mystery hid from the beginning of the world now revealed to the church, Christ in you, the hope of glory. He reveals it to those who keep His covenant.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

David lifted up his soul to Yahweh in trust, confident that God would not let him down or let his enemies overcome him. He believed no one who put his hope in God would suffer disappointment, though the treacherously wicked would.

"The mood changes from confidence in God’s justice to submission to God’s guidance. The heart of the believer is never confident without also being submissive to his God." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 228.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. Requests for guidance and pardon 25:1-7

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 25

David appealed to God for wisdom and forgiveness because of His goodness to Israel. This is one of the acrostic psalms in which each verse in the Hebrew Bible begins with the succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet, here with an occasional irregularity. Two verses begin with the letter resh, the letters waw and qof are absent, and the last verse begins with the letter pe, which is out of normal alphabetical order. The psalm is an individual lament that transforms at the end into a communal lament (cf. Psalms 34). It pictures life as a difficult journey that we cannot make successfully by ourselves. [Note: Wiersbe, The . . . Wisdom . . ., p. 140.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. Either "in prayer", as the Chaldee paraphrase adds s; and denotes sincere, affectionate, hearty prayer to God, a drawing nigh to him with a true heart: for unless the heart is lifted up, the lifting up of the eyes or hands in prayer is of no avail; see Lamentations 3:41; or by way of offering to the Lord, as some Jewish writers t interpret it; David not only presented his body in public worship, but his soul also as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which was his reasonable service; or else as a "depositum", which he committed into the hands of God, to be under his care and protection; and then the sense is the same with Psalms 31:5 u; the phrase is sometimes used to express earnest and vehement desire after anything; Psalms 31:5- :; and may here intend the very great desire of the psalmist after communion with God; which is elsewhere by him expressed by panting after him, and by thirsting for him in a dry and thirsty land, Psalms 42:1; the desires of his soul were not to vain things, the vanities and idols of the Gentiles, but to God only, and to the remembrance of his name.

s So Kimchi & Ben Melech. t R. Moseh in Aben Ezra in loc. u Midrash Tillim.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

A psalm of David.

      1 Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.   2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.   3 Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.   4 show me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.   5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.   6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.   7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.

      Here we have David's professions of desire towards God and dependence on him. He often begins his psalms with such professions, not to move God, but to move himself, and to engage himself to answer those professions.

      I. He professes his desire towards God: Unto thee, O Lord! do I lift up my soul,Psalms 25:1; Psalms 25:1. In the foregoing psalm (Psalms 24:4; Psalms 24:4) it was made the character of a good man that he has not lifted up his soul to vanity; and a call was given to the everlasting gates to lift up their heads for the King of glory to come in,Psalms 25:1; Psalms 25:1. To this character, to this call, David here answers, "Lord, I lift up my soul, not to vanity, but to thee." Note, In worshipping God we must lift up our souls to him. Prayer is the ascent of the soul to God; God must be eyed and the soul employed. Sursum corda--Up with you hearts, was anciently used as a call to devotion. With a holy contempt of the world and the things of it, by a fixed thought and active faith, we must set God before us, and let out our desires towards him as the fountain of our happiness.

      II. He professes his dependence upon God and begs for the benefit and comfort of that dependence (Psalms 25:2; Psalms 25:2): O my God! I trust in thee. His conscience witnessed for him that he had no confidence in himself nor in any creature, and that he had no diffidence of God or of his power or promise. He pleases himself with this profession of faith in God. Having put his trust in God, he is easy, is well satisfied, and quiet from the fear of evil; and he pleads it with God whose honour it is to help those that honour him by trusting in him. What men put a confidence in is either their joy or their shame, according as it proves. Now David here, under the direction of faith, prays earnestly, 1. That shame might not be his lot: "Let me not be ashamed of my confidence in thee; let me not be shaken from it by any prevailing fears, and let me not be, in the issue, disappointed of what I depend upon thee for; but, Lord, keep what I have committed unto thee." Note, If we make our confidence in God our stay, it shall not be our shame; and, if we triumph in him, our enemies shall not triumph over us, as they would if we should now sink under our fears, or should, in the issue, come short of our hopes. 2. That it might not be the lot of any that trusted in God. All the saints have obtained a like precious faith; and therefore, doubtless, it will be alike successful in the issue. Thus the communion of saints is kept up, even by their praying one for another. True saints will make supplication for all saints. It is certain that none who, by a believing attendance, wait on God, and, by a believing hope, wait for him, shall be made ashamed of it. 3. That it might be the lot of the transgressors; Let those be ashamed that transgress without cause, or vainly, as the word is. (1.) Upon no provocation. They revolt from God and their duty, from David and his government (so some), without any occasion given them, not being able to pretend any iniquity they have found in God, or that in any thing he has wearied them. The weaker the temptation is by which men are drawn to sin the stronger the corruption is by which they are driven by it. Those are the worst transgressors that sin for sinning-sake. (2.) To no purpose. They know their attempts against God are fruitless; they imagine a vain thing, and therefore they will soon be ashamed of it.

      III. He begs direction from God in the way of his duty, Psalms 25:4; Psalms 25:5. Once and again he here prays to God to teach him. He was a knowing man himself, but the most intelligent, the most observant, both need and desire to be taught of God; from him we must be ever learning. Observe,

      1. What he desired to learn: "Teach me, not fine words or fine notions, but thy ways, thy paths, thy truth, the ways in which thou walkest towards men, which are all mercy and truth (Psalms 25:10; Psalms 25:10), and the ways in which thou wouldst have me to walk towards thee." Those are best taught who understand their duty, and know the good things they should do,Ecclesiastes 2:3. God's paths and his truth are the same; divine laws are all founded upon divine truths. The way of God's precepts is the way of truth, Psalms 119:30. Christ is both the way and the truth, and therefore we must learn Christ.

      2. What he desired of God, in order to this. (1.) That he would enlighten his understanding concerning his duty: "Show me thy way, and so teach me." In doubtful cases we should pray earnestly that God would make it plain to us what he would have us to do. (2.) That he would incline his will to do it, and strengthen him in it: "Lead me, and so teach me." Not only as we lead one that is dimsighted, to keep him from missing his way, but as we lead one that is sick, and feeble, and faint, to help him forward in the way and to keep him from fainting and falling. We go no further in the way to heaven than God is pleased to lead us and to hold us up.

      3. What he pleads, (1.) His great expectation from God: Thou art the God of my salvation. Note, Those that choose salvation of God as their end, and make him the God of their salvation, may come boldly to him for direction in the way that leads to that end. If God save us, he will teach us and lead us. He that gives salvation will give instruction. (2.) His constant attendance on God: On thee do I wait all the day. Whence should a servant expect direction what to do but from his own master, on whom he waits all the day? If we sincerely desire to know our duty, with a resolution to do it, we need not question but that God will direct us in it.

      IV. He appeals to God's infinite mercy, and casts himself upon that, not pretending to any merit of his own (Psalms 25:6; Psalms 25:6): "Remember, O Lord! thy tender mercies, and, for the sake of those mercies, lead me, and teach me; for they have been ever of old." 1. "Thou always wast a merciful God; it is thy name, it is thy nature and property, to show mercy." 2. "Thy counsels and designs of mercy were from everlasting; the vessels of mercy were, before all worlds, ordained to glory." 3. "The instances of thy mercy to the church in general, and to me in particular, were early and ancient, and constant hitherto; they began of old, and never ceased. Thou hast taught me from my youth up, teach me now."

      V. He is in a special manner earnest for the pardon of his sins (Psalms 25:7; Psalms 25:7): "O remember not the sins of my youth. Lord, remember thy mercies (Psalms 25:6; Psalms 25:6), which speak for me, and not my sins, which speak against me." Here is, 1. An implicit confession of sin; he specifies particularly the sins of his youth. Note, Our youthful faults and follies should be matter of our repentance and humiliation long after, because time does not wear out the guilt of sin. Old people should mourn for the sinful mirth and be in pain for the sinful pleasures of their youth. He aggravates his sins, calling them his transgressions; and the more holy, just, and good the law is, which sin is the transgression of, the more exceedingly sinful it ought to appear to us. 2. An express petition for mercy, (1.) That he might be acquitted from guilt: "Remember not the sins of my youth; that is, remember them not against me, lay them not to my charge, enter not into judgment with me for them." When God pardons sin he is said to remember it no more, which denotes a plenary remission; he forgives and forgets. (2.) That he might be accepted in God's sight: "Remember thou me; think on me for good, and come in seasonably for my succour." We need desire no more to make us happy than for God to remember us with favour. His plea is, "according to thy mercy, and for thy goodness-sake." Note, It is God's goodness and not ours, his mercy and not our own merit, that must be our plea for the pardon of sin and all the good we stand in need of. This plea we must always rely upon, as those that are sensible of our poverty and unworthiness and as those that are satisfied of the riches of God's mercy and grace.