Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 25:15

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 25:15. Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord — All my expectation is from him alone. If I get at any time entangled, he will pluck my feet out of the net.

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

“Good and upright is Jehovah: Therefore will he instruct sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in justice; And the meek will he teach his way. All the paths of Jehovah are lovingkindness and truth Unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. For thy name’s sake, O Jehovah, Pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. What man is he that feareth Jehovah? Him shall he instruct in the way that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease; And his seed shall inherit the land. The friendship of Jehovah is with them that fear him; And he will show them his covenant. Mine eyes are ever toward Jehovah; For he will pluck my feet out of the net.”

“He will instruct sinners” (Psalms 25:8). “The sinners here are not the habitually wicked, but the humble, among whom the psalmist numbers himself.”The Layman’s Bible Commentary, p. 55. Nevertheless, David most certainly feels an estrangement from God in this passage, as evidenced by his triple plea for pardon in Psalms 25:7; Psalms 25:11; Psalms 25:18. A passage such as this thunders the message that, “God’s true people are not sinless.”Ibid. Yes, forgiveness is available for those who in penitence and meekness seek it, and who do not place themselves in the fatal position of the wicked by refusing to seek it, or to trust the grace and goodness of God to bestow it.

“The meek… such as keep his commandments” (Psalms 25:9-10). The kind of sinners who may expect God’s forgiveness appear in this psalm as (1) those who repent, (2) those who seek God’s forgiveness, (3) the meek, or humble, and (4) those who keep the Lord’s commandments.

“Pardon mine iniquity” (Psalms 25:11). Another word is here added as an explanation of the grounds upon which David asked God’s pardon, namely, for thy name’s sake. Added to the mercy, lovingkindness, and goodness mentioned in Psalms 25:6-7, we have a four fold statement of the grounds upon which the saints of God may request forgiveness of their sins. See our discussion of this phrase in the Shepherd Psalm, above.

“For it is great” (Psalms 25:11). Rawlinson identified the “great sin” mentioned by David in this place as that revolving around Bathsheba the wife of Uriah the Hittite in “2 Samuel 11:4-17.”The Pulpit Commentary. p. 182.

David’s prayer for pardon was granted. “Psalms 25:12-15 indicate that the psalmist’s intimacy with the Lord was developed, and that, successively, the promises are made of forgiveness, guidance, security, friendship and deliverance, arising respectively from an attitude of confession, reverence, and reliance.”The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 467.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord - This is an indication of the habitual state of mind of the psalmist. He had said that God would lead and guide those who were meek, gentle, teachable, humble; and he now says that this was his habitual state of mind. He constantly looked to God. He sought His direction. In perplexity, in doubt, in difficulty, in danger, in view of death and the future world, he looked to God as his guide. In other words, in reference to himself, he carried out the principles which he had stated as constituting true religion. It was a religion of dependence on God, for man’s only hope is in him.

For he shall pluck my feet out of the net - Margin, “bring forth.” Compare Psalms 9:15-16, note; Psalms 10:9, note. The “net” here is that which had been laid for him by the wicked. He trusted in God alone to deliver him from it.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

15.Mine eyes are continually towards Jehovah. David here speaks of his own faith, and of its perseverance, not in the way of boasting, but to encourage himself in the hope of obtaining his requests, so that he might give himself the more readily and cheerfully to prayer. As the promise is made to all who trust in God, that they shall not be disappointed of their hope, and that they shall never be put to shame, the saints often make this their shield of defense. Meanwhile, David shows to others, by his own example, the right manner of prayer, telling them that they should endeavor to keep their thoughts fixed upon God. As the sense of sight is very quick, and exercises an entire influence over the whole frame, it is no uncommon thing to find all the affections denoted by the term eyes. The reason which immediately follows shows still more plainly, that in the mind of David hope was associated with desire; as if he had said, That in resting his confidence in the help of God, he did so, not in doubt or uncertainty, but because he was persuaded that he would be his deliverer. The pronoun He, it ought to be observed, is also emphatic. It shows that David did not gaze around him in every direction, after the manner of those who, being in uncertainty, devise for themselves various methods of deliverance and salvation, but that he was contented with God alone.

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

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.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. Repetition of the request 25:8-22

The same petitions for guidance and pardon recur, but this time the basis of David’s request is the character of God. Psalms 25:8-10 develop the psalmist’s prayer for instruction and guidance in Psalms 25:4-5, and Psalms 25:11 develops his prayer for forgiveness in Psalms 25:6-7.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The psalmist proceeded to ask the Lord to deliver him out of his distress. He was trusting in God’s deliverance (Psalms 25:15). Evidently David regarded his present sufferings and the affliction of the nation he led, whatever those troubles may have been, as due to his own sins in some measure.

To experience God’s guidance and deliverance, God’s people must confess their sins and appeal to Him to be faithful to His promises to forgive. They will find direction in His revealed Word, and will experience deliverance in His appointed time. Therefore, we who are believers can take courage while repenting.

"This whole approach to divine guidance is personal and mature, unlike the basically pagan search for irrational pointers and omens (cf. Isaiah 47:13)." [Note: Kidner, p. 116.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Mine eyes [are] ever towards the Lord,.... Not only as the God of nature and providence, for his daily support and supply, in which sense the eyes of all creatures wait upon him; but as his covenant God and Father, having the eyes of his understanding opened to see and know him as such, and the eye of his faith directed to him, to believe in him, and make him his hope and trust; and his eye was single to him; it was to him, and him only, that he looked; and it was constant, it was ever to him, he set the Lord always before him; and such a look was well pleasing to God: it may also respect the lifting up of his eyes to God in prayer for all mercies temporal and spiritual, and his prayer was the prayer of faith; as follows:

for he shall pluck my feet out of the net; of the corruption of nature, and the lusts of it, as Aben Ezra interprets it; by which the saints are sometimes ensnared and taken captive, and out of which they cannot make their escape of themselves; but there is a deliverance from it by Jesus Christ their Lord: or out of the temptations of Satan, called his devices, and wiles, and the snares of the devil; and as the Lord knows how to deliver his out of temptations, he does deliver them in his own time; or rather out of the nets and snares laid for him by wicked men; as by his son Absalom, Ahithophel, and others, in which his feet were as a bird in the snare of the fowler; but he believed the net, or snare, would be broken, and he should escape, as he did.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      15 Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.   16 Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.   17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.   18 Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.   19 Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.   20 O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.   21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.   22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

      David, encouraged by the promises he had been meditating upon, here renews his addresses to God, and concludes the psalm, as he began, with professions of dependence upon God and desire towards him.

      I. He lays open before God the calamitous condition he was in. His feet were in the net, held fast and entangled, so that he could not extricate himself out of his difficulties, Psalms 25:15; Psalms 25:15. He was desolate and afflicted,Psalms 25:16; Psalms 25:16. It is common for those that are afflicted to be desolate; their friends desert them then, and they are themselves disposed to sit alone and keep silence, Lamentations 3:28. David calls himself desolate and solitary because he depended not upon his servants and soldiers, but relied as entirely upon God as if he had no prospect at all of help and succour from any creature. Being in distress, in many distresses, the troubles of his heart were enlarged (Psalms 25:17; Psalms 25:17), he grew more and more melancholy and troubled in mind. Sense of sin afflicted him more than any thing else: this it was that broke and wounded his spirit, and made his outward troubles lie heavily upon him. He was in affliction and pain,Psalms 25:18; Psalms 25:18. His enemies that persecuted him were many and malicious (they hated him), and very barbarous; it was with a cruel hatred that they hated him, Psalms 25:19; Psalms 25:19. Such were Christ's enemies and the persecutors of his church.

      II. He expresses the dependence he had upon God in these distresses (Psalms 25:15; Psalms 25:15): My eyes are ever towards the Lord. Idolaters were for gods that they could see with their bodily eyes, and they had their eyes ever towards their idols, Isaiah 17:7; Isaiah 17:8. But it is an eye of faith that we must have towards God, who is a Spirit, Zechariah 9:1. Our meditation of him must be sweet, and we must always set him before us: in all our ways we must acknowledge him and do all to his glory. Thus we must live a life of communion with God, not only in ordinances, but in providences, not only in acts of devotion, but in the whole course of our conversation. David had the comfort of this in his affliction; for, because his eyes were ever towards the Lord, he doubted not but he would pluck his feet out of the net, that he would deliver him from the corruptions of his own heart (so some), from the designs of his enemies against him, so others. Those that have their eye ever towards God shall not have their feet long in the net. He repeats his profession of dependence upon God (Psalms 25:20; Psalms 25:20) --Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in thee; and of expectation from him--I wait on thee,Psalms 25:21; Psalms 25:21. It is good thus to hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

      III. He prays earnestly to God for relief and succour,

      1. For himself.

      (1.) See how he begs, [1.] For the remission of sin (Psalms 25:18; Psalms 25:18): Forgive all my sins. Those were his heaviest burdens, and which brought upon him all other burdens. He had begged (Psalms 25:7; Psalms 25:7) for the pardon of the sins of his youth, and (Psalms 25:11; Psalms 25:11) for the pardon of some one particular iniquity that was remarkably great, which some think, was his sin in the matter of Uriah. But her he prays, Lord, forgive all, take away all iniquity. It is observable that, as to his affliction, he asks for no more than God's regard to it: "Look upon my affliction and my pain, and do with it as thou pleasest." But, as to his sin, he asks for no less than a full pardon: Forgive all my sins. When at any time we are in trouble we should be more concerned about our sins, to get them pardoned, than about our afflictions, to get them removed. Yet he prays, [2.] For the redress of his grievances. His mind was troubled for God's withdrawings from him and under the sense he had of his displeasure against him for his sins; and therefore he prays (Psalms 25:16; Psalms 25:16), Turn thou unto me. And, if God turn to us, no matter who turns from us. His condition was troubled, and, in reference to that, he prays, "O bring thou me out of my distresses. I see no way of deliverance open; but thou canst either find one or make one." His enemies were spiteful; and in reference to that, he prays, "O keep my soul from falling into their hands, or else deliver me out of their hands."

      (2.) Four things he mentions by way of plea to enforce these petitions, and refers himself and them to God's consideration:-- [1.] He pleads God's mercy: Have mercy upon me. Men of the greatest merits would be undone if they had not to do with a God of infinite mercies. [2.] He pleads his own misery, the distress he was in, his affliction and pain, especially the troubles of his heart, all which made him the proper object of divine mercy. [3.] He pleads the iniquity of his enemies: "Lord, consider them, how cruel they are, and deliver me out of their hands." [4.] He pleads his own integrity, Psalms 25:12; Psalms 25:12. Though he had owned himself guilty before God, and had confessed his sins against him, yet, as to his enemies, he had the testimony of his conscience that he had done them no wrong, which was his comfort when they hated him with cruel hatred; and he prays that this might preserve him, This intimates that he did not expect to be safe any longer than he continued in his integrity and uprightness, and that, while he did continue in it, he did not doubt of being safe. Sincerity will be our best security in the worst of times. Integrity and uprightness will be a man's preservation more than the wealth and honour of the world can be. These will preserve us to the heavenly kingdom. We should therefore pray to God to preserve us in our integrity and then be assured that that will preserve us.

      2. For the church of God (Psalms 25:22; Psalms 25:22): Redeem Israel, O God! out of all his troubles. David was now in trouble himself, but he thinks it not strange, since trouble is the lot of all God's Israel. Why should any one member fare better than the whole body? David's troubles were enlarged, and very earnest he was with God to deliver him, yet he forgets not the distresses of God's church; for, when we have ever so much business of our own at the throne of grace, we must still remember to pray for the public. Good men have little comfort in their own safety while the church is in distress and danger. This prayer is a prophecy that God would, at length, give David rest, and therewith give Israel rest from all their enemies round about. It is a prophecy of the sending of the Messiah in due time to redeem Israel from his iniquities (Psalms 130:8) and so to redeem them from their troubles. It refers also to the happiness of the future state. In heaven, and in heaven only, will God's Israel be perfectly redeemed from all troubles.