Psalm 25

Psalms 25:1

“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.”

Psalms 25:1

“Unto thee, O Lord. See how the holy soul flies to its God like a dove to its cote. When the storm winds are out, the Lord's vessels put about and make for their well remembered harbour of refuge. What a mercy that the Lord will condescend to hear our cries in time of trouble, although we may have almost forgotten him in our hours of fancied prosperity. Unto thee, O Jehovah, do I lift up my soul. It is but a mockery to uplift the hands and the eyes unless we also bring our souls into our devotions.”

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;”

Psalms 25:2

“Enemies laugh when they see that the trust of just people has not been fulfilled.… Laughter is most often a quality of someone of good will, but laughing at someone is always the mark of an enemy.”

Psalms 25:2

“David, then, was carried upward to God with the whole desire of his heart, because, trusting to his promises, he thereby hoped for sure salvation. When he asks that God would not suffer him to be put to shame, he offers up a prayer which is taken from the ordinary doctrine of Scripture, namely, that they who trust in God shall never be ashamed.”

Psalms 25:2

O my God. This title is more dear than the name Jehovah, which is used in the first sentence. Already the sweet singer has drawn nearer to his heavenly helper, for he makes bold to grasp him with the hand of assured possession, calling him, my God. Oh the more than celestial music of that word— "My God!"

Psalms 25:3

“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.”

Psalms 25:3

“On the other hand, the disappointment of the perfidious, who, unprovoked, have done evil, is invoked (compare 2Sa 22:9). On the ground of former favor, he invokes divine guidance, according to God's gracious ways of dealing and faithfulness. Confessing past and present sins, he pleads for mercy, not on palliations of sin, but on God's well-known benevolence.”

Psalms 25:4

“Now the ways of the Lord are, we may say, certain courses taken in a good life, guided by Christ, who says, "I am the way, and the truth and the life." The way, then, is the surpassing power of God, for Christ is our way, and a good way, too, is he, a way that has opened the kingdom of heaven to believers. Moreover, the ways of the Lord are straight, as it is written: "Make your ways known to me, O Lord." Chastity is a way, faith is a way, abstinence is a way.”

Psalms 25:4

“Shew me thy ways, O Lord. Unsanctified natures clamour for their own way, but gracious spirits cry, "Not my will, but thine be done. " We cannot at all times discern the path of duty, and at such times it is our wisdom to apply to the Lord himself. Frequently the dealings of God with us are mysterious, and then also we may appeal to him as his own interpreter, and in due time he will make all things plain. Moral, providential and mental forms of guidance are all precious gifts of a gracious God to a teachable people.”

Psalms 25:5

“Lead me in thy truth, and teach me. The same request as in the last verse. The little child having begun to walk, asks to be still led onward by its parent's helping hand, and to be further instructed in the alphabet of truth. Experimental teaching is the burden of this prayer. Lead me according to thy truth, and prove thyself faithful; lead me into truth that I may know its preciousness, lead me by the way of truth that I may manifest its spirit.”

Psalms 25:6

“Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses. We are usually tempted in seasons of affliction to fear that our God has forgotten us, or forgotten his usual kindness towards us; hence the soul doth as it were put the Lord in remembrance, and beseech him to recollect those deeds of love which once he wrought towards it. There is a holy boldness which ventures thus to deal with the Most High, let us cultivate it; but there is also an unholy unbelief which suggests our fears, let us strive against it with all our might.”

Psalms 25:7

“By "youthful sin" he refers to the people's sins in Egypt, where they committed idolatry, remember. So now, he is saying, remember not those sins but your lovingkindness, by which even then you were kind to them in their ignorance and had mercy on them …”

Psalms 25:7

“Remember not the sins of my youth. Sin is the stumbling block. This is the thing to be removed. Lord, pass an act of oblivion for all my sins, and especially for the hot blooded wanton follies of my younger years. Those offences which we remember with repentance God forgets, but if we forget them, justice will bring them forth to punishment. The world winks at the sins of younger men, and yet they are none so little after all; the bones of our youthful feastings at Satan's table will stick painfully in our throats when we are old men.”

Psalms 25:8

“Mercy is customary with God; righteousness is his constant concern. Often, in fact, he obscures sin with a show of his goodness, and he does not submit individuals' behavior to harsh scrutiny; rather, when he sees some people persisting in their errors without amendment, he …”

Psalms 25:8

“Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. Here the goodness and rectitude of the divine character are beheld in friendly union; he who would see them thus united in bonds of perfect amity must stand at the foot of the cross and view them blended in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. It is no less true than wonderful that through the atonement the justice of God pleads as strongly as his grace for the salvation of the sinners whom Jesus died to save.”

Psalms 25:8

“Upright - Holy and true, in all his declarations and offers of mercy to sinners. Therefore - He will not be wanting to such poor sinners as I am, but will guide them into the way of life and peace.”

Psalms 25:9

“By using the term meek he excludes the proud and exalted.… "The mild" are just the opposite of the proud, who kick against the easy yoke and light burden with a freedom that does harm to them; God will teach those who do without grumbling …”

Psalms 25:9

“The meek will he guide in judgment. Meek spirits are in high favour with the Father of the meek and lowly Jesus, for he sees in them the image of his only begotten Son. They know their need of guidance, and are willing to submit their own understandings to the divine will, and therefore the Lord condescends to be their guide. Humble spirits are in this verse endowed with a rich inheritance; let them be of good cheer.”

Psalms 25:10

“Those constantly reared on the sacred Words have a precise knowledge from them that all the dispensations of God our Savior are tempered with mercy and truth: to some, who repent of sins committed, he extends mercy and pardon; others unconquered he proclaims and crowns …”

Psalms 25:10

“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, Ps. cxix. Christ is both the way and the truth, and therefore we must learn Christ.”

Psalms 25:10

“Though, through the infirmity of the flesh, they sometimes break the command, yet by a sincere repentance when at any time they do amiss, and a constant adherence by faith to God as their God, they keep the covenant and do not break that.”

Psalms 25:11

“For - Or, though (as this particle is often rendered) it be great. Possibly he speaks of his sin against Uriah and Bathsheba. Great - Or, much or manifold.”

Psalms 25:11

“But the latter is very surprising: " Pardon my iniquity, for it is great, and the greater it is the more will divine mercy be magnified in the forgiveness of it." It is the glory of a great God to forgive great sins, to forgive iniquity, transgression, and sin, Exod. xxxiv.”

Psalms 25:11

“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.”

Psalms 25:12

“What man is he that feareth the Lord? Let the question provoke self examination. Gospel privileges are not for every pretender. Art thou of the seed royal or no? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. Those whose hearts are right shall not err for want of heavenly direction. Where God sanctifies the heart he enlightens the head. We all wish to choose our way; but what a mercy is it when the Lord directs that choice, and makes free will to be goodwill!”

Psalms 25:13

“When the just have been stripped of their bodies, the perfect blessedness that is promised to the saints at the resurrection is not immediately granted; but it says that the soul is able "to dwell in good things," since even if those rewards have still …”

Psalms 25:13

“He who fears God has nothing else to fear. His soul shall dwell at ease. He shall lodge in the chamber of content. One may sleep as soundly in the little bed in the corner as in the Great Bed of Ware; it is not abundance but content that gives true ease. Even here, having learned by grace both to abound and be empty, the believer dwells at ease; but how profound will be the ease of his soul for ever! There he will enjoy the otium cum dignitate; ease and glory shall go together.”

Psalms 25:13

“At ease - Hebrew. in Good; in the possession and enjoyment of the true good. The land - Canaan; which was given as an earnest of the whole Covenant of Grace, and all its promises.”

Psalms 25:14

“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. Some read it "the friendship:" it signifies familiar intercourse, confidential intimacy, and select fellowship. This is a great secret. Carnal minds cannot guess what is intended by it, and even believers cannot explain it in words, for it must be felt to be known. The higher spiritual life is necessarily a path which the eagle's eye hath not known, and which the lion's whelp has not travelled; neither natural wisdom nor strength can force a door into this inner chamber.”

Psalms 25:14

“The secret - His love and favour, which is called his secret, Job xxix, 4 Prov. iii, 32, because it is known to none but him that enjoyeth it. Will shew - He will make them clearly to understand it, both its duties and its blessings; neither of which ungodly men rightly understand.”

Psalms 25:14

“They know by experience the blessings of the covenant and the pleasure of that fellowship which gracious souls have with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. This honour have all his saints. 15 Mine eyes are ever toward the L ORD ; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.”

Psalms 25:15

“Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord. The writer claims to be fixed in his trust, and constant in his expectation; he looks in confidence, and waits in hope. We may add to this look of faith and hope the obedient look of service, the humble look of reverence, the admiring look of wonder, the studious look of meditation, and the tender look of affection. Happy are those whose eyes are never removed from their God. "The eye, "says Solomon, "is never satisfied with seeing, "but this sight is the most satisfying in the world.”

Psalms 25:15

“Idolaters were for gods that they could see with their bodily eyes, and they had their eyes ever towards their idols, Isa. xvii. But it is an eye of faith that we must have towards God, who is a Spirit, Zech. ix. 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.”

Psalms 25:16

“His own eyes were fixed upon God, but he feared that the Lord had averted his face from him in anger. Oftentimes unbelief suggests that God has turned his back upon us. If we know that we turn to God we need not fear that he will turn from us, but may boldly cry, Turn thee unto me. The ground of quarrel is always in ourselves, and when that is removed there is nothing to prevent our full enjoyment of communion with God. Have mercy upon me.”

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, Lam. iii.”

Psalms 25:17

“The troubles of my heart are enlarged. When trouble penetrates the heart it is trouble indeed. In the case before us, the heart was swollen with grief like a lake surcharged with water by enormous floods; this is used as an argument for deliverance, and it is a potent one. When the darkest hour of the night arrives we may expect the dawn; when the sea is at its lowest ebb the tide must surely turn; and when our troubles are enlarged to the greatest degree, then we may hopefully pray, O bring thou me out of my distresses.”

Psalms 25:18

“The punishment assumed interiorly, however, is the humility of spirit before God; hence he says, "See," that is, consider, "my humility": Lk. 1: "He has regarded the humility of his handmaid." Likewise, there is also humility manifest exteriorly, which is a certain labor; hence he …”

Psalms 25:18

“Look upon mine affliction and my pain. Note the many trials of the saints; here we have no less than six words all descriptive of woe. "Desolate, and afflicted, troubles enlarged, distresses, affliction, and pain. " But note yet more the submissive and believing spirit of a true saint; all he asks for is, "Lord, look upon my evil plight; "he does not dictate, or even express a complaint; a look from God will content him, and that being granted he asks no more.”

Psalms 25:18

IF this Psalm were, indeed, written by David at the time when his son Absalom had raised the rebellion against him, we can readily understand the distinction which he draws between his "affliction," and his "pain." It is a great "affliction" to have a son become a rebel and that subjects who owed so much to their monarch should become traitors against his gentle government. "Pain" was the acute sensation which David's own heart experienced as the result of such calamity. He knew— "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is To have a thankless child."

Psalms 25:19

“Consider mine enemies,.... Or "look" (m) upon them; but with another kind of look; so as he looked through the pillar of fire upon the Egyptians, and troubled them, Exo 14:24; with a look of wrath and vengeance.”

Psalms 25:19

“Consider mine enemies. Watch them, weigh them, check them, defeat them. For they are many. They need the eyes of Argus to watch them, and the arms of Hercules to match them, but the Lord is more than sufficient to defeat them. The devils of hell and the evils of earth are all vanquished when the Lord makes bare his arm. They hate me with cruel hatred. It is the breath of the serpent's seed to hate; their progenitor was a hater, and they themselves must needs imitate him. No hate so cruel as that which is unreasonable and unjust.”

Psalms 25:20

“O keep my soul,.... Or "life" (n), which was in danger, his enemies seeking for it; wherefore he applies to God that gave it, and who had hitherto held him in it, to preserve it.”

Psalms 25:20

“O keep my soul out of evil, and deliver me when I fall into it. This is another version of the prayer, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. " Let me not be ashamed. This is the one fear which like a ghost haunted the psalmist's mind. He trembled lest his faith should become the subject of ridicule through the extremity of his affliction. Noble hearts can brook anything but shame. David was of such a chivalrous spirit, that he could endure any torment rather than be put to dishonour.”

Psalms 25:21

“Another reason is that your friends lean upon me. Sometimes God frees someone not because of his own merits, but lest friends of God perish together with him upon whom they lean. When he says, "The innocent and upright have clung to me," the innocent …”

Psalms 25:21

“Let integrity and uprightness preserve me. What better practical safeguards can a man require? If we do not prosper with these as our guides, it is better for us to suffer adversity. Even the ungodly world admits that "honesty is the best policy. " The heir of heaven makes assurance doubly sure, for apart from the rectitude of his public life, he enlists the guardian care of heaven in secret prayer: for I wait on thee.”

Psalms 25:21

“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.”

Psalms 25:22

“Prayer offered to God befits a king: it is appropriate for one appointed to rule to exercise complete care of his subjects. This is surely the reason that blessed David offered prayer not only for himself but also for a people entrusted to him, especially …”

Psalms 25:22

“Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. This is a very comprehensive prayer, including all the faithful and all their trials. Sorrow had taught the psalmist sympathy, and given him communion with the tried people of God; he therefore remembers them in his prayers. Israel, the tried, the wrestling, the conquering hero, fit representative of all the saints. Israel in Egypt, in the wilderness, in wars with Canaanites, in captivity, fit type of the church militant on earth.”