Psalms 25:20
in Psalms 25Guard my soul and deliver me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in You.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Oh keep my soul, and deliver me: Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in thee.
KJV
O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 25
Commentary
12 notes on this verseO 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.
This site's exposition
Consider my enemies
on Psalms 25:19-22
The enemies are many and their hatred is vicious. The plea for rescue rests on integrity and uprightness and on waiting for God. Verse 22 stands outside the alphabet the psalm has kept, and it prays for all Israel.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Hope does not shame. She is the daughter of uprightness, and uprightness is the offspring of patience, and patience is birthed really in trials that the virtues receive from the enemy and by which the understanding of God is cut off.
Hope does not shame. She is the daughter of uprightness, and uprightness is the offspring of patience, and patience is birthed really in trials that the virtues receive from the enemy and by which the understanding of God is cut off.
"Keep my soul, and deliver me." Keep my soul, that I turn not aside to imitate them; and draw me out from the confusion wherein they are mingled with me. "Let me not be confounded, for I have put my trust in You" [Psalm 25:20]. Let me not be confounded, if haply they rise up against me: for not in myself, but in You have I put my trust.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"Guard." Here he asks for help against enemies, because they are many and wicked; therefore he asks for a twofold help. First, that God guard him in persecutions lest they prevail temporally or spiritually, or that he guard him lest he fall into sin. Second, …
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
5 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
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. For I put my trust in thee. And therefore the name of God would be compromised if his servants were deserted; this the believing heart can by no means endure.
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.
O keep my soul - Save me from sin, and keep me alive. Let me not be ashamed - He ends as he began; see Psa 25:2: “Let me not be confounded, for I put my trust in thee.”
O keep my soul - Save me from sin, and keep me alive. Let me not be ashamed - He ends as he began; see Psa 25:2: “Let me not be confounded, for I put my trust in thee.”
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
O keep my soul - “My life;” or, keep “me.” The allusion is to all the perils which encompassed him, whether arising from his foes or his sins; and the prayer is, that the divine protection might be commensurate with the danger; that is, that he might not be destroyed, either by his enemies or by the sins which he had committed. And deliver me - Save me; rescue me. Let me not be ashamed - See Psa 25:2. For I put my trust in thee - This is urged as a reason why he should be delivered and saved. The idea seems to be, that the honor of God would be concerned in protecting one who fled to Him; who confided in Him; who relied on Him. Thus, when the helpless and the oppressed have so much confidence in our character and our ability as to fly to us in the time of trouble, it is a proper reason for them to ask our protection that they do confide in us. Our character becomes involved in the matter, and they may safely trust that we shall feel ourselves under obligations to act in conformity with the confidence reposed in us. It is thus that the poor and the oppressed confide in the good; thus that a sinner confides in God.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁמְרָ֣ה | shamerah | preserve ! | H8104 → | 468 times |
| נַ֭פְשִׁי | nafshi | life my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| וְהַצִּילֵ֑נִי | vehatzileni | and deliver me | H5337 → | 212 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| אֵ֝ב֗וֹשׁ | ʾevoosh | I be put to shame | H954 → | 127 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| חָסִ֥יתִי | chasiti | I have taken refuge | H2620 → | 37 times |
| בָֽךְ׃ | vakh | in you |
שָׁמְרָ֣הpreserve !
shamerahH8104 →468 times
נַ֭פְשִׁיlife my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
וְהַצִּילֵ֑נִיand deliver me
vehatzileniH5337 →212 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
אֵ֝ב֗וֹשׁI be put to shame
ʾevooshH954 →127 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
חָסִ֥יתִיI have taken refuge
chasitiH2620 →37 times
בָֽךְ׃in you
vakh
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 121:7The LORD will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul.
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 4:18
And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
- Psalms 91:9–12
Because you have made the LORD your dwelling— my refuge, the Most High—
- Psalms 41:2
The LORD will protect and preserve him; He will bless him in the land and refuse to surrender him to the will of his foes.
- Proverbs 12:21
No harm befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble.
- Psalms 145:20
The LORD preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.
- 2 Timothy 4:18
Through
Psalms 17:8Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:10
He found him in a desert land, in a barren, howling wilderness; He surrounded him, He instructed him, He guarded him as the apple of His eye.
- Psalms 91:4
He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
- Psalms 91:1
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Deuteronomy 32:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 25; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Evagrius Ponticus, NOTES ON THE PSALMS 24[25].20; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.