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This psalm is full of devout affection to God, the out-goings of holy desires towards his favour and grace and the lively actings of faith in his promises. We may learn out of it, I. What it is to pray, Ps 25:1,15. II. What we must pray for, the pardon of sin (Ps 25:6,7,18), direction in the way of duty (Ps 25:4,5), the favour of God (Ps 25:16), deliverance out of our troubles (Ps 25:17,18), preservation from our enemies (Ps 25:20,21), and the salvation of the church of God, Ps 25:22. III. What we may plead in prayer, our confidence in God (Ps 25:2,3,5,20,21), our distress and the malice of our enemies (Ps 25:17,19), our sincerity, Ps 25:21. IV. What precious promises we have to encourage us in prayer, of guidance and instruction (Ps 25:8,9,12), the benefit of the covenant (Ps 25:10), and the pleasure of communion with God, Ps 25:13,14. It is easy to apply the several passages of this psalm to ourselves in the singing of it; for we have often troubles, and always sins, to complain of at the throne of grace.

This purports to be a psalm of David, and there is no reason to doubt that he was its author. There are no indications, however, of the occasion on which it was composed, nor is it possible now to ascertain that occasion. It is probably one of those which were composed in his leisure moments, with no outward existing cause - designed to express the feelings of piety in the calm contemplation of God and his perfections.

The uniqueness of the psalm is, that it is the first of that class of psalms which are known as "alphabetical," in which the first word of each verse begins with one of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. One design of this mode of composition may have been to assist the memory; but it is probable that the prevailing reason was that it was regarded as a poetic beauty thus to arrange the letters of the alphabet. Such arts of poetry are common in all languages. Occasionally, in these psalms the order of the letters is slightly changed; in other instances, some of the letters are omitted, while the general structure is observed. Specimens of this mode of composition occur in Psalm 34; Psalm 37; Psalm 111:1-10; Psalm 112:1-10; Psalm 119; Psalm 145; in Proverbs 31, from the tenth verse to the end of the chapter; and in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, the whole of which book is composed on this plan, except the last chapter. The same mode of composition is common in Syrian and Persian poetry. See Assemani Biblioth. Orient. III., Pt. 1, p 63,328. Compare "Lowth's Lectures on Hebrew Poetry," Lect. xxii.; and "Grotii Prolegomm. ad Com. in Psalmos," p. 81.

In the psalm before us, the general order of the Hebrew alphabet is observed, with the following exceptions: the two first verses commence with the Hebrew letter א ('), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet; while the second letter, ב (b), is omitted. The Hebrew letters, ו (w) and ק (q), are also omitted, while two verses begin with the Hebrew letter ר (r), and at the close of the psalm, after the Hebrew letter ת (t), the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet - another verse is added, beginning with the Hebrew letter פ (p). We cannot account for these variations. Capellus supposes that it arises from the haste and lack of attention of transcribers, and suggests a plan by which the alphabetical arrangement in this psalm could be restored to proper order. See Rosenmuller, Scholia in Psalm 25, p. 633. J. D. Michaelis supposes that the authors of the psalm allowed for themselves some liberty in the arrangement, and that the proper letter of the alphabet was sometimes in the middle of the verse rather than at the beginning. But it is impossible to assign the reasons which may have existed for the lack of perfect regularity in the composition of the psalm, and the deviations from the exact alphabetical order which occur. Those deviations are very slight, and do not affect the general character of the composition. Of course this poetic beauty cannot be perceived in a translation, and must be lost to all except to Hebrew scholars.

The general "plan" of these psalms seems to be, not to follow out one particular thought, or to dwell on one subject, but to bring together such independent expressions of pious feeling as could be conveniently arranged in this manner. Accordingly in the psalm before us, we have a considerable variety of subjects introduced - all suggestive, or all indicating the kind of thoughts which will pass through a pious mind in moments of relaxation, and "unbending," when the thoughts are allowed to flow freely or without restraint from the will. The current of thought in such moments is often a more sure indication of the true state of the heart, and of the real character, than what occurs in our more studied and labored habits of thinking; and a person may often look to these trains of thought as most certainly indicating the actual condition of his heart.

Among the thoughts thus suggesting themselves to the mind of the psalmist in this season of relaxation, and as indicating the real state of his heart, the following may be noticed:

(1) Confident trust in God, and a feeling that that trust would not be disappointed, Psalm 25:1-3.

(2) A desire to be led in the way of truth, Psalm 25:4-5.

(3) A desire that God, in his treatment of him, would remember His own merciful character, and not the sins of the psalmist, Psalm 25:6-7.

(4) A belief that God will guide those who trust Him, Psalm 25:8-9.

(5) Confidence in God in all His ways, Psalm 25:10.

(6) Prayer for the pardon of sin, Psalm 25:11,

(7) An expression of belief that God will teach and guide those who fear Him, Psalm 25:12-13.

(8) The assurance that the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, Psalm 25:14,

(9) Prayer for deliverance from all trouble, Psalm 25:15-21.

(10) Prayer for the redemption of the people of God, for their complete deliverance from evil, for the salvation of the church, Psalm 25:22.

The psalm thus expresses the feelings of a pious mind when running over a great variety of subjects, apparently with little connection, or united only by a very slender thread of association; such thoughts as occur to one when the mind is allowed a free range, and follows out easy suggestions with no great effort to restrain the mind by the stricter rules of thinking, or when the mind allows itself to be easily drawn along from one subject to another, and finds, in each one that occurs, something to be thankful for; or to pray for; or to rejoice over; or to anticipate with pleasure; or to hope for; or to be penitent for; or to contemplate with gratitude and love. The thoughts of wicked people, when their minds are thus unbent and unstrung, recur to images of pollution and sin; they gloat over past indulgences; they recall the images of sensual pleasures; they bring before the fancy new and untried scenes of pollution; they revel in the anticipated pleasures of gaiety and sensuality. Perhaps there is nothing that more clearly indicates the real state of a man's heart than the kind of recollections, imaginings, and anticipations into which the mind falls in such a relaxed, or what some might call an "idle," state of the mind; just as we judge of a stream when it flows gently as left to its own course, not when it is dammed up, or forced into new channels, or swelled by rains, or made into artificial rills and water-falls, or employed to turn mills, or diverted, contrary to its natural flow, even into beautiful gardens.

The psalmist, in great distress, calls upon God frequently, Psalm 25:1-5; prays for pardon with the strong confidence of being heard, Psalm 25:6-11; shows the blessedness of the righteous, Psalm 25:12-14; again earnestly implores the Divine mercy; and prays for the restoration of Israel, Psalm 25:15-22.

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., 25, 34, 37, Psalm 111:1-10, Psalm 112:1-10, 119, and 145. 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 ו vau is wanting in the fifth verse, and ק koph in the eighteenth; the letter ר resh being twice inserted, once instead of ק koph, and a whole line added at the end, entirely out of the alphabetical series.

INTRODUCTION TO Psalm 25

A Psalm of David. This is the first of the psalms which is written in an alphabetical order, or in which the first word of every verse begins with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order, though it is not strictly and regularly observed; the reason of this manner of writing is not very obvious; the (r) Jews confess their ignorance of it; it may be to engage the attention to what is said, or to assist the memory in laying it up, and retaining it there. The occasion of the psalm seems to be the troubles David was in on account of an unnatural rebellion raised against him by some of his subjects, at the head of which was his own son Absalom; he speaks of himself as in a net, and in great affliction, distress, and trouble, by reason of his enemies, Psalm 25:15; and as being brought to a sense of his former sins, for which he desires pardon, Psalm 25:7.

(r) Kimchi in loc.

XXV.

This acrostic psalm offers nothing definite for ascertaining its date, but is usually referred to the exile times, when the faithful among the captive Israelites were “waiting” (Psalm 25:3; Psalm 25:5; Psalm 25:21) for the redemption of their race. It is full of plaintive appeal to God for help, and reflects that disposition to trust entirely to the Divine pity, which is characteristic of the better minds of Israel under affliction. Indeed we may hear here the voice of the community acknowledging the sins of its younger days (Psalm 25:7) before trouble had come to teach the Divine lesson of penitence and hope of forgiveness.

An alphabet of prayer and meditation, the utterance of a humble, yet confident faith. It falls into three equal divisions.

i. Prayer for protection, guidance, and pardon (Psalm 25:1-7).

ii. Reflections on the character of God (Psalm 25:8-10) and on His dealings with those who fear Him (12–14), separated by a prayer for pardon, which springs naturally out of Psalm 25:10.

iii. Renewed prayer for deliverance in distress (Psalm 25:15-21). Psalm 25:22 is a supernumerary verse, probably a later addition.

Thus the Psalmist begins and ends with prayer, and sustains and kindles faith and devotion by meditating on the truths of revelation.

The speaker is hardly “pious Israel personified.” He is an individual, and speaks for and of individuals. Yet it may well be the case that he feels the sins and sufferings of his nation in some measure as though they were his own (e.g. Psalm 25:11; Psalm 25:19), and that his prayer for pardon and deliverance reaches beyond his own personal needs.

Thought and language shew the influence of the ‘Wisdom,’ or religious philosophy of Israel, embodied in the Book of Proverbs. But the Psalm has no distinct historical background, and might belong to almost any age.

It is one of the nine alphabetic Psalms (see Introd. p. lxiv). Each verse, usually consisting of two lines, begins with a letter of the alphabet. But as the text stands at present, a word (O my God) precedes the Bçth with which the second line should begin; Vâu is omitted, or only represented by the second line of Psalm 25:5, instead of having a separate verse to itself; Qôph is wanting, and instead two verses (18, 19) begin with Rçsh; and a supernumerary verse beginning with Pç is added at the end. Some of these irregularities may be due to corruption of the text; but it is a curious fact that two of them, the absence of a separate verse for Vav, and the supernumerary Pç verse, are found again in Psalms 34. The two Psalms are clearly related; the one is a prayer, the other a thanksgiving; and they are probably by the same author.

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).

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.