Psalm 25

Psalm 25 belongs to Book One of the Psalms (Psalms 1–41), and its superscription reads "A Psalm of David." The preceding Psalm 24 is a song praising the King of glory; with this psalm the mood shifts to the earnest prayer of an individual. The phrase "who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity" in Psalm 24:4 and "Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul" in Psalm 25:1 are said to use the same Hebrew expression, and the two psalms are therefore sometimes read together.

Structure

• Verses 1–3 The psalmist confesses that he lifts up his soul to the Lord and trusts in him. He asks that he not be put to shame and that his enemies not triumph over him.
• Verses 4–7 He asks the Lord to show him his ways and to lead him in his truth. He asks God to remember his tender mercies and lovingkindnesses, which have been ever of old, but not to remember the sins and transgressions of his youth.
• Verses 8–10 He sings that the LORD is good and upright and therefore teaches sinners and the meek. To those who keep his covenant, all the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth.
• Verse 11 He asks for pardon for the sake of God's name, because his iniquity is great.
• Verses 12–14 He describes the blessings of the one who fears the LORD: he is taught the way he should choose, his soul dwells at ease, and his descendants inherit the earth. He is also granted the secret of the LORD and is shown his covenant.
• Verses 15–21 The psalmist looks to the LORD, who will pluck his feet out of the net. He lays before God his loneliness, his troubles, and his many enemies, and asks God to forgive his sins and keep his soul.
• Verse 22 The psalm closes with a prayer that God would redeem all Israel out of all its troubles.

Key Verses

• Psalm 25:4 "Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths." This verse expresses the central petition of the psalm: a life spent learning God's way.
• Psalm 25:11 "For thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great." The ground of forgiveness lies not in the psalmist's own merit but in God's name.
• Psalm 25:14 "The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant." This is a confession that the fear of the Lord leads to close fellowship with God.

People and Places

• David: Named in the superscription. The superscription does not record the specific event that occasioned the psalm.
• Israel: In verse 22 the scope of the prayer widens from the individual to the community.

Points for Reflection

• Acrostic psalm: The Hebrew original is known to be arranged so that each verse (or pair of lines) begins with a successive letter of the alphabet, although several letters are missing or the pattern is irregular. Verse 22 falls outside this sequence, and some regard it as a closing line added for communal worship; a similar ending appears in Psalm 34.
• Lovingkindness: The words rendered "lovingkindnesses" and "mercy" in verses 6, 7, and 10 translate hesed, which denotes faithful love grounded in the covenant.
• Connections with the New Testament: The confession in verse 3 that those who wait on the Lord will not be ashamed resembles the wording "hope maketh not ashamed" (Romans 5:5). The forgiveness received "for thy name's sake" in verse 11 is sometimes read in the same light as 1 John 2:12. The New Testament, however, does not quote this psalm directly.
• Church year: In Western church tradition, verse 1 ("Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul") was long used as the introit for the First Sunday of Advent. Some present-day lectionaries that follow the liturgical calendar are also known to assign this psalm to that same Sunday.