I’m rekindling the exploration of psalms that I began here on The Devotional Guy last year. I hope you’ll join me so we can learn more about the book that the Hebrews commonly call “Songs of Praise.”
PSALM 25
In Hebrew, the book of Psalms is known as “Songs of Praise.” On the one hand, this makes sense. But if you’re familiar with the book of Psalms this may puzzle you since many of the psalms are laments or complaints.
Complaining is nothing new. People have been doing it for thousands of years.
In Psalm 25, we find a lamenting David looking to the Lord for help. The historical setting of Psalm 25 is likely during David’s days spent in conflict with Saul.
People issues are nothing new either. People have been having difficulties with other people for centuries.
The psalm is an individual lament that morphs into a communal lament at the end. The psalm describes life as a difficult journey that we cannot navigate successfully on our own.
Psalm 25
1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.
for they have been from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord?
Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
13 His soul shall abide in well-being,
and his offspring shall inherit the land.
14 The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant.
15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
18 Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20 Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.
out of all his troubles.
In Psalm 25, David pleads with God for divine protection, guidance, and forgiveness as he affirms his loyalty to and trust in the Lord.
25:1-3 Confident that the Lord would not let him down or let his enemies overcome him, David lifted up his soul to the Lord in trust. David believed no one who put his hope in God would suffer disappointment, though the treacherously wicked would. He had witnessed this firsthand numerous times in his life.
To “lift up” one’s “life” to the Lord means to express one’s trust in him through prayer. This is expression is one that believers are familiar with as we often “lift up” our prayer concerns to God.
25:4-7 David sensed his need for divine guidance and instruction. He wanted to walk in the Lord’s righteous ways but needed help in discerning them. He also requested forgiveness for the sins of his youth asking God to remember His compassion and loyal love but not to remember his transgressions.
Here, the Lord’s “ways” and “paths” point to the moral principles which the Lord laid down for those who follow Him.
The Lord’s commandments are trustworthy and an accurate reflection of the divine will.
From his own life experience, David understood that God loves us and wants us to experience peace and life fully. God’s provision for us is abundant and eternal.
25:8-10 God is good, upright, loving, and faithful. Because He is this way He teaches sinners and guides the humble, those who sense their need for His help. He does so through His covenant (the Mosaic Law) and testimonies.
25:11 For the sake of the good reputation of the Lord, David asked that God pardon his sins. God had promised to pardon the sins of His people who acknowledged them, so God pardoning David’s sins would show Him faithful to His Word.
25:12-14 We know from the book of Proverbs that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. To be wise an individual must submit to God and what He has revealed in the way he or she lives life. Fearing the Lord results in heeding His Word. Those who listen to God’s Word will prosper and so will his or her descendants (cf. Deut. 6).
The problem we face is that we are separated from God because of our sin. We were created in the image of God to have an abundant life. He did not create us as robots to automatically love and worship Him. He gave us a will and the freedom to make our own choices.
We are responsible for our choices!
25:15-22 David asked the Lord to deliver him out of his distress. He was trusting in God’s deliverance (v. 15). 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. David bore responsibility for his choices.
David knew that he needed to confess his sins and ask God for forgiveness. He also trusted that God, rich in grace and mercy, would forgive him because David knew the Lord to be a loving God, steadfast in His goodness to those who love Him and submit their lives to Him.
Scripture teaches us that if we ADMIT we have sinned and BELIEVE that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for us, and finally, CONFESS our sins and CONFESS that Jesus Christ is Lord of our life then we are saved.
All have sinned (Romans 3:23), But while we were yet sinners, God demonstrated His love for us in that Christ died for us (Romans 5:8 paraphrase). The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23) If you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved for (Romans 10:13) Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Christ died on the Cross and rose from the grave. He paid the penalty for all our sin—past, present, and future (after all our sin was in the future when Christ was crucified). This paved a bridge to reconcile the gap between God and his people (those who love Him). In response, we trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and receive Him by personal invitation by grace and through faith in Christ alone.
You can make Jesus the Lord of your life today.
Will you accept His invitation for forgiveness and reconciliation?
It is my hope and prayer you will.
Blessings,
The Devotional Guy™
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The Devotional Guy™ 
My morning devotional time began with Psalm 25. Thanks sharing your study of the Psalm as well.
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Fantastic! My pleasure. Thank you for continuing to read.
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That was a lot of good commentary! You do that every day?
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Thanks Anthony! No, it takes me a bit to put a post like this one together. You know how it is blogging between gigs. 😀
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Thank you for sharing my post with your readers. Blessings.
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