There is so much I love about Psalm 25. I was especially excited to find that the last blog post relates so well to a topic in this psalm: hope. Psalm 25 is a psalm of David, as stated by the subtitle, but many who have studied this psalm in depth have been unable to pin down its time and setting. However, it is speculated that someone added to this particular psalm many years after it was first written. This means that Psalm 25 may relate to the Israelites during their long exile in Babylon, but it certainly applies to Christians today, as strangers in the world.
Beyond what we see in the English translation, the psalm in Hebrew is a unique acrostic poem. Psalm 25 is one of nine alphabetic acrostic psalms, and it begins each verse with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. However, I read that both the Q (qoph) and the V (waw) are missing. An acrostic was most likely very difficult to write. (Believe me, I wouldn't have the patience. Couldn't imagine...)
Amazingly though, within the poetry is a true and resounding message of hope even amidst enemies, sin, rebellion, loneliness, and affliction. Because the psalm is so filled with meaning, I will focus on just the first 11 verses.
1 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
2 in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.
I love how in the very first verses David makes his testimony, "To you, O LORD." He "lifts up his soul," an act of complete abandonment of his thoughts and concerns to God, and proclaims his trust in Him. However, what makes this even more profound is how he addresses God as "LORD," which capitalized in the Bible signifies God's name, "Yahweh," or "I am." David trusts in a God who is, and has defined himself as, self-existing and self-sustained--the one who is, and has always been. Because of this he can confidently say in verse 3, "No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame."
4 Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
5 guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O LORD.
Verses 4 through 7 are a beautiful and heartfelt prayer of someone who really wants to seek after God. for either a new believer or someone more established in the faith. We are constantly relying on God for deliverance against temptation and evil. David calls on God to remember his great mercy and love, to not remember his own youthful sins and rebellion, but "according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD." David understands the nature of God as "good." even amidst his sufferings.
8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guide the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
The psalmist continues on this subject and in verses 8 and 9, affirms everything regarding the previous plea. Verses 4 and 5 are a plea for God's guidance and the promise of this psalm is that because God is good, he "instructs sinners," and "guides the humble" and "teaches them his way." We can rest in his guidance.
10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, O LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
Beyond what we see in the English translation, the psalm in Hebrew is a unique acrostic poem. Psalm 25 is one of nine alphabetic acrostic psalms, and it begins each verse with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. However, I read that both the Q (qoph) and the V (waw) are missing. An acrostic was most likely very difficult to write. (Believe me, I wouldn't have the patience. Couldn't imagine...)
Amazingly though, within the poetry is a true and resounding message of hope even amidst enemies, sin, rebellion, loneliness, and affliction. Because the psalm is so filled with meaning, I will focus on just the first 11 verses.
1 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
2 in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.
I love how in the very first verses David makes his testimony, "To you, O LORD." He "lifts up his soul," an act of complete abandonment of his thoughts and concerns to God, and proclaims his trust in Him. However, what makes this even more profound is how he addresses God as "LORD," which capitalized in the Bible signifies God's name, "Yahweh," or "I am." David trusts in a God who is, and has defined himself as, self-existing and self-sustained--the one who is, and has always been. Because of this he can confidently say in verse 3, "No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame."
4 Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
5 guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O LORD.
Verses 4 through 7 are a beautiful and heartfelt prayer of someone who really wants to seek after God. for either a new believer or someone more established in the faith. We are constantly relying on God for deliverance against temptation and evil. David calls on God to remember his great mercy and love, to not remember his own youthful sins and rebellion, but "according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD." David understands the nature of God as "good." even amidst his sufferings.
8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guide the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
The psalmist continues on this subject and in verses 8 and 9, affirms everything regarding the previous plea. Verses 4 and 5 are a plea for God's guidance and the promise of this psalm is that because God is good, he "instructs sinners," and "guides the humble" and "teaches them his way." We can rest in his guidance.
10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, O LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
These two verses are loaded with the Gospel. God covenant is one requiring perfect obedience, and David is honest about his sin toward God. Because David understands God's infinite goodness, he can take his own sin seriously. As believers we are to ask for forgiveness just as David does in verse 11.
:"Forgive my iniquity, though it is great." We know that God can, and has forgiven the sin of all believers. In Hebrews 4:15-16, Paul writes:
We are forgiven of every sin, because of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, the one who was without sin and has perfectly kept the covenant. Psalm 25 is more than just poetry, but an example for us, complete with a message of hope.
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There is always more to uncover about the psalms...Comment below if there was anything that really stood out to you. I'll be writing about the second part of this psalm this week.
:"Forgive my iniquity, though it is great." We know that God can, and has forgiven the sin of all believers. In Hebrews 4:15-16, Paul writes:
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are —yet he did not sin.16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
We are forgiven of every sin, because of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, the one who was without sin and has perfectly kept the covenant. Psalm 25 is more than just poetry, but an example for us, complete with a message of hope.
...
There is always more to uncover about the psalms...Comment below if there was anything that really stood out to you. I'll be writing about the second part of this psalm this week.
Thank you so much for your post. I always need to be reminded to put my hope God. It really stood out to me that David rested so much on God's unchanging character. He didn't let his sins get in the way of seeing God for the good and loving King he is.
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