David's confidence in prayer, 1-6. He prays for remission of sins, 7-15; and for help in affliction, 16-22.
1 [A Psalm of David.]
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, I trust in you./
Do not let me be ashamed./
Do not let my enemies triumph over me.
3 Also, let no one who waits for you be ashamed./
Let them be ashamed who transgress without cause.
4 Show me your ways, O LORD./
Teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth and teach me,/
for you are the God of my salvation./
On you I wait all the day.
6 Remember, O LORD, your tender mercies/
and your loving kindnesses,/
for they have always been from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth,/
nor my transgressions./
According to your mercy remember me/
for your goodness' sake, O LORD.
8 Good and upright is the LORD;/
therefore, he will teach sinners in the way.
9 He will guide the meek in judgment,/
and to the meek he will teach his way.
10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth/
to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
11 For your name's sake, O LORD,/
pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
12 What man is he who fears the LORD?/
He shall teach him in the way that he chooses.
13 His soul shall dwell at ease/
and his offspring shall inherit the earth.
14 The secret of the LORD is with those who fear him,/
and he will show them his covenant.
15 My eyes are continually toward the LORD,/
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16 Turn to me and have mercy upon me,/
for I am desolate and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged./
O bring me out of my distresses.
18 Look upon my affliction and my pain/
and forgive all my sins.
19 Consider my enemies, for they are many,/
and they hate me with cruel hatred.
20 O keep my soul and deliver me./
Do not let me be ashamed, for I put my trust in you.
21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,/
for I wait on you.
22 Redeem Israel, O God,/
out of all his troubles.
Matthew Henry Commentary - Psalms, Chapter 25[➚]
John Calvin's Chapter Summary:
This psalm consists of meditations mingled with prayers. Being rudely treated, and grievously distressed, by the cruelty of his enemies, David, in order to obtain assistance from God, first acknowledges that God had justly made use of this as a means of chastising and punishing him for his sins; and, therefore, he prays for their forgiveness, that he may at once enjoy assurance of the divine favor, and obtain deliverance. He then implores the aid of the Holy Spirit, that, sustained by it, he might, even in the midst of so many temptations, continue in the fear of God. And in various places he intermingles meditation, as the means of stirring up himself to increased confidence in God, and of withdrawing his thoughts from the allurements of the world.