Click here to read PSALM 25 in poetic form.
Background
This is the second of the Psalms that is an acrostic, where sequential Hebrew letters are used to begin verses. We saw that Psalms 9 and 10 form a unit and are linked together by an irregular acrostic arrangement. In a regular acrostic, each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet are set in order and begin one or more verses. Psalm 25 has one Hebrew letter missing (koph) between verses 17 and 18. See Psalms 9 and 10 for a listing of English letters translated from the Hebrew (as used to translate Psalm 25 into English).
Psalm 25 shows the Messiah’s trust in the Lord, for he is meek and respects the Lord. Like his ancestor, Jesus Christ was a man after God’s own heart. As the “son of David,” he always did the will of the Father (Mark 12:35; John 4:34; 8:39). Jesus did not go by his five senses alone. He learned to see the way that his Father sees. Isaiah foretold this.
Isaiah 11:1-3:
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear [respect] of the Lord;
And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear [respect] of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.
John 5:19:
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
Jesus Christ read what God had David write about him in the Psalms.
Some Bible scholars say that Psalms 25—41 are prayers and praise in reference to Psalms 16—24. The following list describes this:
Psalm 16: The Messiah’s suffering
CORRESPONDS TO
Psalm 25: Prayer about the Messiah’s suffering
Psalm 17: Requests about the Messiah’s suffering
CORRESPONDS TO
Psalm 26: The Messiah’s faithfulness
Psalm 18: The Messiah’s promised victory in overcoming suffering
CORRESPONDS TO
Psalms 27,28: The Messiah’s fulfilled victory in overcoming suffering
Psalm 19: God’s Word in the heavens and written of the Messiah
CORRESPONDS TO
Psalm 29: Praising God for His Word in the heavens and written regarding the Messiah
Psalm 20: Prayer regarding the Messiah bringing salvation
CORRESPONDS TO
Psalms 30—34: Praise for the Messiah bringing salvation
Psalm 21: The Messiah’s victory and strength
CORRESPONDS TO
Psalm 34: God saves the Messiah in all his troubles
Psalm 22: The Messiah as shepherd: giving his life
CORRESPONDS TO
Psalms 35,36: The Messiah’s victory over evil
Psalm 23: The Messiah as shepherd: like his Father
CORRESPONDS TO
Psalm 37: The Messiah brings deliverance from his Father
Psalm 24: The Messiah as shepherd: King in glory
CORRESPONDS TO
Psalms 38—41: The Messiah overcomes attacks to reign
So, as a larger group, Psalms 25—41 can be considered as responses to the previous Psalms 16—24.
Note that Psalms 25—28 contain prayers about the Messiah and what he would suffer and accomplish, similar to what was found in Psalms 16—18.
- Psalms 25:4,8-10,12 refer to the path and way of the Messiah as in Psalms 16:11.
- Psalms 26:1,11 talk of the Messiah’s integrity as in Psalms 17:1,3,4.
- Psalms 27:5,12 and Psalms 28:1,9 speak of the “rock” and “deliverer” (the Messiah is both) as in Psalms 18:2.
Structure
(Verses 1-7) Messiah’s heart cry to God for help
(Verses 8-10) The Lord teaches the meek in His way
(Verses 11) Messiah’s heart cry to God for help (central acrostic verse)
(Verses 12-14) The Lord teaches those who fear (respect) Him in the way God shall choose
(Verses 15-22) Messiah’s heart cry to God for help
Key Scriptures
Verse 4—“Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.” The Father showed Jesus Christ how to walk in this dark and evil world (John 11:9).
Verse 9—“The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.” Jesus Christ was the meekest man who ever lived. His heavenly Father guided him in judgment (John 5:30; 8:16) and taught him the way to go (John 14:6; 16:5).
Verse 11—“For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.” David could say this, especially after having Uriah killed in order to have his wife, Bathsheba (II Samuel 11:1-27). The word “name” in Hebrew is shem. This word refers to the Messiah, the redeemer that God promised to send. This was the name of Noah’s son (Genesis 5:32)—from whose line came the Christ (Luke 3:31-36 shows the lineage from Shem to David; Matthew 1:6-16 shows David to Christ). Jesus Christ could never quote this verse in Psalm 25, for he never sinned (Hebrews 4:15; Matthew 27:4) and was born without the stain of Adam’s sin (Hebrews 2:14; John 1:14; Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:20). Yet, Jesus Christ was the answer, the shem, to David’s heart cry in this Psalm. It was through the Messiah that the Lord could “pardon…iniquity,” no matter how “great.”
Verse 15—“Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.” God rescued His Son from the adversary’s many attempts to kill him. (See the blogs “Escape Artists” and “The Psalms in Poetic Form: Psalm 18” for further details.)
Verse 19—“Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.” Jesus Christ had many spiritual enemies, but he trusted in his Father to overcome them all (John 16:33).
Verse 20—“O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.” The Messiah’s absolute trust in God’s deliverance is a keynote throughout the Psalms from the first (see Psalms 1:2).
FOR FURTHER STUDY
All 150 of The Psalms in Poetic Form are available from Amazon in a book, either Large Print or a smaller Bedside Reader. Also available for free with a Kindle Unlimited membership. Enjoy!
The entire blog series is now available in the publication The Psalms: Background & Structure with Key Scriptures Explained.
