Psalms 25 - Introduction

This purports to be a psalm of David, and there is no reason to doubt that he was its author. There are no indications, however, of the occasion on which it was composed, nor is it possible now to ascertain that occasion. It is probably one of those which were composed in his leisure moments, with no outward existing cause - designed to express the feelings of piety in the calm contemplation of God and his perfections.

The uniqueness of the psalm is, that it is the first of that class of psalms which are known as “alphabetical,” in which the first word of each verse begins with one of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. One design of this mode of composition may have been to assist the memory; but it is probable that the prevailing reason was that it was regarded as a poetic beauty thus to arrange the letters of the alphabet. Such arts of poetry are common in all languages. Occasionally, in these psalms the order of the letters is slightly changed; in other instances, some of the letters are omitted, while the general structure is observed. Specimens of this mode of composition occur in Psalms 34; Psalms 37; Psalms 111:1; Psalms 112:1; Psalms 119; Psalms 145; in Proverbs 31, from the tenth verse to the end of the chapter; and in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, the whole of which book is composed on this plan, except the last chapter. The same mode of composition is common in Syrian and Persian poetry. See Assemani Biblioth. Orient. III., Pt. 1, p 63,328. Compare “Lowth’s Lectures on Hebrew Poetry,” Lect. xxii.; and “Grotii Prolegomm. ad Com. in Psalmos,” p. 81.

In the psalm before us, the general order of the Hebrew alphabet is observed, with the following exceptions: the two first verses commence with the Hebrew letter א ('), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet; while the second letter, ב (b), is omitted. The Hebrew letters, ו (w) and ק (q), are also omitted, while two verses begin with the Hebrew letter ר (r), and at the close of the psalm, after the Hebrew letter ת (t), the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet - another verse is added, beginning with the Hebrew letter פ (p). We cannot account for these variations. Capellus supposes that it arises from the haste and lack of attention of transcribers, and suggests a plan by which the alphabetical arrangement in this psalm could be restored to proper order. See Rosenmuller, Scholia in Psalms 25, p. 633. J. D. Michaelis supposes that the authors of the psalm allowed for themselves some liberty in the arrangement, and that the proper letter of the alphabet was sometimes in the middle of the verse rather than at the beginning. But it is impossible to assign the reasons which may have existed for the lack of perfect regularity in the composition of the psalm, and the deviations from the exact alphabetical order which occur. Those deviations are very slight, and do not affect the general character of the composition. Of course this poetic beauty cannot be perceived in a translation, and must be lost to all except to Hebrew scholars.

The general “plan” of these psalms seems to be, not to follow out one particular thought, or to dwell on one subject, but to bring together such independent expressions of pious feeling as could be conveniently arranged in this manner. Accordingly in the psalm before us, we have a considerable variety of subjects introduced - all suggestive, or all indicating the kind of thoughts which will pass through a pious mind in moments of relaxation, and “unbending,” when the thoughts are allowed to flow freely or without restraint from the will. The current of thought in such moments is often a more sure indication of the true state of the heart, and of the real character, than what occurs in our more studied and labored habits of thinking; and a person may often look to these trains of thought as most certainly indicating the actual condition of his heart.

Among the thoughts thus suggesting themselves to the mind of the psalmist in this season of relaxation, and as indicating the real state of his heart, the following may be noticed:

(1) Confident trust in God, and a feeling that that trust would not be disappointed, Psalms 25:1.

(2) A desire to be led in the way of truth, Psalms 25:4.

(3) A desire that God, in his treatment of him, would remember His own merciful character, and not the sins of the psalmist, Psalms 25:6.

(4) A belief that God will guide those who trust Him, Psalms 25:8.

(5) Confidence in God in all His ways, Psalms 25:10.

(6) Prayer for the pardon of sin, Psalms 25:11,

(7) An expression of belief that God will teach and guide those who fear Him, Psalms 25:12.

(8) The assurance that the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, Psalms 25:14,

(9) Prayer for deliverance from all trouble, Psalms 25:15.

(10) Prayer for the redemption of the people of God, for their complete deliverance from evil, for the salvation of the church, Psalms 25:22.

The psalm thus expresses the feelings of a pious mind when running over a great variety of subjects, apparently with little connection, or united only by a very slender thread of association; such thoughts as occur to one when the mind is allowed a free range, and follows out easy suggestions with no great effort to restrain the mind by the stricter rules of thinking, or when the mind allows itself to be easily drawn along from one subject to another, and finds, in each one that occurs, something to be thankful for; or to pray for; or to rejoice over; or to anticipate with pleasure; or to hope for; or to be penitent for; or to contemplate with gratitude and love. The thoughts of wicked people, when their minds are thus unbent and unstrung, recur to images of pollution and sin; they gloat over past indulgences; they recall the images of sensual pleasures; they bring before the fancy new and untried scenes of pollution; they revel in the anticipated pleasures of gaiety and sensuality. Perhaps there is nothing that more clearly indicates the real state of a man’s heart than the kind of recollections, imaginings, and anticipations into which the mind falls in such a relaxed, or what some might call an “idle,” state of the mind; just as we judge of a stream when it flows gently as left to its own course, not when it is dammed up, or forced into new channels, or swelled by rains, or made into artificial rills and water-falls, or employed to turn mills, or diverted, contrary to its natural flow, even into beautiful gardens.