Crucified Hearts

Psalm 25 is one of 9 Acrostic Psalms, that is, each verse or a stanza (see 119) begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet which was to help in memorization of the Psalm. The other acrostic psalms are: 9-10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119 and 145.

In this Psalm King David prays for protection, guidance, and pardon especially in the context of shame and honor.

Throughout Book 1 of Psalms (1-42), God’s anointed one, David, is pursued and attacked by enemies. Because he is God’s anointed, even a type of Christ to come, an attack upon David is an attack upon God and his purposes for his people.

To heap shame on God’s anointed, even when he has sinned, is to dishonor God who is ever working to lift him out of shame and in doing so bring honor to all who are part of his kingdom (Vs. 22).

Throughout the Psalms David prays that his enemies will not shame him, but that the shame they seek for him will be brought back on their own heads. He not only asks for protection from those who would shame him because of its personal pain, but because in shaming him God would be dishonored.

In the Bible, an oriental culture, most resembling eastern culture today, the themes of honor and shame involve the whole community, not simply the individual. We miss this when we read the Bible with Western eyes that are so taken up with individualism.

When one is dishonored all of the community is brought to shame. When God’s children are shamed, the whole family of God is dishonored, but more importantly, God himself is dishonored in the eyes of others.

Sin, from the very beginning, from the time of creation with the fall of Adam and Eve, is bound up with the themes of honor and shame.

Psalm 25 moves deeply through this dynamic of sin and shame, of restoring honor, giving us a brief and concise theology that pervades the Bible message of salvation from sin.

I’ve chosen the LSB (Legacy Standard Bible) for its translation of Lord as Yahweh, the eternal covenant name of God. You will notice that both Yahweh and Elohim (God) are names for God in this Psalm. Elohim was a name for God used by the pagan nations as well as by Israel and represented God as the Mighty One, the Most High God of all those who called themselves gods.

Note the deeply personal way that David addresses God, which is brought out more in the way the ESV translates verse 14, “The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.”, also brought out in the margin of the LSB or NASB.

The whole tone of the Psalm is one of intimacy with God through his covenant of grace.

May we pray this prayer in Union with Christ, the Word made flesh, who prays with us, for us, and in us by his Spirit. It is a prayer of One anointed by God. Let him anoint us in prayer as we come to him with this word.

Psalm 25

Aleph
1 To You, O Yahweh, I lift up my soul.

Beth
2 O my God, in You I trust,
Do not let me be ashamed;
Do not let my enemies exult over me.

Gimel
3 Indeed, let none who hope in You be ashamed;
Let those who deal treacherously without cause be ashamed.

Daleth
4 Make me know Your ways, O Yahweh;
Teach me Your paths.

He/ Vav
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
In You I hope all the day.

Zayin
6 Remember, O Yahweh, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been from of old.

Heth
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For the sake of Your goodness, O Yahweh.

Teth
8 Good and upright is Yahweh;
Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.

Yodh
9 May He lead the humble in justice,
And may He teach the humble His way.

Kaph
10 All the paths of Yahweh are lovingkindness and truth
To those who guard His covenant and His testimonies.

Lamedh
11 For Your name’s sake, O Yahweh,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

Mem
12 Who is the man who fears Yahweh?
He will instruct him in the way he should choose.

Nun
13 His soul will abide in goodness,
And his seed will inherit the land.

Samekh
14 The secret of Yahweh is for those who fear Him,
And He will make them know His covenant.

Ayin
15 My eyes are continually toward Yahweh,
For He will bring my feet out of the net.

Pe
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am alone and afflicted.

Tsadhe
17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses.

Resh
18 See my affliction and my trouble,
And forgive all my sins.

Resh
19 See my enemies, for they are many,
And they hate me with violent hatred.

Shin
20 Keep my soul and deliver me;
Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.

Tav
21 Let integrity and uprightness guard me,
For I hope in You.
22 Redeem Israel, O God,
Out of all his troubles.