Psalm 25:4

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 25:4

Show me thy ways, O Lord - The “ways” of God are His methods of administering the affairs of the world; His dispensations; the rules which He has prescribed for Himself in the execution of His plans; the great laws by which He governs the universe. Deuteronomy 32:4, “all his ways are judgment; a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” The prayer of the psalmist is, that he may be able to understand the methods of the divine government; the principles upon which God bestows... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 25:4

Psalms 25:4 . Show me thy ways, O Lord That is, the way or thy precepts, what I ought to do in my circumstances and difficulties; by what methods I may obtain thy favour and help. Whatsoever thou doest with me, as to other things, grant me this favour, teach me my duty, and cause me to keep close to it, notwithstanding all temptations to the contrary. Reader, art thou a traveller to heaven? Remember, then, thou art in danger of being drawn aside and losing thy way. The way is marked out in... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Psalms 25:1-22

Psalms 25:0 Forgiveness and guidanceIn the distressing circumstances surrounding this psalm, David is concerned that his enemies should not triumph over him. This is not only to save him from personal shame, but also to save his faith from being shaken. The rebels, not the faithful, are the ones who should be defeated (1-3). David wants to know more of God and his ways, so that in all the affairs of life he will do what is right (4-5). If past sins are the cause of his present troubles, he... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Psalms 25:4

4, 5. On the ground of former favor, he invokes divine guidance, according to God's gracious ways of dealing and faithfulness. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 25:1-7

1. Requests for guidance and pardon 25:1-7 read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 25:1-22

Psalms 25David appealed to God for wisdom and forgiveness because of His goodness to Israel. This is one of the acrostic psalms in which each verse in the Hebrew Bible begins with the succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet, here with an occasional irregularity. Two verses begin with the letter resh, the letters waw and qof are absent, and the last verse begins with the letter pe, which is out of normal alphabetical order. The psalm is an individual lament that transforms at the end into a... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 25:4-7

The psalmist sensed his need for divine guidance and instruction. He wanted to walk in the Lord’s righteous ways but needed help in discerning them. He also requested forgiveness for the sins of his youth, asking God to remember His compassion and loyal love, but not to remember his transgressions. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 25:1-22

This is the second of the ’acrostic’ or ’alphabetic’ Pss. (cp. 9, 10). As it now stands there are a few irregularities in the arrangement, some of which appear again in Psalms 34. The closing v. suggests the circumstances of the exile, but it is probably an addition, as the last letter of the alphabet is reached in Psalms 25:21. The rest of the Ps. contains nothing to indicate its date or authorship, and its value is independent of any view that may be taken as to these. Some have supposed that... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Psalms 25:1-22

Psalms 25:7 Pico della Mirandola quotes this text in a letter to his nephew in which he advises him with regard to daily prayer. 'When I stir thee up to prayer,' he wrote, 'I stir thee not to the prayer that standeth in many words, but to that prayer which in the secret chamber of the mind, in the privy-closet of the soul, with very affect speaketh unto God, and in the most lightsome darkness of contemplation, not only presenteth the mind to the Father, but also uniteth it with Him by... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Psalms 25:1-22

Psalms 25:1-22THE recurrence of the phrase "lift up the soul" may have determined the place of this psalm next to Psalms 24:1-10. It is acrostic, but with irregularities. As the text now stands, the second, not the first, word in Psalms 25:2 begins with Beth; Vav is omitted or represented in the "and teach me" of the He verse (Psalms 25:5); Qoph is also omitted, and its place taken by a supernumerary Resh, which letter has thus two verses (Psalms 25:18-19); and Psalms 25:22 begins with Pe, and... read more

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