Psalm 25:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

NIV: Of David. In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.

NASB: To You, Lord, I lift up my soul.

CSB: Of David. Lord, I appeal to you.

NLT: O Lord, I give my life to you.

KJV: A Psalm of David. Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

NKJV: {A Psalm of David.} To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

In this verse David looks to the Lord in prayer. Although he was surrounded by pagan nations that worshiped false gods, David addressed his prayer to the one and only true God, Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God.

The words "lift up my soul" indicate that David was turning to God with his whole being. His prayer was intense. Prayer is not required to be deeply emotional. Nor is it meant only for "important" topics. However, prayer should never be apathetic or directed to anyone other than God. Prayer should always be focused and wholehearted. When Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, His praying was focused and so intense that He fell on His face (Matthew 26:39), prayed earnestly, and "his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44). His disciples, on the other hand, fell asleep when they should have been praying (Matthew 26:40–41). Earlier, Jesus had told His disciples "a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart" (Luke 18:1).

We can learn from David and Jesus what it truly means to lift our souls to the Lord in prayer.

Psalm 25:1–7 reveals David's trust in the Lord in a time of intense danger. He waits on the Lord to keep him from falling into disgrace at the hands of his foes. Parallel to this, Psalm 37:1–11 contains David's counsel about trusting the Lord and waiting on Him. He assures his readers that the Lord will destroy evildoers but reward the righteous. Psalm 40:1–5 also records the value David found in waiting on the Lord for deliverance from danger and distress.

This prayer of David uses the Hebrew alphabet as a pattern. This is an acrostic, where verses each begin with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The final verse, however, repeats the letter used in verse 16. David declares his trust in God and the value of the Lord's wisdom. Mixed into these praises of God's truth are multiple requests that David be forgiven of his sins. The psalm ends with David asking for rescue from his enemies, and for a similar redemption for the nation of Israel.

Psalm 25 finds David facing difficulty and seeking the Lord's guidance. Proverbs 3:5–6 offers a similar emphasis on divine guidance for those who seek the Lord's will. Deuteronomy 32 provides parallel teaching, as do Psalm 37:1–7 and Psalm 40.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.