시편 Chapter 25

Translation: ESV

1

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

Key Message

Prayer begins with lifting the soul toward God, and this posture is the foundation of all prayer.

▸Psalm 25 is an acrostic psalm in Hebrew, with each verse beginning in the order of the Hebrew alphabet.

Psalm 25 is an acrostic psalm in Hebrew, with each verse beginning in the order of the Hebrew alphabet. This literary form is a whole-person expression of faith — trusting God completely from A to Z. 'I lift up my soul ('essa nafshi)' is the posture of looking upward in waiting, expressing total dependence on God.

4

Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.

Key Message

Praying to know God's ways is an expression of commitment to live by God's manner rather than one's own way.

▸In verses 4-5 a prayer for guidance appears.

7

Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!

Key Message

The prayer seeking the forgetting of past sins while asking to be remembered according to God's hesed is the essence of repentance — the basis of forgiveness is God's character.

▸Praying that past sins not be remembered while simultaneously praying to be remembered according to God's steadfast love.

14

The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.

Key Message

God permits intimate fellowship to those who fear him, and within this fellowship God's covenant and will are revealed.

▸'The friendship of the LORD (sod Yahweh)' — 'sod' means a secret gathering, intimate fellowship, private conversation.