Psalms 25:17

_THE TROUBLES OF MY HEART ARE ENLARGED: O BRING THOU ME OUT OF MY DISTRESSES._ The troubles of my heart. "The troubles" - lit, 'straitnesses' (_ TSAAROWT_ (H6869)), standing in emphatic contrast to "enlarged." His many troubles drive him to the only One who can bring him out of them all. As the first clause of Psalms 25:17 answers to the last clause of Psalms 25:16, so also the last clause of Psalms 25:17 answers to the first clause of Psalms 25:16. [resh (r)]...

17._The troubles of my heart are enlarged. _In this verse he acknowledges not only that he had to contend outwardly with his enemies and the troubles which they occasioned him, but that he was also afflicted inwardly with sorrow and anguish of heart. It is also necessary to observe the manner of expression which he here employs, and by which he intimates that the weight and number of his trials had accumulated to such an extent that they filled his whole heart, even as a flood of waters bursting every barrier, and extending far and wide, covers a whole country. Now, when we see that the heart of David had sometimes been wholly filled with anguish, we need no longer wonder if at times the violence of temptation overwhelm us; but let us ask with David, that even whilst we are as it were at the point of despair, God would succor us....

15-22 The psalmist concludes, as he began, with expressing dependence upon God, and desire toward him. It is good thus to hope, and quietly to wait for the salvation of the Lord. And if God turns to us, no matter who turns from us. He pleads his own integrity. Though guilty before God, yet, as to his enemies, he had the testimony of conscience that he had done them no wrong. God would, at length, give Israel rest from all their enemies round about. In heaven, God's Israel will be perfectly redeemed from all troubles. Blessed Saviour, thou hast graciously taught us that without thee we can do nothing. Do thou teach us how to pray, how to appear before thee in the way which thou shalt choose, and how to lift up our whole hearts and desires after thee, for thou art the Lord our righteousness...

Verse Psalms 25:17. _THE TROUBLES OF MAY HEART ARE ENLARGED_] The evils of our captive state, instead of lessening, seem to multiply, and each to be extended....

THE TROUBLES OF MY HEART - The sorrows which spring upon the heart - particularly from the recollections of sin. ARE ENLARGED - Have become great. They increased the more he reflected on the sins of his life. O BRING THOU ME OUT OF MY DISTRESSES - Alike from my sins, and from the dangers which surround me. These two things, external trouble and the inward consciousness of guilt, are not infrequently combined. Outward trouble has a tendency to bring up the remembrance of past transgressions, and to suggest the inquiry whether the affliction is not a divine visitation for sin. Any one source of sorrow may draw along numerous others in its train. The laws of association are such that when the mind rests on one source of joy, and is made cheerful by that, numerous other blessings will be suggested to increase the joy; and when one great sorrow has taken possession

EXPOSITION THIS is the second of the "alphabetic psalms." It is not so irregular as Psalms 9:1; but still is defective in some respects, the letters _beth _and _vav _being omitted in their proper place, _resh _being substituted for _koph_, and a second _he _being addled at the end. Some of these variations may be accidental, but others would seem to have been intentional, being found also in Psalms 34:1. The psalm consists of a number of prayers, reflections, and pious ejaculations, not drawn up in any systematic order, and not very clearly connected by any single line of thought. The separate portions have, however, in many cases much beauty; and it is observed that "some of the most precious spiritual treasures of the Church have been drawn

THE TROUBLES OF MY HEART ARE ENLARGED,.... His enemies being increased, which troubled him; the floods of ungodly men made him afraid; the waters of affliction were come into his soul, and spread themselves, and threatened to overwhelm him: or it may be rendered, as by some, "troubles have enlarged my heart" h; made him wiser, increased his knowledge and experience; see Psalms 119:67; but the former seems better to agree with what follows; [O] BRING THOU ME OUT OF MY DISTRESSES; or "straits" i; for the enlargement of his troubles was the straitening of his heart; and therefore he applies to the Lord to bring him out of his afflicted circumstances, in which he was penned up, as in a strait place, on every side, and which were such that he could not free himself from; but he knew that God could deliver him. h הרחיבו "dilataverunt cor meum", Vatablus; "reddid

Psalms 25:1. _Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul._ It is down; and I would fain lift it up; yet I am powerless to do so if I am left to myself. When the soul cleaves to the earth, who but God can lift it up? Yet it must be our desire and object to seek to lift up our soul unto God. Psalms 25:2. _O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me._ Whatever happens to me, I trust in thee. Down goes the anchor; that ship will never drift far out to sea. «O my God, I trust in thee.» Can you say that, dear friends? Then, if you are in the dark, you are as safe as if you were in the light, for still this anchor holds: «O my God, I trust in thee.» «Let not mine enemies triumph over me.» They will do so, if they can get me back into the w

PSALM 25-39 The fifteen Psalms which follow give the deep soul exercise of the godly. All fifteen, except the thirty-third, are marked as Psalms of David. Much of it expresses undoubtedly his own individual experience during the days of his suffering and at other occasions. Prophetically these Psalms give again the experience of the godly remnant of Israel in the time of trouble, preceding the coming of the King. We also can trace in these experiences much which concerns our Lord in His earthly life, when as the Holy One He lived that perfect life of obedience and trust, suffering too among the ungodly. But great caution is needed in the application of these Psalms to our Lord. Here we find expressions which could never be true of Him, who knew no sin. For instance some have applied Psalms 38:7: “for my loins are filled with a loathsome disease and there is no soundness in my flesh” to t...

XXV. An acrostic poem composed of religious maxims and prayers which have little or no connexion with each other. The text is imperfect, for in Psalms 25:18 f. the letter Q is omitted and R is repeated twice. PSALMS 25:9. In post-exilic times the pious Jews were usually poor. Hence the favourite virtue of the good Jews was submission to God, gentleness, resignation; such are the persons here called meek. See Psalms 62 for the estimate of riches in later times. Psalms 25:11. for it is great: and so too hard for me. Psalms 25:14. The secret of Yahweh is His purpose of exalting the meek....