Psalm 25

25:1–10

Psalms 25–31 are notable for their focus on themes of covenant and temple. According to Psalms scholar Peter Craigie, Psalms 25 and 28 should be understood in the context of a covenant-making ceremony (see, for example, verses 10, 14). Craigie commented as follows, highlighting the theme of trust found in these psalms:

The attitude of trust is the key to the psalmist’s preparation, for trust signifies dependence and hope based upon the covenant character of God. He trusts because God is faithful as the God of the covenant promises; he trusts because those who have trusted in the past have experienced the presence and help of God.[fn]Peter C. Craigie and Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 1–50, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 218.[/fn]

As part of this covenant-making process, the psalmist typically does five things:

1. He recognizes his sins.
2. He pleads for forgiveness so that the covenant curses do not come upon him but fall on his enemies, the wicked.
3. He dedicates himself to keeping the covenant or commandments of the Lord.
4. He petitions the Lord to guide him in the right way.
5. He rejoices because of the Lord’s help and thanks and praises God.

These elements are not necessarily found in this order and are not always clear in Psalm 25 due, in part, to the fact that this psalm is one of a handful of acrostic psalms. This means that the first letter of each line in Hebrew sequentially follows the Hebrew alphabetic order; therefore the twenty-two verses of Psalm 25 correspond to the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This form restricts what the psalmist can write in each line.

The fact that these psalms deal with temple and covenant themes should emphasize to us the idea that the temple is truly a place of peace and refuge from the storms of our lives and that there is safety and direction in keeping the covenants that we make there. Building faith in God’s promises leads us to trust in His lovingkindness.

25:11–22

Another feature of Psalm 25 that Latter-day Saint readers may notice is its affinity to Nephi’s Psalm in the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 4:16–35). Kenneth Alford and D. Bryce Baker have highlighted similarities in the structure and language of 2 Nephi 4 to wording found in the sequence of Psalms 25 to 31. Most of these psalms are individual laments and songs of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. Individual laments generally have a recognized structure, which is composed of five standard units: (1) invocation, (2) complaint, (3) confession of trust, (4) petition, and (5) vow of praise. We see these also in 2 Nephi 4:

• Invocation: verses 16–17
• Complaint: verses 17–19
• Confession of trust: verses 20–30
• Petition: verses 31–33
• Vow of praise: verses 34–35

Some parallels between Psalm 25 and Nephi’s Psalm are listed below:

Readers can draw deep spiritual strength from psalms like Psalm 25 and Nephi’s Psalm by relating to the five phases typically present in the covenant language of the psalms. By comparing the psalms with Nephi’s words in 2 Nephi 4, readers can see that Nephi was a skilled author and a brilliant student of the scriptures. All his writings regularly demonstrate his ability to integrate scriptural words and phrases. The fact that the Psalm of Nephi borrows so extensively from many different biblical psalms is evidence that Nephi knew and cherished many of the biblical Psalms and that he joyously used them in his daily life and writing. Clearly, the inspired words of the scriptures, including the psalms, were dear and comforting to Nephi.[fn]See Book of Mormon Central, “Is ‘Nephi’s Psalm’ Really a Psalm? (2 Nephi 4:16–17),” KnoWhy 30 (February 10, 2016), online at https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/is-nephis-psalm-really-a-psalm.[/fn]