Psalms 25:18

Psa 25:18 Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.

Ver. 18. Look upon mine affliction and my pain] My griefs, under which I groan and labour, My concupiscence, saith Aben Ezra, against which I strive, but prevail not.

And forgive all my sin] Heb. lift up, take away; lay them on the true scape goat, on that Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world, Joh 1:29.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_25:18

Look upon mine affliction and my pain.

A troubled prayer

I. It is well for us when our prayers about our sorrows are linked with prayers about our sins. Our sorrows profit us when they bring our sins to mind.

1. They give us time for thought. A sick bed has often been a place of repentance.

2. Our sorrows are often the direct result of our sins. Then we cannot but remember them. Not to have sorrow when we sin is a mark of the reprobate.

3. When our sorrows are so like our sins. Jacob was a crafty deceiver, and he in his turn was, once and again, craftily deceived. He was a great bargain maker, and he in his turn was once and again craftily deceived. He cheated his father, and so everybody cheated him, of course. How often we have to eat the fruit of our own ways!

4. They drive us out of an atmosphere of worldliness. There is our nest, and a very pretty, snug nest it is; and we have been very busy picking up all the softest feathers that we could find, and all the prettiest bits of moss that earth could yield, and we have been engaged night and day making that nest soft and warm. There we intended to remain. We meant for ourselves a long indulgence, sheltered from inclement winds, never to put our feet among the cold dewdrops, nor to weary our pinions by mounting up into the clouds. But suddenly a thorn pierced our breast; we tried to remove it, but the more we struggled the more deeply it fixed itself into us. Then we began to spread our wings, and as we mounted we began to sing the song which, in the nest, we never should have sung, the song of those who have communion with the skies.

5. Sometimes they remind us of our ingratitude. How sad a blemish upon the character of Hezekiah it was that he rendered not again unto the Lord according to the benefits done unto him.

6. Sometimes sorrows remind us of want of sympathy with those who have like sorrows.

7. Sorrow is also sent to admonish us of our neglect of Divine teaching. Why that rod? Why that whip and bridle? Because I have been like the horse and the mule which had no understanding. Let us humble ourselves before God, and ask with Job, Show me wherefore Thou contendest with me.

II. It is well when we are as earnest about our sins as we are about our sorrows. The chaplain of Newgate says many of the prisoners will pretend very great repentance when he is talking to them about spiritual things, but he can always tell whether their repentance is genuine or not, by their trying to bring him round to tell them something about their punishment. Before their tidal they frequently ask to know what term of imprisonment they are likely to get. Then, when they are undergoing punishment, they frequently try to get some trifling favour through his means. They think much more of the punishment than they do of the crime. If I go to God and only ask to have my sorrows taken off me, what is that? I am no true penitent. It is the pain and not the sin that troubles me.

III. It is well to take both sorrow and sin to the same place. David took both to God.

1. Take our sorrows to him, not to any neighbour or friend.

2. But let us take our sins also.

3. The most mournful and the most sinful are welcome to the Lord Jesus.

4. He can with equal ease remove both.

IV. Go to Him in the right spirit. David says, Look upon, that is all. But when he speaks of his sins he is much more definite as to what he would have done with them, Forgive all my sins. I must have them forgiven, I cannot bear them. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Comfort under affliction

We know not the nature of the sufferings under which David laboured, whether of body or of mind, or both; but this we know, that in all of them his first refuge and his principal relief was prayer. Suffering times are times both of searching and discovery. It is a fire that tries a mans work, a mans temper, and a mans state whether he be really a child of God. If he be not, when suffering comes, his angry almost blasphemous speeches will reveal that. But the good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, will bring forth good things. God being pleased with him, he is pleased with every thing. Hence in affliction, knowing that it is laid on in love, and that he deserves much more, he prays, Look upon mine affliction, etc. Two things are taught us here--

I. That a kind look from God is very desirable in affliction; for it is--

1. A look of special observation. As to the kind, the degree, and the duration of our affliction.

2. Of tender compassion.

3. Of support and assistance (Exo_3:7; 2Ch_16:9). Now here we generally stop; if the Lord will but grant us this, it is all we ask, we will not trouble Him for more. We forget our sin.

II. That the sweetest cordial under affliction is the assurance of Divine forgiveness (Psa_32:1; Rom_4:7).

1. Because trouble is very apt to bring our sins to remembrance (Jer_22:21; Gen_42:21; 1Ki_17:18; Psa_40:12).

2. Because a sense of pardon will largely remove all distressing fears of death and judgment. When we feel our flesh wasting and this earthly house of our tabernacle ready to tumble about us, we cannot help inquiring, with a trembling anxiety, When I am turned out of this house where shall I live next? And if we have no evidence and no hope of an interest in the Saviour, how terrible the prospect. But if we are forgiven, how all is changed.

So then, let us--

1. Praise God that He should condescend so graciously as to look favourably upon us.

2. From former mercies of the Lord, if the Lord is looking upon us, let us hope for future ones.

3. If a kind look from God be so comfortable, what must heaven be? (Samuel Lavington.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 18. Look upon mine affliction] See my distressed condition, and thy eye will affect thy heart.

Forgive all my sins.] My sins are the cause of all my sufferings; forgive these.

This is the verse which should begin with the letter koph; but, instead of it, we have ר resh both here, where it should not be, and in the next verse where it should be. Dr. Kennicott reads קומה kumah, "arise," and Houbigant, קצר ketsar, "cut short.." The word which began with ק koph has been long lost out of the verse, as every version seems to have read that which now stands in the Hebrew text.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

18. Look upon mine affliction. By repeating these complaints so frequently, he plainly shows that the calamities with which he was assailed were not some slight and trivial evils. And this ought to be carefully marked by us, so that when trials and afflictions shall have been measured out to us after the same manner, we may be enabled to lift up our souls to God in prayer; for the Holy Spirit has set before our view this representation, that our minds may not fail us under the multitude or weight of afflictions. But in order to obtain an alleviation of these miseries, David again prays that his sins may be pardoned, recalling to his recollection what he had already stated, that he could not expect to enjoy the divine favor, unless he were first reconciled to God by receiving a free pardon. And, indeed, they are very insensible who, contented with deliverance from bodily affliction, do not search out the evils of their own hearts, that is to say, their sins, but as much as in them lies rather desire to have them buried in oblivion. To find a remedy, therefore, to his cares and sorrows, David begins by imploring the remission of his sins, because, so long as God is angry with us, it must necessarily follow, that all our affairs shall come to an unhappy termination; and he has always just ground of displeasure against us so long as our sins continue, that is to say, until he pardons them. “Cependant que nos pechez demeurent c’est a dire iusaues a ce qu’il les pardonne.” — Fr.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

18. Look upon &c.] Behold my affliction and my travail. Cp. Psa_9:13. and forgive] Lit. take away, sin being regarded as a burden. Cp. Psa_32:1. This verse ought to begin with the letter Qôph, and various emendations have been proposed with the object of restoring it. The simplest change is to add arise (Psa_3:7) at the beginning of the verse.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Look upon mine affliction and my pain,.... The "affliction" was the rebellion of his subjects against him, at the head of which was his own son; and the "pain" was the uneasiness of mind it gave him; or the "labour" (k), as the word may be rendered; the toil and fatigue of body he was exercised with, he flying from place to place; and he desires that God would look upon all this with an eye of pity and compassion to him, and arise to his help and deliverance; as he looked upon the affliction of the children of Israel in Egypt, and delivered them, Exo 3:7;

and forgive all my sins; or "lift up", "bear", or "take away" (l), as the word signifies; sins are burdens, and they lay heavy at this time on David's conscience, being brought to mind by the affliction he laboured under, not only his sin with Bathsheba, but all others; and these were on him as a heavy burden, too heavy to bear; wherefore he entreats that the Lord would lift them off, and take them away from him, by the fresh discoveries of pardoning grace to him. The sins of God's people are removed from them to Christ, by his Father, on whom they have been laid by his act of imputation; and he has bore them, and all the punishment due unto them, and, has taken them away, and made an end of them; and through the application of his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, they are caused to pass from the consciences of the saints, and are removed as far from them as the east is from the west; and this is what the psalmist here desires, and this he requests with respect to all his sins, knowing well that, if one was left upon him, it would be an insupportable burden to him.

(k) "laborem meum", Pagninus, Mortanus, Junius & Tremellius, &c. (l) Heb. "tolle", Piscator; "aufer", Michaelis.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Look upon mine affliction and my pain - See Psa 25:16. This is a repetition of earnest pleading - as if God still turned away from him, and did not deign to regard him. In trouble and distress piety thus pleads with God, and repeats the earnest supplication for His help. Though God seems not to regard the prayer, faith does not fail, but renews the supplication, confident that He will still hear and save.

And forgive all my sins - The mind, as above remarked, connects trouble and sin together. When we are afflicted, we naturally inquire whether the affliction is not on account of some particular transgressions of which we have been guilty; and even when we cannot trace any direct connection with sin, affliction suggests the general fact that we are sinners, and that all our troubles are originated by that fact. One of the benefits of affliction, therefore, is to call to our remembrance our sins, and to keep before the mind the fact that we are violators of the law of God. This connection between suffering and sin, in the sense that the one naturally suggests the other, was more than once illustrated in the miracles performed by the Saviour. See Mat 9:2.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Look upon with compassion, as Exo 3:7,8; Psa 31:7; 106:44.

My sins; the procuring and continuing causes of my trouble.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 18. Look upon mine affliction and my pain. Note the many trials of the saints; here we have no less than six words all descriptive of woe. "Desolate, and afflicted, troubles enlarged, distresses, affliction, and pain." But note yet more the submissive and believing spirit of a true saint; all he asks for is, "Lord, look upon my evil plight; "he does not dictate, or even express a complaint; a look from God will content him, and that being granted he asks no more. Even more noteworthy is the way in which the believer under affliction discovers the true source of all the mischief, and lays the axe at the root of it. Forgive all my sins, is the cry of a soul that is more sick of sin than of pain, and would sooner be forgiven than healed. Blessed is the man to whom sin is more unbearable than disease, he shall not be long before the Lord shall both forgive his iniquity and heal his diseases. Men are slow to see the intimate connection between sin and sorrow, a grace taught heart alone feels it.

Ver. 18. Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins. We may observe here, that sickness and weakness of the body come from sin, and is a fruit of sin. Some are weak, and some are sick, "for this cause." I shall not need to be long in the proof of that, which you have whole chapters for, as De 28:27, seq; and many Psalms, 107, and others. It is for the sickness of the soul that God visits with the sickness of the body. He aims at the cure of the soul in the touch of the body. And therefore in this case, when God visits with sickness, we should think our work is more in heaven with God than with men or physic. Begin first with the soul. So David Ps 32:5, till he dealt roundly with God, without all kind of guile, and confessed his sins, he roared; his moisture was turned into the drought of summer. But when he dealt directly and plainly with God, and confessed his sins, then God forgave him them, and healed his body too. And therefore the best method, when God visits us in this kind, is to think that we are to deal with God. Begin the cure there with the soul. When he visits the body, it is for the soul's sake: "Many are weak and sickly among you." Richard Sibbes.

Ver. 18. Look upon mine affliction and my pain. In sickness of body trust to Jesus, he is as powerful and as willing to help us now as he was to help others in the days of his flesh. All things are possible to us if we believe. It is but a word from him to rebuke all storms and tempests whatsoever. Let us not do like Asa, trust only in the physician, or in subordinate means, but know that all physic is but dead means without him. 2Ch 16:12. Therefore, with the means, run to Christ, that he may work with them, and know that virtue and strength comes form him to bless or curse all sorts of means. Richard Sibbes.

Ver. 18. Two things are here taught us:

I. That a kind look from God is very desirable in affliction.

1. It is a look of special observation.

2. It is a look of tender compassion.

3. It is a look of support and assistance (with God, power and compassion go together).

II. The sweetest cordial under trouble would be an assurance of

divine forgiveness.

1. Because trouble is very apt to bring our sins to remembrance.

2. Because a sense of pardon will in great measure remove all distressing fears of death and judgment.

Improvement.

1. Let us adore the goodness of God, that one so great and glorious should bestow a favourable look upon any of our sinful race.

2. Let the benefit we have received from the Lord's looking upon us in former afflictions, engage us to pray, and encourage us to hope, that he will now look upon us again.

3. If a kind look from God be so comfortable, what must heaven be! Samuel Lavington.

Ver. 18.

1. It is well when our sorrows remind us of our sins.

2. When we are as earnest to be forgiven as to be delivered.

3. When we bring both to the right place in prayer.

4. When we are submissive about our sorrows "Look, "etc. but very explicit about our sins "forgive, "etc.

Psalms 25:19*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The falling away of the ק is made up for by a double ר strophe. Even the lxx has ἴδε twice over. The seeing that is prayed for, is in both instances a seeing into his condition, with which is conjoined the notion of interposing on his behalf, though the way and manner thereof is left to God. נשׂא ל, with the object in the dative instead of the accusative (tollere peccata), signifies to bestow a taking away, i.e., forgiveness, upon any one (synon. סלח ל). It is pleasing to the New Testament consciousness that God's vengeance is not expressly invoked upon his enemies. כּי is an expansive quod as in Gen 1:4. שׂנאת חמס with an attributive genitive is hatred, which springs from injustice and ends in injustice.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

18. See my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. So long as God leaves him to endure, he is conceived of as not seeing his condition. The prayer that he will see includes the prayer that he will save. The renewed prayer for forgiveness in the last clause seems again to recall to mind the intimate connection between suffering and sin.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See my affliction and my toil and through them, forgive all my sins.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.