Psalms 25:7

Sins of my youth. Perhaps conscious of the earthly father’s tendency to forgive the follies of his son’s youth, the psalmist petitions his heavenly Father to forget his youthful indiscretions (see Job 13:26, where Job accuses God of making him suffer for the sins of his youth). The prayer for forgiveness in this verse follows the psalmist’s realization that sin would shut out God’s mercy for which he had prayed in v. 6.

Transgressions. Heb. pesha‘im, “rebellions,” “revolts,” thus implying willful sins.

For thy goodness’ sake. Not for any goodness of his own, but because God is good. The psalm proceeds to extol the boundless goodness of God.

When in mature life we realize the weight of our sins, then we rest back upon the extent of God’s love as expressed in these words: “tender mercies,” “lovingkindnesses,” “mercy,” “goodness” (vs. 6, 7). The verse suggests that the psalmist wrote this poem in his later years.