Psalms 18:25

25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

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Psalms 18:25 in Other Translations

KJV

25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;

ESV

25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

NLT

25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity.

MSG

25 The good people taste your goodness, The whole people taste your health,

CSB

25 With the faithful You prove Yourself faithful; with the blameless man You prove Yourself blameless;

Psalms 18:25 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 18:25

With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful
The merciful man is the good, gracious, holy, and godly man, as the word

FOOTNOTES:

F26 here used signifies, and is sometimes rendered; one that has received grace and mercy from the Lord, and has principles of grace and goodness wrought in him, and is kind and merciful to others, both to their souls and bodies; and to such men God shows himself merciful: not that they are first merciful to others, and then he is so to them, for it is just the reverse; nor is their mercifulness the cause or condition of his, for he has mercy on whom he will have mercy; but to such he shows fresh mercy, and bestows more grace upon them; they find grace and mercy with him now, and will do hereafter; see ( Matthew 5:7 ) . This may be applied to Christ, all whose ways are mercy and truth; he saw the estate his people would come into; he pitied their case, and became their surety in eternity; he betrothed them to himself in loving kindness and tender mercies; and undertook to feed the flock of slaughter, even the poor of the flock; having, through his merciful lovingkindness, assumed human nature, he went about doing good to the souls and bodies of men; he healed the diseased and fed the hungry, and had compassion on the ignorant, and them that were out of the way; and, as a merciful high priest, he bore the sins and sorrows of his people; and in his love and pity redeemed them, and continues to sympathize with them in all their afflictions and temptations; and though no mercy was shown him while he was suffering for them, for God spared him not, but awoke the sword of justice against him, and used him with the utmost rigour and severity; yet satisfaction being made, he did not leave him in the grave, nor suffer his holy, good, and merciful One to see corruption; but raised him from the dead, prevented him with the blessings of his goodness, and set upon his head a crown of honour and glory;

with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright;
an upright man, as the word ^F1 used signifies, is a perfect man, not absolutely, but comparatively; not in himself, but in Christ; perfect with a perfection of parts, but not of degrees; he is one that is upright in heart, sincere and without hypocrisy; an Israelite indeed, whose faith, hope, and love, are undisguised; he is a man of integrity, a faithful man, faithful to God, his cause and interest, his word and ordinances, and is faithful with the saints; he walks, uprightly according to the rule of God's word, and by faith in Christ; and to such upright men God shows himself upright, or faithful, by keeping his covenant with them, fulfilling his promises to them, and not suffering one good thing to fail he has given them reason to expect from him. This may also be interpreted of Christ, who is in the highest and fullest sense perfect, upright, and sincere, and faithful to him that appointed him; and as he has been faithful in all his covenant engagements with his Father, so his Father has been faithful to him in making good all he promised him; both with respect to his own glory, and the happiness of his people; see ( Isaiah 53:10-12 ) ( John 17:4 John 17:5 ) ( Philippians 2:9 Philippians 2:10 ) .

F26 (dyox) "benigno", Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius; "bono", Gejerus, some in Vatablus; "qui bonitati studet", Tigurine version; "pio", Munster, Cocceius, Michaelis; "gracious saint", Ainsworth.
F1 (Mymt) "perfecto", Pagninus, Montanus; so Ainsworth.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Psalms 18:25 In-Context

23 I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.

24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.

27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

Cross References 2

1. Psalms 31:23; Psalms 37:28; Psalms 50:5; Proverbs 2:8; 1 Kings 8:32; Psalms 62:12; Matthew 5:7
2. Psalms 25:10; Psalms 40:11; Psalms 89:24; Psalms 146:6