Psalm 25
Psalm 25 is the 25th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 24. In Latin, it is known as "Ad te Domine levavi animam meam". The psalm, attributed to David, has the form of an acrostic Hebrew  poem. The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Nonconformist Protestant liturgies. Metrical hymns in English and German were derived from the psalm, such as "Zu dir, o Gott, erheben wir". The psalm has often been set to music. Orlando Gibbons composed an anthem in English, "O Lord, I lift my heart to thee". Heinrich Schütz composed a setting in German "Nach dir verlangt mich", as part of the "Becker Psalter". Johann Sebastian Bach used verses from the psalm in his early cantata, . Text. Hebrew Bible version. Following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 25: This  psalm has a strong formal relationship with Psalm 34. Both are alphabetic acrostics, with missing each time the verse Waw, which was added a verse to Pe a prayer of deliverance of Israel. As an acrostic, the verses in the psalm are arranged according to the Hebrew alphabet, with the exception of the letters Bet, Waw and Qoph which together, according to Jewish interpreters, made reference to the word "gehinom" (hell). Structure. The psalm is into three parts. In the first portion of the psalm, David: In the middle portion, he addresses his own iniquities; In the concluding portion, he  pleads: Dating. In the "International Critical Commentary," Charles and Emilie Briggs date this psalm to "the Persian period prior to Nehemiah", that is, between about 539 and 445 BCE. The 19th-century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon claims "it is evidently a composition of David's later days, for he mentions the sins of his youth, and from its painful references to the craft and cruelty of his many foes, it will not be too speculative a theory to refer it to the period when Absalom was heading the great rebellion against him." Uses. Catholic Church. This psalm is characterized by  confidence of David the penitent king. That is why, from the sixth century, the Church begins the first Sunday of Advent with the first verses sung of it, namely the Introit in Old Roman and Gregorian, pending the Nativity. Book of Common Prayer. In the Church of England's "Book of Common Prayer", this psalm is appointed to be read on the morning of the fifth day of the month. Protestant Christianity. A survey of organists in the Dutch Reformed denomination (from May 2000 to May 2001) revealed that Psalm 25 is the third most sung Psalm in Reformed worship  services. Only Psalm 119 and Psalm 89 are sung more frequently. Musical settings. Hymns derived from Psalm 25 include Heinrich Bone's "Zu dir, o Gott, erheben wir", published in 1851. Orlando Gibbons composed a five-part anthem in English, "O Lord, I lift my heart to thee". Heinrich Schütz composed a setting of metred German text, "Nach dir verlangt mich", SWV 122, as part of the "Becker Psalter". Johann Sebastian Bach composed an early cantata, , which alternates verses from Psalm 25 and poetry by an unknown librettist. Czech composer Antonín Dvořák set verses 16-18 and 20 to music  in his "Biblical Songs" (1894). German composer Lili Wieruszowski (1899-1971) also set Psalm 25 to music.