Psalm 18:25

ESV With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
NIV To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
NASB With the faithful You show Yourself faithful; With the blameless You prove Yourself blameless;
CSB With the faithful you prove yourself faithful, with the blameless you prove yourself blameless,
NLT To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity.
KJV With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
NKJV With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;

What does Psalm 18:25 mean?

In this statement, David explains that some parts of our relationship with the Lord are reciprocal. If we are merciful to others, the Lord will be merciful to us. In celebrating God's mercy to him, David might have recalled how he showed mercy to his own enemies. David had shown mercy to his persecutor, Saul, by sparing his life (1 Samuel 24:4–11; 26: 1–25), and in turn the Lord extended mercy to David. God rescued David from Saul (2 Samuel 22:1) and made him king of Israel. David had been loyal to the Lord, and the Lord was faithful to David.

Though we clearly cannot earn our eternal salvation through our own good works or supposed righteousness (Titus 3:5; Romans 11:6; Ephesians 2:8–10), God does respond to our actions. Galatians 6:7 assures us that "whatever one sows, that will he also reap." Matthew 5:7 states: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." Christ's model prayer for us contains a reciprocal relationship: we are to ask God to "forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). Jesus likewise says "if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14–15).
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