Psalm 25 is a psalm of humbled requests and of repentance. Deeply personal, it is given in accountability and authenticity, and with a quiet heart.It follows a path of realisations: an acknowledgment of the Lord, a wish to be taught and led by the Lord, a remembrance of the past, a central acclaim of the Lord’s goodness and guidance, an understanding of the nature of the person who fears the Lord (“fear” more truly meaning holy fear or honouring), and a heartfelt prayer for the Lord to show mercy and forgive sins.

This is so different to the majestic broadcast of the Lord’s glory, in many psalms. It carries the hallmarks of temptation having brought the speaker to honesty, integrity and the confession of need. There is no vainglory or pride here, only submission.

The true nature of evil is well-described in verse 3, where it says “those who plot against me without a cause”; evil does not punish for wrongdoing, it just aims to bring down whoever it can bring down. (See Heaven and Hell 547.)

Then comes a fervent request to be shown, taught and led (verses 4 and 5).

- Spiritually, to ‘show’ and ‘be shown’ is to be given perception, and from this comes inspiration which means to breathe in, or to make ours. (See Arcana Caelestia 8354).

- To ‘teach’ and to ‘be taught’ is to be able to understand and have the form of spiritual life with which to think about it. (Ref. Sacred Scripture 26 and Divine Providence 172)

- To ‘lead’ and to ‘be led’ means to be brought from one state to another, from one way of thinking to another, ultimately from hell to heaven. (Cf. Spiritual Diary 5796)

The next two verses, 6 and 7, bring out the importance of remembrance in both a positive way and a harmful one. The Lord remembers us in a divine way of always regarding us from love and mercy, and from this always seeking our spiritual progress. We remember and even dwell on our sins of past times, but the Lord does not. He knows them but he does not remember them. He only remembers our need and his intentions for us. (Arcana Caelestia 1049)

Verses 8 to 11 are like an anthem of all that has been said so far, ending with a confession that our iniquity – our wrongness – is great. In confessing it openly to the Lord, the Lord will pardon it, because we have brought it to him, and opened ourselves to his help.

Verses 12 to 15 give praise to the one who fears the Lord, describing how he shall be taught and be blessed. The frequent Biblical word ‘fear’ and the phrase ‘fear of the Lord’ are not to do with our common idea of being afraid of something. True fear of the Lord is reverence, honouring and a holy fear of thinking or doing anything which would be contrary to the Lord’s way and his commandments. (See Arcana Caelestia 3718.)

The final part of this psalm, verses 16 to 22 is a moving testimony of our afflictions and a prayer that the Lord will bring us out of them. There is no cringing or grovelling over our sins and faults. It is simply an honest statement that these are there in us and we realize that we cannot remove them by ourselves -- but only with the Lord’s divine work and care. “Keep my soul.”

Finally, there is the powerful realisation that our integrity and uprightness (from the Lord) will preserve us. (Refer to Arcana Caelestia 1875.)