Fr Peter Helman

Dear beloved of God,

The psalm from which we read this morning is a solemn plea of a suffering soul, a plea to God on whom he sets his trust for deliverance and mercy, even if that trust betrays at times degrees of desperation, fear, and doubt.
“To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; my God, I put my trust in you. Let me not be humiliated …” (v. 1).
The psalmist cries out for deliverance from his troubles. What is more, he begs God to look upon him and see him fully and in that true sight to love him into the person God intends him to be. The psalmist laments his sins and asks God in that honest admission to bestow mercy that he trusts God alone to give.
“Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation; in you have I trusted all the day long” (v. 3-4).
From beginning to end, the psalmist beseeches God to behold his suffering, for his mercy’s sake to look upon and then forget his past sins that hound his conscience and only prove to deepen his suffering.

The psalmist acknowledges his dire situation, even if the nature of his suffering remains unclear. His voice trembles with a keen sense of guilt and shame, as well as fear of God’s absence and abandonment.
“Turn to me and have pity on me, for I am left alone and in misery” (v. 15).
The psalmist does not conceal his sin but openly confesses to God who alone is able to save. And his confession overcomes despairs, for he believes that God may in fact be trusted to save. God’s love is steadfast from generation to generation; it fails not.
“Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love, for they are from everlasting.
Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions;
remember me according to your love and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord” (v. 5-7).
The psalmist's confession is the beginning of trust in the God who desires not the death of a sinner but that they turn and live. And so the psalmist praises God.

In two day's time we will begin our Lenten pilgrimage on Ash Wednesday, and Psalm 25 contains all the elements that will shape and direct our Lenten pilgrimage: lament, penitence and petition, an appeal to God’s steadfast mercy, confidence in God’s redeeming love, and praise.

With the psalmist, we will set before God our desire to be seen as we truly are, sinners of God’s own redeeming, and by not concealing our sin come to know that God is ready to save, to love us into the people God has desired us to be from the foundation of the world.

Peace in Christ,
Fr. Peter