Tag: psalm

Psalm 143, the seventh Penitential Psalm, is a lament seeking protection from oppression and persecution (the full text is here). In the opening verses, sung in this superb anthem by William Byrd, the penitent acknowledges God’s righteousness and begs not to be judged, knowing that the salvation granted to anyone is a gift, not something […]

Psalm 130, the sixth Penitential Psalm, concludes positively with reassurances of God’s ‘plentiful redemption’ but begins as a gloomy lament in which the penitent cries out for mercy ‘de profundis’, ‘from the depths’—presumably the depths of despair where the light of hope is extinguished. While there is nothing in its text that marks it as […]

Psalm 102, the fifth Penitential Psalm, is a lengthy lament (see its 28 verses here). The first part, verses 1-11, is the prayer of an individual who, weak and tearful, worn down in a time of great trouble, pours out his own desperate pleas to God: ‘… Do not hide your face from me … […]

Psalm 51, the Miserere, occupies the central position of the seven Penitential Psalms and probably remains the one most frequently read or sung today. Being a deeply personal text for self-examination—it uses the first person throughout: have mercy on me … cleanse me … deliver me … open my lips—it does not easily adapt for […]

The first and third of the Penitential Psalms are auguished laments, crying out for relief and salvation from the consequences of sinfulness (both begin with ‘Lord, do not punish me in your anger’). Lying between them, the second Pentitential Psalm, Psalm 32 (31 in the Latin Vulgate), contrastingly seems like an oasis of reassurance, with […]

For Tuesday of Holy Week. This is the third post in a series for Holy Week and Easter Day, 2020. Psalm 51, one of the penitential psalms sometimes referred to as simply the Miserere, is frequently said or sung during Lent in both Roman Catholic and various Protestant traditions, notably as part of Tenebrae services […]