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Blessed Assurance7 Penitential Psalms
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Blessed Assurance
Psalm 6: Prayer of the Sick and Afflicted
1 For the leader; with stringed
instruments, "upon the eighth." A psalm of David.
2 I Do not reprove me in
your anger, LORD, nor punish me in your wrath.
3 Have pity on me, LORD, for
I am weak; heal me, LORD, for my bones are trembling.
4 In utter terror is my
soul--and you, LORD, how long...?
5 Turn, LORD, save my life;
in your mercy rescue me.
6 For who among the dead
remembers you? Who praises you in Sheol?
7 I am wearied with sighing;
all night long tears drench my bed; my couch is soaked with
weeping.
8 My eyes are dimmed with
sorrow, worn out because of all my foes.
9 I Away from me, all who do
evil! The LORD has heard my weeping.
10 The LORD has heard my
prayer; the LORD takes up my plea.
11 My foes will be terrified
and disgraced; all will fall back in sudden shame.
Psalm 32: Relief Felt After the Confession of Sin
1 Happy the sinner whose fault is removed,
whose sin is forgiven.
2 Happy those to whom the
LORD imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 As long as I kept silent,
my bones wasted away; I groaned all the day.
4 For day and night your
hand was heavy upon me; my strength withered as in dry summer
heat.
5 Then I declared my sin to
you; my guilt I did not hide. I said, "I confess my faults
to the LORD," and you took away the guilt of my sin.
6 Thus should all your
faithful pray in time of distress. Though flood waters threaten,
they will never reach them.
7 You are my shelter; from
distress you keep me; with safety you ring me round.
8 I will instruct you and
show you the way you should walk, give you counsel and watch over
you.
9 Do not be senseless like
horses or mules; with bit and bridle their temper is curbed, else
they will not come to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of
the wicked, but love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.
11 Be glad in the LORD and
rejoice, you just; exult, all you upright of heart.
Psalm 38: The Greater the Sin, the Greater the Trust We Must Have in God
1 A psalm of David. For remembrance.
2 I LORD, punish me no more
in your anger; in your wrath do not chastise me!
3 Your arrows have sunk deep
in me; your hand has come down upon me.
4 My flesh is afflicted
because of your anger; my frame aches because of my sin.
5 My iniquities overwhelm
me, a burden beyond my strength.
6 Foul and festering are my
sores because of my folly.
7 I am stooped and deeply
bowed; all day I go about mourning.
8 My loins burn with fever;
my flesh is afflicted.
9 I am numb and utterly
crushed; I wail with anguish of heart.
10 My Lord, my deepest
yearning is before you; my groaning is not hidden from you.
11 My heart shudders, my
strength forsakes me; the very light of my eyes has failed.
12 Friends and companions
shun my pain; my neighbors stand far off.
13 Those who seek my life
lay snares for me; they seek my misfortune, they speak of ruin;
they plot treachery all the day.
14 But I am like the deaf,
hearing nothing, like the dumb, saying nothing,
15 Like someone who does not
hear, who has no answer ready.
16 LORD, I wait for you; O
Lord, my God, answer me.
17 For I fear they will
gloat, exult over me if I stumble.
18 I am very near to
falling; my pain is with me always.
19 I acknowledge my guilt
and grieve over my sin.
20 But many are my foes
without cause, a multitude of enemies without reason,
21 Repaying me evil for
good, harassing me for pursuing good.
22 Forsake me not, O LORD;
my God, be not far from me!
23 Come quickly to help me,
my Lord and my salvation!
Psalm 51: The Miserere: Lamenting the Sinful Condition of Humanity
1 For the leader. A psalm of David,
2 when Nathan the prophet
came to him after his affair with Bathsheba.
3 I Have mercy on me, God,
in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my
offense.
4 Wash away all my guilt;
from my sin cleanse me.
5 For I know my offense; my
sin is always before me.
6 Against you alone have I
sinned; I have done such evil in your sight that you are just in
your sentence, blameless when you condemn.
7 True, I was born guilty, a
sinner, even as my mother conceived me.
8 Still, you insist on
sincerity of heart; in my inmost being teach me wisdom.
9 Cleanse me with hyssop,
that I may be pure; wash me, make me whiter than snow.
10 Let me hear sounds of joy
and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
11 Turn away your face from
my sins; blot out all my guilt.
12 A clean heart create for
me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.
13 Do not drive me from your
presence, nor take from me your holy spirit.
14 Restore my joy in your
salvation; sustain in me a willing spirit.
15 I will teach the wicked
your ways, that sinners may return to you.
16 Rescue me from death,
God, my saving God, that my tongue may praise your healing power.
17 Lord, open my lips; my
mouth will proclaim your praise.
18 For you do not desire
sacrifice; a burnt offering you would not accept.
19 My sacrifice, God, is a
broken spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart.
20 Make Zion prosper in your
good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
21 Then you will be pleased
with proper sacrifice, burnt offerings and holocausts; then
bullocks will be offered on your altar.
Psalm 101: King David's Examination of Conscience
1 1 A psalm of David. I sing of love and
justice; to you, LORD, I sing praise.
2 I follow the way of integrity; when will you come
to me? I act with integrity of heart within my royal court.
3 I do not allow into my presence anyone who speaks
perversely. Whoever acts shamefully I hate; no such person can be
my friend.
4 I shun the devious of heart; the wicked I do not
tolerate.
5 Whoever slanders another in secret I reduce to
silence. Haughty eyes and arrogant hearts I cannot endure.
6 I look to the faithful of the land; they alone
can be my companions. Those who follow the way of integrity, they
alone can enter my service.
7 No one who practices deceit can hold a post in my
court. No one who speaks falsely can be among my advisors.
8 Each morning I clear the wicked from the land,
and rid the LORD'S city of all evildoers.
Psalm 130: Prayer in Times of Relentless Suffering
1 A song of ascents. *Out of the depths I
call to you, LORD;
2 Lord, hear my cry! May
your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, LORD, mark our
sins, Lord, who can stand?
4 But with you is
forgiveness and so you are revered.
5 I wait with longing for
the LORD, my soul waits for his word.
6 My soul looks for the Lord
more than sentinels for daybreak. More than sentinels for
daybreak,
7 let Israel look for the
LORD, For with the LORD is kindness, with him is full redemption,
8 And God will redeem Israel
from all their sins.
Psalm 143: A Cry for God's Mercy
1 A psalm of David. LORD, hear my prayer;
in your faithfulness listen to my pleading; answer me in your
justice.
2 Do not enter into judgment
with your servant; before you no living being can be just.
3 The enemy has pursued me;
they have crushed my life to the ground. They have left me in
darkness like those long dead.
4 My spirit is faint within
me; my heart is dismayed.
5 I remember the days of
old; I ponder all your deeds; the works of your hands I recall.
6 I stretch out my hands to
you; I thirst for you like a parched land.
7 Hasten to answer me, LORD;
for my spirit fails me. Do not hide your face from me, lest I
become like those descending to the pit.
8 At dawn let me hear of
your kindness, for in you I trust. Show me the path I should
walk, for to you I entrust my life.
9 Rescue me, LORD, from my
foes, for in you I hope.
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God. May your kind spirit guide me on ground that
is level.
11 For your name's sake,
LORD, give me life; in your justice lead me out of distress.
12 In your kindness put an
end to my foes; destroy all who attack me, for I am your servant.
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02/05/2006
