Seven Penitential Psalms (Dealing with Confession, Repentance, and Restoration)

A Scripture Passages are from the Christian Standard Bible © 2017. Holman Publishers

Psalm 25

Dependence on the LORD

Of David.
1 LORD, I appeal to you.
2 My God, I trust in you.
Do not let me be disgraced;
do not let my enemies gloat over me.
3 No one who waits for you

will be disgraced;
those who act treacherously without cause
will be disgraced.
4 Make your ways known to me, LORD;

teach me your paths.

5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

I wait for you all day long.
6 Remember, LORD, your compassion

and your faithful love,

for they have existed from antiquity.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth

or my acts of rebellion;
in keeping with your faithful love, remember me
because of your goodness, LORD.
8 The LORD is good and upright;

therefore he shows sinners the way.

9
He leads the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the LORD’s ways show faithful love and truth

to those who keep his covenant and decrees.

11 LORD, for the sake of your name,

forgive my iniquity, for it is immense.

12 Who is this person who fears the LORD?

He will show him the way he should choose.

13 He will live a good life,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
14 The secret counsel of the LORD

is for those who fear him,

and he reveals his covenant to them.
15 My eyes are always on the LORD,

for he will pull my feet out of the net.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,

for I am alone and afflicted.

17 The distresses of my heart increase;

bring me out of my sufferings.

18 Consider my affliction and trouble,

and forgive all my sins.

19
Consider my enemies; they are numerous,
and they hate me violently.
20 Guard me and rescue me;

do not let me be disgraced,

for I take refuge in you.
21
May integrity and what is right
watch over me,
for I wait for you.
22 God, redeem Israel, from all its distresses.

=======

Psalm 32

The Joy of Forgiveness

Of David. A Maskil.
1 How joyful is the one
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered!
2 How joyful is a person whom

the LORD does not charge with iniquity

and in whose spirit is no deceit!
3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle

from my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me;

my strength was drained[a]

as in the summer’s heat. Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to you immediately.

When great floodwaters come,

they will not reach him.
7
You are my hiding place;
you protect me from trouble.
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and show you the way to go;

with my eye on you, I will give counsel.

9
Do not be like a horse or mule,
without understanding,
that must be controlled with bit and bridle
or else it will not come near you.
10 Many pains come to the wicked,

but the one who trusts in the LORD

will have faithful love surrounding him.
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice,

you righteous ones;

shout for joy,
all you upright in heart.

======

Psalm 51

A Prayer for Restoration

For the choir director. A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him
after he had gone to Bathsheba.
1 Be gracious to me, God,
according to your faithful love;
according to your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion.
2 Completely wash away my guilt

and cleanse me from my sin.

3
For I am conscious of my rebellion,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you—you alone—I have sinned
and done this evil in your sight.
So you are right when you pass sentence;
you are blameless when you judge.
5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born;

I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

6 Surely you desire integrity in the inner self,

and you teach me wisdom deep within.

7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9
Turn your face away[a] from my sins
and blot out all my guilt.
10 God, create a clean heart for me

and renew a steadfast[b] spirit within me.

11 Do not banish me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me,

and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach the rebellious your ways,

and sinners will return to you.

14 Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God—

God of my salvation—
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it;

you are not pleased with a burnt offering.

17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is [c] a broken spirit.

You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.

18 In your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper;

build the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices,

whole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.

======

Psalm 86
Lament and Petition

A prayer of David.
1 Listen, LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Protect my life, for I am faithful.

You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you.

3 Be gracious to me, Lord,

for I call to you all day long.

4 Bring joy to your servant’s life,

because I appeal to you, Lord.

5 For you, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive,

abounding in faithful love to all who call on you.

6 LORD, hear my prayer;

listen to my cries for mercy.

7 I call on you in the day of my distress,

for you will answer me.

8 Lord, there is no one like you among the gods,

and there are no works like yours.

9 All the nations you have made

will come and bow down before you, Lord,

and will honor your name.
10 For you are great and perform wonders;

you alone are God.

11 Teach me your way, LORD,

and I will live by your truth.

Give me an undivided mind to fear your name.
12 I will praise you with all my heart, Lord my God,

and will honor your name forever.

13 For your faithful love for me is great,

and you rescue my life from the depths of Sheol.

14
God, arrogant people have attacked me;
a gang of ruthless men intends to kill me.
They do not let you guide them.[a]
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,

slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me.

Give your strength to your servant;

save the son of your female servant.
17 Show me a sign of your goodness;
my enemies will see and be put to shame
because you, LORD, have helped and comforted me.

=======

Psalm 103

The Forgiving God

Of David.
1 My soul, bless the LORD,
and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 My soul, bless the LORD,

and do not forget all his benefits.

3 He forgives all your iniquity;

he heals all your diseases.

4 He redeems your life from the Pit;

he crowns you with faithful love and compassion.

5 He satisfies you[a] with good things;

your youth is renewed like the eagle.

6 The LORD executes acts of righteousness

and justice for all the oppressed.

7 He revealed his ways to Moses,

his deeds to the people of Israel.

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.

9 He will not always accuse us

or be angry forever.
10 He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve

or repaid us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his faithful love

toward those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed

our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,

so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

14
For he knows what we are made of,
remembering that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass—
he blooms like a flower of the field;
16
when the wind passes over it, it vanishes,
and its place is no longer known.[b]
17 But from eternity to eternity

the LORD’s faithful love is toward those who fear him,

and his righteousness toward the grandchildren
18
of those who keep his covenant,
who remember to observe his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,

and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Bless the LORD,

all his angels of great strength,

who do his word,
obedient to his command.
21 Bless the LORD, all his armies,

his servants who do his will.

22
Bless the LORD, all his works
in all the places where he rules.
My soul, bless the LORD!

=======

Psalm 130

Awaiting Redemption

A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I call to you, LORD!
2 Lord, listen to my voice;
let your ears be attentive
to my cry for help.
3 LORD, if you kept an account of iniquities,

Lord, who could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness,

so that you may be revered.

5 I wait for the LORD; I wait

and put my hope in his word.

6
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning—
more than watchmen for the morning.
7
Israel, put your hope in the LORD.
For there is faithful love with the LORD,
and with him is redemption in abundance.
8 And he will redeem Israel

from all its iniquities.

=======

Psalm 143

A Cry for Help

A psalm of David.
1 LORD, hear my prayer.
In your faithfulness listen to my plea,
and in your righteousness answer me.
2 Do not bring your servant into judgment,

for no one alive is righteous in your sight.

3 For the enemy has pursued me,

crushing me to the ground,

making me live in darkness
like those long dead.
4 My spirit is weak within me;

my heart is overcome with dismay.

5 I remember the days of old;

I meditate on all you have done;

I reflect on the work of your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to you;

I am like parched land before you. Selah

7 Answer me quickly, LORD;

my spirit fails.
Don’t hide your face from me,
or I will be like those
going down to the Pit.
8 Let me experience

your faithful love in the morning,

for I trust in you.
Reveal to me the way I should go
because I appeal to you.
9 Rescue me from my enemies, LORD;

I come to you for protection.[a]

10 Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God.

May your gracious Spirit
lead me on level ground.
11
For your name’s sake, LORD,
let me live.
In your righteousness deliver me from trouble,
12 and in your faithful love destroy my enemies.

Wipe out all those who attack me,

for I am your servant.