Penitential Psalms continued

4. Psalm 1. Miserere
1.David prays for remission of his sins; 8. For perfect sanctity. 17. God delights not in sacrifice, but in contrite heart. 19. David prays for the exaltation of the Church.

1.Have mercy upon me, O God; according to thy great mercy. 2. And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies: blot out my iniquity. 3. Wash me yet more from my iniquity: and cleanse me from my sin. 4. For I acknowledge my iniquity: and my sin is always before me. 5. Against thee only have I sinned, and done evil in thy sight: that thou mayest be justified in thy words, and mayest overcome when thou art judged. 6. For behold, I was conceived in iniquities: and in sins did my mother conceive me. 7. For behold, thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest unto me. 8. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. 9. To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that were humbled shall rejoice. 10. Turn away thy face from my sins: and blot out all my iniquities. 11. Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels. 12. Cast me not away from thy presence: and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. 13. Restore unto me the joy of my salvation: and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. 14. I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted unto thee. 15. Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice. 16. O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise. 17. For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted. 18. The sacrifice of God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 19. Deal favourably, O God, in thy good will with Sion: that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up. 20. Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations, and whole burnt-offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thine altars. Glory, &c.

5. Psalm ci Domine, exaudi.
1. The extreme affliction of the Psalmist. 12. The eternity and the mercy of God. 19. To be recorded and praised by future generations. 26. The unchangeableness of God.

1. O Lord, hear my prayer: and let my cry come unto thee. 2. Turn not away thy face from me: in the day when I am in trouble, incline thine ear unto me. 3. In what day soever I shall call upon thee: oh, hearken unto me speedily. 4. For my days are vanished like smoke: and my bones are dried up like fuel for the fire. 5. I am smitten as grass, and my heart is withered: for I have forgotten to eat my bread. 6. Through the voice of my groaning: my bones have cleaved to my flesh. 7. I am become like a pelican in the wilderness: I am become like a night-raven in the house. 8. I have watched: and am become like a sparrow that sitteth alone on the house-top. 9. Mine enemies reviled me all the day long: and they that praised me have sworn together against me. 10. For I have eaten ashes as it were bread: and mingled my bread with weeping. 11. Because of thy indignation and wrath: for thou hast lifted me up and cast me down. 12. My days are gone down like a shadow: and I am withered like grass. 13. But thou, O Lord, endurest for ever: and thy memorial to all generations. 14. Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Sion: for it is time that thou have mercy upon her, yea, the time is come. 15. For thy servants have delighted in her stones: and they shall have compassion on the earth thereof. 16. The Gentiles shall fear they name, O Lord: and all the kings of the earth thy glory. 17. For the Lord hath built up Sion: and he shall be seen in his glory. 18. He hath had regard unto the prayer of the lowly: and hath not despised their petition. 19. Let these things be written for another generation: and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord. 20. For he hath looked down from his high and holy place: out of heaven hath the Lord looked upon the earth. 21. That he might hear the groaning of them that are in fetters: that he might deliver the children of the slain. 22. That they may declare the name of the Lord in Sion, and his praise in Jerusalem. 23. When the people assemble together: and kings, that they may serve the Lord. 24. He answered him in the way of his strength: Declare unto me the fewness of my days. 25. Call me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are unto generation and generation. 26. Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundations of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 27. They shall perish, but thou endurest: and they all shall grow old as a garment. 28. And as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. 29. The children of thy servants shall continue: and their seed shall be directed for ever. Glory, &c.

6. Psalm cxxix. De profundis.
The cry of a contrite heart imploring the Divine mercy.

1. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. 2. Oh, let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. 3. If thou, O Lord, shalt mark my iniquities: O lord, who shall abide? 4. For with thee there is propitiation: and because of thy law I have waited for thee, O Lord. 5. My soul hath relied on his word: my soul hath hoped in the Lord. 6. From the morning watch even until night: let Israel hope in the Lord. 7. For with the Lord there is mercy: and with him there is plenteous redemption. 8. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Glory, &c.

7. Psalm cxIii. Domine, exaudi.
1. David prays for favour in judgment. 3. He represents his distress. He prays for grace. 9. for deliverance; 10. for sanctification; 12. for victory over his enemies.

1. Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my supplication in thy truth: hearken unto me for thy justice' sake. 2. And enter not into judgement with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. 3. For thy enemy hath persecuted my soul: he hath brought my life down unto the ground. 4. He hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead: and my spirit is vexed within me, my heart within me is troubled. 5. I have remembered the days of old. I have mused upon the works of thy hands. 6. I have stretched forth my hands unto thee: my soul gaspeth unto thee, as a land where no water is. 7. Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit hath fainted away. 8. Turn not away thy face from me: lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. 9. Make me to hear thy mercy in the morning: for in thee have I hoped. 10. Make me to know the way wherein I should walk: for to thee have I lifted up my soul. 11. Deliver me from mine enemies, O Lord: unto thee have I fled: teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God. 12. Thy good spirit shall lead me into the right land: for thy name's sake, O Lord, thou shalt quicken me in thy justice. 13. Thou shalt bring my soul out of trouble: and in thy mercy thou shalt destroy mine enemies. 14. Thou shalt destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant. Glory, &c.

Ant. Remember not, O Lord, our offences, not those of our parents: neither take thou vengeance of our sins.