THE SEVEN PENITENTIAL THE FIRST PENITENTIAL PSALM 1. O Lord, rebuke me not in Thy anger, nor chasten me in Thy wrath.
2. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
3. My soul also is sorely troubled. But Thou, O Lord—how long?
4. Turn, O Lord, save my life; deliver me for the sake of Thy steadfast love.
5. For in death there is no remembrance of Thee; in hell who will give Thee thanks?
6. I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.
7. My body wastes away because of my grief, it grows old because of all my foes.
8. Depart from me, all you workers of evil; for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
9. The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord accepts my prayer.
10. All my enemies shall be ashamed and sorely troubled; they shall turn back, and be put to shame in a moment.
AMONG my first booklets I also published at that time1 the seven penitential psalms with an exposition. And although I still do not find anything wrong in it, yet I often missed the meaning of the text. This usually happens to all teachers at their first attempt. It was so with the venerable, holy fathers, who, as St. Augustine admits about himself, daily improved in writing and teaching.2 So also this little book was acceptable and good enough at the time, because nothing better was at hand. Now, however, since the Gospel has reached high noon and is shining brightly, and I also have made some progress in the meantime, I considered it good to publish the work again, but improved and based more accurately on the right text.3 I commend all my readers to the grace of God. Amen.
1. O Lord, rebuke me not in Thy anger, nor chasten me in Thy wrath.
TO explain this psalm several things must be noted:
First. In all trials and affliction man should first of all run to God; he should realize and accept the fact that everything is sent by God, whether it comes from the devil or from man. This is what the prophet does here. In this psalm he mentions his trials, but first he hurries to God and accepts these trials from Him; for this is the way to learn patience and the fear of God. But he who looks to man and does not accept these things from God becomes impatient and a despiser of God.
Second. God chastens in two ways. At times He does so in grace as a kind Father, temporally; at times He does so in wrath as a stern Judge, eternally. Now when God seizes man, man is by nature weak and disheartened, because he does not know whether God is taking him in hand out of anger or in grace.
In fear of His anger he begins to cry out: "O Lord, rebuke me not in Thy anger; let it be in grace and temporally; be a Father, not a Judge." Thus also St. Augustine says: "O God, bear down here, strike here, beat here; but spare us in yonder life."4 Thus he implores here, not that he wants to go unpunished altogether, for this would not be a good sign, but that he be punished as a child by his father. However, that these words are spoken by a sinner or in the person of a sinner follows from the fact that he mentions punishment. For God's punishment is not sent for the sake of righteousness. Therefore all saints and Christians must recognize themselves as sinners and fear God's wrath, for this psalm is general and excludes no one. Therefore woe to all those who do not fear, do not feel their own sins, and walk about smugly in the face of the awful judgment of God, before whom no good work can avail!
2. Be gracious to me, O Lord.
That is, show me grace, so that I do not dissolve and despair in fear and terror.
That is, strengthen me; help me in this wretchedness.
- 63 For my bones are troubled.
That is: "All my strength and power passes away at the terror of Thy punishment. Since, therefore, my strength leaves me, give me Thy strength." And here it must be noted that this psalm and others like it will never be thoroughly understood or prayed unless disaster stares man in the face as it does in death and at the final departure. Blessed are they who experience this in life, for every man must finally meet his end. When man thus declines and becomes as nothing in all his power, works, and being, until there is nothing but a lost, condemned and forsaken sinner, then divine help and strength appear, as in Job
11:11–17: "When you think you are devoured, then you shall shine forth as the morning star."
3. My soul also is sorely troubled.
God's strength and consolation are given to no one unless he asks for it from the bottom of his heart.
But no one who has not been profoundly terrified and forsaken prays profoundly. He does not know what ails him, and he remains secure in the strength and consolation of another, his own or that of creatures. In order, therefore, that God might dispense His strength and consolation and communicate it to us, He withdraws all other consolation and makes the soul deeply sorrowful, crying and longing for His comfort. Thus all God's chastisements are graciously designed to be a blessed comfort, although through weak and despairing hearts the foolish hinder and distort the design aimed at them, because they do not know that God hides and imparts His goodness and mercy under wrath and chastisement.
But Thou, O Lord—how long?
Time seems long to all who are afflicted; and on the other hand, it seems short to those who are happy. But it seems especially and immeasurably long to those who have that inner hurt of the soul, the feeling of being forsaken and rejected by God. It is sometimes said that one hour in purgatory is worse than a thousand years of temporal, bodily pain. Thus there is no greater pain than the gnawing pangs of conscience, which occur when God withholds truth, righteousness, wisdom, etc., and nothing remains but sin, darkness, pain, and woe. This is a sample or foretaste of the pains of hell and everlasting damnation; therefore it pierces the very bones, strength, blood, marrow, and whatever there is in man.
4. Turn, O Lord, save my life.
A turning away on the part of God implies an inner rejecting and forsaking. Then a horrible terror and, as it were, the beginning of damnation is felt, as is written in Ps. 30:7: "Thou didst hide Thy face, I was dismayed."
Returning, however, implies inner consolation and a sustaining in joyous hope. Therefore he says:
"Save my life," as if he were saying: "It is cast down and condemned; draw or tear it upward again."
For this is the severest and greatest illness of the soul, where it must perish eternally if it should remain in such a state.
For the sake of Thy steadfast love.
Not because of any merit or worthiness in me but on account of Thy mercy, that it may be extolled, loved, and praised; for Thou hast sent it to help the unworthy. For he whom God helps according to his own merit is more highly honored and praised than God's goodness. That would be a great dishonor; hence God's grace is to be praised, and all merit and worthiness brought to naught. That is what this temptation does.
5. For in death there is no remembrance of Thee.
That is, the dead do not praise Thee and do not extol Thy mercy; only the living do this, as we read in Ps. 115:17–18:5 "The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any that go down into silence; but we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore." Therefore here the psalmist speaks not only of temporal death but also of spiritual death, when the soul is dead. For sin is the death of the soul, and pain is its hell. Both are felt by one who lies in this distress, namely, in sin and in punishment for sin.
Therefore he says: "Do not let me remain in death and hell; but according to Thy mercy graciously raise me up, deliver me from hell, and console me." Thus this verse makes us understand that this tribulation is a door and entrance into eternal sin and punishment, that is, into death and hell, as King Hezekiah says: "I have said in great terror: I must enter the gates of hell in the midst of my days, that is, when I thought I was in the best years of my life" (Is. 38:10).
In hell who will give Thee thanks?
- 64 Therefore I have said, "for Thy mercy's sake!" Hell, where Thy mercy does not dwell, does not praise Thee; it really desecrates and blasphemes Thy justice and truth. This is by far the noblest thought which the saints have in their crosses and by which they are also sustained. Otherwise they are in every way like the damned, as we read later in the last of these psalms: "Hide not Thy face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit" (Ps. 143:7). The difference is this, that the saints retain a good will toward God, and that they are more concerned about losing God's gracious will, praise, and honor than about being damned. For he does not say: "In hell there is no joy and pleasure" but rather: "There is no praise and honor." Therefore here he inserts the thought that God is well disposed toward no one in hell, and if he goes to hell, he, like the condemned, would be in God's disfavor. This would be more unwelcome and painful to him than the pain itself. Therefore we read in the Song of Solomon that the love of God is as strong as death and as firm as hell, because it remains even in deathly and hellish pain
(8:6). Thus God says through Isaiah: "I will bridle you with My love, that you do not perish" (48:9).
That is: "I will grant you a sincerely favorable disposition toward Me in the midst of your suffering, and this will restrain you and keep you. Without this all others perish in their trials."
Again, in Ps. 18:3: "I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies." We must overcome afflictions, death, and hell. However, they will not be overcome by running away or by impatience, but with favor, good will, and love continuing toward God in their presence. These are sharp words for the old Adam, especially if he is still fresh and green; but that does not matter.
6. I am weary with my moaning.
That is: "I groan so much and so intensely that even groaning is labor. My life has become painful and wearisome, for it is nothing but groaning." The saying goes: "I have worked and labored with running, with smiting, etc." So also here: "I belabored myself with groaning; I am restless with groaning."
Every night I flood my bed with tears.
That is, I weep so much that my tears flood my bed, as we read in the following:
I drench my couch with my weeping.
This is not really possible, nor has anyone ever heard or read that it has happened to a saint. Hence the words are spoken figuratively and must be understood in a figurative sense, namely, that his soul is so severely burdened with affliction that, if it were possible for the body, he would weep that much.
Therefore, so far as he is concerned, it is as if it had happened. And if his body were to act like a soul which thoroughly feels the chastisement of God, he would melt and dissolve like snow in less than an hour.
7. My body wastes away because of my grief.
That is, my appearance and the whole mode of life of my body are changed and misshapen; and all this on account of the wrath of God which I have felt. The world cares for the body with silk, gold, and sumptuous eating, like the rich man in the Gospel (Luke 16:19–20); but through the wrath of God I have become the poor and deformed Lazarus.
It grows old because of all my foes.
That is, I am useless, like an old man. For such a feeling of the chastisement of God has the effect that all strength is consumed. It seems to him that heaven and earth are laid upon him and that everyone is his enemy. Nowhere does he find comfort; he finds only terror and the wrath of God.6
8. Depart from me, all you workers of evil.
That this does not mean all kinds of unjust persons, but those of outstanding virtue and wisdom, is clear from Matt. 7:22, where the Lord Jesus quotes this half of the verse against those who on the Last
Day will say: "Yes, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and do many mighty works?" These wise and holy ones are called workers of evil by Christ because they do not perform the good in the right way. And now he attacks the proud holy ones who have never felt the wrath of God or come to a knowledge of their sins. Therefore they do not believe, trust, call upon, know, or teach the goodness of God; but they mislead themselves and others through works and the bold presumption of merit before God. He wishes that these, too, would have to experience the wrath of God, so that they would finally recover from their bold presumption and regain their senses.
For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.