Repentance – Community Circle Europe

Verse: ‘I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin’, (Psalm 38:18).

To continue our explorations into the Book of Psalms I thought it fitting to discuss a practice which I try and incorporate into my daily prayer routine when time will allow, but would definitely recommend the practice during the forty days that make up Lent. During the morning I attempt to pray at least one psalm of repentance after my morning prayer. It helps to centre myself and remind me that, despite my best efforts, I will be subject to many vices such as anger, pride, and perhaps even greed – to name the most common – as I have been in the past.

The Seven Penitential Psalms consist of Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143. The fact that there are seven of these psalms is useful for creating diversity in repentance. Psalm 51 is perhaps one of the most well know psalms of repentance and was discussed last week but repeating it every day, or multiple times a day, can become tedious and boring. Each of these seven psalms follow a similar pattern of prayer. First the recognition that one has sinned against God and the justice and fairness of punishment. This is then followed by expressing sorrow for the sins committed and the intention to make things right, i.e. by no longer committing sin. Hope is then found in the mercy of God.

Each morning after my usual routine prayers I used to pray Psalm 51 attentively. However, even once a day this can become repetitive and almost automatic in nature, leading to a drowsiness of the mind as we don’t think about the words we are actually reciting, especially since the pressures of the day are often compelling us to rush or worry. To counter this some people may find it easier and more effective to use a different one of the Seven Penitential Psalms each day, assigning them a specific day of the week. I would recommend keeping it simple and going through in ascending order as this is easier to remember and makes logical sense. So, Monday: 6, Tuesday: 32, Wednesday: 38, and so forth.

As well as this, in the Hebrew Bible there is an absolutely fantastic example by a prophet of a prayer of repentance, aptly named, it is known as Daniel’s Prayer of Repentance or simply as Daniel’s Prayer (Daniel 9:4-19). One of the reasons this is an interesting example of praying for intercession and repentance is that Daniel does not just pray for himself, rather he prays for others around him and at several points seeks forgiveness for them after confessing their sins (Daniel 9:15-19). It is easy to pray to God to help us in our own suffering and with our own sin, but we should not forget the needs of those around us either. For this reason, Daniel’s Prayer may be a promising alternative to those who may wish to use an Old Testament prayer in place of a psalm.

Verse: ‘Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions’, (Psalm 51:1).

Those who are familiar with typical prayer rules will likely know Psalm 51 by heart. As it belongs to the collection of penitential psalms found in the Book of Psalms it is traditionally used as a psalm of repentance and many Christians belonging to a wide range of denominations will recite it in both the morning and the evening – if not more. Charles Spurgeon, famous Baptist preacher and author, referred to Psalm 51 as The Sinner’s Guide due to the manner in which it outlines how to return to God’s grace after committing sin. As we read this psalm, we can understand how we should come before God, confess and repent, and seek forgiveness. It is also a testament of faith; in this psalm David has complete faith in God and this faith leads him to believe he is certainly forgiven, something that can be hard for us to believe at times when we come before God to pray and ask for forgiveness.

Like David in this psalm, we should not stand before God and make excuses for our sins and wrong behaviour, but instead should admit our wrongdoings and repent, asking Him for forgiveness and a fresh start once again. This psalm is a great example of trusting in the mercy of God. We can come before Him completely sinful and spiritually spoiled, in both word and deed, and with a contrite attitude we can be forgiven and given a new chance to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. Whenever we fail, we know we can turn back and ask for forgiveness and repent, our God is a loving God, and a merciful God. It is important to remember, however, that repentance is not just being sorry but it is the act of promising not to repeat the transgression. It is no good to simply keep coming back for the same issues as this proves we are not actually sorry for what we have done.

Repentance and forgiveness are important tenets of Christian faith. As Christians we are told to come and confess and repent of our sins so that we may become clean. In the Book of Proverbs, we are called to confess and renounce our sins, ‘He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy’ (Proverbs 28:13). The Gospel of Luke describes the importance in Heaven placed on repentance, ‘In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents’ (Luke 15:10). It is regarded as so important that in some traditions within Orthodoxy such as Coptic Orthodoxy this psalm is even used in every daily office. Reciting this psalm is a humbling and practical way in which we can learn to repent and ask for forgiveness during our daily prayer routines.