WEEK TWO INTRODUCTION 
TITLE: THE PENITENTIAL PSALMS
March 6–March 12

The journey to Easter must begin with each of us reaching deep within our hearts to clearly see and fully understand and acknowledge the sins, inconsistencies, and temptations that so often weigh us down. Spending quality time in reflection and prayer as we ask God to “search our hearts” is so important. We tend to go through life on autopilot, often oblivious to the seriousness of our shortcomings and how our thoughts, feelings, and actions affect others.

Sometimes focusing on issues of social justice or pointing out our neighbor’s sins keeps us from carefully examining the sin in our own lives. Admitting failure in the Christian life can be extremely difficult because we don’t want people to think poorly of us. Musician Rich Mullins wrote, “Many times we are afraid to drop our guard because we’re afraid that people will think we are spiritually fake. Well, the truth is that we are. And so are they. And we’re all [playing this game] trying to fake each other out.” Christ’s gospel of love calls us to honestly confess and radically repent of the evil in our lives—those things that keep us from realizing our full potential in him. 

The penitential psalms are found throughout the entire book, suggesting that sorrow for sin should play a central role in the human experience from youth to grave. These psalms are attributed to King David who, as we all know, committed some pretty heinous crimes. Sin has serious consequences, but as David’s life exemplified, God and his grace were greater than any of the sins King David committed. That should bring comfort to our souls.

Some pray all seven of David’s penitential psalms together on a daily or weekly basis during Lent. Others choose to pray one penitential psalm each day of the week. Author Nancy de Flon writes, “Human life is complex and varied, and these Psalms reflect this in the way each emphasizes a different context for expressing penitence. Lenten practices ought to have elements that continue in our lives beyond Lent. Perhaps these Psalms will provide material to deepen your spiritual life for every season of the year.” Although the seven penitential psalms include Psalm 102, we have chosen to use it during week six. Instead we end this week of self-examination and crying out to God with Psalm 139.

Day 5 - Sunday, March 6
Title: O LORD, DO NOT REBUKE ME
Scripture: Psalm 6
O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
My soul also is greatly troubled;
But You, O Lord—how long?

Return, O Lord, deliver me!
Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!
For in death there is no remembrance of You;
In the grave who will give You thanks?

I am weary with my groaning;
All night I make my bed swim;
I drench my couch with my tears.
My eye wastes away because of grief;
It grows old because of all my enemies.

Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity;
For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
The Lord has heard my supplication;
The Lord will receive my prayer.
Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled;
Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.

Poetry: 
[“Are you Mr. William Stafford?”]
by William Stafford

“Are you Mr. William Stafford?”
“Yes, but…”

Well, it was yesterday.
Sunlight used to follow my hand.
And that’s when the strange siren-like sound
     flooded
over the horizon and rushed through the streets
     of our town.
That’s when sunlight came from behind
a rock and began to follow my hand.

“It’s for the best,” my mother said—”Nothing can
ever be wrong for anyone truly good.”
So later the sun settled back and the sound
faded and was gone. All along the streets every
house waited, white, blue, gray; trees
were still trying to arch as far as they could.

You can’t tell when strange things with meaning
will happen. I’m [still] here writing it down
just the way it was. “You don’t have to
prove anything,” my mother said. “Just be ready
for what God sends.” I listened and put my hand
out in the sun again. It was all easy.

Well, it was yesterday. And the sun came,
Why
It came.

O LORD, HEAL ME

Lately, the main topic of any conversation with my coworkers, friends, and family has been the topic of sleep. They wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares fueled with anxiety. Some can’t seem to fall asleep. Tossing and turning, their burdens weigh heavily on them. They look to find some solace in sleep, only for it to be less than gratifying.

Today’s passage, Psalm 6 is David’s lament to the Lord to deliver and heal his life. A man broken as a result of his sin, he cries out to the Lord as he reflects on his sins pleading for mercy and for Him to not rebuke him in His anger against sin. While lamenting, David uses the imagery of places that should bring comfort and peace like a bed and couch. This imagery is seen in the artwork for today, Sadness, Sleep and Sanctity, as it is a picture of the restlessness we feel in our everyday life. The objects circling above the bed can be the things in our lives that are unresolved, conflicts, tasks to be completed, impending deadlines, or sins undealt with. The cups of water can be seen as the trail of tears that we bring in from everyday life into bed, a place that should bring peace and comfort. Instead of comfort and peace, it’s a place where we are haunted by our lives, and evidently our sins. It’s a place that induces anxiety and restlessness, where we cry out for relief from life in bed as opposed to finding it there.

So where do we go?

“Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed.”

We bring our sins, our struggles, our pain, our lives to the Lord. As David recognizes, only the Lord can truly bring us the peace, comfort, and ultimate healing that we long to find in our own beds. He is the only one who can grant us what we need. Because of this, we do not fear the world that says otherwise, that God will not hear us and only bring more condemnation on us. We don’t need to run to the world for its comfort because God not only hears our cries, but comforts and heals us.

May we be open to His comforting presence, allowing ourselves to move towards God, not looking to the world for its fleeting comfort that we try to find in our earthly spaces. Who hears us even when we are in the darkest of places, Who hates sin, yet still loves us. May we continue to cry out to the Lord to heal us from our iniquities.

Prayer:
Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger
Nor chasten me in your wrath
Be merciful to me, for I am weak and pining away
And my soul is greatly dismayed
So I ask you to heal me, Lord
Heal me, Lord, for my bones are dismayed
Amen

Ashley Yukihiro
Biology Lab Supervisor
Department of Biological Sciences
Biola University

For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.