Penitential Psalms
In the Christian liturgical tradition seven psalms have been singled out as penitential psalms: 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143. They express human penitence for sin before God and are particularly appropriate for the penitential season of Lent. For example, Ps 51 begins “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; in your great compassion blot out my offenses.”
Glossary definitions provided courtesy of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY,(All Rights reserved) from “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians,” Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors.