Register Summary

More than 40,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square for Pope Benedict XVI's general audience on Oct. 19. The Holy Father devoted his catechesis to Psalm 130, one of the best-known penitential psalms.

Popularly known as the De Profundis based on its opening words in Latin, Psalm 130 is a celebration in three movements of the mercy of God, who is always ready to forgive and to be reconciled with sinners.

In the first movement, the psalmist recognizes from the depths of his suffering that God is a loving Father and reveres him for this.

“It is significant that what generates this fear — an attitude of respect mixed with love — is not punishment but forgiveness,” the Pope said. “Rather than God's anger, what should arouse this holy fear in us is his generous and disarming magnanimity. God is not some implacable ruler who condemns the guilty, but a loving Father whom we must love not out of fear of punishment, but for his goodness and readiness to forgive.”

In the second part of the psalm, Benedict noted, “In the heart of the repentant psalmist arises the expectation, hope, the certainty that God will speak a word to set him free and will wipe away his sin.”

Finally, in the third part, the personal salvation that the psalmist originally sought is extended to the whole community.

“The faith of the psalmist is grafted onto the historic faith of the people of the Covenant, whom the Lord ‘redeemed’ not only from the anguish of oppression in Egypt, but also ‘from all their sins,’” Pope Benedict said.

In his concluding remarks, the Holy Father placed the psalm in the context of the Christian tradition by quoting St. Ambrose, who encouraged believers never to lose hope in God's forgiveness however great the sin, because with God there can always be a change of heart if the sinner acknowledges his offense.

We have just heard one of the best-known and beloved psalms of our Christian tradition, the De Profundis, whose name is derived from the opening words of the Latin version. Together with the Miserere, it is a favorite penitential psalm in popular devotion.

In addition to its use at funeral services, the text is first of all a song to God's mercy and to reconciliation between the sinner and the Lord — a righteous God who is always ready to reveal himself as “a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity, continuing his kindness for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7).

It is precisely for this reason that the psalm is included in evening prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours on Christmas and throughout the entire octave of Christmas, and on the Fourth Sunday of Easter and on the solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.

God Is Just

Psalm 130 opens with a lone voice rising from the depths of evil and guilt (verses 1-2). The psalmist addresses the Lord in the first person saying, “I call to you, Lord.” The psalm is then developed in three movements, all of which are devoted to the theme of sin and forgiveness. First of all, there is a turning to God, directly addressed as “you”: “If you, Lord, mark our sins, Lord, who can stand? But with you is forgiveness and so you are revered” (verses 3-4).

It is significant that what generates this fear — an attitude of respect mixed with love — is not punishment but forgiveness. Rather than God's anger, what should arouse this holy fear in us is his generous and disarming magnanimity. God is not some implacable ruler who condemns the guilty, but a loving Father whom we must love not out of fear of punishment, but for his goodness and readiness to forgive.

At the heart of the second movement is the psalmist speaking in the first person, no longer addressing the Lord but speaking about him: “I wait with longing for the Lord, my soul waits for his word. My soul looks for the Lord more than sentinels for daybreak” (verses 5-6). Now in the heart of the repentant psalmist arises the expectation, the hope, the certainty that God will speak a word to set him free and will wipe away his sin.

The third and last stage in the development of the psalm opens out to all of Israel, the often sinful people aware of the need for God's saving grace: “Let Israel look for the Lord, for with the Lord is kindness, with him is full redemption, and God will redeem Israel from all their sins” (verses 7-8).

Personal salvation, for which the psalmist first prayed, is now extended to the entire community. The faith of the psalmist is grafted onto the historic faith of the people of the Covenant, whom the Lord “redeemed” not only from the anguish of oppression in Egypt, but also “from all their sins.”

The cry of the De Profundis, which originated in the somber abyss of sin, reaches the bright horizon of God, where “mercy” (kindness) and “redemption” prevail, two great characteristics of the God of love.

God Is Merciful

Let us now be guided by a meditation that our Christian tradition has woven from this psalm. We have chosen some words from St. Ambrose, who often reminds us in his writings of the reasons that impel us to beg God for forgiveness.

“We have a good Lord who wants to forgive everyone,” he reminds us in his treatise entitled On Penance. “If you want to be justified, confess your misdeeds,” he adds. “A humble confession of sins undoes the tangle of guilt. You see with what hope of forgiveness he impels you to confess” (2, 6, 40-41: SAEMO, XVII, Milan-Rome, 1982, p. 253).

Repeating the same invitation in his Commentary on the Gospel according to Luke, the bishop of Milan expresses his amazement at the gifts that God adds to his forgiveness: “See how good God is and how ready to forgive sins. He not only gives back what he had taken away, but also grants unexpected gifts.”

Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was left mute for not believing the angel, but later, forgiving him, God granted him the gift of prophecy in song: “He who shortly before was mute, is now prophesying,” St. Ambrose observes. “It is one of the Lord's greatest graces, that the very ones who denied him should proclaim him. No one, therefore, should lose trust; no one should despair of receiving God's rewards, even when plagued by the guilt of past sins. God is able to change his mind, if you are able to mend your ways” (2, 33: SAEMO, XI, Milan-Rome, 1978, p. 175).

(Register translation)