1Das profundezas a ti clamo, ó Senhor.
2Senhor, escuta a minha voz: sejam os teus ouvidos attentos á voz das minhas supplicas.
3Se tu, Senhor, observares as iniquidades, Senhor, quem subsistirá?
4Porém comtigo está o perdão, para que sejas temido.
5Aguardo ao Senhor; a minha alma o aguarda, e espero na sua palavra.
6A minha alma aguarda ao Senhor, mais do que os guardas pela manhã, mais do que aquelles que vigiam pela manhã.
7Espere Israel no Senhor, porque no Senhor ha misericordia, e n'elle ha abundante redempção.
8E elle remirá a Israel de todas as suas iniquidades.
📖 Chapter study
Summary
One of the seven 'penitential psalms': 'out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD' — a confession that no one could stand if God marked every sin, followed by a declaration of patient hope, 'like they that watch for the morning.'
Explanation
This eleventh 'Song of Degrees' is one of the most profound and widely used prayers of repentance in the Bible, acknowledging both the seriousness of sin and the certainty of forgiveness available in God ('there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared' — a forgiveness that produces reverence, not contempt). The comparison of waiting for God to night watchmen waiting for the dawn (v.6) conveys both the intensity of the wait and the certainty that it will end. The application for today is that honestly acknowledging our failures before God, without despair, opens the way to renewed hope.