◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 51:1-12 (Create in me a clean heart); Exodus 30:1-10 (Aaron’s responsibility for altar and atonement); Hebrews 4:14—5:4 (Jesus’ priesthood surpasses Aaron’s) (New Catholic Bible)

Prev Day

March 10, 1967

Next Day

Use the calendar to view readings from this devotional.

March 1967
Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

Return to today's reading

Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with thematically matched Old and New Testament readings.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 51:1-12

Psalm 51^[a]

The “Miserere”: Repentance for Sin

¹For the director.^[b] A psalm of David. ²When Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bathsheba.

³Have mercy on me, O God,
    in accord with your kindness;^[c]
in your abundant compassion
    wipe away my offenses.
⁴Wash me completely from my guilt,
    and cleanse me from my sin.
⁵For I am fully aware of my offense,
    and my sin is ever before me.
⁶Against you, you alone,^[d] have I sinned;
    I have done what is evil in your sight.
Therefore, you are right in accusing me
    and just in passing judgment.
⁷Indeed, I was born in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.^[e]
⁸But you desire sincerity of heart;^[f]
    and you endow my innermost being with wisdom.
⁹Sprinkle me with hyssop^[g] so that I may be cleansed;
    wash me until I am whiter than snow.
¹⁰Let me experience joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed exult.
¹¹Hide your face from my sins,
    and wipe out all my offenses.
¹²Create^[h] in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a resolute spirit within me.

Footnotes

Psalm 51:1 This psalm, the “Miserere,” the best known of the seven Penitential Psalms (Pss 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143), is still the most authentic expression of our prayer as human beings. The kind of sincerity in the confession of sinfulness that it expresses requires a limitless trust in the mercy of God. Whether it voices the repentance of King David after his adultery (see 2 Sam 12:13) or that of the Jewish people after their return from the Exile during which they had become aware of their infidelity, the entreaty shows authentic repentance.
Men and women become conscious of the sin that alienates them from God (see Ezek 2:3; 16:43); evil plunges its roots deep within their being (see Jer 5:23; 7:24; 17:9; Ezek 36:26). A hasty forgiveness, an external purification, is not enough; it is the heart that must be transformed. God alone can effect this new creation and infuse a new Spirit (see Ezek 36:26). He allows sinners to come to their senses and humbly commit themselves to him again. He alone can answer the desire for complete renewal that is inscribed in a true request for forgiveness. Our thoughts turn immediately to Paul who movingly describes the dramatic situation of sinners (Rom 7:14ff) and then contrasts it with the exalted life of Christians who let themselves be led by the Holy Spirit (Rom 8).
Especially striking in this regard is verse 7 of this psalm: the individual—or the people—has been conceived in sin, begotten in guilt. The psalmist is surely not thinking of a sin of the mother that might infect the child, nor does the Old Testament consider the conjugal union to be sinful; by this exceptionally violent image the psalmist intends rather to convey the idea that the human being is born as a prisoner of a sinful environment.
All Christians—whether under the shock of some personal failing, under the, at times, searing impression of a life of mediocrity and nullity in God’s eyes, or in union with the entire Church imploring the mercy of the Crucified upon the sinful world—have recited this psalm with its bubbling lyricism to express contrition and distress of soul, and to ask the Savior’s mercy and their own inner renewal.
Psalm 51:1 For the director: these words are thought to be a musical or liturgical notation. For the event referred to, see 2 Sam 11:1—12:25.
Psalm 51:3 Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5. Wipe away: the psalmist pictures God keeping a record of a person’s deeds on a scroll as earthly kings were wont to do (see Pss 56:9; 87:6; 130:3; 139:16; Ex 32:32f; Neh 13:14; Dan 7:10), and then wiping away the evil deeds when forgiveness is given.
Psalm 51:6 Against you, you alone: the very essence of sin is that it constitutes an offense against God, even though it may also entail an offense against human beings. Just in passing judgment: permitted by God, sin calls for the intervention of his judgment (see Rom 3:4).
Psalm 51:7 All human beings have a congenital inclination toward evil (see Gen 8:21; 1 Ki 8:46; Job 4:17; 14:4; 15:14; 25:4; Prov 20:9). God must take account of this situation, which is a mitigating circumstance, and show mercy. Later, the doctrine of original sin will be made explicit (see Rom 5:12f; Eph 2:3).
Psalm 51:8 Despite his sins against God’s teaching, the psalmist craves that teaching with his whole being; he wants to be among the wise who follow God’s law, not the fools who reject it (see Ps 37:30f). Heart: see note on Ps 4:8.
Psalm 51:9 Hyssop: a plant with many branchlets that is a convenient sprinkler, prescribed for sprinkling sacrificial blood or water for cleansing (see Ex 12:22; Lev 14:4; Num 19:18). Whiter than snow: purity beyond compare (see Isa 1:18; Dan 7:9; Rev 7:14; 19:14).
Psalm 51:12 Create: verb reserved only for God (see Gen 1) and describing the act by which he brings into existence something new and wonderful (see Ex 34:10; Isa 48:7; 65:17; Jer 31:22). The justification of a sinner is the divine work par excellence (see Ezek 36:25f). Heart: see note on Ps 4:8.

Exodus 30:1-10

Chapter 30

The Altar of Incense. ¹“You shall build an altar upon which to burn incense. Make it of acacia wood, ²one cubit long and one cubit wide. It shall be square, and two cubits high; and its horns shall all be one piece with it. ³Cover its top, its sides, and its horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. ⁴You shall also make two golden rings below its molding on its two sides. Place them on opposite sides. They shall be used to insert poles with which to carry it. ⁵You shall make the poles out of acacia wood and cover them with gold. ⁶And you shall place the altar in front of the veil that hides the Ark of Testimony, in front of the seat of atonement that is upon it, where I will meet you.

⁷“Aaron shall burn fragrant incense upon the altar. He shall burn it each morning when he trims the lamps, ⁸and also in the evening when he refills the lamps. There shall be perpetual incense before the Lord throughout all your generations. ⁹Do not offer any unholy incense upon it, nor burnt offerings nor sacrifices nor libations. ¹⁰Once a year Aaron shall perform an atonement ritual upon it, upon its horns. He shall make atonement upon it with the blood of your sin offering once a year throughout all your generations. It is something most holy to the Lord.”

Hebrews 4:14-5:4

¹⁴A Compassionate High Priest.^[a] Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our profession of faith. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tested in every respect as we are, but without sinning. ¹⁶Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace when we are in need of help.

Chapter 5

¹Every high priest is taken from among men to represent them in their dealings with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.^[b] ²He is able to deal patiently with those who are ignorant and misguided, since he himself is subject to weakness. ³And as a result of this, he must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. ⁴Moreover, one does not assume this position of honor on his own initiative, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

Prev Day

Top

Next Day

Use the calendar to view readings from this devotional.

Log in to read this devotional and:

Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 51[a]

The “Miserere”: Repentance for Sin

Footnotes

Chapter 30

Chapter 5

Footnotes

Psalm 51^[a]