Although not a reflection directly on the Lord's Passion, I thought it worth looking at some thoughts of the saintly bishop, John Fisher, and his Exposition Of The Seven Penitential Psalms. Lent, and the Passion, provokes us to contemplate our sinfulness and to be sorrowful for the sufferings that the Lord had to endure on our behalf as a result. Now our modern minds tend to stop there, almost treating such contemplations as a masochistic act. But as Anne Barbeau Gardiner makes clear in her introduction to St. Fisher's work, St. Fisher saw the penitential psalms as "medicine of proven efficacy for healing souls." And so, too, should we view our meditations on the Passion.
So let's share some of St. Fisher's thoughts on the first penitential psalm, Psalm Six:
"Do not reprove me in your anger, LORD, nor punish me in your wrath.
Have pity on me, LORD, for I am weak; heal me, LORD, for my bones are trembling.
In utter terror is my soul-- and you, LORD, how long...?
Turn, LORD, save my life; in your mercy rescue me.
For who among the dead remembers you? Who praises you in Sheol?
I am wearied with sighing; all night long tears drench my bed; my couch is soaked with weeping.
My eyes are dimmed with sorrow, worn out because of all my foes.
Away from me, all who do evil! The LORD has heard my weeping.
The LORD has heard my prayer; the LORD takes up my plea.
My foes will be terrified and disgraced; all will fall back in sudden shame."
Some background on the psalm may be in order. As St. Fisher writes:
"David son of Jesse, a man especially chosen of almighty God and endowed with many great benefits, afterward sinned very grievously against God and his law. For the occasion of his great offense he made this holy psalm and thereby got forgiveness for his sins. Behold, take heed of who he was, of what stock he cam who made this holy psalm, for what occasion he made it, and what profit he obtained by it. These things shall be more openly declared that each one of us may know how great a sinner this prophet was and also the greatness of his sin, so that warned, instructed, and admonished by his example, we may not despair in any condition but with true penance ask mercy and forgiveness of our blessed Lord."
Consistent with his belief that the penitential psalms are medicinal for our souls, St. Fisher emphasizes how serious David's sin was, not to make us think less of David -- for truly he was a great prophet of God -- but to emphasize how merciful is the Lord.
Now it would take too long to share all of St. Fisher's commentary on Psalm Six, so I will offer only this. St. Fisher takes great meaning from David's account of how he has labored in his weeping and has become exhausted by it, noting that our God is a just God who will not punish twice for the same offense:
"The goodness of almighty God gives us time and space to punish ourselves by doing due penance for our trespass, and he is content, if we do it sufficiently, to forgive us without any more punishment. .... Take how great is the virtue of tears, that when they are shed from the heart of a true penitent, they immediately ascend to the high throne of almighty God and are heard in his ear, not only heard, but also graciously heard. The petition they make is granted and taken into the bosom of the high majesty of God."
Not only does Psalm Six teach us of the mercy of God, but it also sheds some light on the right alignment of the penitent's heart. For St. Fisher comments that David reveals a "great inward joy ... when he doubles and so often repeats that he is graciously heard by almighty God. Indeed the joy of a true penitent is great when he understands and knows himself to be free from the servitude and danger of sin."
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