Write for God

Seventy times seven

Out of the depths I call to you, LORD;
Lord, hear my cry! May your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
If you, LORD, mark our sins, Lord, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness and so you are revered.
I wait with longing for the LORD, my soul waits for his word.
My soul looks for the Lord more than sentinels for daybreak. More than sentinels for daybreak,
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. (Psalm 130)

Seven is the perfect number in the Bible, and so there are Seven Last Words from the Cross, Seven Sorrows of Mary and Seven Penitential Psalms, among many other biblical sevens.

De Profundis, as Psalm 130 is known, has its use during Catholic funerals. For centuries,  Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102 and 143 have also been appropriate prayers for Lent. Miserere, the 51st Psalm, is particularly fitting for our own prayers for mercy and forgiveness.

In De Profundis, we cry out of the depths for God’s mercy and are confident of His pardon for our sins.  As prayers of penitence, the seven psalms are also prayers of our belief in the Father’s mercy, which he prefers to holocausts.

In another biblical use of the number seven, he tells us to forgive seventy times seven. In other words, forgive one another without ceasing. What a perfect mathematical equation for the concept of Christian forgiveness!