This is known as the first of the seven great penitential psalms. It is somewhat weak in its note of true penitence and in this respect is not to be compared with some which follow. It is rather a cry for deliverance from the pain and the sorrow and chastisement than from the sin which causes it.
The first seven verses are full of the misery of the man. He is perfectly conscious of the meaning of his suffering. He knows that it is chastisement, and under the pressure of it he sobs for deliverance. The light breaks on the darkness in his confident consciousness of Jehovah's attention and willingness to help him. If this be considered a psalm of penitence, it is remarkable rather as a revelation of the tender compassion of Jehovah than of the true note of repentance. There is not a single sentence which reveals any profound consciousness of the sinfulness of sin. The saving grace of it, so far as the sinner is concerned, is that it recognizes Jehovah's rebuke and chastening. The supreme desire is to escape from suffering and sorrow. Notwithstanding the shallowness of the sense of sin, the fact of the recognition of the hand of Jehovah seems to be enough, and in answering pity and power the deliverance and the comfort sought are granted.