Topic
Contrite; Contrition
5 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.
These works date from 1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Psalms 34:18ISBE
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
- Psalms 51:17ISBE
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
- Isaiah 57:15ISBE
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
- Isaiah 66:2ISBE
For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
- Jeremiah 23:29ISBE
Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 5 references
kon'-trit, kontrish'-un (dakka', "bruise"): Only in Old Testament (Ps 34:18; Ps 51:17; Isa 57:15); nakheh, "smitten" (Isa 66:2). Contrite, "crushed," is only the superlative of "broken"; "a contrite heart" is "a heart broken to pieces." In Holy Scripture, the heart is the seat of all feeling, whether joy or sorrow. A contrite heart is one in which the natural pride and self-sufficiency have been completely humbled by the consciousness of guilt. The theological term "contrition" designates more than is found in these passages. It refers to the grief experienced as a consequence of the revelation of sin made by the preaching of the law (Jer 23:29). The Augsburg Confession (Article XII) analyzes repentance into two parts: "Contrition and faith," the one the fruit of the preaching of the law, the other of the gospel. While contrition has its degrees, and is not equal in all persons, the promise of forgiveness is not dependent upon the degree of contrition, but solely upon the merit of Christ. It is not simply a precondition of faith, but, as hatred of sin, combined with the purpose, by God's aid, to overcome it, grows with faith.
H. E. Jacobs
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.