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The seventh of the penitential psalms is a prayer of a man in danger. He acknowledges the punishment he merits and prays that God would not come in judgment(v.2). There is no word for sin here, but the petitioner knows he is not guiltless before God.

Please do not come to judge your servant
for none among the living is guiltless before your eyes.

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Psalm 32 (31) is described as a thanksgiving psalm. R. Clifford (Collegeville Bible Commentary) explains a thanksgiving thus:

(i)n essence ... is a report of rescue from the hands of the wicked. The term "thanksgiving" is somewhat misleading for in the Bible to "give thanks" does not mean to say "thank you" but to tell publicly of the rescue that has occured.

The psalm therefore is the public "report" of a rescue, of a salvation experienced. At the same time, this psalm is also recognized by the Church as a penitential psalm. In other words, it is a prayer that expresses the sentiments of one who turns away from sin and turns towards the mercy of God.

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The most famous of the penitential psalms is traditionally called the "Miserere" and is linked to David's realization of his sin with Bathsheba. The subtitle of psalm 51 is "When Nathan came to David because he went into Bathsheba" and is therefore understood against the background of a prophetic accusation of guilt.

David had an affair with Bathsheba, the beautiful wife of one of his Hittite soldiers. It was an affair that resulted in the woman's getting pregnant. Because he did not want that the woman's pregnancy is traced to him, David called in the husband from war in the hope that this would go into his wife and be tricked into claiming responsibility for the wife's conception. The soldier, out of devotion to David and his men, refused, so David had him killed in battle. The prophet Nathan confronted David with the crime using the parable of the poor man's ewe. David, after realizing who the subject of the parable was, felt remorse. With this story as backgroun then, Psalm 51 can be understood as the confession of a man who finally realizes the gravity of his sin.

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Psalm 6 is one of the seven penitential psalms. In vv. 2-8, one finds the prayer for help while in vv. 9-11, the petitioner's reaction to the answer to his prayer.

There is no mention of sin here, but the petitioner does complain implicitly of the absence of God or at least His apparent inattention. The first two lines indicate the reason for this inattention: God is angry with him (v. 2).

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Psalm 129 (130) is more familiarly known by its Latin title, "De profundis", the first line of its Vulgate translation. It is one of the penitential psalms and is often used at burials. But the liturgy of the Church also employs it in Advent, the Christmas season and Easter, apart from Lent. A Filipino translation I prepared for this psalm is found here.