Psalm 57

Psalm 57:8-9, 10 and 12

#289 Weekday Years I & II Context (Friday of the 5th Week of Easter)

R. (10a) I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and chant praise.
Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O LORD,
I will chant your praise among the nations.
For your mercy towers to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
above all the earth be your glory!
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 57:8-9, 10 and 12

Psalm 57 is a lament. These strophes, however, constitute a song of thanksgiving. In the Easter tradition, the psalmist gives thanks for God’s salvation, and sings of God’s glory to all the nations. "The psalm emphasizes the divine, heavenly realm as the source of help for faithful worshipers, whether they are kings or peasants. In this psalm God is referred to twenty-two times by name or pronoun in eleven verses. The references to 'heavens' in vv 4, 6, 11, 12 emphasize the resources of the divine realm which are available for the faithful on earth." [1]

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Psalm 57:2, 3-4, 6 and 11

#315 Weekday Year II Context (Friday of the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time)

R. (2a) Have mercy on me, God, have mercy.

Have mercy on me, O God; have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.
In the shadow of your wings I take refuge,
till harm pass by.
R. Have mercy on me, God, have mercy.

I call to God the Most High,
to God, my benefactor.
May he send from heaven and save me;
may he make those a reproach who trample upon me;
may God send his mercy and his faithfulness.
R. Have mercy on me, God, have mercy.

Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
above all the earth be your glory!
For your mercy towers to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
R. Have mercy on me, God, have mercy.
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Commentary on Ps 57:2, 3-4, 6 and 11

Psalm 57 is an individual lament. In these strophes we hear the prayer for mercy and surrender to God’s salvation. The psalmist expresses praise to God whose power and majesty are beyond understanding and whose mercy is infinite.

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[1] Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 51–100, vol. 20, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 81.

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