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Psalm 56:1-2
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 56:1-2
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 56[a]
Boundless Trust in God
1 For the director.[b] According to Yonath elem rehoqim. A miktam of David. When the Philistines seized him at Gath.
2 Be merciful to me, O God,
for people are trampling upon me;
all day long they keep up their attack.
Footnotes
- Psalm 56:1 A psalmist subjected to harassment appeals to the Lord to take note of the injustice he is undergoing. He calls for the judgment of God to come upon his persecutors; but, more importantly, a profound religious sense enables him to divine that the prayer and tears of human beings are precious in God’s eyes. The spirit of this psalm resides in the refrain: a firm protestation of trust in the word of the Lord (vv. 5, 11-12) despite all the plots of humans. So strong is the psalmist’s certitude on this point that it transforms his fervent prayer from a lament into a thanksgiving.
It is easy to place this psalm on the lips of Christ, for its themes are all found in the Passion: a plea for the Father’s mercy, assaults of pagan tyrants, calumnies, plots and snares on the part of enemies, tears, cries of confidence, and a vow of thanksgiving. The psalm also provides Christians with a beautiful prayer of supplication in time of adversity, whether external or internal. - Psalm 56:1 For the director: these words are thought to be a musical or liturgical notation. According to Yonath elem rehoqim: nothing is known about this phrase. Miktam: see note on Ps 16:1. For the event referred to, see 1 Sam 21:10-15.
