Psalms

Introduction

THE FIVE BOOKS OF THE PSALMS

The Psalms come from the collections of songs used in the temple of Jerusalem. Although tradition has it that David regulated the liturgy just as he composed all the psalms, it is more likely that the Levites—the “Sons of Asaph and Yedutun”—who were in charge of the sacred music of the temple, had a greater role in the writing and selection of the psalms. With the passage of time, the psalms took on an overlay of personal piety, collective lamentations and the expressions of another era.

As the prayer book of ancient Israel, the psalms fed Jewish piety as they did the prayer of Jesus. To this day, they form the foundation of Christian liturgical prayer used by countless religious, priests, and deacons as well as an increasing number of laity.

Not all Christians may find in the psalms the fulfillment of their own aspirations, but adapting them for prayer, or better still, allowing them to educate and form one’s spiritual life may prove to be more valuable. If we are to enter into a conversation with God, we would benefit more by listening to Him and meditating his inspired words than by speaking of our own worries.

The Psalms have come through the ages as a powerful means of prayer. If they do not always satisfy our own sense of prayer, it is not necessarily a bad thing. If they manage to unbalance even slightly our ingrained habits of piety, that is not a small gift. These psalms may be capable of renewing our language and symbolism in a world where God is often a stranger and people would prefer to be left alone, to pursue their own interests.

The Psalms have been collected into five books as one can see from the endings of each book (cf. Ps 41, 72, 106). Within different collections, one sometimes finds nearly identical Psalms and we can consider them as pairs.

The numbering of the psalms is slightly different in the Hebrew and Greek editions. We have used the Hebrew numbering and placed the Greek number in parenthesis—the ones most often used in our Latin Liturgy.

The Songs in the Scriptures

Together with the psalms, we should also indicate other prayers which we find in most parts of the Scriptures and which we usually call “canticles”:

–         of Moses: Ex 15

–         2nd of Moses: Dt 32

–         of Anna: 1 S 2

–         of Isaiah: Is 12

–         of Hezekiah: Is 38

–         of Habakkuk: Hb 3

–         of the three servants: Dn 3:52

–         of Tobit: Tb 13

–         of Sirach: Sir 36

–         of Mary: Lk 1:46

–         of Zechariah: Lk 1:68

–         of Simeon: Lk 2:29

–         Ephesians: 1:3-14; 3:14-20

–         Revelation: several passages

–          See also 2 S 23; Ne 9:6; Is 26:7; 59; 63:7; Jer 20:7; Jdt 16:13; Wis 9:1; Sir 23:1; 51.

 1 The sharp contrast between the virtuous and the wicked is characteristic of the Hebrew thought and its uncompromising literary expression. The psalmist was conscious of the mixture of good and bad in himself and in others around him. As St. Paul said much later—and he spoke for everyone—‘I can want to do what is right, but I am unable to do it’ (Rom 7:18). Aware of this tension in ourselves, we recite this psalm with a feeling of hypocrisy. This is no proclamation of one’s virtue but a constant self-reminder that we all have a choice. We may never reach the extremes either of virtue or of vice, but we are at every moment making for one or the other. It is salutary to remind ourselves what the end of each road is. It is better still to remember that we have a powerful companion along the virtuous road, but along the wicked one, we are alone.

 2 Temple and palace stood side by side on Zion. God’s arm supported the scepter of the anointed Davidic king, his ‘Christ’. On this same hill, our Lord declared himself both Temple and King—the shrine of the Godhead and ruler of the world. The earliest Church, therefore, seized upon our psalm: ‘Jesus is the victorious anointed of David’s stock’ (Acts 4:25ff); he rules ‘with an iron rod… and on his armor is written King of kings’ (Rev 19:15-16). The victory is won not by this world’s kings (by Antipas and Pilate), not by the ‘princes’ or leaders of Israel, but by the one they crucified (Acts 4:26-27) who initially was proclaimed: “You are my Son. This day I have begotten you” (Mt 3:17; Mt 17:5 and Lk 3:22). The persecution of Christians and the passion of Christ are one and the same (Acts 4:29), and the victory of resurrection is equally assured. On Christian lips, our psalm is a song of defiance of the spirit in the name of God and trust in our sure refuge.

 3 The ‘enemies’ are always trying to undermine the psalmist’s trust in God. The psalmist sees their political or personal hostility as a test of his confidence in the shield that protects him. It follows that though the psalmist and we have different enemies we are fighting in a common cause: to keep the supply-lines open between God and ourselves. The difficulties outside us and the struggles within us are not in themselves good things: they are only good challenges, opportunities, or urgent invitations to turn to the only place where help is to be found.

The psalm has a Christian projection in the exhortation of Jesus: “Do not be afraid. I have conquered the world” (Jn 16:33). No matter what the odds against him, with his undeniable faith in God, the Christian will be a winner. The believer will thus be able to face the present-day adversities.

 4 To forget to thank, may be bad, but to refuse to ask is a thousand times worse, indeed fatal. This psalmist will not make that mistake: he has learned by experience. The happiness and peace he knows are lasting and satisfying. He has found his comfort zone in the Lord. No matter what trials and tribulations he faces, he is at peace with himself and the Lord. Few understand this: the celebrations of harvest-time seem to content them. There is no harm in these things—they are the gifts of God and we enjoy them gratefully. Our mistake is in thinking they can satisfy. To be at peace with God is to be at peace with oneself.

Trust and even joy are possible in the midst of trials (cf. 2 Cor 7:4; Gal 5:22; 1 Thess 1:6). Jesus in Mathew 5:22 to 26, tells us to reconcile quickly if we get angry, to prevent any unwanted consequences.

Like the psalmist, if we wish to sleep well at night, it is best not to take our anger to bed with us.

 5 By the mercy of God, every new day brings fresh hope to most of us. It would seem that the psalmist has been falsely accused of some crime. He prays for protection from the wicked, and hopes that today, at last, the accusers will be exposed. In this hope, he goes to the Temple to watch and wait for God to intervene. The enemies of God’s servants are God’s enemies: God will see to them. They may deceive human judges with their honeyed words but not God. He sees their bitterness and the corruption inside. If we are thoughtful, such indictments as these make us uneasy. In them, we often find a portrait of ourselves. At last, this consideration is a good general approach to what we might call the ‘hostile’ psalms.

Goodness is one of the classic attributes of God (cf. Ex 36:4). Let us place our cause into God´s hands since Christ has gone into the sanctuary once and for all (cf. Heb 9:12).

The psalmist prays for protection from the wicked. Indeed, there are many who choose wicked ways in this world. But God is love, and the psalmist realizes this and bows down in reverence to the Lord.

 6 This and ‘penitential’ Psalm 37 are very similar but here, there is not the same frank confession of guilt. There is indeed no mention of it and the term ‘penitential,’ though traditional, seems scarcely applicable. The ‘anger’ and ‘rage’ of God, like his ‘forsaking,’ may be conventional metaphors of the psalmist’s suffering. At this stage of revelation, there is no hope of praising God beyond the grave. The conclusion should be clear: death would deprive God of one of his servants. The implication is almost impertinent, that God will be the loser if the psalmist dies. Can we threaten God in our private prayers? We suppose not, but some inspired authors come very near to it. Anyway, let us not be too scrupulous: the psalmist allows God to speak and acknowledges that God has answered his prayers. God knows how awkward we are and that we mean well. He is a Father, not a literary critic.

The letter to the Hebrews mentions the cries and tears of Jesus in Hebrews 5:7. This is an apt psalm to cry for our sins.

 7 We have no difficulty with the opening of this psalm but the confident claim of innocence that follows it is frightening. We prefer to invoke God’s mercy rather than invite his strict scrutiny. But perhaps we have no cause for misgiving. A Christian may confidently boast that he or she is ‘just’ because the righteousness that is the property of God alone is truly and internally communicated to the Christian. In Christ himself, the righteousness of God appears and becomes available to those who have access by faith and baptism to the power of Christ’s resurrection. This is the ‘justness’ we can boast of when we sing this psalm: ‘Let those who boast, boast in the Lord.’

When we dream about a more just society, while deathly violence surrounds us, we can pray with this psalm, aware that justice will prevail and in gratitude, we sing praises to the Lord.

 8 This psalm is a lyrical reflection on the making and endowment of man: ‘Let us make man in our own image… let him have dominion over the fish, the birds, the beasts’ (Gen 1:26). He is a little less than a god because he has a share in God’s dominion. He is much greater than the stars because, child though he is before the Eternal God, he has a voice for praise.

Everything speaks to us about God, whose Name is admirable, just as his works are. It is a childlike adequate language to praise our great Master (cf. Mt 21:16). See how the apostles apply to Jesus the words of this psalm: Matthew 21:16; 1 Corinthians 15:27; Ephesians 1:22; Hebrews 2:6-8. No one can build himself if he has not yet sought his mission in the world. We are nothing without our brothers and sisters who struggle or vegetate in the anthills of the entire world. Wherever there is a human being, he or she is tenderly cared for by God (v. 5). This psalm can be sung as a celebration of human dignity and divine greatness.

 9 If God can handle the stars, then he has no difficulties in managing the human enemies of the psalmist. The Israelite never doubted this but sometimes we suspect that he thinks God is too patient altogether. ‘Lord, are we to order fire down from heaven to burn them up?’ This is the reaction of earlier days to the enemies of God; but Jesus rebukes James and John (Lk 9:54-55). Nevertheless, we have to admire the confidence in the power and vigilance of a child, sure of his father’s strength. We must wait, we may die waiting: God seems to take no notice. In ourselves and in the world around us, truth and goodness always seem to be at a disadvantage: the fall of the dice is against them. But God has the last throw and faith stands by the table watching him.

The psalmist did not have the teachings of Jesus whose words would have brought him comfort, but we do. Therefore, we too could find ourselves in situations as expressed in verses 2 to 5 and not know what to do. However, in answer, Jesus in Mathew 5:44 says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

The psalm is adequate to give thanks to God for his presence in the struggles and victories of the people or of groups who work for justice.

 10 Psalms 9 and 10 of the Hebrew text may have been originally a single acrostic poem. The stanzas begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Greek or Latin Bible, they constitute one psalm. Psalm 9 denounces the enemies of Israel. In Psalm 10 the psalmist is fully aware of all the wickedness and evil that surrounds him. He is also aware that these people seem to be secure, powerful and happy. He denounces the wicked within the community. Those who exploit the widow and the orphan, the foreigner and the traveler, are in fact enemies of God. It is very easy to become rich in spirit in a consumer world. As Christians, we must ask ourselves to what extent should we be responsible for the injustice and discrimination which we witness.

The psalmist is fully aware of all the wickedness and evil that surrounds him. He is also aware that these people seem to be secure, powerful and happy. Yet, he does not fall a prey to their evil ways. Instead, he is sure that God will not forsake him and will deal with them accordingly.

This psalm can bring comfort to many of us who find ourselves in the midst of such people and wonder how they can carry on the way they do. Perhaps we can take comfort in the words of Adolph Dias who wrote this verse: “If you think that your neighbor has more happiness than you, think again, you may know only about their happiness, not their suffering and pain.”

When we see that human pride prevails, at the expense of the innocent ones, and God keeps silent, it is a good time to pray with this psalm.

 11 (10) This is another picturesque variation of the theme of trust in God. The psalmist is confident that the righteous will meet God face to face and chooses not to let the wicked trouble him instead. The hunters are out again, but the psalmist is already away to the refuge he knows so well, every cranny of it, the mountain, which is God. What else can he do, when all the rest that seemed dependable, has collapsed? Perhaps the attitude is as grudging as Peter’s ‘To whom shall we go?’. Doubtless, our own motives are never unmixed: something creative has disappointed us and we turn to the Creator. Strangely enough, he seems to be satisfied with this: he runs to us, undignified like the Prodigal’s father. Shall we ever understand how humble God’s love is? Even the form of a servant was not enough unless it hung on a cross!

 12 (11) The ‘truth’ of God is a sure guide along the uncertain way of life. The psalmist knows that there is no substitute to truth and so places his entire trust in God. ‘Your commands are a light to my feet.’ He complains, not of their tendency to lie, but of their unreliability. Hollow boasting can persuade the less thoughtful that a quagmire is a solid ground. The psalmists often denounce it. They find solidity only in God. God’s promises are always fulfilled: Israel’s past proves it and her future will confirm it.

The Lord has the words of eternal life (Jn 6:68). For as long as human relationships are not built on truth, this psalm will have to be prayed.

 13 (12) It seems that the friends of God can take liberties. Indeed, they can be peremptory, to the point of rudeness. One may suppose that they see less danger in presumption than in despair. No doubt they are right! Moreover, there is an undertone in this psalm that we hear elsewhere: that the defeat of God’s friends is a reflection of God himself. With such pious cunning, we may hope, God is content. In fact, the death and resurrection of Christ, who bore our sins, is God’s admission that the triumph of sin would have affronted his own honor. And so we pray to God to safeguard his own honor in ourselves. We seem to be the custodians of it, and yet only from God himself do we have the strength to guard it. This was not the psalm that Jesus began on the cross, but it might equally well have been.

 14 (13) The ‘fool’ in the Scriptures is neither an ignoramus nor a theoretical atheist. Agnosticism is a phenomenon apparently unknown to the Old Testament writers living in a polytheistic world. He is one who has his values all wrong and is encouraged by past experience, to behave as if God would never take action. The world, murmurs the psalmist, is full of people like this. But their time will come: God will save his people from them whether they are traitors to Israel or enemies from outside. We, for our part, should never count ourselves exempt from Scriptural denunciations. How often, for example, have we thought ‘I thank God; I am not as this Pharisee?’ No, we are ‘foolish’ too! The traitor inside us establishes his own convenient hierarchy of values. In this psalm, as in so many others, we pray God to destroy what is worst in our own selves.

 15 (14) Beyond the image of the Temple, the believer pines to be with God, to be one with God. Those who harbor this passionate desire, expressed as a question, (v. 1) must be honest, sincere, and upright (vv. 2-3). These are the three general conditions. The following three conditions (v. 3b) are related to the conduct toward one´s neighbor. Those who wish to be with God, must be on the side of the friends of God, against the enemies of God who have been rebuked by God—and respect the covenant that consecrates the promised action (v. 4). These three actions join God and neighbor together. Two other actions have an economic-legal reach (v. 5). Keeping these commandments without the perfume of love is just mechanical fulfillment.

 16 (15) So much lip service is paid to the one God and so much activity to the gods we make for ourselves. Only thoughtful experience can show how hollow these are. The offerings we make pay no return but a frenzy to offer more. But perhaps this experience is necessary for many of us. It may not lead to the high mysticism of the psalmist. If we learn to turn away and look for a while towards the more lasting good, we may find it more satisfying after all. Appetite may grow from what it feeds on. There is even a presentiment in this psalm, that such a union with God, will prove stronger than death, and in Christ it did. The risen Lord, so closely united with his Father, descended to the place of death and came out freely, ascending with his spoils. Nor can death resist his Body, which is the Church. He promised that the gates of death would not withstand it. Death, ‘the last enemy,’ is destroyed. The resurrection of our bodies is guaranteed by the resurrection of Christ.

Loyalty to God does not mean hostility toward those who follow another religion. This loyalty asks of us, on the contrary, to look more closely at our attachment to all the little gods that encumber our life. Let us not sacrifice our Christian identity on the altar of money.

 17 (16) God is appealed to as a Judge. Few would dare to do this but the psalmist is sure of his worthiness. This assurance would be arrogant if there were no salutary self-mistrust—but there is. Indeed, it is a constant source of surprise for those who think of Judaism as a ‘religion of works,’ to find how often the responsibility is thrown to God. From the earliest days, this responsibility has been perceived on a national scale. Only God could restore the fortunes of his people. But in this individual lament, as in so many others, God is asked to do all the work, not for the nation but for the lonely psalmist. We are very near to the true conception of what we call ‘grace,’ to the idea of a God without whom we can do nothing and in whose strength we can do everything.

The Psalmist, in living in righteousness, justly asks God for His protection and the eternal reward of seeing God’s face. Jesus has assured us of a treasure in heaven in Mathew 19:21, when we follow all the commandments and become Christ-like.

 18 (17) Here, a picture of God, as the great master of creation, appears side by side with that of God, as the jealous guardian of his servant David, who was king enough to serve the King of kings. For once we have no difficulties identifying the ‘enemies.’ The stormy history of David is well known to us. But the historical situation will not help. Again we have to take the words to ourselves, and the ‘enemies’ we pray against have intangible arrows. We need the shield of God and all the warlike but spiritual apparatuses that St. Paul asks for: ‘the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit, that is, the Word of God’ (Eph 6:16-17).

The opening words “I love you” sums up the psalmist’s true inner feelings. Jesus whom the psalmist divinely refers to in verse 10, “He bent the heavens and came down,” has told us that what comes out of the heart of a person makes a person clean or unclean, so those clean inner feelings come from the heart. Again, reference is made to Jesus in verse 29, “Lord, you give light to my lamp” because Jesus had said, “I am the light of the world.”

The added verse (51) allows us to apply this psalm to the Anointed One, to Christ, conqueror of death and the abyss. Romans 15:9 quotes verse 50 of the psalm. Those who love passionately do not cease to coin new adjectives, to proclaim their love. The God thus loved, “comes down” to be with us, as the sure rock of our existence.

 19 (18) The abrupt change in rhythm in the middle of the psalm, together with the apparent change of subject, perhaps, means that we have two psalms in one. The fact is the two parts have the word of God as a common theme. There is nature’s message of God’s beauty, which is no less audible for being inarticulate and then, for Israel, the message of his specific will which the Law contains. For both of these, we must show admiration and respect. When nature seems harsh and the law constricts us, faith must carry us through. When this is the case for others, charity must work in us, to help or sympathize.

The splendor of heaven gives us a glimpse of the glory of God. We are also aware of his presence, when we meditate on his commandments, which are light and joy for the soul.

Romans 10:18 applies verse 4 of the psalm to the preaching of the Gospel. This psalm is adequate to revise one’s life in the presence of God in creation and in the Law. Jesus in the Gospels has taught us how to pray. If we add this psalm to our morning prayer, it will make us feel great and ready to start the day well.

 20 (19) We cannot be expected to work up an enthusiasm for some dead king’s campaign. ‘Send him victorious’ for only one, and his crown was made of thorns. If we do not accept this fact, this psalm is not for us. The word of God must always be effective, but sometimes it has done its work already in one quarter and must turn, to face another situation. This is not always the case but it is possible here because we are still a monarchy: and the king is Christ. When victory is final, we will say: “Thanks be given to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:57). Those who are willing to believe that our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth, can pray with this psalm.

This psalm invites us not to count too much on our own feats, but much more on the power of God. May the Lord protect those who struggle to bring about the kingdom of truth, just as he protected Christ, our King.

 21 (20) This is another psalm that requires transposition. But now, the victory is won and we think of the ascended Christ, in his immortal and glorified body. But the war is not over yet: the spoils have to be safely guarded in. Christ has not retired to enjoy his triumph. He sits at the right hand of God, but God is everywhere. So Christ is still Emmanuel, God with us. He is much more with us because the restrictions of space and time have been taken from his body. This indeed is what the Ascension means: not a going but a more powerful coming, not a withdrawal but an active presence. So we have no reason to fear! God is in charge and need we look for more? For all this, our psalm is a great thanksgiving song.

The Messiah is crowned with “glory and dignity” (Heb 2:9) and he has been glorified (Jn 13:31). With this psalm, we thank God for the blessings received and we enkindle our trust in him.

 22 (21) When a dying person has the strength to whisper ‘Our Father,’ we may suppose that his thoughts go on with the prayer his lips cannot finish. When the crucified Christ shouted the first dreadful line of this psalm, his mind must have gone on to its triumphal end, thanking his Father that this dark way of desertion led to the light beyond it. But Christ does not suffer alone, nor is he glorified alone. We are ‘in Christ’ for better or for worse, in suffering and in joy. The feeling of desertion and the uncertainty that comes with physical pain and continued weakness, must be lived through in faith—faith that gives no light, but only strength to go on doing what we know we must.

If we suffer physical, emotional and mental torture, we must remember that Christ also suffered in a similar manner. And because his suffering and death brought resurrection and hope to the world, we, too, have such hope for our salvation. Like the descendants of the psalmist who has continued in the tradition of praising and serving God, we too, can continue this tradition and fulfill Jesus’ call in Mathew 28:19 to spread the Good News to all nations and all generations to come.

After our confession, and full of light, we will sing the luminous praise of the eternal “Alleluia.”

 23 (22) In the course of years of the Shepherd-Lord took flesh and died for his sheep—thus he leads the way through a dark valley to pastures beyond. We follow without fear. And if we should falter, he takes us home in his arms (Lk 15:5-6). To such a shepherd we sing our hymn. But if, with the psalmist, we may change our picture, he is our generous host, too. The brimming cup he offers was dearly bought: ‘Drink! This is my blood that shall be shed.’

We will be on our way until we reach the Promised Land. While we journey, this psalm will give us light and consolation. It is not the repose of death that we await but the resurrection that brings us to the Father. Do we need any more assurance than that to become a true Christian i.e. Christ-like?

The original manuscript uses the word ‘the Lord is my shepherd.’ Since this psalm is a common, everyday prayer we use, for pastoral purposes, we use the known expression ‘The Lord is my shepherd.’

 24 (23) ‘Heavens cannot contain you!’ said Solomon, ‘How much less this house that I have built! (2 Chr 6:18). And yet, the King of Glory passed through the gates of a Temple, where Israel’s pilgrims ‘sought his face.’ This psalm shares the astonishment of Solomon: ‘Will God really live with men and women on the earth?’ For us, that wonder is surpassed. We have seen the Son of God pass through the gate of our nature and heard him speak ‘of the temple of his body’ (Jn 2:21). And this is not all! Mystically assumed into that body, our own selves become temples too—but we must throw open the gates of a generous heart: ‘If anyone loves me, my Father will love him; and we will come to him’ (Jn 14:23). We think of this as we sing: ‘Let him enter, the King of Glory!’ ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ (Rev 22:20).

 25 (24) This sad admission of guilt is for us, more encouraging. At last, we sympathize with the psalmist. God is the teacher. The Loving Guide goes in front of us and we watch him. At times, he turns round to see if we are following. This psalm is a model ‘act of contrition.’ It does not try to stir up an emotional sorrow. It simply states the case, admits the guilt, and asks for mercy. Can anyone before God do more?

Scripture does not know despair. We can be broken by sorrow, anxiety, the weight of sin, but there is always an escape. All our paths, even the worst, can finally lead to a love stronger than all the powers of this world.

In praying this psalm, the psalmist has asked God for many favors. Our prayers like his have been answered several times by Jesus who in John 14:6 says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” And then again, in Mathew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all of you who…carry heavy burdens…for my yoke is good and my burden is light.” In fact, ALL answers have been provided to us by Jesus in the Gospels. If only we believe!

 26 (25) How can I sing this psalm? Do I really walk ‘along the straight path?’ Surely the psalmist himself is exaggerating. Dare he challenge God’s scrutiny? After all, the psalmist himself asks for mercy: he feels he needs it. We certainly do.

Paul has an experience, similar to the ones described in the psalm: even if you have a good conscience that is not enough to justify you (1 Cor 4:4). This psalm is not for one who glories in his own works, but for those who subject themselves to the scrutinizing and purifying regard of God, for those who trust God.

Let us make our own the prayer of the just that reaffirms his fidelity. Let us not count on our own merits, like the Pharisee. Let us rather give thanks for this new person that we have become through baptism: Christ has purified and has enriched us.

 27 (26) One is aware of the swift changes of mood in many psalms. However, it would be rash to take this alone, to indicate the fusion of two or more. Prayer has its own rules—or none. It is not surprising that high confidence should suddenly give way to urgent appeal. Peter jumped into the lake without a thought, but he was soon shouting ‘Lord, save me.’ Moreover, the confidence returns, even in the second part of the psalm. Our fathers and mothers must leave us in the end, but our Father in heaven, never!

The anonymous voice of the last verse proposes and ratifies: courage rather than fear; hope rather than discouragement. This is true too for the Christian; before danger, there is a word of encouragement, for instance in John 16:33 and Matthew 14:26. Here is a beautiful prayer to cultivate the absolute trust of the believer in God.

In the struggles of this life, the believer is not discouraged, but clings to the hope the Lord has in store for us at the end of the conflict. A trust without limits: Though my father and mother forsake me, yet will the Lord receive me. To such a God, the psalmist can say: One thing I seek… (to) dwell in the house of the Lord. All the struggles, trials and temptations will not let us forget the house of the Lord at the end of the road.

 28 (27) The psalmist often worries that the Lord will confuse him with wicked people—as if God may overlook him. The fear has its pathos but we must not take the idea too seriously. The devout will use any trick or promises, hoping God will hear his or her pleading. God surely understands these human ways. Jesus was once pleased with the faith and quick wit of the Canaanite woman (Mt 15:26-28). We may notice too the identification of the wicked, with such hypocrites as sometimes, we ourselves are: a show of politeness is not charity, ‘one may smile and smile and yet be a villain.’

Those who complain about the silence of God and nonetheless continue to believe, can pray with this psalm. Jesus, in Mark 11:24, has told us, ‘whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it shall be done for you.’

 29 (28) The psalmist praises the power of God displayed in the storm. The strength is of a powerful hand that calms and moves—a strength man can trust. The psalmist sees his land, shaken from end to end, from the bulk of Lebanon range in the north, to the southern wilds of Kadesh. He is not disturbed: the Lord sits as king above the storm and blesses his people with peace. ‘The Lord’s voice’ speaks in nature, in Israel’s law and through the prophets. Last and most clear, it spoke through the Son. This same voice, this Word itself took flesh. At birth, the angels echoed our psalm, which begins with ‘glory in the highest!’ and ends with ‘peace to people.’ Jesus is at once the power and the peace of God. We sing this sacred song to the incarnate Word.

A true believer is awed before the mystery of God and allows himself to be seduced by Him. He is assured of the greater power of the hand of God who can instantly save. In Christ Jesus, we have all the answers we need, therefore, no matter what calamities come our way, there should be absolutely no need for panic.

 30 (29) ‘The devil was sick, the devil, a monk would be. The devil was well, the devil, a monk was he.’ This is said of those persons who, in times of sickness or danger make pious resolutions, but forget them, when danger is past and health recovered. There is some truth in this. Good health has its own unconscious arrogance and is even accompanied sometimes, by a deceptive feeling of holiness. Sickness opens our eyes. We look back on our lives and are frightened by the selfishness of our motives. When we recover, our conduct may not improve, but at least we may be grateful for our recovery in our prayers. But the real sickness is of mind and soul, and if we ask God to cure us of this, the dawn will break.

Nothing is definitive in this life. The Lord alternates joys and sorrows according to what we need, for the development of our faith. We are, at times, surprised: the trials discourage us as if God no longer existed, and when God grants favors, we find it hard to believe them to be true.

Those who know they are besieged by sickness and are threatened by death can pray with this psalm.

 31 (30) False accusation and violence teach the psalmist that truth and peace can be surely found only in God. It is the situation of Jeremiah (Jer 20:7 ff), of the author of the very similar Psalm 22, and of Jesus himself, who quotes that psalm and this on the Cross. There is a hint of momentary fear and a cry of desperation, a ‘Let this cup of suffering pass me by,’ but also a swift recovery. It is not perhaps the perfect designation of ‘Your will be done,’ but is at least, a confident cry for help. This is usually as much as we can manage ourselves, and no doubt in God’s eyes, it is enough. Our lives are in his hands, the psalmist says twice: the hands of God are sure and gentle.

This psalm has so many nuances and so many different perspectives that, whoever prays with it, can remain wherever he feels more comfortable. At the end of the psalm, love prevails.

The psalmist appears to be in a state of desperation. At times, we too can identify ourselves with such a situation. However, he does not give up hope when he asks the Lord to, “Save me in your love” in the very last words. There also are prophetic words in this psalm as Jesus Himself in Luke 23:46 utters the words, “Into your hands, I commend my spirit.” Jesus once again shows us the way, even at the last hour. Our hope and trust in the Lord can be restored by repeatedly praying with this psalm.

 32 (31) Perhaps it is unfair to call this a “penitential psalm” as the mood is more of joy than penance. There may be a lesson here that the virtuous life is not a gloomy one. Suppression and self-deception, as the psalm admits, were never made for happiness. Free acknowledgment of God and of ourselves is a duty, but it is also a health medicine. This conclusion drawn by the psalmist is followed by the voice of God confirming it. God is anxious to lead us along this way. We have only to be docile; he will do the rest.

In Christian language, sin signifies that we committed a wrong, not necessarily with a law, but toward someone we love. Our well being, in the truest meaning of the word, depends on the quality of our relationship with God. What sin has destroyed will only be restored by trust in God, who pardons the humble and the repentant.

The psalmist reminds us of the power of confession. It converts a guilty sinner into a pure and wholesome child of God. Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins and by his blood we are saved. At the Eucharist, we acknowledge and confess our sins and in the sacrament, we confess individually and privately to convert ourselves into better human beings, to enable us to enter God’s kingdom.

This psalm is for those who can say truly: “I confess to God…”

 33 (32) Perhaps from fear of emotionalism, clamorous joy seems to be suspect in religion. And yet God gave us the power to shout no less than to whisper. One feels that the Hebrew at least appreciated this. After all, the cosmos is his, and the nations on this planet, and the chosen people, and most of those who revere him. Because his strength is infinite, the width of its range does not hinder the depth of its penetration. Indeed, the person feels all the more secure when knowing that all creation can be arranged effortlessly for its own ultimate happiness. It would be unnatural if such a faith did not produce a joy that expresses itself humbly and yet triumphantly.

The language of this psalm may seem simplistic to many: is the world really so docile to God’s wishes? It is a problem of faith. Faith does not enable us to see through rose-colored spectacles what is not rosy, but the vision of a forest is not the same for the one who goes through the bushes and for the one who looks at it from a helicopter. Perhaps verses 6 and 9 of this psalm are present in prologue to John’s Gospel. The faithful vision of the cosmos and of history is necessarily optimistic; it generates joy and trust.

The psalm speaks of foreign nations who threaten the people of God. It is a great privilege to belong to his people!

 34 (33) ‘Look toward him and be radiant’ was John Fisher’s inspiration, at the hour of his martyrdom. When he saw that the sun shone behind the scaffold, Fisher looked toward Him who would make him radiant in the beatific vision. This is a song for martyrs: the Lord sets them free from all their terrors. It is also a song for the small martyrdoms of every day, whether volunteered or simply accepted. One may be discouraged by one’s failure in past trials, weakness in those of the present, and uncertainty of one’s resistance in the future. Our own weapons are always rusting and loose in our hands. The bright and effective sword is in the hand of God alone. There will be no ultimate defeat, not a bone broken for those who are one with the Lamb of our Passover on the Cross.

Let our experience be that of the poor and the humble. God is near to those who have no other support but him. When there will be no assurance, God will be obliged, to take charge of those to whom he owes fidelity.

 35 (34) The psalmists are not frightened to mix their metaphors freely, and as a result, our many-sided God appears in his solid dimension. He is first, a soldier, then, a farmer on his threshing-floor (because God’s ‘angel’ is God himself), then, a poacher using the net others have left. Last of all and less graphically, a counsel for the defense ready to cross-examine and to tear false witnesses to pieces. He cites many situations the falsely accused average person faces. The witness against us is Satan (‘the adversary’) as he was against Job (Job 1:6-11). The defense is the Spirit (Rom 8:26-27). Can we fear the verdict? The arguments of the prosecuting counsel are strong, but they reckon without the mercy of the judge.

The psalmist echoes the feelings of the innocent. He has cited most situations the average person who is falsely accused of faces. However, his faith in the Lord is strong and he knows that our good God will ultimately deliver him from the hands of his enemies. Jesus too suffered such a faith but in His resurrection, He won victory for all of us promising us eternal life.

Here is a psalm for those who seek God, in pain or suffered injustice. Perhaps those who pray with this psalm in these circumstances may realize that God is not far away.

 36 (35) We surely have two psalms here, despite the attempt of the last two verses to bind them together. Nevertheless, the contrast of the two halves is instructive. In the first, there is a personified oracular authority—and it is Sin: a master of willing slaves, who do not dare to use their own judgment, or to reflect on their own unhappiness. In the second, there is still another principle more active, tested by the happiness it gives: it is as deep as the sea and as high as the Olympus—God’s love for man and beast. The first authority is the end of all wisdom; the second is the beginning of it. In its light, we can see the jigsaw pattern of created things and insert our own piece, where it belongs. And when the pattern is invisible, the love of God must guide our hand.

Those who need help to face the mystery of sin will do well in praying this psalm. Love will conquer hatred.

 37 (36) Each section begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This psalm offers a very simple solution to the problem of evil which will satisfy a few today. It did not satisfy, for example, the inspired author of the Book of Job. Nevertheless, the act of faith that prompts is not only touching but also fully justified. If this were not true, we could not recite the psalm with conviction. But once we have enlarged the perspective, beyond this present life—which the psalmist has not done—we can take the psalm to ourselves. The ‘little longer’ that a good man has to wait for his reward, may be all the rest of his life. This is a short time when he thinks of the life to come. Besides, there is also the vertical perception: underneath the denunciation of ‘the wicked man,’ he should see the condemnation of wickedness itself, in our own selves especially.

This psalm has entered into the Gospel through the big portal of the Beatitudes (Mt 5:4). It is adequate for all those who live outside and far away from the goods of this land. At the same time, it becomes a clamor and a denunciation against those who rob others of their land.

Neither power nor riches give access to the inheritance that God promised to his children. The psalmist offers a very strong warning against all evildoers. At the same time, it encourages the righteous with the promise of help from the Lord. And our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, in the Beatitudes in Chapter 5 of the Gospel of Mathew, has taught us the way to true life and eternal happiness.

 38 (37) This psalm needs no transference of thought. One sometimes wonders if commentators are not too quick to take terms, like those used here, in their strictly literal sense. Is it really some specific sickness that troubles the psalmist? Or is it perhaps the graver sickness of the heart? In any case, it is the sense of sin that oppresses; the care can come only from the Lord. The tone of distress is strongly comforting. We so often imagine that the sacred writers of Israel were innocent and saintly, but behind these words, there seems to be a consciousness of serious and repeated sin. If so, the lesson for us is sharper: the greater the sin, the greater must be the confidence, not of course, in ourselves but in God.

This psalm has become the prayer of all sinners, as we read in 1 John 1:8-9. Not a few sick people and sinners have found God in their sin or in the pains of their illness. When illness or misfortune comes, we begin to reflect. Then we discover that the greatest misfortune is to be a sinner.

 39 (38) This melancholy psalm emphasizes the shortness of life and the impermanence of all it offers. There is no hint of the life to come: revelation had a long way to go. All the psalmist could ask for would be a resigned acceptance of his human condition. And yet, even this is a stepping-stone: his hope is in the eternal Lord, who could not desert him. He is not far from realizing that death, without further hope, would be a desertion he cannot believe in. Although in giving us his Son, God has given us everything, we possess nothing and continue to wait for everything from his mercy. Show me how frail and fleeting is my life (v. 5).

The psalmist reminds us of how frail and temporary our lives on earth are. Whilst praying this psalm, we are reminded also of Jesus’ words in Mathew 6:19: “Do not store up treasure for yourself here on earth where moth and rust destroy it, and where thieves can steal it.” And then further, in John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. Otherwise, I would not have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. After I have gone and prepared a place for you, I shall come again and take you to me, so where I am, you also may be.” When we have as solid an assurance as this from our Lord and Savior Himself, why should we fear anything here on earth?

 40 (39) The Epistle to the Hebrews (10:5-7) invites us to hear verses 7-9 of this psalm as if Christ himself were speaking them. And we could indeed recite verses 1-11 along with him and in his name, thanking God for all that he has done. There is a quick change from thanksgiving to insisting appeal in the second half (vv. 12-18) and this part, identical with Psalm 70, was apparently a separate psalm at first. It is not improbable that the Epistle to the Hebrews has those in mind who had served as priests in the now ruined Temple: in place of their sacrifices which God no longer asked for stands the free and perfect offering that is Christ himself who like Isaiah before him said ‘Here am I! Send me’ (Is 6:8).

In the opening verses itself, the psalmist tells us that the Lord has rescued him. In the last verse, he admits to being poor and afflicted. The psalmist assures us that no matter who we are and what our economic condition, if we love God, He will always and forever be by our side. The words of Isaiah are echoed in this psalm and Jesus in Luke 4: 21 said, “Today these prophetic words come true, even as you listen.” And, the words of Jesus Christ our Savior will come true, if only we listen and obey!

Those who have experienced divine love and tenderness will feel impelled to announce it, as a great message, even at the cost of their own lives.

 41 (40) It is common to find the psalmist publicly thanking God for recovery from illness. The psalm seems to begin with this but verse 4 takes us back to the distress, which is now over. In this description, we find familiar words from John’s Gospel (13:18). To reconcile the Jews to the idea of a suffering Messiah, the evangelists try to show from the Old Testament how suffering was, after all, to be expected. If the admired prophets of Israel could be persecuted and betrayed, why not the Messiah himself? Our Lord had called Judas his friend (Mt 26:50). Judas had ‘eaten his bread’ with him (Mt 26:23) but turned against him. The enemies of Jesus, like those of this psalm, thought that the name of Jesus could be forgotten (Acts 4:18). They were wrong.

The beatitude of the merciful (Mt 5:7) repeats almost literally the beatitude of the psalm. We can pray with this psalm to stimulate our care for others, to walk toward the one who is our hope, and to be relieved of our sorrows.

The sick, ridiculed and betrayed one says this prayer. Perhaps, we know him and he is beside us, waiting for our support.

 42 (41) The Levite is far from Jerusalem. He is exiled in the land, where the Jordan rises. The sound of its falling waters is to him a dirge for the lost happiness of the Temple feasts.

We, too, are in exile and this psalm should deepen our consciousness of it. But our longings are not for ‘this mountain’ (Jn 4:21) or that, as the psalmist was for Zion. Our Lord has brought us a higher hope. Our destiny is to ‘see the face of God,’ not only in the mediating forms of sacred ceremony. We are to see him ‘as he is’ (1 Jn 3:2). Ask God for the desire for heaven. We, too, like the Levite, are exiles here below, as long as we do not see the face of God. It is good that we are not too quickly satisfied with a few beautiful ceremonies.

Long for God as a deer longs for flowing streams, and our happiness will last forever and not just for long.

 43 (42) The author of this psalm recalls with nostalgia, the Temple in Jerusalem and the splendid ceremonies of past times. He is now living in a foreign land, where his words, his culture, his faith, mean nothing to anyone. ‘Where is your God?’ they say, and he asks himself: ‘Who am I?’ A fervent call to God and cries of hope are features of this psalm, like a refrain repeated three times. Who among us would not be able to personalize this psalm? Human progress, be it ever so great and salutary, brings new problems and stirs up in us new desires. We are at times mindful that we have been created for something greater. Nothing of that fully gratifies us, and death is always at the end. How can we revive those moments when we knew true joy?

This psalm is very appropriate to experience the felt absence of God and ardently desire his presence.

 44 (43) The problem of evil is posed here on a national plane. At this level, the book of Judges probably solved it: if the nation had sinned, the nation was punished. For individuals, this solution had been found unsatisfactory. The experience of Job and many others had disproved the necessary connection between sin and offering. Here, the solution is surprisingly found effective, even for the nation at large, and the baffled psalmist can only pray. Elijah had ironically suggested to the prophets of Baal that their god might be asleep—can the Lord sleep as well? But the psalmist’s language has the extravagance born of urgency, as our own might have been, when we think of the persecuted devout Christians. It is not our business to penetrate the mystery; it is our business to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters. Leave the rest to God!

On the one hand, the psalmist praises God expressing full faith and confidence in Him and then, on the other hand, blames God for his misfortunes! When our focus is not on our target, it is impossible to gain success. At such times, we have only ourselves to blame, not God. Consider Peter in Mathew 14:29-31, with faith he began to walk on water towards our Lord, and then when his focus changed, he panicked and began to sink. And, finally when he said, “Lord, save me!” Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him. Are we all not in some way or the other like Peter? But Peter changed and gained eternal salvation and like Peter, we too can gain eternal life, if we change!

We can pray with this psalm, feeling the pain of the Church, the pain of our brothers and sisters, who are treated as sheep at the slaughterhouse. But there is a Redeemer who will rescue us.

 45 (44) Christians feel that they must recite this psalm in praise of the Messiah-King. The Jewish tradition before him did the same, but the Christian has to make a further adjustment. The ‘bride’ is no longer the old Israel but the new ‘Israel of God,’ the new Jerusalem prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband (Rev 21:2). More specifically, the liturgy identifies this bride, with those who have dedicated their virginity to God. And yet, the original meaning of the psalm is beautiful too. Love and marriage are seen as noble, God-blessed things, when wife and husband help each other to work ‘for the cause of truth, goodness and right.’

This psalm could have been written on the occasion of the marriage of a king of Israel to a foreign princess. Perhaps it was a poetic call to the chosen people to fully enter into a covenant with its God, its spouse. God made himself present through his King–Messiah, anointed by him (v. 9). Israel is a party to the divine marriage, followed by all the nations, who accept the revelation of God and salvation.

This can also be applied to the Church and to each of us. Baptism is a total gift to Christ. For our part, the gift remains with words and gestures, but we already belong to him and a whole life is not too long, for that to become a reality.

‘Forget your fathers, and think of your sons’ (v. 17). We can see here Jesus’ promises to those who leave all to serve him.

 46 (45) It always gives Israel a feeling of security, to remember that her God is lord of all the armies of heaven and earth. The same power controls the universe and subdues hostile nations. That is why the psalmist speaks in terms of cosmic catastrophe and is still confident. In a tottering world, there is one unshaken Rock, the God of Jacob. And meanwhile, a life-giving string keeps Jerusalem, the center of this disturbed world, safe and prosperous, because where God is, there is peace. One may think of the baptismal water that washes round the city we call Church.

Our certainty does not rest on the Temple of God but on the God of the Temple. It is good to pray with this psalm, if we want to cultivate this certainty rather than a false security.

 47 (46) ‘Your kingdom come,’ we pray, and yet God’s kingdom has already come. But we are thinking of our own acceptance of it, our practical acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty. However, there is always comfort in throwing responsibility on God, as nations, their king and military leader once did. Hence the note of joy in this psalm, and God ‘goes up’ to the sound of it. No doubt, this refers to the procession with the Ark, brought up the Temple hill. For us, there is another ‘ascension.’ The glorified body of Christ has thrown off the chains of place and time, and has the power to lead us always and everywhere. This is surely a psalm for the feast of the Ascension.

For as long as we express the desire of the Our Father: ‘Your kingdom come’ we could pray with this psalm. St. Paul (1 Thes 16-18) says, ‘Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks to God at every moment. This is the will of God, your vocation as Christians.’ And, as Christians, we have added reasons to rejoice because of the Ascension of our Lord and His promise to take us to Him.

 48 (47) The pagans may speak of the mountains of the terrifying and inaccessible gods, but the small hill of Zion is dignified by the presence of the one God. It is a homely place (v. 13). For all its insignificance, it can look down on every high place on earth (Ps 68:17). There is a strong sense of national pride in this psalm. The assertions of innocence is softened by the free acknowledgment that all comes from God. It is accompanied, too, by a full acceptance of moral responsibility. The Temple is the place to ponder God’s love for his people, but it is here also, that his commands must be joyfully received.

What are the places of the presence of God? The outskirts of the city? Refugee camps? Sick or maimed bodies? We need to tell the next generation where our God is. God is our Guide. So, no matter how complex our lives become, we do not need to fear. For, God will guide us through to our destination.

 49 (48) This psalm reminds us of how temporary our lives are! At first, we feel we are back to the over-simplified solution of the problem of evil: the prosperity of the wicked is no difficulty because it is so short-lived. But there seems to be a sharp distinction in this psalm. Wealth cannot buy everlasting in life (v. 10); it cannot ‘ransom the soul’ but God can ransom it (v. 16). And indeed the solemn opening verses suggest a noteworthy revelation. At least, we are on the threshold of the Good News of eternal life. It is noteworthy to be reminded ‘to store up treasure with God, where no moth or rust can destroy nor thief come and steal it’ (Lk 12:21).

This psalm is appropriate to guide our life. May it not be shepherded by death, but by the Good Shepherd.

 50 (49) Lip service is not enough, nor is outward ritual observance. The announcement is introduced with solemnity. It uses a poetic devise called ‘theophany,’ in which, God appears as the Lord of nature. His people offer sacrifices that God does not need. With great candor, the psalmist presents God as condemning his own people for mistaking the outward ritual for the religion of the heart: honesty, purity, kindliness. These are the true sacrifices of thanksgiving. The lesson applies to us all. The liturgy must have self-involvement as its purpose. The offering we make is the offering of ourselves in union with the sacrifice of Christ. In the morning, this is an offering in principle but the rest of the day is a confirmation of this offering in practice.

God is coming to judge his people. He condemns those who replace the obedience of the heart, with offerings and material sacrifices, and those who recite the commandments, instead of practicing them.

Those who love God and hate their brothers and sisters are liars (1 John 4:20) and atheists. While we pray this psalm, we can listen to the following question: “You do this, and I must be quiet? Do you think I am like you?” (21). May these questions resound in us and let us honor God with a sacrifice of praise, made fitting by a good relationship with our neighbor.

 51 (50) This is the finest of the ‘penitential psalms.’ Man stands guilty and unafraid before God. Indeed, he sees his guilt, as a reason for mercy and an excuse for hope. A deep sense of sin is already a step toward the sanctity of God. It opens the door for his eager mercy. But Our Lord takes us even further than the psalmist. He teaches us to cry not ‘God!’ but ‘Father!’ He bids us to think of that father who ran to meet the son who had left him, the father who took the son in his arms and kissed him: ‘My son was lost and is found’ (Lk 15:24). Our trust in the Father’s forgiveness generously given should exceed that of the psalmist.

It is good to pray with this psalm, when we feel overwhelmed by our guilt, be it against God or against our brothers and sisters, and we seek the goodness of God, who justifies us.

When we receive the sacrament of reconciliation, we meet Jesus himself, the Savior who intercedes, and the Father who pardons. Each of our confessions is a joyful celebration of God’s mercy and a source of renewal

 52 (51) It is rare and somewhat unsettling, to find a psalmist denouncing an individual. It is an embarrassment for public worship. The only solution would seem to be to sing the psalm, as it were against oneself. But perhaps it is impious to suggest that the first part had better not be sung at all. When revelation had advanced so much, that earlier attitudes become unacceptable, it might be preferable to ignore them. No word of God can indeed be idle, but this does not mean to say that it speaks immediately to us. It was enough for the psalmist to condemn the liar. We have learned to condemn only the lie.

Wherever power is affirmed in detriment of human dignity, we could pray this psalm, which places before us, the alternative of trusting in money/power, or in God. Jesus has shown us the way and taught us to be humble. If we follow Jesus’ way, we too can enjoy God’s unfailing love forever and ever.

 53 (52) This psalm, with a few and slight variations, is a repetition of Psalm 14. The “fool” in the Scriptures is not an ignoramus or a theoretical atheist. Agnosticism was a phenomenon apparently unknown to the Old Testament writers living in a polytheistic world. The fool is one who has his values all wrong and, is encouraged by past experience, to behave as if God would never take action. The psalmist states that the world is full of people like this. But their time will come and God will save his people from them, whether they are traitors to Israel or enemies from outside. We should never count ourselves exempt from Scriptural denunciation. For example, how often have we thought ‘I thank God I am not as this Pharisee?’ We are ‘foolish’ too. The traitor inside us establishes his own convenient hierarchy of values. In this and in many other psalms, we pray God to destroy what is bad in our own selves.

 54 (53) The ‘name’ and the ‘power’ of God appear synonymous in the opening verse of the psalm. The ‘name’ of a person is the expression of his individuality and his peculiar possession. When we need access to someone, we say ‘May I use your name?’ The ‘name’ is therefore operative. It unlocks doors. In this way, Israel was privileged to use the name of God, either to call on him or to threaten its enemies. But now the Christians use an even more specific name. It is a name greater than all others: Jesus! His name gives access to God and threatens everything hostile to our peace.

 The recognition of the divine name and the affirmation of God’s goodness open this psalm to the New Testament. If we dream about a world without injustice and discover that God is good, we can pray with this psalm. If we turn to Jesus our Savior, then we will be saved.

 55 (54) Distress and discouragement are strongly marked here as in any other psalm. There is no description of bodily suffering. The wounds of the psalmist go deeper. For this reason, one feels that the psalm has a more general and profound appeal. Despite all the protestations of trust in God, we can sense a wavering which attacks us all. We have Judases; we perhaps are Judases ourselves. This apostle must have ‘walked in the house of God’ with Jesus and yet betrayed him. Have we? Do we? The psalmist ends exhorting us, to a like-trust in the God of justice.

Judas gave the Lord away (Mt 26:23). We can see how disturbed Jesus was in John 13:21; Mark 14:33, etc. If we want to ward off the attack of evil in all its variations, including the betrayal of the friend, we can pray with this psalm. It will do us good to cry, and even weep, as long as we attain trust in God.

 56 (55) ‘You have a record of my laments.’ The sentence is more graphic in Hebrew: ‘My tears are stored in your wineskin?’ (v. 9). This is what professional mourners did. The tears were shed, as it were, by proxy, and left at the grave, as evidence of grief. But here the tears are not professional, God knows it, and they are really worth keeping. We can only know what God thinks of human suffering from his Son, God’s Word to us. When Jesus saw Martha weeping he started to cry himself (Jn 11:33-34). But in the end, God ‘will wipe all the tears away’ and there will be no more crying (Rev 21:4).

It is good to pray with this psalm, on the face of so much suffering and so many tears that don’t find a human answer.

This is a prayer of the millions of oppressed who live, and no doubt will die crushed. ‘You, Lord, have gathered our tears!’

 57 (56) The vehemence of the psalmists is a constant surprise. Heaven knows what some of them must have gone through. Even their joy seems to shine through tears. This individual lament, followed by thanksgiving, is similar in form and content to the preceding psalm and to many others. Nevertheless, there is more triumphant joy in the conclusion. The ‘morning’ in the psalm often stands for the dawning of new hope. The psalmist is awake, shouting so loud, that the personified Dawn, that is a relief, will have to come.

The prayer of the psalmist in verse 4, ‘may he send from heaven a savior…” is answered. God did send us Jesus Christ as our Savior. Therefore, we have so much to thank God for and to exalt His Holy Name! In fact, in Mathew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4 Jesus teaches us how to pray so that we may thank God and allow His Glory to be all over the earth.

This psalm could be the prayer of the one who waits, with total trust, for calamities to end. The glory of the Most High fills the earth.

 58 (57) The Psalmist is obviously troubled by all the evildoers around him. The gods and the wicked are obstructing God’s primacy in the world and distorting his image. Yet, he is confident that in the end, the upright will prevail. For, there is a God and He alone rules and He knows whom and how to judge. Let us not be burdened by such people, because Jesus in Mathew 11: 28-30 invites us by saying ‘Come to me’…and ‘my yoke is good and my burden is light.’

We cannot close our eyes to Evil. It exists only because there are human beings, ready to commit atrocities. What can we do? We express our prayer, without fearing our own vehemence. We ask the just God to intervene. The expression of anger is not incompatible with Jesus (cf. Mark 3:5). This psalm can nourish our hunger for justice. It is not anti-Christian, as long as the beatitude of those who hunger and thirst for justice stands.

 59 (58) It is possible that the thought is on a national plane. The ‘foes’ are a danger to the whole nation and to the psalmist himself: ‘Slay them, lest my people forget’ (v. 12). The enemies seem to come from outside (the ‘traitors’ of v. 6 are paralleled with ‘the nations’). We too have our enemies from outside. There are so many hostile influences in our age, as in every other, pariah dogs, persistent and ready to snap. We cannot live behind closed doors. We have inside us our immunity —or rather the immunity that comes from God, to those who are aware of him.

The psalmist is indeed troubled by his enemies and asks God to deliver him from them. He is confident that God will, because he says that God is his refuge and strength. We have had that assurance several times from Jesus, who, in showing us the way, said, “Follow me.”

Only Jesus can rightfully speak the verses 4-5 of the psalm (cf. 1 P 2:22). The cities are full of ‘dogs’ and people live in constant shock. It is the time to pray with all those who are persecuted, condemned, and murdered.

 60 (59) This time, it is certainly the nation that laments. The occasion might even be identified with the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. It may be that the difficult verses 8-11 which have an archaic ring were taken from some earlier composition. In this section, we read the divine oracle given in answer to the initial appeal. David’s kingdom and sphere of influence is God’s possession. He can do what he likes with Moab, and Edom belongs to him. (He has ‘to take off his sandal’ over it, see Ruth 4:7). He will guard these jealously. God’s property is always safe, as long as it remains true to itself.

The persecuted church also feels overcome and asks for help. Here is a psalm to pray with, in the face of the catastrophes afflicting humanity.

 61 (60) We are back now among emphatically personal psalms (61 to 64). However, this one seems to be intended for the use of the king. For Israel, when it did not forget, the king was only holding the kingdom on behalf of God. Two guards flanked his throne and their names were ‘God’s Love’ and ‘God’s Protection.’ It must, however, be admitted that verses 2-6 sound like the reflection—almost mystical—of a devout Israelite and that these have been offered to the king for his own meditation. No one who has any authority at all—and must have some—can afford to ignore the Rock on which he stands.

 62 (61) The Psalmist expresses faith in God, repeatedly in this psalm. The one solid foundation is God; the wise person does not build on sand, or else the winds and floods will bring the house down (Mt 7:24ff). There is an atmosphere of tranquil assurance in this psalm, which we miss in many others, where we meet with an almost frenzied appeal. In the Psalter, we can usually find a prayer to suit our moods.

Only God can be the rock, stronghold, and fortress (3, 7, 8, 9) where human existence can be supported. Human beings have an alternative: leaning on their own power, or on divine power, trusting in riches, or in God. It is impossible to serve both God and money (cf. Mt 6:19, 24). Either trust in God or in riches: see 1 Timothy 6:17; James 4:13-14; 5:1-6. If we want to be messengers of trust, we must speak not only of ideas; we must first experience God as fortress and refuge.

The psalms are the prayer of a people always struggling and suffering violence. Look at the televised news, and the violence of the world will be sufficiently present for us, to pray this evening, the prayer of the real world that struggles to survive.

 63 (62) We become weary of everything. No human love is entirely satisfying, for the shadow of separation or of death is over it. Only the one who is the source of living water, and not a cracked cistern, can satisfy human thirst. Saint Augustine has expressed it in a celebrated phrase: ‘You have created us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.’ Our works, of course, count more for God, than do our words; but in some way, our desires are still more important. They mark an available space for God in us, the day he would wish to make us rich. Jesus and Mary, in her Magnificat, declare blessed those who hunger and thirst for God, and unhappy those who are satisfied.

Happy are we if at certain moments of our life, while meditating on the word of God, praying, or responding generously to God’s call, we have had an experience of God, through the feelings which manifest him: peace, joy, security, inner conviction, fullness…. Then we can kindle in others the love and thirst for God.

 64 (63) It dismays us sometimes that the psalmist should descend from the warmth of his love for God to a cold denunciation of his own enemies. We wonder how we can make the whole psalm our own. There is a real problem here, which is insoluble unless we realize how God had to deal with a people who saw the world in black and white and who did not easily distinguish the sin from the sinner. For the people of today, with a little more insight into the influences suffered by the human mind, unqualified condemnation is not possible. Do not judge others or you will be judged yourselves. Consequently, the denunciation must be transposed into another key, even turned against ourselves, or, rather, against everything in ourselves that robs us of that thirst for God which the psalmist feels so acutely.

When life is in danger or we are wounded by sharp words, it is time to pray with this psalm.

 65 (64) Learning from the Exodus, Israel knew God as savior. When she changed her way of life from semi-nomadic to that of settled agriculture, the recurrence of sowing and harvest, of early rain and summer ripening, enabled her to see him as a giver of life and creator. The vision was unclouded and immediate; no technicality of modern farming was there to blunt the edge of wonder. For Israel, it was God alone who dressed the flowers. Perhaps, we should try to recapitulate this sense of God, working through the winter to bring new life and new color. This same power raised Christ’s body and it will raise our own, working throughout the winter of our lives.

This material abundance makes us think of another kind and for which God assured his friends. The Church also knows about spring rains, the summer harvest and songs of happiness. That should not make us forget that God is at work through seasons and rainfall. If the majority of Christians and Church communities no longer dare to ask God for the weather needed for the harvest, that is not a proof that our faith is now more spiritual but that we, unfortunately, feel at ease with a helpless God.

 66 (65) The ‘we’ of verses 2 to 12 changes abruptly to ‘I’ in verse 13. If this is not a combination of two independent psalms one must assume that the leader (the king?) is speaking of his people or that some private individual has used a national psalm to introduce his own prayer. On the whole, it seems better to suppose two psalms later joined by an editor. Common to both parts is relief and joy. Thus the psalmist invites us to praise God for his many blessings. Surely, most of us at some time or the other would have experienced the working of God’s Invisible Hand. Perhaps many of us have special talents and countless blessings to thank Him for. And, if some of us are still waiting for these gifts Jesus has told us in Mathew 6:31 and again in verse 34, “Do not worry…” and then in Mathew 7:11 “How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

The psalmist knows that God has not only created nature but that he protects his people from a hostile world, and he recalls his saving wonders. “We thank you, Lord God, Master of the universe, who are and who were, for you have begun your reign, making use of your invincible power. The nations raged but your wrath has come, the time to judge the dead and reward your servants the prophets, the saints and those who honor your Name—whether great or small—and destroy those who destroy the earth” (Rev 11:17-18).

Let us review our history or the history of the church and we will see how much God has done for us. Thus we will worship, praise him and give thanks.

 67 (66) The occasion of this happy song is a successful harvest, but the psalmist can rise above selfish considerations. The triumph of a good harvest—or industrial prosperity—should make one think of places, where the harvest fails. God is the same God there, and man no less his image. If God rules the whole world with justice, man must try to imitate him. Ecumenism and economics are sometimes the same things. The blessing of the psalm takes us to the beginning of the letter to the Ephesians (Eph 1:3). We can pray with this psalm, to give thanks to God for the goods of the earth.

 68 (67) This is the most picturesque—and obscure—of all the psalms. In the liturgy, it particularly celebrates the Ascension of Christ. And no wonder: it is a hymn fit for the climax victory of God, fighting for his people and there is a wild joy, running through it. God rides on the clouds but marches across the desert too. He feeds his starving people. He takes willing captives with him to his holy place on the hill; his might is in the skies. In the same way, the Son of Man whose chariot was a cloud (Dn 7:13, cf. Mt 26:64) went on foot through the wilderness and fed his people there (Jn 6). When he ascended, he took a host of ‘captives’ with him (Eph 4:8), and his power is felt from heaven, where he is seated at the Father’s right hand.

This psalm is adequate to celebrate our liberation, as we journey toward the Promised Land.

 69 (68) There is an abrupt descent, from the joy of the previous psalm to the depths of misery. Whoever put these two psalms side by side, had a strong sense of contrast. Perhaps, he thought that ecstatic joy can go on too long and must have its corrective. For the Hebrew, this must be surprising enough; for the Christian, it is very pointed indeed. In Psalm 68, the psalmist sees the triumph of Christ; in Psalm 69, he sees the struggle that came, that had to come before it: It was necessary that the Christ should suffer, and in this way enter his glory. We cannot put all these words on the lips of Jesus: there was no ‘sinful folly’ (v. 6) in him, and he would never have uttered the curses of verses 23 to 29—instead, he cried ‘Father, forgive them.’ But the evangelist John invites us, to think of Jesus, as we recite this psalm (Jn 2:17; cf. also Mt 27:34) and we would be wise to take his hint.

With the sorrows of our brothers and sisters, we may reconstruct the face of the broken Christ. United to them, we can pray: ‘Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck’ (v. 2).

In distress, the psalmist calls out to God to save him. This fervent call and his faith and trust in God will indeed save him. However, his appeal to God to punish those who have wronged him is contrary to the teachings of Jesus who has told us in Mathew 5:44, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” So, if we follow the teachings of Christ we will not reach such depths of desperation, on the contrary, we will rise with Him in eternal salvation.

 70 (69) Notice that this psalm is an almost word-for-word repetition of Psalm 40:14-18. The Lord is the ‘proper name’ of God which distinguishes him from the gods (elohim) of the nations that he has conquered easily, whether they were the gods of Egypt or the gods of Babylon. The Exodus and the return from Babylon have proven this. Christians still use the same name: Jesus (Yehoshua) means ‘the Lord is Savior.’ He is the Lord we are bidden to acknowledge (1 Jn 4:15).

When we wish to pray for ourselves or for others, we can turn to this psalm.

Whatever be our need and affliction, the Gospels very clearly tell us that Jesus is the answer!

 71 (70) An old man looks back on his life. He was taught at his mother’s knee to put his trust in God always. He has not forgotten (vv. 6 and 17) but has God forgotten him? His enemies say ‘yes’; he knows better. And yet he is anxious. Even a short life has its crisis and he has lived a long time, and God seems very far away. Though the psalmist expresses himself in the conventional language, this does not conceal his very real distress. We can imagine here the situation of Job himself. One learns with age how powerfully the resilience of youth contributed even to religious optimism. God, slowly and gently, teaches us to do without it. This unconscious young confidence in ourselves having done its work is now removed. If old age wishes it, God is closer than ever: the trust is purified.

Like the psalmist, we too may have gone through the ups and downs of life and at times even feeling like Job. But the faith of the psalmist never wavered. He is confident that God will raise him up from the deepest depths. If we also show faith like that of the psalmist, we will have nothing and nobody to fear. And then, like St. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:20 and again in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, we too will, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks to God at every moment. This is the will of God, your vocation as Christians.”

 72 (71) Is this a picture of the future ideal king, or an idealistic picture of the reigning king? In any case, it outlines the king-Messiah as Israel would hope him to be: after all, every new Davidic King must have seen a potential Messiah. The courtly compliments —if this is what they are—are quite deliberately extravagant: the whole of the inhabited earth, the soil itself, pays him homage. But not unwillingly! The king buckles on no sword as he does in Psalm 45: there is no weapon mentioned, except the weapons of integrity (v. 7) and sympathy (vv. 12 to 14). Surely this psalm prepares God’s people for a king who would tell his followers to put the sword back in the scabbard.

The ideal kingdom will never be a reality here below. The risen Lord will inaugurate it at the end of time. Faith, however, lets us discover the signs of the coming of the kingdom. Humanity goes forward toward its unification. The desire for justice and peace for all grows stronger in every nation. The King of Peace brings good news to the poor (Lk 4:18). He defends the rights of the lowly. He proclaims a new age when God will reconcile humanity. The weak have the right to live, and there is food for all. Our world is far from the realization of the universal charter of human rights. It is not for us to wait passively for this reign. God is so thoughtful toward humanity, created in his image, that He wishes humans to be associated with all his works, including the realization of the eternal city. This will be, evidently, a gift of God, but not a simple gift as was the apparition of the universe. It will be the crowning of what humans have began to do on earth.

 73 (72) We are not used to bitter words in the psalms, but we have them here. All the more remarkable is the reaction at the end, than which there is no higher mystical attitude in the Psalter. Indeed, we may have here a confidence in a future life with God beyond the grave. If so, revelation has taken a great leap and the problem of suffering is solved —or nearly solved. One thing is certain: the psalmist has supreme confidence in God, yet he seems quite prepared to see the wicked prosper and himself suffer as long as this life lasts. If the conclusion is not explicitly drawn, it is there implicitly. This psalm will always be relevant: the human situation described here is familiar to us all; so is the temptation, so is the necessary faith.

Why are the wicked successful? It is more a scandal than a temptation when the believer sees the wicked succeed in everything: the violent, the unscrupulous, those who have money and can corrupt, masters of deceit. “Wait for the end,” says the psalmist. “Why have I been honest?” asks the father of a family, who finds it difficult to live and feels insulted by the luxury of the dishonest rich.

“Yet I am always with you” (v. 23). At this point, the psalm comes to what is essential. It is not enough to say that the dishonest rich will have to pay and it is not always true. The experience of the presence of God here, below, compensates for whatever trials there are, and the psalmist, even if he dares not affirm that there is another life, is convinced that God, for his part, will not abandon him to death.

In a consumer society such as ours, a psalm of this kind is very appropriate. Those who pray with it can ask themselves: where is my happiness?

 74 (73) The problem of evil comes up from the nation’s point of view. There is no hint that the nation deserved its punishment. What is at stake, therefore, is the reputation of God himself. At least, this is how the psalmist unwittingly puts it.

The occasion of this lament could be the first truly religious persecution in history—under Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 B.C.—but on the whole, the arguments favor the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586. But naturally, it is the ruin of the Temple that the psalmist describes: it should move God to action if his own house has been attacked. The psalm is unhappily all too opposing at the present day: we pray for the Church of Silence.

But salvation is at hand. The tears of Jesus over Jerusalem (cf. Lk 19:41-44) link this elegy to his death, even though he had said that there wouldn’t be a stone left unturned from the Temple (cf. Mt 24:2). The destroyed Temple was rebuilt on the third day (cf. Mt 26:61; Acts 6:14). Now, since it has been raised by God, it is greater and more perfect than the old Temple (Heb 9:12). Jesus might cry for humanity today. The weapons of destruction are no longer the ax and the hammer but could be, for instance, some present economic systems. All of humanity is called to enter into the new Temple. Why not pray with this psalm?

 75 (74) The basic attitude of man toward God is evidently humility. It appears here as the one criterion of judgment. But it is a miracle to think that any passage of Scripture exhausts its topic. The tableau of judgment in Matthew 25 makes active charity the test. Yet, even here, the element of humility comes in, because charity is exercised for the ‘least’ of Christ’s brothers and sisters. In short, it seems that all who ask for mercy can escape judgment. Perhaps this is why the Pharisees and not the harlots are attacked in the Gospels.

Praying with this psalm, we can be the legitimate heirs of the prophets, in the face of the arrogance of the soothsayers, in a world built on power and oppression.

 76 (75) The immense power of God is wielded with infinite delicacy. It speeds down to crush everything that opposes its strength but leaves those who know their own weakness quite untouched. For these, the divine omnipotence is not a terrifying thing because it fights on their side; their weakness is God’s opportunity to show his strength. ‘My great strength is revealed in weakness’ (2 Cor 12:9). God never displays his power to impress but always to rescue. The incarnate Word used his power for the sick and the hungry only because he was sorry for them. He walked on the lake only to rejoin and calm his frightened disciples. If the psalmist delights in God the Warrior, we can hardly blame him: it is only a child boasting of his Father’s strength.

God has defeated the kings who were attacking Jerusalem, the Holy City. This victory prefigures another when in the end the humble will be liberated.

 77 (76) One feels that the psalmist is distressed by the plight of his people. He recalls the great days when the nation was brought to birth, through God’s mercy and his power. He wonders what can have happened to this child who seemed so promising. He ends up on a pathetic, nostalgic note. Again, it is the problem of evil on a national scale. The right hand of God once outstretched, now, seems to have been withdrawn. There is no answer offered. The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away, and that is all. This is so often the case, with nations and with individuals. Blessed is the name of the Lord for what he gave, even though he has taken it away.

The Passover is the “passing of the Lord.” We look toward the past and remember Jesus Christ, ‘risen from the dead’ (2 Tim 2:8); afterwards, we announce the overpowering strength of the resurrection (cf. Col 3:1-2). It is a psalm for remembrance in times of affliction.

We tend to see the past as more wonderful than it actually was. The passage of time will let us see that God is just as present and active in our own day.

 78 (77) The lesson of history beats the rhythm of Israel’s history. Divine generosity, human ingratitude, correction, renewed generosity, is an enlarged picture of the individual experience. God rarely showed his hands in such a way that people are forced to recognize it, in the events of history. This needs a thoughtful and grateful heart. And even then, we easily forget. In the past, God’s people have found themselves threatened first by the sea, then by the desert. Flood and drought, too much and too little, luxury and penury, have always been the enemies of the people of God: ‘Give me neither poverty nor riches: give me only the food I need’ is the sober prayer of the Book of Proverbs. But when God rescues from the two extremes, there are still the dangers of mediocrity. We can soon forget the urgent prayers in past crises and the way God heard them. But every day must be seen as a crisis in which God intervenes: ‘Give us this day our daily bread!’

Sin is not the end of history; grace is! Verse 2 is quoted in Matthew 13:35. For a Christian, rereading of the psalm, 1 Corinthians 10–11 can help us. Our history is a school of life and prayer. It is enough to remember what we have done and what God does. This psalm can help us.

 79 (78) This psalm almost certainly refers to the fall of Jerusalem in the year 586 B.C. There is a confession of guilt—the guilt of an earlier generation. It is interesting that this ingredient should enter the solution of the problem of suffering: Has this man sinned—or his parents? And, indeed, we may blame our ancestors, for some of our condition, so long as we realize that we may, and do, contribute to the unhappiness of our children. We are the context into which they will be born, for better or for worse. But the psalmist evidently does not will to call God’s attention to the sins of his own generation except in passing (v. 9). There is a further devout ingenuity about him when (v. 10) he reminds God of what people will say if he deserts his people. As if God cared! But such a prayer is very human and no doubt raises a smile in heaven.

As long as there are captives and blood is poured in our land, whenever we live under the weight of guilt, it is a good time to pray with this psalm.

 80 (79) The theme is much the same as in the preceding psalm but the scene shifts to the northern kingdom, where the ax fell first. Samaria was overrun in the year 721 B.C. and colonized with a mixed population of idolatrous immigrants: so many weeds in the garden of God. What has he done in his vineyard? Understandably enough, there is no mention of the wild grapes that this chosen vine had produced (Is 5:1-7). The psalmist dares to ask ‘why’? The prophet Amos could provide the answer: thirty years before this time, he had scourged the luxury and oppression of the ruling classes (Am 6:4-7). But we have to sympathize with the psalmist. He has learned the lesson that to brood over sins committed is a worthless exercise.

The shining face of God is remembered in John 14:9 and in Hebrews 1:3; also in the Gospels at the time of the transfiguration (cf. Mt 17:2; cf. 2 Cor 4:6). The gaze of God saves, also in our present time.

 81 (80) The psalm opens joyfully but the complaints of the divine voice (vv. 12-13) sound strangely out of place. There is a second inconsistency: the trumpet or ram’s horn (jobel, hence our ‘jubilee’) is to be sounded ‘at the new moon, when the moon is full.’ To deal with the second puzzle, first: maybe the harvest-feast of Tabernacles is referred to here (celebrated at the full moon in the lunar month of September-October) is also the first day of the New Year (the first day of the same month). The first difficulty is lessened if we suppose that the people sing verses 2 to 6 exultantly. But a prophet in the sanctuary reminds them that the joy should be tempered with self-mistrust. If past experiences teach anything, it should teach them this—and ourselves as well.

This psalm urges us to listen to the voice of the Lord, because idols are with us, even today. ‘We lack dynamism to evangelize and change the world: this is because we still have idols even in our apostolic planning. God himself, in the Transfiguration, tells in Mathew 17:5, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, my Chosen One. Listen to him.’

God keeps His promise. If only we would listen, we would have food for the body and soul.

 82 (81) God presides over every court, however eminent the judges. It is possible that the judges mentioned here are the ‘beggarly elemental spirits,’ dictatorial ‘beings that by nature are no gods’ (Col 2:8ff) but in effect, are worshipped by so many. The stars, for example, have their devotees still, and horoscopes are popular. From this text, Jesus gently vindicated his own claim to be Son of God, with authority delegated by his Father. He would not blind his interlocutors with revelation. Time was needed before the full meaning of this pregnant title could be declared.

This is a psalm for those who are not in agreement with social chaos and expect someone to do them justice.

 83 (82) This reads like a very old psalm indeed. One is tempted to date it as early as the eighth, or even the tenth century, before Christ. There is an international conspiracy against Israel. This is not the first time: the ancient enemies mentioned in the books of Exodus and Judges (for example Jdg 4 and 7) thought they could destroy a people that belonged to God. But the Lord of creation has cosmic weapons at his disposal: ‘the stars in their courses fought against Sisera’ (Jdg 5:20) as ‘the sun has stood still’ for Joshua (Jos 10:12). The powers of evil are impotent against the people of God so long as these remember to use the right kind of sword, which is the sword of the spirit.

How many men and women, old people and children are the victims of international alliances today! Couldn’t we pray with this psalm?

God knows what to do and how to deal with everyone. Therefore, if we reflect on these tremendously powerful words of wisdom, and follow Jesus’ instructions, we will live without fear and book our berth in heaven.

 84 (83) The home of God on earth! What can this mean? There can be no change in God. He cannot move into a new house. No, the change is in human things! God is everywhere already but consecrates certain places, where people can meet him and feel his presence more intimately. There is a power there, without which, not a sparrow falls to the ground, but also a peace that encourages the sparrow to build its nest. Such home of God stood on the hill of Zion. It is a weary climb for the pilgrim at the end of his journey but strengthening him when he paused to raise his eyes. The end of every pilgrimage lies further off, and it is a very weary climb for all. Our city is heaven, but in a sense, it is here too: ‘you came near to Mount Zion, the city of the living God’ (Heb 12:22) because the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us: in a new sense the earth is the Lord’s.

There are people who visit the Temple; but do not enjoy the love of God, who dwells therein. They do not experience a transformation of conduct because they placed their trust in the Temple of God, not in the God of the Temple. This psalm can come with us when we go on pilgrimages and religious festivals.

 85 (84) This psalm, written when the Israelites had returned from captivity in Babylon, adopts the most universal terms of the human vocabulary: liberty, life, joy, salvation, love, justice, peace, and happiness. This return of the exiled Jews, however, was only one step toward authentic liberation. Nothing is definitive and each phase in the realization of God’s plan leads us to another stage. God’s people are forever being called to go further ahead. Even the actual reign of the risen Christ and the work of salvation accomplished by the Church are only an image of the eternal kingdom. God loves our earth. When we feel troubled and discouraged by what is ugly around us, let us come back to the declaration of this psalm: You have favored your land, O Lord; justice bends down from heaven; glory will dwell in our land (vv. 2, 10, 12). Salvation comes from God but is brought by a man, Christ, freely welcomed by a woman in the name of humanity. With the Incarnation, it is not possible to believe in God, without believing in humankind.

 86 (85) This is a gentle psalm, a little muted in tone, without cries for help or loud shouts of anguish. The psalmist, here, is making a sincere and true appeal to God to answer his prayer. There are always enemies about, but God is not asked to destroy them (a refreshing change!). He is asked only to ‘turn and take pity’ on the persecuted. The first seven verses are the perfect prayer. God could scarcely resist it. The psalmist never stops asking, and he is rightly sure that such a God could never stop giving. He persuades God with his mother’s virtues too (v. 16). It is a very homely psalm.

Whenever we live moments of anguish, whatever their cause, it will be good for us to confide our burden on another, on God, whose presence in this psalm, is comforting. Jesus tells us in Mathew 11:24: ‘Whatever you ask for in prayer full of faith, you will receive.’ We have this assurance from Jesus himself. So, full of faith, let us also pray to God, for whatever we need, assured that it will be answered.

 87 (86) The universalist’s outlook here is truly astonishing. It is not that Zion ceases to be the center of the world. This, from the psalmist perspective, will always be so. To offer the hand in friendship to Babylon and Egypt, the ancient persecutors, is truly magnanimous. It may speak of the Jews exiled in those countries. This would turn the wide and gracious gesture of verses 4 and 5 into something clumsy and ungenerous. This psalm may be compared to a passage of the prophet Zechariah (8:20-23; cf. also 14:16) where people from foreign countries ‘take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying: Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ There is a Jew the whole world has heard of, and his surname is Emmanuel, which means ‘God with us.’ The Church is our “city” the mother of all (cf. Eph 2:12-19; Gal 4:26). This is a good psalm to celebrate universal fraternity or to put ecumenism into practice.

 88 (87) This psalm ends in an incomparable sad note. The psalmist seems very dejected, frustrated, and helpless. One is so used to hearing him complain about his ‘enemies.’ When he does not, his silence is audible. The complaint is directed to God, but if God is an enemy, what hope is there? In this psalm, there is no ray of light. It is a cry in the dark. The inhuman enemy is sickness in a lonely old age: only God, whose messenger it is, can make the message bearable.

It would seem that knowing Christ, we couldn’t sink into despair. There are, however, days when heaven is closed for us, as it was for Jesus in his agony.

The ‘why?’ of the psalm is heard on the cross (cf. Mt 27:46). The answer will come at dawn (cf. 1 P 3:18; 1 Cor 15:54). This supplication of a dying person can be sung by all those who are dying or living in the silence of God. Let’s not forget that, at dawn, our supplication will rise up to meet God.

 89 (88) The question ‘why’ comes up. The psalmist is worried about the fate of the Davidic king—perhaps the death at Megiddo of the devout Josiah in the year 609 B.C. and the extinction of the dynasty, a few years later. If this, in fact, was the occasion of the psalm, we can all the more admire the faith of the psalmist, in such hard times. The messianic promise (2 Sam 7) was made by God, so were the heavens. Each has the same guarantee. There is no doubt about God’s power and all kingships come from him (vv. 6-19). There is no doubt about God’s promises either (vv. 20-38) so whatever has happened (vv. 39-52), cannot be final. The psalmist was right: ‘You shall name him Jesus… and the Lord will give him the throne of his father David… and of his kingdom, there will be no end’ (Lk 1:31ff).

Those very powerful words, “love” and “faithfulness”, occur at least 4 times each in this psalm, and not without a purpose. Jesus has explained to us in no uncertain terms throughout the Gospels the power of these words. If only these could become part of our daily agenda, then we can assure ourselves of happiness here on earth and eternity.

Here is a good psalm to pray in times of national or international conflict. If a human being is injured, God is injured. The love of God is faithful. Despite everything, the love of God cannot turn back.

 90 (89) The plural pronouns surely indicate that this psalm was sung in community. It hardly reads like a national song and the application is surely to the congregation as individuals. The ‘anger’ and ‘wrath’ of God (v. 11) have been used before (cf. Ps 6:2) as a description of the brevity and the pain of life. Certainly, he can admire those who loved God without them. As these grew older, one might have thought, their love of God would weaken in proportion, since they had less to hope for. But, instead, it seemed to strengthen. Is this perhaps because the revelation was beginning to dawn already?

What is the meaning of our life? What are our values? We cannot elaborate a ‘tomorrow’ for ourselves, without counting on God. This psalm can help us.

Our days pass like a sigh. Our earthly life is short and frail before the face of the eternal God. He is our refuge and can give meaning to our existence. Let us ask him to fill it with wisdom, which is to love him, praise him and serve him.

 91 (90) The devil can quote Scripture (Mt 4:6). He was shrewd enough to recognize quality and to try to play on its defects. But this is not quite accurate, because the presumption is not a flaw that corresponds to trust in God. The child who leaves his mother’s hand and tries his own two legs does not trust her but himself. In any case, we must not let the devil spoil this psalm for us. For many people, it is the most consoling of the Psalter, and small wonder. It assures us, in several strangely assorted pathos of a God waiting—and longing—to be asked!

This is a powerful psalm prayed daily for protection against the powers of the Evil One. It is so powerful that even the devil tried to use it (see vv. 11 and 12) in his own devious way, to tempt Jesus in the desert (Mt 4:6). Of course, he was not successful and therefore, we have the assurance that he will not be successful in tempting us either.

It will be good to pray with this psalm, to ratify and purify our trust in God, precisely when dangers besiege us.

 92 (91) We are not animals, not simply rational animals: we are sons and daughters of God. We learn in prayer, to look at the world as God sees it. We are joined to Christ as the branch to the vine, and we try to make our minds, and our lives, grow more like his.

The virtuous will flourish like palm trees (v. 13): the enthusiasm of the one whose life is built on faithfulness. He has seen the fall of many fortunes and much glory. The martyr St. Polycarp said to his judges: ‘How could I curse Christ? For eighty years he has always been good to me.’ The saints are those who leave the most lasting impact on human history. ‘Give thanks to the Lord’ (v. 2). If we reflect on our lives, we will find many reasons to give thanks to God. The gift of our very life and existence is a good starting point. St. Paul tells us to ‘give thanks to God at every moment’ (1 Thes 5:18) in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord (Eph 5:20).

 93 (92) This is the first of the ‘royal’ psalms (93; 95−100) celebrating the kingship of God, creator, and controller of our universe, whose eternal tranquility contrasts with the restless sea. He is so calm and silent that we might think he sleeps. But only the God-made-man could sleep. Even then, when the apostles cried to him, ‘Jesus rebuked the wind and ordered the sea, “Quiet now! Be still!” The wind dropped, and there was a great calm (Mk 4:39). ‘You are a king then?’ said Pilate. He is indeed—though his kingship was hidden. But now, he sits at the right hand. We are of his Kingdom. Let us sing to our Lord, ascended and enthroned in heaven.

The Lord of history and of nature is much stronger than awesome historical conflicts.

 94 (93) We must sometimes ask ourselves ‘is it all worthwhile?’ Religion doesn’t seem to make much difference, certainly doesn’t seem to make us any happier. But in spite of all the difficulties, we know that God does care. He has redeemed us. And if we believe in redemption, then, we must believe in judgment. He cares for us, and he cares about us: what people do does matter. But the difficulties are still there, and we need this vehement act of faith in God who cares.

The psalmist seems very preoccupied about his neighbor. Knowing that it would trouble us too, Jesus offered us a solution when he said, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Mk 12:31). Also, ‘Do not judge and you will not be judged’ (Mt 7:1) and, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’ (Mt 5:44). If we follow these basic principles, which Jesus has taught us, we will not worry about what happens all around us. Instead, it will bring us calm and peace assured of our lives here on earth as well as in heaven.

 95 (94) God claimed a double kingship over Israel. She had been created and she had been chosen. Here, she is invited to celebrate both creation and choice. But she is warned, too. The flock divinely led from Egypt had disputed with Moses and tested God’s patience by its complaints. We may still thwart the grace of our call—it does not inevitably blossom into the glory of the final choice. Our calling is much higher than Israel’s. From the people’s point of view, our election, what we call perseverance, is more sublime. Not Moses but Jesus, is our leader now, and the ‘rest’ he would take us to is not Palestine but a land which the meek inherit, a rest which is the eternal Sabbath of God (Heb 4:10). Pray to hear not ‘Never shall they enter!’ but ‘Come, you blessed!’

 96 (95) What can we bring to God, the Lord of the world? What gift is worthy of our God, our King? Before anything else, we bring him praise (v. 7), adoration and delighted recognition of what he is. We proclaim the glory of the Creator, on behalf of all creation, and we wish our praise to resound throughout the whole of creation.

The psalmist suggests in verse 8 that we ‘bring gifts.’ If we do it with a sincere heart, then all our gifts of prayer and worship and good deeds and trust and faith and mercy and kindness and devotion will be accepted with love, and in His love, we will forever stay.

More than on the splendor of the universe, human society is founded on justice that glorifies God: there is joy in creation when God establishes his kingdom among us. Yes, the joy of the universe, until then devastated by our exaggerated ambitions. Joy of nations that have discovered why they exist!

As we continue to express our desire for the reign of God to come to the world, we can pray with this psalm.

 97 (96) The glory, the magnificence, the splendor of God—this could strike us with terror so that we might cry out like St. Peter, ‘Depart from us!’ But that glory is our light (v. 11); we are even called to share that glory. So for us, the majesty of God is not an object of terror, but a subject of exultation.

We often find it hard to share the enthusiasm and joy of the psalmist, who clearly sees the world divided between the good and the wicked. We rather see the world covered by a fog, where each of us has our own excuses and share of wickedness. The confusion is temporary. However, there is good seed and there are weeds, and each one goes toward what he prefers. God hates evil, as much as he loves himself, and what cannot return to God, should be destroyed.

 98 (97) Our Lord founded the kingdom of God on earth; and yet we pray: ‘Your kingdom come.’ The work of our redemption has been accomplished, but we still pray for this salvation, to be perfected throughout the world: God has come; but we look for his final coming, to take possession of his kingdom.

Sing to the Lord a new song (v. 1). Humanity has found the way to liberation and salvation. It is in the coming of Christ, God-made-man and in his resurrection.

For the Lord came down to earth, showed us His love and also by His death and resurrection, the path to eternal salvation.

 99 (98) Our God is Almighty, infinitely above our world—but not remote from it. In his word, the world depends. His law is the rule of life. And the Church is the place of contact between the Holy God and people called to be holy.

Holiness does not mean evasion from the world, but a commitment to it. Those who pray this psalm, desire the Name of God to be sanctified and the world to be transformed by divine holiness.

 100 (99) The psalm bids us rejoice in God because we are utterly his. From the psalmist, the glad reflection provokes an outburst of gratitude. From those who know the Cross, it should bring about a cry of wonder that God should have brought what was already his own, that we should belong to him doubly. ‘You are bought with a great price,’ writes St. Paul; ‘not with gold or silver,’ Peter says, ‘but with the precious blood of Christ’ (1 Cor 6:20; 1 P 1:18). This psalm was born again on Calvary. We must remember that as we sing it!

 101 (100) This was the prayer of the king, who was responsible for the moral welfare and material wellbeing of his people. Our Lord is the king of the Christian people: no sin was found in him, and he came to make it possible for all to share his own innocence. In union with him, we declare our resolution to spread the kingdom of justice and love—in our hearts first. He showed us the way so that all of us choose the path of integrity.

Jesus came to serve and wanted to be surrounded by servants (Mk 10:41-45) while he proclaimed a blessing to the poor and the persecuted ones (Mt 5:3,10). This is a good psalm to face our responsibilities, in the church and in society.

 102 (101) The psalmist experiences psychological and bodily disintegration. This pathetic expression of grief suddenly changes (v. 13) into a confident prayer for God’s protection on Zion, his holy city. So, we suffer with all who suffer in the Church —while being certain, that the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

The Lord indeed freed those condemned to death (v. 21) when Jesus cried out again in a loud voice and gave up His spirit (Mt 27:50). At that time, ‘tombs were opened and several holy people who had died were raised to life’ (Mt 27:52). Therefore, unlike the Psalmist who seems very hurt and afflicted, let us rejoice and give thanks and book our place in heaven.

In the face of social chaos and a premature death, we can pray with this psalm, ratifying our hope: ‘Your servants’ children will dwell secure’ (v. 29).

 103 (102) The Christian lives joyfully in the paradox that our God is higher than the heavens, and yet, is close to us in love and mercy. Our gratitude for his mercy merges naturally into a hymn of praise, for his greatness. When we think how great he is, it is not to think how far away he is, but how much he loves us to come down to us.

God is a Father full of mercy. Is it necessary to quote a text from the New Testament? A good one is that of the prodigal son (Lk 15:11-32) or the prayer of Jesus on the cross (Lk 23:34 or Rom 8:31-34). They show us the depth of God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness. Let us praise the Lord, together with everything created: in moments of joy, as well as in hours of sadness, both when we have strength or when we live in fragility.

 104 (103) Religion is not strictly an affair between God and our souls. We are part of the world which God also made and loves. The creation was described in the first chapter of Genesis in brief phrases. Here, the same account is painted in loving detail. The psalmist speaks of the world, as he saw it; we can think also of the world as we know it—a much more complex world than the psalmist knew—but with the same delight and awe.

In contemplating the universe, the believer feels full of admiration and optimism. All comes from God, and this universe is also for humankind. God is now completing his creation, through the work of humans and the radiant light of his witnesses: ‘Send your Spirit to renew the face of the earth.’ Not only does all come from God but all belong to him and speak of him. Atoms, nature, shapes and colors, everything is a radiation of his own riches: light is your cloak; the clouds, your chariot; the firmament, the tent of your dwelling. The beauty of the cosmos is the cloud that hides God’s beauty. Even if today we have a scientific vision of the world, this Psalm, 2,500 years old, retains its value. The world we know is much vast, diverse and marvelous. How could we ever think that it has formed itself or that it is the product of an accident? God continually sustains every being and holds it in his hands. What would become of them should he, in an instant, take away his Spirit? Just think what happens when there is a power failure—no longer is there light, energy, movement—it is as if the world ceased to exist.

The psalmist marvels at the wonders that God has created and how they live in absolute harmony. He reassuringly confirms that God is in charge and we have nothing to worry about. In fact, Jesus has told us repeatedly not to worry and sites as examples, ‘Look at the birds in the air’ (Mt 6:26) and ‘Look at the flowers in the fields’ (Mt 6:28).

All Jesus asks from us is to have faith—even faith, as little as a mustard seed. If only we could be filled with faith, we will be able to create wonders ourselves and allow miracles to be performed in our lives.

It is a good psalm for this time of ecological sensitivity, in which we live.

 105 (104) The psalmist summarizes the goodness and the greatness of God, as he knew it from The Old Testament. He connects with his past to seek God’s presence and praise him. We do not live in isolation from our material environment, nor do we from our historical past, and the historical books of the Scriptures, like the Creation, provide material for praise. The child is the father of the man, and we are what our past has made us. We are the people whom God has redeemed, but in redeeming us, God was keeping the promise which he made ‘to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his seed.’

When praying with this psalm, we can unite our history to the history of salvation and remember that, while the covenant is a mandate, it is also the Word of God and therefore it is an eternal and holy covenant. If we are unfaithful, God is still faithful.

 106 (105) It is not only praise that the remembrance of our past calls forth: the story of the Old Testament is a story of people’s sin and God’s mercy, and ‘we have sinned like our ancestors’ (v. 6). We join with our ancestors in confessing it. To have sinned is not fatal; but to fail to acknowledge it, is. This cuts us from the people of God, the people redeemed, the people of God’s mercy. The words of the Psalmist in verse 4 are similar to the good thief recorded in Luke 23:42, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ This is a very powerful acknowledgement which brought instant results. It teaches us not to lose faith, even at the eleventh hour and in the very last minute. Jesus always answers our prayers now, as He did then in Luke 23:43, ‘Truly, you will be with me today in paradise.’

With this psalm, we recognize ourselves sinners before God, sinners as our parents, and we expect to be saved by grace.

 107 (106) What we call ‘redemption’ comes to us in two stages—one already achieved but the other not yet, not till the end of our lives. We are a pilgrim Church, and we still have to pass through the desert (v. 4). We are still, in some degree, bound by the chains of sin (v. 10), and we have a stormy passage to make (v. 23). But the first stage of salvation is the guarantee of the second, and we pass through all this confident of God’s protection (vv. 35-43).

The Gospels present situations similar to those described by the psalm: the hungry people fed by Jesus (cf. Mk 6:30-46); the chained and manacled person possessed by the devil in the sepulcher is liberated by Jesus (cf. Mk 5:1-20); various sorts of sicknesses are cured (cf. Mk 6:53-56 and 7:24-37); the storm is calmed (cf. Mk 4:35-41).... Whoever prays with this psalm will acquire wisdom, nourished by memory and unceasing meditation on the love that God shows us throughout history and life.

 108 (107) A mixed psalm of trust and community supplication, composed of two halves of other psalms: Psalms 57:8-12, and 60:7-14 (2-6 and 7-14 respectively). Together, both pieces acquire a new meaning. The poet finds himself among peoples and nations, in the diaspora. Despite his situation, he finds the strength to sing to the Lord with his whole being (v. 2). He and the community harbor the expectation of a new day, illumined by the glory of the Lord. As a response to his morning song, the poet adds an old oracle (vv. 8-10). In the end, trust comes out strengthened (v. 14). Our joy and confidence is are not the wealth or wisdom or prestige of the Church, but simply the fact that God is with us. We can, in turn, update this psalm hearing in it the voice of a people, who plead amid conflict and oppression.

 109 (108) The psalmist, in his desperation, seems to seek revenge against those who have done him wrong. He is righteous but in the smallness of his human mind and heart, he finds it hard to forgive. Yet, he does them good and prays for them (vv. 4 and 5). The psalmist did not have the teachings of Jesus whose words would have brought him comfort, but we do. Therefore, we too could find ourselves in situations as expressed in verses 2 to 5 and not know what to do. However, in answer, Jesus in Mathew 5:44 says, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ These words may indeed be hard to digest but if we follow them, they will surely bring relief, comfort, and peace to us at all times.

 110 (109) Sometimes we feel trapped, as if in prison, by the problems of life. This psalm is like a flash of lightning illuminating the prison and showing us an unexpected escape towards heaven. In spite of some obscure expressions, the overall meaning is clear: from Zion will come, the one who will be victorious over all the hostile powers (vv. 5-6). The struggle will be hard, but God will finally ask him to sit at his right, and all will be subject to him. Our Lord is the Son of God.

We can pray with this psalm, evoking the political consciousness of authority. A Christian reading asks for the psalm, to be deprived of its violence. Christ is king and priest, but king ‘of justice, love, and peace;’ the priest who entered the sanctuary through his own blood and has opened for us access to the sanctuary. Let us pray for the people of God, who are kingly and priestly people.

 111 (110) This is an alphabetical acrostic—each successive line begins with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It is only to be expected that there is not much logical development of thought. It is more a series of separate reflections on the idea of reverence, ‘awe’ and ‘fear’ for God (v. 10): but reverence for God who has saved us, bound himself to us in a covenant, and gives us food for soul and body. The great works and wonders that He performed revealed God’s very self.

Praising God for everything is the ultimate word of creation, the final ‘alleluia’ to which we unite our voices when we pray with this psalm: ‘To him belongs everlasting praise.’

 112 (111) Another alphabetical psalm, developing the thought of the blessings received by those faithful to God: descendants, prosperity, virtue, and salvation. It also deals with our reverence for God shown in practice —mainly, charity to our neighbor.

Indeed as the psalmist says in verse 4, ‘He is for the righteous, a light in darkness….’ For, in John 9:5 Jesus says, ‘I am the light of the world.’ We should, therefore, never be in darkness. His guiding light will always be there for us whenever we need it, especially in our desperate days and when we are groping in the darkness of the night.

Our present society also needs witnesses, who fear God and are passionate lovers of his commandments. It needs men and women to reflect the rays of the Light because they are generous, compassionate, and attentive. Those who want to be witnesses of God in our time can pray with this psalm.

 113 (112) The psalmist urges the people to offer praise to the Almighty Lord of heaven and earth. God calls them his friends, raising them up to his own height.

What distinguishes God from humans is not the infinity of his creation, but his way of being with us, his preference for what many despise. God likes to choose poor instruments, to achieve his great deeds of grace.

Our God does not remain isolated in heaven. He has come down to earth. He has become one of us, identified with those who are helpless. With the present psalm, let us exalt the Name of the Lord, great and sublime.

 114 (113 A) Our God is not a helpless idol. He is the living God—alive and in constant activity. That we are alive is the result of his action. As if the river were to run backwards, as if the solid mountains were to jump up and down—so astonishing it is that God should come to people, to make them share his life.

The exit from Egypt and the entrance into the Promised Land is the basic creed of Israel. With this hymn, we can celebrate the core of our faith: the passing, the Passover of the Lord. The wonders of God are also seen in Jesus, at the wedding feast in Cana where water was changed into wine in John 2:9 and Mark 14:24, Jesus changed wine into His Blood. And to date, the miracle continues to take place in the Eucharist.

 115 (113 B) This is a psalm of trust. The people exiled in Babylon do not have a Temple or sanctuary. Their God does not admit any figure or representation, and besides, it is a defeated God. The powerful Babylonian gods are there. Where is the God of Israel? It is urgent for God, to act for the honor of his Name (v. 1) and for the exiled whose faith has been injured. The answer is conclusive: our God is in heaven and has created the earth. Your gods are on earth, but they are nothing, as the seven negatives of verses 5-7 describe. Our God created and made us in his own image and likeness (Gen 1:26).

We must constantly denounce the idols of ordinary people, as well as the idols of those who pretend to be free of every prejudice. Here is a thought of the poet, Paul Claudel: “Blessed are you, O my God, who freed me from all the idols and who made me adore you alone, and not Isis or Osiris, or Justice, Progress, Truth, Divinity, Humanity, the Laws of Nature, of Art or of Beauty. And who has not permitted these things to exist, things that are not, or are the vacuum left by your absence. I know that you are not the God of the dead, but of the living. Lord, I have found you! The one who finds you no longer tolerates death.”

“I believe in God, though I do not see him,” a Jewish man wrote in the ghetto of Warsaw. In times that are hostile to faith, it is good for us to pray with this psalm.

 116 (114-115) This psalm is a simple prayer of thanks to God, after an escape from death by sickness, accident or malice. It became part of the Hallel or ‘Hymn of Praise’ (Ps 113-118) sung at the Paschal supper. Our Lord, therefore, went to death with the words on his lips. ‘After singing psalms of praise, they went out to the Mount of Olives’ (Mt 26:30). But from him, the words receive new life. Unlike the psalmist, he does not ask to escape the snare of bodily death, rather, he defies and defeats it: ‘it was impossible for him to be held by the power of death’ (Acts 2:24). The prayer of his human soul is for the glory of his risen body. With the psalmist, we may recite the prayer after sickness, but with our Lord, we may gratefully use it on our deathbed, for ‘He who raised Jesus Christ from among the dead, will also give life to your mortal bodies’ (Rom 8:11).

We can pray with this psalm when we have overcome mortal dangers or solved personal conflicts. It is good for everything to remain in the sphere of the love of God, in whom we believe.

 117 (116) Less than a quarter of a psalm, but all is there: goodness (grace, favor) and fidelity (truth) that is the truth of God. We can pray with this psalm, keeping in our heart the ecumenical cause.

 118 (117) This psalm was sung when the processions entered the Temple of Jerusalem. The people and their leader alternated with the choir of the Levites. In the end, the priests gave Aaron’s blessing (Num 6:22). What does Israel sing? Their thanksgiving to God who saves them from death or raises them; thanksgiving to God who chooses the poor and the despised of this world, to build his kingdom with them.

‘The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone’ (v. 22)—so our Lord, rejected by his people and raised up by God; and so the Church, made up of those whom God has raised from death to life, in union with the Risen Christ. The Church is the Temple of God, within which each of us sings our praise of God who has so loved us.

 119 (118) This is a long alphabetic psalm composed of stanzas of eight lines each. In which each verse begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet (Aleph, Beth, etc.). There is no logical development of thought, just a series of independent reflections, like ejaculations, meditating on various aspects of the same subject: the word of God, God’s revelation of himself, which is also a revelation to us of the way we should live. This is a sapiential meditation centered on the Law. The author makes use of all the arts of the language, to confess his love to the Law. There are twenty-two stanzas, as many as the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza has eight verses, with eight synonyms of the Law. Number seven already indicates fullness. If one adds another unit (7+1), nothing more could be said; it is the perfect sum. The verses of each stanza start with the same letter. In such a way from the first letter to the last one of the Hebrew alphabet, all the human vocabulary is at the service of a love which exceeds any other love: the love of the Law of God, or better, the love of God of the Law. The reader meets in this psalm an uninterrupted succession of literary genres: meditations, petitions, short lamentations, declaration of trust and of innocence, acts of thanksgiving, praise, etc. God is the constant interlocutor of the psalmist; he addresses Him in the second person. The repetitions are inevitable. The literary art of acrostics will force some stanzas. We will meet some topical expressions, present in other psalms; but also passages of great literary beauty and high poetical inspiration. Many titles, symbols, and privileges of this psalm are applied to Christ: Light, the water of the rock, way. The great teaching/revelation (Torah) of God is Jesus. We can put his name where we read the law or its synonyms.

Paschal started his day praying with a stanza of this psalm. Thus he confessed his love to God. That is what the Church proposes to us in the Liturgy of the Hours: each day, halfway through work, it offers us a stanza of this psalm. With this stanza, we proclaim our love to God of the Law, and his definitive Word: The Lord, who is the ratification of the divine promises.

This longest psalm in the Scriptures is inversely proportionate to the short human life of Jesus on earth. Jesus prayed and repeatedly and even taught us how to pray. By his life on earth and his example, he showed us the way. He followed the path of righteousness enunciated all along in this psalm. In fact, in verse 36 when the psalmist says, ‘Incline my heart to follow your will…’ is a reminder of Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane in Luke 22:42: ‘Father, if it is your will, remove this cup from me; however, not my will but yours be done.’ Therefore, if we too follow the path of righteousness doing the will of God through our heart, mind, and actions, we too will be rescued, no matter how difficult our burdens, we too will be with him in paradise (Lk 23:43).

 120 (119) First of the ‘Psalms of Ascent’ (Ps 120 to 134) sung by pilgrims, journeying to the holy hill of Zion. Compared with this sacred ground, the whole world is barbarous. But the psalm must be transposed to the Christian key: the spirit of the New Testament is of another sort. ‘Pray for them that calumniate you’ is our Lord’s instruction (Mt 5:43ff). We acknowledge no enemy, but of the soul. We pray that God will rain down his destroying judgments upon our enemy within: deceitful, treacherous, waging constant war. We pray against our own selfish selves.

 121 (120) The pilgrim lifts his face toward the Temple on the height of Zion. It is the earthly home of the one God, tireless guardian of Israel. We, too, journey ‘to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem’ with which the old Jerusalem of stone, cannot compare. ‘We have here no lasting city and we are looking for the one to come’ (Heb 13:14).

God is faithful, he watches by day and by night. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus accompanies them but they do not recognize him. ‘If God is with us, who could be against us?’ Prayer for the beginning of a difficult task: a conversion, a vocation, the beginning of a family, risks taken for the good of all.

 122 (121) Joy of the pilgrim who reaches his goal at last—Jerusalem, elected home of God, venerable in the tradition of Israel. Here is a deep sense of homecoming and of pride in that home. We of the worldwide ‘Israel of God’ have no city to house us all; we are ‘of the household of the faith’ (Gal 6:10). But we have the brothers and sisters whom Jesus promised to those in his company (Mk 9:30); we have a home which we call ‘the Church.’ It stands scarred with years of siege but, by God’s grace, compact and dignified by the marks of resistance. We may take pride in it because the strength of its walls is from God. It will never have peace from without; let us pray and work for its peace within, which is ‘the love of brethren.’

 123 (122) The exiles returned from Babylon to a ruined city and a neglected land. This short hymn expresses the trust that upheld this ‘remnant of Israel.’ The mute appeal of the ‘eyes’ marks the simplicity of the psalm. It is so simple, indeed, that it would scarcely seem to need adapting to a true Christian heart. The eyes that we turn to God are the eyes of a child sure that it is loved, they are not the eyes of an anxious servant. Bidding us to say: ‘Father!’ Our Lord would have us think of ourselves as children. Let us sing this psalm like a child.

 124 (123) Our adversary, the devil, goes around like a roaring lion: like a man swept away by a flood, like a child in a trap. How helpless we are, how lost—except for God!

‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’ Paul asks (Rom 8:31). When we live at the limit of our smallness, the liberator of our life arises: God as helper. He sustains us. We give thanks to him.

With admiration and gratitude, the people of God remember how they overcame their trials because God was with them. An invitation to give thanks! If we have not the heart to thank God, it is because we do not know how to discover the wonders in our own lives and in the world. It is strange that in the communities of the poor and the persecuted, the prayers of thanksgiving are interminable.

 125 (124) The pilgrims admire the walls of Jerusalem—high and reinforced. It is an image of God’s protection. This prayer is for dark moments when we feel powerless in the face of injustice and organized violence, when faced with corruption and stupidity—perhaps, even in the Church. But the Church is built on a rock—rock-based and rock-girt. Our faith will be tested, but to leave this fortress is to abandon our only hope. The affectionate embrace of God to his people becomes a permanent presence of the Lord in his Church (Mt 28:20). Trusting in God, we can be sure even in the midst of conflict.

 126 (125) Israel’s drought will turn to fertility. Her own labor of sowing will achieve its harvest. ‘The field is the world’ (Mt 13:38) and the field whitens for a harvest of souls gathered to eternal life (Jn 4:35ff; Mt 13:30). But the sowing is in tears: ‘Unless the seed falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone’ (Jn 12:24ff). The seed is the Word—the Word made flesh and crucified. The tears are his, the joys ours: ‘the Lord has done great things for us!’ And yet we, too, have our crucifixion. If we want to turn suffering into hope, tears into songs, we can pray with this psalm.

 127 (126) Human anxiety offers an insult to God—and it is futile. House, food, family are all from God. Without him, one is homeless, starving, and barren. ‘Be not anxious, your Father knows you need all these things’ (Mt 6:25ff). Such early gifts, implicit objects of the psalmist prayer, are the frontier of his ambition. This Old Testament expression of trust will never lose its worth but the ambition of the New ranges wider and higher.

‘Without me, you can do nothing’ we read in John 15:5. Christians must get involved in the building of the earthly city, without leaving God out of it.

 128 (127) A fellow to the previous psalm, developing the idea of its second part. With sound instinct, it asks God, for a Jerusalem of God-fearing, happy homes. Men and women have their own part in building it—our psalm complements its predecessor’s emphasis upon God’s prevailing work. But what is Jerusalem to us? The new Jerusalem for which we pray is ‘the Church of the firstborn’ (Heb 12:23). In her, the promises of the Old Testament are fulfilled and its prayers made sublime: it is around ‘the table of the Lord’ that the Spouse of Christ seats her ever-growing family (1 Cor 10:21; Eph 5:32). Pray God for the happiness and peace of his family.

 129 (128) A field of ripe corn, a rich harvest—this is a good picture of God’s bounty to us: but the harvest is brought forth after painful plowing.

Because our brothers and sisters are still oppressed, we must pray this psalm.

 130 (129) The psalmist, aware of his people’s faithfulness, is equally sure of God’s answer to repentance (cf. Neh 1:7-9). Israel was still waiting when Simeon took the child in his arms and said: ‘My eyes have seen your salvation’ (Lk 2:30). He held the infant Son of Man, who came to give his life for the redemption of many (Mk 10:45)—‘with the Lord, fullness of redemption.’ But since this has come, how can we Christians still await it? How can we sing the psalm? Because, though called, we are not yet chosen, though heirs, we do not yet enjoy the inheritance. Out of these depths, our call must be constant and, if it is constant, it may be confident also. And there are some whose waiting is a purifying fire. This, more than any other, is their psalm.

 131 (130) A perfect expression of the childlike trust and peace which should be the attitude of the children of God! But, not one that is achieved without effort—‘I have quieted and stilled my soul’ (v. 2).

The prayer of Charles de Foucauld, “Father, I place myself in your hands,” is a beautiful paraphrase of this psalm.

 132 (131) Our Lord, our King, came to bring God to earth. For this, he labored unwarily, with sweat and even with blood. And the result of his work was not a building, a Temple; but the Church, where God really dwells, eternally.

Verse 11 is quoted in Acts 2:30; verse 5 in the speech of Stephan (cf. Acts 7:45-47). The psalm lends itself to accepting the present reality, without forgetting, that we are heirs to a holy history. We pray this psalm, in union with the Anointed One, who is at the same time, the Priest of the new Temple, built on the body of the Lord.

The psalmist in verse 17 prophesied, ‘From here a savior shall come forth, a son of David.’ And these words came true when in Luke 2:10, ‘the angel said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid: I am here to give you good news, great joy for all the people. Today a Savior has been born to you in David’s town; he is the Messiah and the Lord. Let this be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ The rest is history and for all of us, the greatest story on earth from whom we have the promise of eternal salvation.

 133 (132) A psalm with wisdom tones! It celebrates the beauty of fraternity. Fraternity is a blessing that is life and a lasting life. We Christians are brothers and sisters. Our mission is to spread the good perfume of Christ (cf. 2 Cor 2:14-15). We pray with this psalm and dream of a fraternity at home, in the community and in the whole world. We are all children of the only God and Father.

 134 (133) At times, Jesus spent the whole night in prayer. Jesus went up a hill, to pray alone. We can think of our companions who work during the night, of those who are sick and cannot sleep, so that their work, their fatigue, their sufferings, may be a song of praise to the Lord.

 135 (134) God, the living God, has cast out the prince of this world, has broken the power of the kingdom of evil, and formed for himself a holy nation, a kingdom of priests.

God shows his mercy each day, let us know his Name. That is why we can continue the blessing initiated in the Temple of Jerusalem, praying with this psalm.

The psalmist is all praise for God and encourages us to do likewise. Jesus in John 4:23 tells us to worship in spirit and truth for that is the kind of worship God wants. St. Paul tells us in Romans 12:2, ‘You must discern the will of God, what is good, what pleases, what is perfect.’ If we are true disciples of Christ, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free (Jn 8:32).

 136 (135) A ‘Te Deum’ to the master of creation who delivers the people he has chosen. Egypt felt his power, Sihon of the Transjordanian mountains, Og of the further north. By their downfall, God made Israel’s name dreaded in Canaan (Jos 2:10), the land that fell to her as her ‘inheritance.’ But military conquest was only an early stage in God’s plan, for all his world. We, who have seen the design unfold, are little moved by the psalmist’s lesser joy. ‘Inheritance of the land,’ classical formula of Israel’s ideal, was a hope gradually purified, indeed, and spiritualized by national misfortune; taken into our Lord’s hands, it was blessed and changed forever. ‘The meek shall possess the land,’ not the warlike; the Kingdom is not of this world. Nor is the conquest: Pharaoh, Og, Sihon are foes within us, for our war is with the rulers of this darkness. Our armor is the apparel of the spirit (Eph 6:12ff). Thank God for his victorious grace, and for ‘the inheritance that does not corrupt, was reserved for you in heaven’ (1 P 1:4).

This psalm must be gradually completed with the new proofs of divine love in our lives.

The psalmist encourages us to give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his kindness endures forever. And like him, St. Paul encourages us also in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 to, ‘Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks to God at every moment. This is the will of God, your vocation as Christians.’ Indeed, we as Christians particularly have to thank God for Jesus Christ who has shown us the path to eternal salvation.

 137 (136) A Christian cannot feel entirely at home in a world, where religion is just a matter of mild curiosity, or even an object of a violent attack. But we will not succumb, we will not forget what people we are; nor we will just wait passively for the end, but vigorously repel the attacks to which the Church is subject.

The passionate love for Jerusalem and the Lord is above everything. Revelation 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2; 10:21 accepts the axis of the psalm Jerusalem/Babylon to refer to the new Jerusalem and the great city symbol of evil. Does faith pain us? Do we sweat blood to keep a faithful love for the Lord? Whom do we love with all our being, even at the cost of our physical integrity? We pray with this psalm, united with all those who love God above everything.

This perhaps is one of the most difficult of all the psalms. It should be a reminder to us that evil will continue to be all around us.

 138 (137) The great God, Lord of the world and of angels, cares for us, constantly surpassing what we could expect from him.

The one who prays does not know how his own future will be. He is certain, however, that if the dangers are great, the hand of God is saving and his love is eternal. God cannot forsake the work of his hands. Thanksgiving has a future.

The psalmist thanks God repeatedly for answering his prayers. Indeed, our prayers will be answered because Jesus told us so. Jesus even taught us how to pray (Mt 6:9), and told us to ask and we will receive (Mt 7:7) and whatever we ask in prayer full of faith, you will receive (Mt 21:22).

 139 (138) This wisdom meditation about the knowledge and the presence of God, perhaps, had its beginning in the face of the pressure of evildoers (19-22); someone has been unjustly accused, perhaps as idolatrous, and he appeals to God. In this environment, he composes his poem.

Our thoughts may sweep and soar over the world, over the bewildering profusion of the galaxies, and know that God is there, wherever our mind’s eye look—and that he is also in the depths of our own soul.

The human architecture is so divine that it carries the imprint of God. The adventures of this wonderful work of God, which is the human being, are affectionately cared for by divine care (v. 16). Isn’t it irrational for anyone to hate the Lord, since, all good things come from him? The ways of God are unsearchable; his wisdom is an abyss (cf. Rom 11:33). God gets close to us and embraces us, not to condemn us, but to guide our feet toward his love. If we want to taste divine love and appreciate the dignity of man, it will do us good, to pray with this magnificent psalm.

In the closing verse 24, the psalmist wants to be led to eternal life. Fortunately for us, Jesus tells us, ‘Whoever believes has eternal life’ (Jn 6:47) and again, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me’ (Jn 14:6).

 140 (139) The life of people on earth is warfare; there can be no truce between our Lord and the prince of darkness, and people must take sides. Here, we take our side, knowing that the battle is bitter but the victory certain.

There are victims because there still are executors. In praying with this psalm, we listen to the clamor of persecuted believers, who still have the strength to say: ‘You are my God.’

The psalmist in the last verse rightly says, ‘The just will praise your name, the upright shall dwell in your presence.’ Jesus has told us in John 14:3, ‘After I have gone and prepared a place for you, I shall come again and take you to me, so that where I am, you may also be.’ Indeed, if only we live a righteous life and follow Jesus’ simple commandments on love, we will forever live in God’s presence.

 141 (140) As each day ends, what have we to bring to God? Only our weariness with the struggle; our dismay that it must continue; and our prayer that we may persevere!

‘Let my prayer rise to you like incense…’ are the words of the psalmist. If we too pray sincerely, our prayers will rise to heaven. In fact, in Matthew 6:6, Jesus tells us, ‘When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is with you in secret; and your Father who sees what is kept in secret will reward you.’ And in John 15:16 Jesus says, ‘And everything you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.’

We can pray with this psalm when we see the evil surrounding us and we wouldn´t want to sin or hurt anyone with our words. With this psalm, we ask God to deliver us from evil.

 142 (141) The feeling of failure comes to everyone, at some time: the feeling of desolation when things go wrong, when friends fail, when every escape route seems barred and we have nowhere to turn, except in on ourselves: but, it is then, that we find that there is always God, who knows and cares. This psalm applies to the passion of Christ and St. Francis of Assisi prayed it when he was dying.

Jesus declares himself to be ‘the Way’ (Jn 14:6), leading to the land of the living (cf. Jn 14:2). We pray with this psalm, in union with those who are on the way and also with those who feel exhausted because of the difficulties of the journey.

Many of us will at some time or the other, feel as desperate as the psalmist is with no one to turn too for help. It is in this situation that he turns to the only source of inspiration and help and that is to our Heavenly Father. Even Jesus went through this very agonizing situation during His passion and He called to His Father.

 143 (142) We do not always find it possible to connect a particular suffering with a specific sin, but human suffering is indeed the mark of our estrangement from God, and in our sorrow we become aware of that gulf and of our desperate need of him.

The relationship between sovereign and servant is at work in this individual supplication. There is a relationship of love or loyalty between them. The title Servant sounds very well in Jesus’ lips. As for ourselves, may God not sue us, since, despite our unfaithfulness, God remains faithful (cf. 2 Tim 2:13). When praying with this psalm, we realize, not only our own unfaithfulness but also the faithfulness of God: despite everything, in the morning, he will show us his love.

‘Show me the way I should walk…’ says the psalmist in verse 8. His prayers were answered as God came down as Jesus and tells us in John 14:6, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me.’

 144 (143) Our Lord, the son of man, shared our weakness, shared our struggle; but in doing so, he showed us that God’s strength shows itself most clearly in our weakness, bringing us joy and salvation.

The new heavens and the new earth take us beyond the psalm (cf. Rev 21:1-4; 2 P 3:13; Rom 8:19-23). The people of God, who expect the new kingdom, are being formed in the womb of history. It would be good for us not to forget exemplary lives; they will give us courage. Above all, it would be good for us to place our eyes on the Lord, who is the initiator and fulfiller of our faith.

It seems like God answered the psalmist’s prayer in verse 5 when he says, ‘Bend your heavens, O Lord, and come down.’ For in John 1:1, ‘In the beginning was the Word’ and in John 1:14, ‘And the Word was made flesh.’ Then, in Luke 2:12 an angel of the Lord said, ‘Today a Savior has been born to you in David’s town; he is the Messiah and the Lord.’ Jesus showed us the way. He taught us to pray. He has taught us to love. He has guided us through the narrow path. In short, if only we have faith and believe, we will be with Him one day, in heaven.

 145 (144) When we reflect on what God has done for us, we remember that this is what God has always done; our lives are borne along on the unending stream of divine love. To the eternal God, eternal praise be given.

The central place of the ‘reign of God’ unites this psalm with the core of Jesus’ preaching of ‘the Kingdom of God’ (cf. Mk 1:13-14) that must continue to grow in our society. That is why, it is necessary to pray with this psalm while we pray: ‘Your kingdom come.’

The psalmist is all praise for God as indeed, we too, should be. He extols God’s love and mercy and even how he saves those who cry for his help. In verse 19 he says, ‘He fulfills the wish of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.’ Did Jesus not do just that? In Luke 23:42, one of the criminals said to Jesus, ‘Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And Jesus in verse 43 replied, ‘In truth I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’ Therefore, all we have to do is ask believing that He will grant it to us and we will receive all that we ask for.

 146 (145) The Almighty God is at our service: the All-Mighty, the only mighty; we cannot take out a second insurance—we must rely on him only, cast all our cares on the Lord, for he cares for us.

God shows the faithfulness of his love, for all those who are weak and inclined to seek their salvation in the powerful. Also, for those who are in a situation of a disadvantage because of others (oppressed, hungry, or captive) or because of illness (blind or fainting) or because of other circumstances of life (migrants, orphans, and widows) benefit from the loving faithfulness of God. The programmatic discourse of Jesus, in the synagogue of Nazareth: ‘He has sent me to give Good News to the poor, to announce freedom to prisoners…’ (cf. Lk 4:17-22), updates the theme of this psalm. Human projects could be ambitious and challenging; they will not annul the divine project, however. If we trust totally in God, if we truly believe in Him, we can pray with this psalm. God is the one who liberates the poor. The more we are convinced of this, the more shall we try to share the Lord’s thoughts, placing our lives at the service of the marginalized, the hungry and the humiliated.

 147 (146-147) God knows each of the myriad stars, not a sparrow falls, without his knowing, the hairs of our head are numbered. He does not want us, to try to rival him in power, but simply to wait on his love for us. The second part of this psalm is a praise of God’s personal care for Israel. In the beginning was the Word, creating all things, and even upsetting things—like changing running water to solid ice, or making snow fall in the hot land of Palestine! And he can change us too: the Word of God, Jesus Christ, shows us God’s will; he is the Way, leading us from misery to peace and happiness.

Our God fills the distance between the order of the universe and the life of each one of us. He calls the stars by name and helps the humble. He is intimately near to each one of his children, but he comes to them through the reality—so humanly deceiving in many cases—of his Church.

The Jews marveled at the transformation of water into ice: how could God so transform the elements? In the same way, we marvel when suddenly God melts situations in our world that seemed permanently solidified.

From this psalm, we can turn to the Johannine hymn (Jn 1:1-14) and from this, return to the psalm. We are the people of God on pilgrimage on this earth and gathered in the Church. We pray with this thanksgiving psalm because it is right and necessary, to give unceasing thanks to God through Jesus.

 148 The whole of creation resounds with the praise of God; the music begins in heaven, and from there passes down to earth and goes around the whole world. But, at the center of it all, are the people of God. For they are the beginning of a new creation, and through them, the whole world is to be recreated, to the greater glory of God.

The whole of creation (heavens, earth, and abyss) must bend the knee and praise the ‘Name above any other name’ (Phil 2:9-10). To pray with this psalm, we need to have an ecumenical heart, where everything and everyone finds room. From heaven and from earth, there will be praise to God, in an only polyphonic choir.

 149 We join in the song of victory, the triumph of God, the crushing of the serpent’s head; for we have our part in the victorious struggle, wearing the armor of God, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit.

The ‘loyal ones’ express their devotion in a rigorous way. They oppose the unjust violent person, with a just violent person. They execute the sentence dictated by God and that is their honor. Their religious enthusiasm and their faith in God the creator is valid for us because the Gospel asks of us not to respond to violence with the violence of the sword (Mt 26:52-54). Our battle must be ‘against the spirits and supernatural forces of evil’ (Eph 6:12). Evil and sin in our world are an affront to our Creator; the pain of the humble is the pain of the Lord. We pray with this psalm, in union with all those who are hungry and thirsty for justice. They are blessed.

 150 The psalms have shown us prayers of petition, lament, instruction, warning, and exhortation: but above all and in all, they are praises of God. This praise will absorb, more and more, our being, absorb every being, in a final diapason.

The last word of everything, created and redeemed, is this: ‘Alleluia!’ We have entered into an eternal celebration, into eternal joy. This psalm refers us to Revelation 19:1-10, and to the triumphal songs in heaven. Our community, our people, anticipates the heavenly ‘Alleluia’ when they sing the praise of God on this earth.