Why read Psalm 59?
Read Psalm 59 to pray for recovery after defeat or upheaval. It voices a community's distress and asks for God's help beyond what human strength can achieve.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
In the Eighth Kathisma of the Psalter, Psalm 59 awaits its reader with 13 verses of prayer rising out of a real experience. It begins with "O God, Thou hast cast us off, Thou hast..." — and from there on, everything is dialogue between man and God.
The text of Psalm 59
1. O God, Thou hast cast us off and hast destroyed us; Thou hast been angry, yet hast Thou had mercy upon us.
2. Thou hast shaken the earth and troubled it; heal the breaches thereof, for it is shaken.
3. Thou hast shown Thy people hard things; Thou hast made us to drink the wine of compunction.
4. Thou hast given a token unto them that fear Thee, that they may flee from before the bow;
5. That Thy beloved may be delivered. Save me with Thy right hand, and hear me.
6. God hath spoken in His holy place: "I will rejoice, and will divide Shechem, and will mete out the valley of tabernacles.
7. Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; and Ephraim is the strength of My head,
8. Judah is My king; Moab is the pot of My hope.
9. Unto Edom will I stretch out My shoe; the strangers have submitted themselves unto Me."
10. Who will lead me into the fortified city? Who will guide me even unto Edom?
11. Hast not Thou, O God, cast us off? And wilt not Thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?
12. Give us help from trouble, for vain is the salvation of man.
13. Through God shall we do valiantly; and He it is that shall tread down our enemies.
When Psalm 59 is read
- It belongs to the Eighth Kathisma; it may be read daily, together with the prayer rule (see the morning and the evening prayers).
- At the end of each psalm, the tradition adds: "Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen."
Neighbouring psalms
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
