Psalms 55:16–19

Psalms 55:16 — "As for me, I will call on God." The Hebrew adversative particle (wa'anî, "but as for me") signals a sharp, deliberate contrast with the fate of the wicked described in the preceding verse (v. 15). Whereas the Psalmist had just called down death upon his enemies, he now pivots to define his own response: he will call (qārāʾ) upon God. The verb is weighty — it is the same word used when humanity "began to call on the name of the LORD" (Gen 4:26), and it carries the sense of invoking, summoning, even crying out in need. It is not merely private petition; it is a public act of allegiance. The Psalmist declares, in the face of his enemies' treachery, that his weapon is prayer.

Psalms 55:17 — "Evening, morning, and at noon, I will cry out in distress." The ordering — evening first, then morning, then noon — reflects the ancient Hebraic reckoning of the day beginning at sundown, a liturgical rhythm familiar from the creation narrative (Gen 1: "there was evening and there was morning"). The threefold pattern is not merely poetic; it expresses totality, a covering of the whole day. The verb śîaḥ ("I will cry out / meditate / complain") is rich: it connotes both inner groaning and outward speech, encompassing the full range of prayer from wordless anguish to articulate petition. This verse stands as one of the clearest Old Testament foundations for fixed-hour prayer — what would become the Liturgy of the Hours. The Psalmist's "distress" (ḥāmâ, lit. "I will moan / roar") is unashamed; he cries out because he trusts, not instead of trusting.

Psalms 55:18 — "He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me." Remarkably, the Psalmist shifts to the perfect tense — "He has redeemed" — before his deliverance is visibly complete. This is the Hebrew perfectum confidentiae (the "prophetic perfect"), expressing a future reality so certain that it is spoken as already accomplished. The word pādāh ("redeemed") is a technical term from Israel's legal and liturgical vocabulary: it refers to the ransom or buying-back of a person from bondage or death — the very language of the Exodus. "In peace" (beshālôm) does not mean an absence of conflict but a state of wholeness and right relationship with God, even amid the "battle" (qerāb, "close combat, hand-to-hand fighting"). The enemy is "many" (rabbîm), underscoring that this is not a minor quarrel but a coordinated assault, which makes the redemption all the more remarkable.

Psalms 55:19 — "God, who is enthroned forever." The Hebrew qedem ("of old / from eternity") reinforces that God's sovereignty is not reactive or contingent — it precedes all conflict and outlasts all enemies. The title used here, ʾĒl, is the most ancient Semitic name for God, evoking his primordial, cosmic authority. The verse continues in the original Hebrew (beyond the cluster): "because they do not change and do not fear God," implying that the enemies' very stability becomes their condemnation, while the only true stability belongs to the enthroned God. The Psalmist's confidence is thus anchored not in his own strength or even in past experience, but in the eternal, immovable nature of God himself.

Typological and Spiritual Senses: The Church Fathers, particularly St. Augustine in his Enarrationes in Psalmos, read the whole of Psalm 55 as the voice of Christ — the betrayed One who nonetheless prays for his enemies and hands himself over to the Father. Verse 18's confident "He has redeemed" thus resonates as a pre-echo of Christ's own trust on the Cross: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Lk 23:46). The threefold prayer of verse 17 prefigures Christ's threefold agony in Gethsemane, and the Church's threefold daily rhythm of prayer (Morning Prayer, Daytime Prayer, Evening Prayer) in the Liturgy of the Hours.

The Catholic tradition finds in these four verses a profound theology of prayer, liturgical time, and divine redemption that is uniquely illuminated by the Church's living Tradition.

The Liturgy of the Hours: The Second Vatican Council's Sacrosanctum Concilium (§84) teaches that the Liturgy of the Hours is "the prayer of the whole People of God," sanctifying the entire course of the day and night. Psalm 55:17's evening-morning-noon rhythm is among the most ancient scriptural warrants for this practice. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (§2698) explicitly upholds the tradition of fixed hours as a way of making prayer the "leaven" of the whole day. St. John Chrysostom and the Rule of St. Benedict both cite the threefold pattern of Psalm 55 as a basis for regular prayer, Cassian included it as foundational to monastic practice.

Redemption as Ransom: The word pādāh in verse 18 connects directly to Catholic teaching on atonement. The CCC (§601) affirms that Christ's death was a ransom for many, using the very redemption-language (lytron) that translates pādāh in the Septuagint. Pope St. John Paul II, in Redemptor Hominis (§10), speaks of redemption as the full revelation of God's fidelity — precisely what the Psalmist experiences when God rescues his soul "in peace."

The Eternal Reign of God: The title "God who is enthroned forever" anticipates the New Testament proclamation of the Kingdom. The CCC (§668) teaches that Christ, now exalted at the right hand of the Father, exercises his eternal kingship until all enemies are placed under his feet — the ultimate fulfilment of the throne language of verse 19.

For the contemporary Catholic, Psalm 55:16–19 issues a concrete and counter-cultural call: pray at fixed times, every day, even — especially — when circumstances are most hostile. The Psalmist's "evening, morning, and noon" is not a pious aspiration but a discipline forged in crisis. In an age of fragmented attention, anxious scrolling, and the collapse of interior silence, these verses invite a re-ordering of the entire day around prayer.

Practically, this might mean embracing even a simplified form of the Liturgy of the Hours — Morning Prayer upon waking, an Angelus or brief midday prayer, and Night Prayer before sleep. The Psalmist does not wait for peace before he prays; he prays his way into peace ("He has redeemed my soul in peace"). Catholics facing workplace betrayals, fractured friendships, family conflict, or spiritual dryness can claim the bold posture of verse 16: "As for me, I will call on God." Not "I will try" — but "I will call." The eternal throne of verse 19 is the unshakeable anchor when every human foundation is being undermined.