Sing a New Psalm:
Communicating with God Through
the Prayers of the Church
Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline
Lesson 10 In the Shelter of God’s Wings
Psalm 58 (RSVCE), Psalm 61 (RSVCE), and Psalm 64 (RSVCE)
Thursday Day Prayer (Week I)
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition*
New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)*
Catechism of the Catholic Church
ex libris (in our library)
glossary for Volume II of Sing a New Psalm
next lesson: The Suffering Servant
This material coordinates with Lesson 10, “In the Shelter of God’s Wings,” on pages 40–42 in Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline. Our Catholic Bible study is based on
The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, a translation of the psalms prepared by the monks at Conception Abbey in 2010 and first published as The Revised Grail Psalms. The Abbey Psalms and Canticles is a revision of that work, finished in 2020 and now owned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Wording and numbering of some psalms and verses in other translations may differ. The Abbey Psalms and Canticles is being added to Liturgy of the Hours books used in the United States. While the Turning to God’s Word study book is based on The Abbey Psalms and Canticles translation, all online links to the psalms are to the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation. A separate copy of The Abbey Psalms and Canticles is needed to read the translation on which the psalms in this study are based.
“Unlike other prayers in sacred Scripture, the prayers contained in the psalms are not inserted into a narrative story that specifies their meaning and function. Instead, the psalms are given to the believer precisely as a text of prayer. Since they are the Word of God, the believer who prays the psalms speaks to God using the very words that God himself has given to us. Thus, in praying the psalms we learn to pray. The psalms are a school of prayer.”—Pope Benedict XVI
welcome to our continuing in-depth study of the psalms
We invite groups and individuals to check out the sample Introduction and Lesson 1 from this 29-
lesson Turning to 
God’s Word Catholic Bible study. Our online study pages include additional questions, commentary, and prayers based on the psalm texts, plus an online glossary. Both Volume I and Volume II of Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church have been granted imprimaturs. A digital version of Volume I: Lauds & Vespers can be purchased from our website shop. Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline is available in hard copy. If you have a Bible-related question or comment, click on one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons on any online study page.
open with prayer
It’s always wise to begin any Bible study with prayer, whether reading the Scriptures alone or meeting with others in a discussion study group. You can pray using your own words, pray one of the psalms in this lesson, or use one of the opening prayers on our website. We especially like the following:
Lord Jesus, you promised to send your Holy Spirit
to teach us all things.
As we read and study your word today,
allow it to touch our hearts and change our lives. Amen.
think about praying Compline every night
In addition to the sample for this Bible study, Turning to God’s Word is providing a copy of Lesson 29 In Peace I Will Lie Down, which addresses the nightly Compline prayers based on Psalm 91, Psalm 4, and Psalm 134. The monks at Conception Abbey pray these short psalms each evening—Psalm 91 on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday; Psalm 4 and Psalm 134 on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.
about the psalms in this lesson**
All three psalms prayed for Thursday Day Prayer Week I at Conception Abbey are laments attributed to David. Psalm 58 is classified as a communal lament, while Psalm 61 and Psalm 64 both are classified as individual or personal laments.
classifying the psalms
The classification of the psalms, though somewhat standardized, retains an arbitrary nature. Some psalms are classified according to form or type; such forms include the hymn, the lament, and the song of thanksgiving. Psalms also may be classified according to subject matter—royal psalms, for instance, portray the political king of the descendants of Jacob as both the representative of God to the community and the representative of the community to God—or they may be classified according to their use; scholars generally think that hymns exalting Zion were part of a ritual reenactment of the great deeds of God in maintaining Mount Zion and Jerusalem as a home base. Turning to God’s Word is indebted to Fr. Felix Just, a Jesuit priest and biblical scholar, for his organized listing of the psalms by classification and author.
the largest number of psalms are laments
Forty-three of the psalms, including Psalm 61 and Psalm 64 in this lesson, are classified as individual laments. The word “lament” means “a passionate expression of regret.” An additional 18 psalms are classified as communal laments—including Psalm 58 in this lesson—which means they were written to be used by an entire community. Refer to the above-mentioned work of Fr. Felix Just for a complete online listing of psalms classified as individual or communal laments.
what is a lament?
Because the word “lament” as a verb means to wail, moan, or sob in sorrow, when the same word “lament” is used as a noun it means an expression of mourning. It is this meaning that the word holds in the psalms in this lesson. In addition to the laments in the psalms, Scripture also includes a book called Lamentations (sometimes referred to as the Lamentations of Jeremiah, although many scholars contest the prophet Jeremiah’s authorship of that work). A lament frequently refers to a funeral dirge, elegy, or burial hymn.
one of several psalms omitted from Liturgy of the Hours books
A difficulty for Christians who wish to incorporate the psalms into their prayers is that in some of these ancient hymns the Psalmists blatantly curse their enemies and ask the LORD to deal harshly with those enemies. This is disturbing enough that the editors compiling the four-week Liturgy of the Hours books chose to leave out a few problematic verses—in the case of the psalms included in this lesson (Thursday Day Prayer Week I prayed by the monks at Conception Abbey), Psalm 58 is omitted entirely. Consider why the editors of Liturgy of the Hours books might have felt that this entire psalm should be excluded.
all omissions are noted in this study
Only two other psalms are completely omitted from the current four-week Liturgy of the Hours books, and all three psalms are in Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline. Psalm 83 is included in Lesson 19 Like an Owl Among the Ruins and Psalm 109 is included in Lesson 27 God Has Kept an Account. The four-week Liturgy of the Hours books also omit verses from 20 other psalms; all of which are addressed in Volume I and Volume II. For a complete list, click on this link, which includes a comparison of the two-week cursus (schedule) used at Conception Abbey and in both volumes of our study with the four-week Roman cursus followed by current Liturgy of the Hours books.
how do these three psalms reflect David’s idea of kingship?
Lesson 8 O That I Had Wings Like a Dove looks at Psalm 54 to examine how David having a heart like God’s own affects his approach to being king. In the laments composed by David for this lesson (Lesson 10), we see evidence of some of the difficulties David has been facing, and we also see evidence of why God chose him as the earthly ruler of the descendants of Jacob. That David has enemies is clear from these psalms, and it’s clear that David would like the LORD to deal with them.
For Christians, things are less clear. Psalm 58, Psalm 61, and Psalm 64 point ahead to the New Testament idea of treating our enemies with love. Nothing in the Old Testament—even Psalm 58, which appears to have been excluded from Liturgy of the Hours books because of its cursing and implicit approval of vengeance—suggests that God endorses human vengeance. Although men and women may think it would be cool for the LORD to enact vengeance on those who are doing evil, God has his own ideas about vengeance. The LORD is not opposed to using vengeance for his own purposes, but it’s purely accidental when those purposes align with human desires to “get even.”
what changes in the New Testament
In the Gospel According to Matthew 5:44, Jesus leaves little doubt about the way Christians are to respond to persecution: “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you….” The reason that Jesus teaches this is equally clear in the next verse: “…so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” In the Gospel According to Luke 6:28, Jesus urges his followers: “… bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Jesus’ instructions are in keeping with what he teaches in the Gospel According to John 13:34: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
Peter and Paul both echo Jesus’ words. The First Letter of Peter 3:9 includes this instruction: “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” And in the Letter of Paul to the Romans 12:14, Paul advises early Christians: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” In case there’s any doubt about what Paul means, in his Letter to the Romans 12:17, he writes: “Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.”
evil—you could look it up in our archives
In Psalm 64, David bemoans the presence of those who do evil and engage in evil plots. To learn more about the meaning of evil, read Lost in Translation, an online column in which Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps helps readers connect with ideas expressed in the original languages of the Scriptures. New Lost in Translation entries are posted on Mondays, and past entries are archived on our website. Contact us if you’d like to receive Lost in Translation by email every week.
In the archived Lost in Translation, Matthew points out that in the New Testament, Jesus contrasts good and evil treasures, a contrast made more interesting because one of the Greek words chosen isn’t what might be expected. The Greek word translated as “good” in the Gospel According to Matthew 12:34–35 is ἀγαθός (agathos). As expected, this Greek adjective does indeed mean “good.” The word translated as “evil” or “wicked” is the Greek word πονηρός (poneros), which is not the standard Greek opposite of agathos. The root concept of poneros is “being oppressed by toils” and takes a negative connotation that suggests being useless or worthless.
? Why do you think “worthless” is the concept suggested here as the opposite of “good” in the passage from the Gospel According to Matthew?
? What does this contrast imply about what was treasured by the people that Jesus was addressing?
? How does the link between evil and worthlessness affect your thinking about those who do evil and who hold firm to an evil course in Psalm 64?
read the Catechism—what is this heritage?
In The Abbey Psalms and Canticles translation of Psalm 61:6 (Psalm 61:5 in Revised Standard Version Catholic Editions) David claims that God has given him the heritage of those who fear God’s name. It’s 
worth considering what this heritage might be. Paragraph 2009 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church clarifies that such an inheritance is a gift from God. For more information, read the commentary “The Heritage of Those Who Fear God’s Name” on page 41 in the study book.
2009 Filial adoption, in making us partakers by grace in the divine nature, can bestow true merit on us as a result of God’s gratuitous justice. This is our right by grace, the full right of love, making us “co-heirs” with Christ and worthy of obtaining “the promised inheritance of eternal life.” The merits of our good works are gifts of the divine goodness. “Grace has gone before us; now we are given what is due. … Our merits are God’s gifts.”
two translation differences in one verse
The Abbey Psalms and Canticles translates Psalm 58:2 (Psalm 58:1 in Revised Standard Version Catholic Editions): “Do you truly decree what is right, you who hold divine power? Do you judge rightly the children of Adam?” The Revised Grail Psalms translates the same passage: “Do you truly speak justice, you who hold divine power? Do you mete out fair judgment to the sons of men?” Why might editors at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have suggested these changes? Consider which change has the most impact on the meaning of the verse? (Note that it is not possible to link to either The Abbey Psalms and Canticles or The Revised Grail Psalms; all links on the online pages are to the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE].)
three related translation differences
The Abbey Psalms and Canticles translates Psalm 58:11 (Psalm 58:10 in Revised Standard Version Catholic Editions): “The righteous shall rejoice at the sight of vengeance; they shall bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.” The Revised Grail Psalms translates the same passage: “The just shall rejoice at the sight of vengeance; they shall bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.” The Abbey Psalms and Canticles translates Psalm 58:12 (Psalm 58:11 in Revised Standard Version Catholic Editions): “People shall say: ‘Truly, the righteous are rewarded. Truly there is a God who judges on earth.’” The Revised Grail Psalms translates the same passage: “People shall say: ‘Truly, there is reward for the upright. Truly there is a God who judges justly on earth.’” Consider which change has the most impact on the meaning of these two verses.
a translation difference: are saying vs. say
The Abbey Psalms and Canticles translates Psalm 64:6 (Psalm 64:5 in Revised Standard Version Catholic Editions): “…They are saying, ‘Who will see us?’” The Revised Grail Psalms translates the same passage: “…They say, ‘Who will see us?’” While there is a grammatical difference between “are saying” and “say,” it’s relatively slight. and the change is not likely to be noticeable to many people praying Psalm 64.
and a word deletion
The Abbey Psalms and Canticles translates Psalm 64:9 (Psalm 64:8 in Revised Standard Version Catholic Editions): “Their own tongue brings them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads.” The Revised Grail Psalms translates the same passage: “Their own tongue brings them to ruin; all who see them shake their heads.” While there is a grammatical difference between “will shake” and “shake,” it’s relatively slight, and the change is not likely to be noticeable to many people praying Psalm 64.
the best Catholic commentary about Scripture
To find out more about how Church teaching is supported by passages in Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, check out the Index of Citations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Links to the primary Scripture passages in the lesson (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE*]) and relevant paragraphs in the Catechism are provided here. Not every passage in the biblical text for this study is referenced in a Catechism paragraph, however, including the three hymns in this lesson: Psalm 58, Psalm 61, and Psalm 64 in this lesson.
ways our glossary might prove helpful
In addition to providing extra information about geographical locations, our glossary also points out 
persons or places mentioned in the biblical text under more than one name or more than one spelling. If you can remember a name but aren’t sure in which lesson it shows up, you can find it in the glossary, which lists every proper noun that appears in the biblical text for every lesson in Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline.
don’t forget about our indexes & extra online material
If you’re trying to locate information about a passage in Scripture, you can look it up in the index at the back of the study book. If you want to revisit a particular commentary, you can look that up by title in the topics index. If you want to learn more about another book of the Bible for which there’s a Turning to God’s Word study, you can read the online commentaries and watch any accompanying videos by going to the online study directories. Finally, if you have a question or would like to make a comment about any of our studies, you can use one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons to email our authors.
ex libris—Church documents & books about religious topics
You can find links to magisterial documents referred to in Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible studies 
at ex libris—magisterial documents. This page includes a listing of significant recent encyclicals as well as a number of historical Church documents. Recommended books related to Scripture study can be found at ex libris—main bookshelf.
wondering how to pronounce some of these words?
The following links are to readings from the New International Version (NIV) Bible. To listen, open one of the links and click on the audio icon above the printed text. Although not taken from the translations used in our study materials, the NIV readings provide an audio guide to pronunciation of words in this lesson’s primary biblical texts. An online version of the translation of the Bible used in Catholic liturgy in the United States as well as an audio guide for daily Mass readings for the current three months can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Psalm 58 (NIV)
Psalm 61 (NIV)
Psalm 64 (NIV)
close with a psalms-based prayer for Thursday Day Prayer (Week I)
Many of our Catholic study groups like to conclude their discussions with a prayer based on the scriptural focus of their lesson. If you’re uncomfortable composing your own Bible-based prayers, you can follow our four easy steps. If you prefer, you can pray any of the psalms in this lesson, or you can use the following short prayer.
O God, you provide shelter to all who call on you in sincerity.
Grant that we may trust in your mercy to save us from evil,
both the evil committed by others
as well as evil we do ourselves.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ,
who never committed or endorsed any act of evil. Amen.
Lesson 11 The Suffering Servant, Friday Vigils (Week I)—Psalm 67 (the Invitatiory), Psalm 22 and Psalm 69
Lesson 9 From the Grave, Who Can Give You Praise? Thursday Vigils (Week I)—Psalm 100 (the Invitatory), Psalm 6, Psalm 7, and Psalm 18
you also may like our study of the book of Exodus
You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus, a 28-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, provides an in-depth look at how significant events in biblical history that occurred thousands of years ago to descendants of Jacob remain relevant and even critical for present-day Christians to understand. The deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and the giving of Ten Commandments are examined along with the development of Moses’ relationship to God. Click here to view a sample of the first lesson.
start a Turning to God’s Word Bible study
Thank you for your interest in Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II. 
Information about beginning a Turning to God’s Word Bible study can be found at start a Bible study. Tami, Matthew, and I are available to answer questions. Contact us if you’d like to start one of our studies or have your schedule listed with other TtGW study groups on our website. —Jennifer
*There are seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament—Baruch, Judith, Sirach, Tobit, Wisdom, and First and Second Maccabees—and there are some deuterocanonical passages in the Books of Daniel and Esther. Protestants usually refer to these works as “apocryphal,” a word that means “outside the (Protestant) canon” because they’re excluded from most Protestant Bibles. Deuterocanonical means “second canon”; Catholics use that word to refer to any section of the Catholic Old Testament for which there are no extant, or existing, Hebrew manuscripts. All of the deuterocanonical books appear in the Septuagint, the earliest remaining versions of which date to the 1st century B.C. This Greek translation of the Old Testament was in common use by Jews at the time of Jesus. Learn more by reading How Do Catholic & Protestant Bibles Differ?
**You can learn more about the psalms by viewing a sample lesson from the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church. The first volume covers psalms prayed at Lauds and Vespers; the second covers psalms prayed at Vigils, Day Prayer, and Compline. Numbering of psalms and verses may vary in other translations.
Turning to God’s Word printed Bible studies use the 2006 Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE) translation for all Scripture references except those to the psalms, which are taken from The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and published in 2020 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). All Scripture links for the online study pages for Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline are to the 1966 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation. The New International Version (NIV) audio recordings follow the same chapter and verse numbering as the RSV Catholic translations, but the NIV translation doesn’t include the deuterocanonical books and passages.
The 1966 RSVCE uses archaic pronouns and verb forms such as “thee,” “thou,” and “didst” in the psalms and in direct quotations attributed to God. The 2006 RSV2CE replaces these with more accessible English. The few significant translation changes in the RSV2CE include rendering almah as “virgin” in the Book of Isaiah 7:14 and restoring the term “begotten” in the Gospel According to John 3:16.
Numbering for some passages in this Bible study will vary. Turning to God’s Word studies (print and digital) follow the numbering in the Revised Standard Version Catholic translations (RSV2CE and RSVCE). Discrepancies in the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) are noted in the Index of Scripture Citations in the study book.