Psalm 56 (55):13Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Make a commitment and offer it to the Lord your God. What sort of commitment or offering is meant here? Is it the animals that were once offered on the altars? You present nothing like that; within you lies what you can vow and fulfill. From the depths of your heart, extract the fragrant incense of adoration; from the reservoir of a clear conscience, bring forth the offering of faith. Whatever you create, ignite it with love. Declare intentions within yourselves that allow you to honor God. What honor? For what has He granted to you? For You have saved my soul from death.

In light of Your gracious act of creation and salvation, what else can we present to You except offerings of our heartfelt praise?

With thankfulness, the Prophet declares that he will carry out his commitments to You, for he refers to prayers as pledges made to God. Similarly, it is stated elsewhere, I will return to You the prayers that my mouth has expressed, and the words that I have spoken during my distress (Psalms 65:13-14).

In my recollection, O Lord, are the commitments I have made regarding your honor, which I have not overlooked. I will enact these vows; for David pledged to honor and exalt his Gracious God for rescuing his life from peril.

In these statements, he assures that he will present to God the praises vowed during times of distress, indicating that they are cherished in his thoughts and deeply held in his heart, and expressing his commitment to fulfill them with utmost care.

This psalm should be sung in honor of Christ, who fulfills the law and reflects the boundless magnificence of His divine nature. It is relevant for those who have faced exile during the times of Saul and David, or captivity in Babylon, as well as for those who, in this earthly existence, feel distant from the sacred sites of the heavenly Jerusalem. The power of this psalm, inspired by the Holy Spirit and written by David, deserves to be inscribed on a pillar or a heart for lasting remembrance, celebrating God's infinite mercy towards humanity. The writing of the title on the Pillar of the Cross signifies this truth, highlighting the estrangement of those who have sinned against God's holy commandments.