I Will Praise You Among the Peoples, O Lord

The second part of Psalm 57 is the great turn: from the plea and fear of the first part, David hunted in the cave, into a burst of praise, joy, and confidence. The same man who cried "Have mercy on me, O God" now finds a steadfast heart and breaks into song before all the peoples. It is one of the most beautiful transitions in Psalms: from distress to melody.

The psalm opens and closes with the same cry: "Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be over all the earth." In between, David tells how his enemies dug a pit for him and fell into it themselves, and how out of that deliverance his heart fills with song. He even calls to awaken his soul, the harp and lyre, and the dawn itself, toward a song of thanksgiving.

The central verse of the psalm, chosen as the song title, is:

"I will praise You among the peoples, O Lord; I will sing to You among the nations"

That is: I will give thanks not in secret but openly, among all the peoples and nations. David's praise is not private; he wants the whole world to recognize the goodness of God. And it flows from a simple truth: His mercy is great unto the heavens, and His truth unto the clouds.

This is the heart of this part: one who has passed through the darkest night and found that God saved him cannot stay silent. Joy demands expression, and that expression is song, which invites everyone around to join in and praise.

This song is part of the larger journey of the project: with God's help, to compose and sing the entire Book of Psalms in a diverse, emotional, Jewish, and uplifting musical language.