Psalter Hymnal (Gray) ‎#54

54. By Your Name, O God, Now Save Me

Text Information

• First Line: By your name, O God, now save me
• Title: By Your Name, O God, Now Save Me
• Reviser: Helen Otte (1985)
• Meter: 87 87 D
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1987
• Scripture:
  Psalm 54
• Topic: Deliverance; Afflictions
• Source: Versification The Book of Psalms for Singing, 1975
• Copyright: © 1987, CRC Publications

Tune Information

• Name: ENGADINE
• Meter: 87 87 D
• Key: d minor
• Source: Frizzoni's Canzuns Spirituaelas, 1765

Text Information:

A prayer for rescue, with confidence that God will save.

Scripture References:
st. 1 = vv. 1-3
st. 2 = vv. 4-7

Though very short, this psalm is a classic example of a psalm prayer. It contains the most common elements of these prayers: an initial appeal for God to hear and save (w. 1-2); an indication of distress and an indictment of the ruthless strangers who attack "without regard for God" (v. 3); a confession of confidence that God will help (v. 4); a call for God to deal as a judge with the attackers (v. 5); and a vow to praise God for his deliverance (w. 6-7). The versification is a 1985 revision by Helen Otte (PHH 17) of the text published in The Book of Psalms for Singing (1973).

Liturgical Use:
Ref1ection upon the church's or the individual's trust in God.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

ENGADINE was included in Frizzoni's Canzuns Spirituaelas (1765); the tune is named after the valley of the Inn River in eastern Switzerland. Shaped in rounded bar form (AABA'), this Italian tune needs the sense of one broad beat per measure. The color of the four-part harmonization helps in congregational singing.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook