PSALTERIVM

PSALMVS LXVI — DEVS MISEREATVR

May God Have Mercy on Us

Deus misereatur nostri is a brief blessing psalm with missionary vision, praying that God's saving power be known among all nations. Its structure as a blessing recalls the Aaronic benediction of Numbers 6. In the 1962 Breviary it appears at Lauds. The phrase 'that thy way may be known upon earth' expresses the universal scope of redemption.

LATINE
Deus misereatur nostri, et benedicat nobis: illuminet vultum suum super nos, et misereatur nostri.
Ut cognoscamus in terra viam tuam: in omnibus gentibus salutare tuum.
Confiteantur tibi populi, Deus: confiteantur tibi populi omnes.
Laetentur et exsultent gentes: quoniam iudicas populos in aequitate, et gentes in terra dirigis.
Confiteantur tibi populi, Deus, confiteantur tibi populi omnes:
Terra dedit fructum suum.
Benedicat nos Deus, Deus noster, benedicat nos Deus: et metuant eum omnes fines terrae.
ENGLISH
May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.
That we may know thy way upon earth: thy salvation in all nations.
Let people confess to thee, O God: let all people give praise to thee.
Let the nations be glad and rejoice: for thou judgest the people with justice, and directest the nations upon earth.
Let the people, O God, confess to thee: let all the people give praise to thee:
The earth hath yielded her fruit.
May God, our God bless us, may God bless us: and all the ends of the earth fear him.
NOTA
FONS
Douay-Rheims (1609) / Vulgata
USUS
Grace after meals, Blessing, Compline
CONTEXT
Psalm 67 in Hebrew numbering. Echoes the priestly blessing of Numbers 6:24-26. Used as grace after meals in monastic tradition.