It has been set to music, including works by William Byrd in Latin, Heinrich Schütz in German, and Artemy Vedel in Ukrainian.

The psalm has been described as a communal lament complaining that the nations have defiled the Temple in Jerusalem and murdered the holy people, leaving their corpses unburied (verses 1–4).

[6] The book 1 Maccabees directly quotes the Psalm in chapter 7, comparing the death of the Hasideans to the faithful ones slain near Jerusalem with none to bury them.

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the morning of the sixteenth day of the month.

Artemy Vedel composed a choral concerto based on the psalm, Bozhe, priidosha iazytsy v dostoianie Tvoe.