Psalm 53 v 3 - On being strangers to the world, the flesh and the devil

Verse 3 of Psalm 53 states the central problem of the psalm: people the psalmist doesn’t know are seeking to harm him, ignoring all thought of God. Theodoret of Cyr paraphrased it as follows:

I need your assistance and support, 0 Lord, he is saying, harassed as I am by impious men trusting in their great power, human though it is and dependent on this belief in many gods, and longing to dispatch me to death. They presume to make this attempt against me, however, since they are ignorant of your providence, or rather they even despise it.

Quóniam aliéni insurrexérunt advérsum me, et fortes quæsiérunt ánimam meam: et non proposuérunt Deum ante conspéctum suum

For strangers have risen up against me; and the mighty have sought after my soul: and they have not set God before their eyes.

Looking at the Latin

The key vocabulary for this verse is:

alienus i m strange, not one's own; a stranger in a hostile, unfriendly sense

insurgo, surrexi, surrectum, ere 3 to rise up against, revolt against;

adversus or adversum, prep, with ace against; in the presence of, over against, before.

fortis, e, strong, mighty, patient, long-suffering

quaero, sivi, situm, ere 3,  to seek, seek after; to will, desire, think upon.

propono posui positum ere 3 to set or place before; to prefer, give preference to

ante, +acc, before,

conspectus, us, m. sight, presence;

Accordingly, a word by word rendering of the verse is:

Quóniam (for/because) aliéni (strangers) insurrexérunt (they have risen up) advérsum (against) me, et (and) fortes (the strong) quæsiérunt (they seek) ánimam (the soul) meam (mine): * et (and) non (not) proposuérunt (they have set/placed) Deum (God) ante (before) conspéctum (the sight/presence) suum (their).

A selection of English translations of the verse are set out below:

DR	For strangers have risen up against me; and the mighty have sought after my soul: and they have not set God before their eyes.
Brenton	For strangers have risen up against me, and mighty men have sought my life: they have not set God before them.
RSV	For insolent men have risen against me, ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before them.
Coverdale	For strangers are risen up against me; and tyrants, which have not God before their eyes, seek after my soul.
Knox	Scornful foes take arms against me, fierce foes that grudge me life itself, with no thought of God to check them.
Collegeville	For strangers have risen up against me, and the mighty have sought my soul; they set not God before their sight.
Grail	For proud men have risen against me, ruthless men seek my life. They have no regard for God.

Strangers or the proud and arrogant?

One of the key differences between the translations given above reflects the debate around the word alieni.

In the Scriptural story alluded to in the title of the verse, the strangers in question, the Ziphites, were Jews not gentiles, so the verse would seem not to be talking about foreigners.  

Some have argued, though, that in fact the Septuagint is a misreading of the original Hebrew, which should have been read as zedim (violent or arrogant ones), rather than zarim (strangers), and both the Pian and neo-Vulgate translations take this position.  

However, Jerome’s translation from the Hebrew, the Masoretic Text (which uses zuwr, Strong's H2114) and the Syriac all agree with the Septuagint in this case.

Vulgate	Quóniam aliéni insurrexérunt advérsum me, et fortes quæsiérunt ánimam meam: * et non proposuérunt Deum ante conspéctum suum.
Pian	Nam superbi insurrexerunt contra me, Et violenti quaesierunt vitam meam; Non proposuerunt Deum ante oculos suos.
Neo-Vulgate	Quoniam superbi insurrexerunt adversum me, et fortes quaesierunt animam meam et non proposuerunt Deum ante conspectum suum.
Jerome from the HebrewH	Quia alieni insurrexerunt adversum me, et fortes quaesierunt animam meam, et non posuerunt Deum in conspectu suo.
Septuagint	ὅτι ἀλλότριοι ἐπανέστησαν ἐ{P'} ἐμέ καὶ κραταιοὶ ἐζήτησαν τὴν ψυχήν μου οὐ προέθεντο τὸν θεὸν ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν διάψαλμα

Who are strangers to us?

In what sense then, are the Ziphites strangers to David (and Christ's betrayers to him)?

The first and most obvious meaning of stranger in this verse is simply people we don’t personally know.

David’s persecution by Saul was unjust, but he did at least know him, as St Robert Bellarmine notes:

Saul’s persecution was entirely grounded on his fears that David would, at one time come to the throne; and, therefore, sought to have his life at any risk; for though he knew him to be innocent, yet, so blinded was he by the desire of keeping the sovereignty in his own family, that he looked upon as fair and honorable, what, in reality, was the height of injustice..

What though is the motivation of the Ziphites?  St Thomas Aquinas suggests three: their inherent dispositions and desires, or what St Cassiodorus describes as the malevolence of their deranged minds; a desire for and trust in secular power wealth; and a contempt for God.

But the verse is applicable to Judas too, the Fathers argued, because we become strangers to God when we reject him through our action: strangers, St Cassiodorus argues, means ‘those who have become foreign to the Lord through their works’.

The problem of practical atheism

Although the title to the psalm talks specifically about individuals who betrayed David (and hence Christ), the Fathers also interpreted strangers to refer to the temptations that also assail us all, such as a desire for wealth, pleasure and power.

St Augustine, for example, warned that the mighty men who seek our souls can take the form of the world, the flesh and devil, and that by succumbing to these sources of temptation, we can become strangers to Christ.

Interestingly, the psalm’s reference to those who act as if God doesn’t exist is also a key theme that runs through the Benedictine version of Prime.

Many of the psalms St Benedict sets for Prime (Ps 1-2, 6-19) mirror the opening verses of Psalms 53’s plea for God to hear our prayer and vindicate the speaker; many are pleas for help in the face of persecution by enemies.  

And the proud, and arrogant who act as if God does not exist are the key target of the psalmists woes in this group of psalms.

On Monday for example, St Benedict sets Psalm 2, which deals with the kings of the earth – usually interpreted as Herod and the Jewish leaders – conspiring against Christ; on Wednesday, the section of Psalm 9 set for the hour uses almost the same words as Psalm 53 (Non est Deus in conspectus eius) to complain of the sinner who oppresses the poor seemingly without fear of consequences; and on Thursday Psalm 13 opens with the verse, The fool says in his heart, there is no God’.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, in carminibus. Intellectus David, 2 cum venissent Ziphæi, et dixissent ad Saul : Nonne David absconditus est apud nos?	Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David. 2 When the men of Ziph had come and said to Saul: Is not David hidden with us?
1 Deus, in nómine tuo salvum me fac: * et in virtúte tua júdica me.	3 Save me, O God, by your name, and judge me in your strength.
2  Deus, exáudi oratiónem meam: * áuribus pércipe verba oris mei.	4 O God, hear my prayer: give ear to the words of my mouth.
3  Quóniam aliéni insurrexérunt advérsum me, et fortes quæsiérunt ánimam meam: * et non proposuérunt Deum ante conspéctum suum.	5 For strangers have risen up against me; and the mighty have sought after my soul: and they have not set God before their eyes.
4 Ecce enim Deus ádjuvat me: * et Dóminus suscéptor est ánimæ meæ.	6 For behold God is my helper: and the Lord is the protector of my soul.
5  Avérte mala inimícis meis: * et in veritáte tua dispérde illos.	7 Turn back the evils upon my enemies; and cut them off in your truth.
6  Voluntárie sacrificábo tibi, * et confitébor nómini tuo, Dómine: quóniam bonum est :	8 I will freely sacrifice to you, and will give praise, O God, to your name: because it is good:
7  Quóniam ex omni tribulatióne eripuísti me: * et super inimícos meos despéxit óculus meus.	9 For you have delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye has looked down upon my enemies.

And you can find the next post in this series on Psalm 53 here.

Psalm 53 v2 - Why do we need to keep asking?

At first glance the two phrases of verse 2 of Psalm 53 seem to say the same thing, using words frequently repeated in the psalter.  

The Fathers and Theologians though, drew out several important nuances in its wording, including the distinction between making our plea, and it being heard and granted; and between mental and aural prayer.

Looking at the Latin

Deus, exáudi oratiónem meam: áuribus pércipe verba oris mei.

O God, hear my prayer: give ear to the words of my mouth.

A word by word crib for the verse is:

Deus (God, voc), exáudi (hear, 2nd sg pres imperat act) oratiónem (prayer) meam (my): áuribus (with the ears) pércipe (hear/understand) verba (the words) oris (of the mouth) mei (of me).

exaudio, ivi, itum, ire, to hear, hearken to, listen to, give heed to; to regard, answer.

oratio, onis, f. prayer, supplication

auris, is, f the ear.

percipio, cepi, ceptum, ere 3 to perceive; to take wholly, seize entirely, take possession of, seize, occupy.

[Auribus percipe, hear, hearken, give ear to. ]

verbum, i, n.,word, command, edict, also a promise; saying, speech; Law, the Eternal Son.

os, oris, n., the mouth. 

Mental vs aural prayer

St Cassiodorus sees the verse as reflecting two types of prayer, that of our mind, and the audible prayers:

…because God could hear even a silent prayer, he added: Take in the words of my mouth, so that He should hear not merely the impulse of his heart but also the words of his mouth: The expression, take in, is notable, for the correct sense of take in is that we store things in the hidden depths of the mind.

St Augustine hinted at the same point when he said:

To You may my prayer attain, driven forth and darted out from the desire of Your eternal blessings: to Your ears I send it forth, aid it that it may reach, lest it fall short in the middle of the way, and fainting as it were it fall down. 

Listening vs answering

At the very least, the verse is a plea to grant the help asked for in the previous verse.  

St Robert Bellarmine, for example, commented:

Having acknowledged the power of the Lord, he now begs of him to apply his power to himself. “O God, hear my prayer;” I know you can do anything but I pray that you may wish to do it. I, therefore, ask that you may hear the prayer I put up to you, to exercise your power in saving me. He repeats it, “Give ear to the words of my mouth;” that is, turn not away your ears, and do not despise my prayer.

But St Thomas Aquinas introduced another nuance, pointing to a distinction between whether the prayer was heard and whether it was answered:

There are two things in his prayer, namely, that which is asked for, and the petition itself. When God hears the cause that is asked for, but not however, the petition itself, this is because that which is asked for is gotten by somebody out of grace and pity; and these are given by God. But the very same petition can be made by a sinner; and thus this is not heard, since it is not acceptable to God. So, he asks precisely that his prayer or petition be fulfilled when he says: O God, hear my prayer, and that his words be heard by [His] ears, Give ear to the words of my mouth, which takes place when God accepts and approves of his words; Psalm 5: Give ear, O Lord, to my words.

Why do we need to demand that God hear us?

Both St Hilary and St Augustine note that this psalm is intended to provide a model for us, encouraging us to keep on praying even when God seems to reject our petitions.  

St Augustine pointed to the example of St Paul, who three times had his prayer for freedom from temptations rejected, being told instead, ‘My Grace suffices for you’; St Hilary pointed to the model we are given in Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The bottom line, according to St Augustine, is that we must seek to pray for the things that we need for our own good, and be open to God's prescriptions for us: 

… brethren, we admonish and exhort you in the Lord, that you ask not anything as if it were a thing settled, but that which God knows to be expedient for you. For what is expedient for you, you know not at all. Sometimes that which you think to be for you is against you, and that which you think to be against you is for you. For sick you are; do not dictate to the physician the medicines he may choose to set beside you.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, in carminibus. Intellectus David, 2 cum venissent Ziphæi, et dixissent ad Saul : Nonne David absconditus est apud nos?	Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David. 2 When the men of Ziph had come and said to Saul: Is not David hidden with us?
1 Deus, in nómine tuo salvum me fac: * et in virtúte tua júdica me.	3 Save me, O God, by your name, and judge me in your strength.
2  Deus, exáudi oratiónem meam: * áuribus pércipe verba oris mei.	4 O God, hear my prayer: give ear to the words of my mouth.
3  Quóniam aliéni insurrexérunt advérsum me, et fortes quæsiérunt ánimam meam: * et non proposuérunt Deum ante conspéctum suum.	5 For strangers have risen up against me; and the mighty have sought after my soul: and they have not set God before their eyes.
4 Ecce enim Deus ádjuvat me: * et Dóminus suscéptor est ánimæ meæ.	6 For behold God is my helper: and the Lord is the protector of my soul.
5  Avérte mala inimícis meis: * et in veritáte tua dispérde illos.	7 Turn back the evils upon my enemies; and cut them off in your truth.
6  Voluntárie sacrificábo tibi, * et confitébor nómini tuo, Dómine: quóniam bonum est :	8 I will freely sacrifice to you, and will give praise, O God, to your name: because it is good:
7  Quóniam ex omni tribulatióne eripuísti me: * et super inimícos meos despéxit óculus meus.	9 For you have delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye has looked down upon my enemies.

And for the next part in this series, continue on here.

Psalm 53 v 1 - The vindication of Christ

Bibliotheca Bodmeriana C 74 -
St. Cecilia in Trast. f. 58v. Einsiedeln, Stiftbibliothek 121 f. 150

Verse 1 of Psalm 53 calls on God to save the speaker, and then to vindicate him:

Deus, in nómine tuo salvum me fac: et in virtúte tua júdica me

Save me, O God, by your name, and judge me in your strength

Looking at the Latin

The key vocabulary for the verse is:

nomen, mis, n. name; God himself; the perfections of God, His glory, majesty, wisdom, power, goodness,

in+abl = with, in, on among, by means of

salvus, a, um, safe, saved,  salvum facere, to save, keep safe, preserve from harm.. 

virtus, utis, f   strength, power, might; an army, host; the angels.; the heavenly bodies

judico, avi, atum, are to judge,  rule,  punish,  do justice to, to relieve from wrong

It is worth noting that although the neo-Vulgate follows the Vulgate in this case, St Jerome’s translation from the Hebrew (JH) and the Pian psalter offer quite different versions of the second phrase:

1	V/NV	Deus, in nómine tuo salvum me fac: * et in virtúte tua júdica me.
	Pian	Deus, in nomine tuo salvum me fac, Et virtute tua age causam meam.
	JH	Deus, in nomine tuo salua me, et in fortitudine tua ulciscere me.
	Sept	ὁ θεός ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου σῶσόν με καὶ ἐν τῇ δυνάμει σου κρῖνόν με

  

The various English translations offer a variety of shades of meaning for ‘judica’:  .

DR	Save me, O God, by your name, and judge me in your strength.
Brenton	Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy might.
RSV	Save me, O God, by thy name, and vindicate me by thy might.
Cover	Save me, O God, for thy Name’s sake, and avenge me in thy strength.
Knox	Lord, by the virtue of thy name deliver me, let thy sovereign power grant me redress;
Collegeville	O God, by Your name save me, and judge me by Your might.
Grail	O God, save me by your name; by your power, uphold my cause.

The Christological interpretation

As noted in the introduction to the psalm, the Father’s generally took their cue from the title of this psalm, which put it in the context of David’s betrayal when he attempted to find refuge in the desert and woodlands of Ziph, and saw David as a type of Christ. St Hilary of Poitiers, for example, commented that:

The suffering of the Prophet David is, according to the account we have given of the title, a type of the Passion of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ is, in this verse, providing us with a model of how to pray, St Hilary argued:

This is why his prayer also corresponds in sense with the prayer of Him Who being the Word was made flesh: in such wise that He Who suffered all things after the manner of man, in everything He said, spoke after the manner of man; and He who bore the infirmities and took on Him the sins of men approached God in prayer with the humility proper to men.

The power of God’s name

But these are verses equally applicable to all Christians, hence its regular use in Prime in the older form of the Roman Office.  St Cassiodorus for example commented that:

Earlier he asked that he should experience healing in this world by the name of the Lord; now he begs that at the judgment to come he should be freed by His strength, for just as here the Lord came in the guise of weakness of body, so there He will appear with the power of His majesty. So in the one verse these two aims, which religious persons should seek before all else, are fulfilled. The words are rightly uttered by each and every believer; they are rightly spoken by the Christian people.

God’s justice

The second phrase’s call for judgment can be interpreted in a number of ways, but the most obvious interpretation is in the sense of reward, recompense or vindication for our actions.  In the case of Christ, St Hilary argued: 

For now as the reward for His humility in emptying Himself and assuming the form of a servant, in the same humility in which He had assumed it, He was asking to resume the form which He shared with God, having saved to bear the Name of God that humanity in which as God He had obediently condescended to be born…For a right award is the essential result of judgment, as the Scripture says: Becoming obedient unto death, yea, the death of the Cross.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, in carminibus. Intellectus David, 2 cum venissent Ziphæi, et dixissent ad Saul : Nonne David absconditus est apud nos?	Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David. 2 When the men of Ziph had come and said to Saul: Is not David hidden with us?
1 Deus, in nómine tuo salvum me fac: * et in virtúte tua júdica me.	3 Save me, O God, by your name, and judge me in your strength.
2  Deus, exáudi oratiónem meam: * áuribus pércipe verba oris mei.	4 O God, hear my prayer: give ear to the words of my mouth.
3  Quóniam aliéni insurrexérunt advérsum me, et fortes quæsiérunt ánimam meam: * et non proposuérunt Deum ante conspéctum suum.	5 For strangers have risen up against me; and the mighty have sought after my soul: and they have not set God before their eyes.
4 Ecce enim Deus ádjuvat me: * et Dóminus suscéptor est ánimæ meæ.	6 For behold God is my helper: and the Lord is the protector of my soul.
5  Avérte mala inimícis meis: * et in veritáte tua dispérde illos.	7 Turn back the evils upon my enemies; and cut them off in your truth.
6  Voluntárie sacrificábo tibi, * et confitébor nómini tuo, Dómine: quóniam bonum est :	8 I will freely sacrifice to you, and will give praise, O God, to your name: because it is good:
7  Quóniam ex omni tribulatióne eripuísti me: * et super inimícos meos despéxit óculus meus.	9 For you have delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye has looked down upon my enemies.

And for the next part in this series, continue on here.