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.

Introduction to Psalm 53

Two Ziphites before Saul
Library of the Holy Monastery of Pantokrator

The next psalm I want to take a look at in this series is Psalm 53.

Psalm 53 has a particular appropriateness for the Lenten season, since it is used on both Good Friday and Holy Saturday at Tenebrae, as well as said daily at Prime during the Triduum.

My other reason for looking at it though, is that it was once one of the psalms recited daily in the Roman Office, thus contributing to the particular character of that Office.*

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. 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.	Save me, O God, by your name, and judge me in your strength.
2  Deus, exáudi oratiónem meam: * áuribus pércipe verba oris mei.	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.	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.	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.	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 :	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.	For you have delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye has looked down upon my enemies.

A once prominent psalm

Psalm 53 doesn't feature much in the versions of the Office still in official use.

In the Benedictine psalm schema Psalm 53 is said normally said only once a week, as the second psalm of the second Nocturn of Matins on Tuesday.

Similarly, in the Roman Office, since 1911 it has been said said once a week only, at Sunday Prime.

The 1970 Liturgy of the Hours reduced its use further, cutting out one verse altogether, and consigning what is left to being said one every four weeks (to daytime prayer on Tuesday of week 2).

Prior to the twentieth century though, it had a much more prominent position, said daily at Prime in the Roman Office.

It was also said at Prime daily in the Little Office of Our Lady, a devotion that almost certainly originated at Monte Cassino and was said in addition to the Office for religious, as well as the main form of the Office for the laity for much of the Middle Ages, and was subsequently used by many religious sisters up until Vatican II.

The history of the liturgical use of this psalm then, raises a number of questions that I think are worth pondering, and which I hope to at least touch on as we go through its verses, such as:

• why does the psalm feature so heavily in the liturgy of Holy Week?
• why was the psalm considered so important as to be said daily in the Roman Office?
• why was it considered particularly appropriate for the hour of Prime?
• assuming that Psalm 53 already held its position at Prime in St Benedict's time, why didn't he follow the Roman model in this case (and if it was added after his time, why)? and
• why was it considered particularly apposite for the Little Office of Our Lady?

David, Christ and the Devil

The ancient title to Psalm 53, preserved in both the Hebrew Masoretic Text and Septuagint traditions, gives it a particular historical context, set out in 1 Samuel 23: David had taken refuge with the Ziphites, who, after feigning friendship betrayed him to King Saul; he was saved only because the Philistines invaded, preventing Saul from pursuing him.

Here are some of the key verses:

But David abode in the desert in strong holds, and he remained in a mountain of the desert of Ziph, in a woody hill. And Saul sought him always: but the Lord delivered him not into his hands. And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life. And David was in the desert of Ziph, in a wood...And the Ziphites went up to Saul in Gabaa, saying: Lo, doth not David lie hid with us in the strong holds of the wood, in mount Hachila, which is on the right hand of the desert. Now therefore come down, as thy soul hath desired to come down: and it shall be our business to deliver him into the king’s hands. And Saul said: Blessed be ye of the Lord, for you have pitied my case. Go therefore, I pray you, and use all diligence, and curiously inquire, and consider the place where his foot is, and who hath seen him there: for he thinketh of me, that I lie craftily in wait for him. Consider and see all his lurking holes, wherein he is hid, and return to me with the certainty of the thing, that I may go with you. And if he should even go down into the earth to hide himself, I will search him out in all the thousands of Juda. And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: and David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the plain at the right hand of Jesimon. 

The Fathers almost invariably interpreted the psalm title's allusion to this story typologically: Saul stands for the devil; David for Christ, and the Ziphites for the Jewish authorities who harassed and ultimately handed him over to be crucified.

The first verse of the Psalm, then, which reads 'Save me, O God, by your name, and judge me in your strength', becomes a reference first to Christ's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemene, and then to his vindication through the Resurrection; other verses take us through the other events of the Triduum, most notably verse 6 as a reference to Christ's willing sacrifice of himself on the cross, hence its use at Tenebrae.

And the link to the Resurrection perhaps also helps to explain its position at Prime, since it thus provides a lead in to stanzas of Psalm 118, which, by dint of its reference to the blessed many in the opening verse, is often interpreted as relating to the way to heaven reopened by virtue of the Resurrection.

Psalm 53 in the Little Office of Our Lady

Typological interpretations of the psalm title also, I think, account for its use in the Little Office of Our Lady, as the seventh or eighth century (probably Irish) commentary on it by Pseudo-Jerome drew a parallel between David's hiding in the woods and caves of Zith, and his hidden time spent in the womb of Our Lady.

That commentary also points to his time in the flesh as one of hidden divinity, thus it is a prayer of his acceptance of the form of a servant, and offering of himself for our salvation.

The Benedictine Office

St Benedict's arrangement of the psalter does not particularly highlight Psalm 53, but rather places in the context of a set of psalms that tell first of God's power and glory (the 'Sons of Zion', starting with Psalm 45), and then of man's reaction to this revelation: rather than hearing God's message and converting from sin, Psalm 51 onwards tell us, the seek David - and thus Christ's life.

This interpretation, I think, helps explain why St Benedict saw the psalm as particularly appropriate to Tuesdays, since that day in the Benedictine Office particularly focuses on Christ's public mission: David's betrayal by the Zithites, after all, was not the end of his struggles with Saul.

Instead, particularly in the context of the Benedictine arrangement of the psalter which connects the psalms of Zion to the Gradual Psalms on Tuesdays, invites us to take a different path to the Zithities.

Instead of seeking to betray Christ, we must call upon him for help (verse 1 -3), relying on his justice and mercy.

Instead of striking back, we should pray for the conversion of our enemies (the proper interpretation of verse 5, excised in the Liturgy of the Hours!).

And in response to all the aid that God gives us, in recognition of his great goodness, we should in turn offer to him our sacrifice of praise in the Office and the Mass (verse 6-7).

A prayer for aid in the spiritual battle

Above all, Psalm 53 is a prayer for aid in the spiritual battle.

In the Benedictine Office, the very first psalm said each day, Psalm 3 (said at Matins), serves to call and aid us in the daily spiritual battle.

Psalm 53, though, arguably served the same function in the Roman Office, as St Robert Bellarmine, in continuity with a stream of commentaries from Amalarius of Metz onwards, noted:

This Psalm is daily recited in the canonical hour of Prime, in order that, in imitation of David, we may learn to strengthen ourselves with the arm of prayer against all our persecutors, at the beginning of each day, recollecting, “That all who wish to live piously in Jesus Christ shall suffer persecution.”

Though it is no longer said daily, it is a psalm that deserves our attention as we move closer to Holy Week, and in the next post I will starting at it verse by verse.




*The repeated psalms of the pre-1911 Roman and the Benedictine Offices are set out in the table below for reference purposes.  Psalms that are repeated over the week in one form of the Office but not the other are bolded.

Hour	Roman pre 1911	Benedictine
Matins	94	3, 94
Lauds	62, 66, [50], 148, 149, 150	66, 50, 148, 149, 150
Prime	53, Ps 118 (1-32)	nil
Terce-None	Ps 118 (33-176)	Ps 119-127 (Tues - Sat)
Vespers	nil	nil
Compline	4 , 30 (1-6), 90, 133	4, 90, 133

Other scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	-
RB cursus	Tuesday Matins
Monastic feasts etc	Triduum Prime; Tenebrae Good Friday II, 3; Holy Sat III, 1; LOOL Prime AN 1321, 2165 (5)
Responsories	6421 (3) – tues in summer? 7368 (3) - All Souls/Office of the Dead no 7 7773 (5) - Good Friday no 7
Roman pre 1911	Prime daily
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Wednesday Terce. 1970: Tuesday DP omitting v5 (averte mala)
Mass propers (EF)	Lent 4 Monday, IN (3-5); Passion Monday, GR (1-2);  PP9, IN (1, 4-5)

 

Psalm 142 pt 4: verses 13&14

Verses 13&14
The procession of St Gregory seeking an end to the plague
Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, Folio 71v
the Musée Condé, Chantilly

In the previous part of this mini-series, I looked at verses 11&12 of Psalm 142, and suggested that the psalmist’s pleas to be delivered from his enemies was to be accomplished in large part by his learning to do God’s will, and guidance by the Holy Spirit. Those verses provide some context for the verses I want to look at today by way of conclusion of this Lent series, namely the last two verses of the psalm – and thus of all of the penitential psalms – which contain a further plea for God’s help.

At first glance, verses 13 and 14 present problems to the modern reader, since they sound awfully like a request for God to do some smiting! And while we might all feel the desire for that to occur from time to time, we know full well that in fact we are called on to forgive our enemies, and to return good for evil. So how should we reconcile these seemingly conflicting messages?

The text

First let’s take another look at the verses themselves. Here is the Vulgate (which is identical to the neo-Vulgate):

13	V/NV	Edúces de tribulatióne ánimam meam: * et in misericórdia tua dispérdes inimícos meos.
	JH	educes de angustia animam meam ;  et in misericordia tua dissipabis inimicos meos,

The key verbs here are all in the subjunctive, making them a pleas or request: educare means to lead out, bring or draw forth; disperdere means to destroy, or destroy utterly.  Hence a literal translation of this verse would be something like: ‘may you bring my soul (animam meam) out of distress/trouble (de tribulatione), and in your mercy/kindness/compassion (misericordia) destroy my enemies (inimicos meos) 

educo, duxi, ductum, ere 3,  to lead out or forth.

disperdo, didi, ditum, ere 3, to destroy, destroy utterly.

DR	You will bring my soul out of trouble: And in your mercy you will destroy my enemies.
Brenton	thou shalt bring my soul out of affliction.  And in thy mercy thou wilt destroy mine enemies,
MD	In thy justice save me from distress, and in Thy mercy disperse my enemies
Cover	bring my soul out of trouble. And of thy goodness slay mine enemies,

14	V/NV	Et perdes omnes, qui tríbulant ánimam meam, * quóniam ego servus tuus sum.
	JH	et perdes omnes ligantes animam meam; ego enim sum seruus tuus.

ie: And (et) you will destroy (perdes) all (omnes) those who trouble/afflict (qui tribulant) my soul, because (quoniam) I am (ego sum) your servant (servus tuus)’.

perdo, didi, ditum, ere 3, to destroy

DR	And you will cut off all them that afflict my soul: for I am your servant.
Brenton	and wilt destroy all those that afflict my soul; for I am thy servant.
MD	And destroy all who afflict my soul: because I am Thy servant
Cover	And destroy all them that vex my soul; for I am thy servant.

Who are our enemies?

We shouldn't, in my view, back away from the idea of praying for the defeat of actual physical enemies here, whether they be personal, enemies of the Church, or of our country. The harsh reality is that evil can and does get worked through others. We shouldn’t be afraid to pray that someone who is hurting us or others be stopped from doing so!

Of course, our prayer must be, first and foremost, that they be converted.

And we must genuinely seek to forgive them for what they do to us and others.

Forgiving someone though, doesn’t mean letting them continue to sin! Accordingly, it is important to keep in mind that praying for the defeat of evil and those who oppress us by whatever direct or indirect means God chooses to employ, or helps us to employ, is perfectly legitimate.

David's Victory
Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, Folio 95r
Musée Condé, Chantilly.

Victory over sin

Nonetheless, in the context of the penitential psalms, our primary focus should be first and foremost on the mote in our own eye! The enemy in this context is not so much others: for we can accept bear their attacks as part of our penance, or offer up our sufferings at their hands for others.

But we must also focus, especially during this Lenten season, on overcoming our own weaknesses, bad habits, faults and sins. And we shouldn't hesitate to ask God's help in this most personal of battles.

The previous psalms, as well as the earlier verses of this psalm teach us the other weapons we must employ: work to develop a strong and deep sense of contrition; go to confession, tell all of our sins, and be absolved; do our penance and more; study, meditate and contemplate God's works; and submit ourselves to God's will and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Of course, in this battle, it is also important to keep in mind that not all of our faults come from within ourselves: we are also engaged in a spiritual warfare waged against powers and principalities; so call too for God's help in the form of our own guardian angel's interventions.

We should pray too, for final perseverance, for above all, these verses reminds us of God’s promise that evil will eventually be defeated and good vindicated, if not in this life, then in the next.

Psalm 142: Domine, exaudi orationem meam

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David, quando persequebatur eum Absalom filius ejus.	A psalm of David, when his son Absalom pursued him
1 Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam: áuribus pércipe obsecratiónem meam in veritáte tua : * exáudi me in tua justítia.	Hear, O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my supplication in your truth: hear me in your justice.
2  Et non intres in judícium cum servo tuo: * quia non justificábitur in conspéctu tuo omnis vivens.	And enter not into judgment with your servant: for in your sight no man living shall be justified.
3  Quia persecútus est inimícus ánimam meam: * humiliávit in terra vitam meam.	For the enemy has persecuted my soul: he has brought down my life to the earth.
4  Collocávit me in obscúris sicut mórtuos sæculi : * et anxiátus est super me spíritus meus, in me turbátum est cor meum.	He has made me to dwell in darkness as those that have been dead of old: And my spirit is in anguish within me: my heart within me is troubled.
5  Memor fui diérum antiquórum, meditátus sum in ómnibus opéribus tuis: * in factis mánuum tuárum meditábar.	I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all your works: I meditated upon the works of your hands.
6  Expándi manus meas ad te: * ánima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi.	I stretched forth my hands to you: my soul is as earth without water unto you.
7  Velóciter exáudi me, Dómine: * defécit spíritus meus.	Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit has fainted away.
8  Non avértas fáciem tuam a me: * et símilis ero descendéntibus in lacum.	Turn not away your face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
9  Audítam fac mihi mane misericórdiam tuam: * quia in te sperávi.	Cause me to hear your mercy in the morning; for in you have I hoped.
10  Notam fac mihi viam, in qua ámbulem: * quia ad te levávi ánimam meam.	Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk: for I have lifted up my soul to you.
11  Eripe me de inimícis meis, Dómine, ad te confúgi: * doce me fácere voluntátem tuam, quia Deus meus es tu.	Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, to you have I fled: Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
12  Spíritus tuus bonus dedúcet me in terram rectam: * propter nomen tuum, Dómine, vivificábis me, in æquitáte tua.	Your good spirit shall lead me into the right land: For your name's sake, O Lord, you will quicken me in your justice.
13  Edúces de tribulatióne ánimam meam: * et in misericórdia tua dispérdes inimícos meos.	You will bring my soul out of trouble: And in your mercy you will destroy my enemies.
14  Et perdes omnes, qui tríbulant ánimam meam, * quóniam ego servus tuus sum.	And you will cut off all them that afflict my soul: for I am your servant.

Ne reminiscaris Domine...

I want to conclude this series not with another version of the psalm for you to listen to, but with the antiphon used at the end of the penitential psalms.  Here, it is in an English setting by Purcell.

The first half of the setting is simply a translation of the Catholic liturgical text:

Remember not, Lord, our offences,
nor the offences of our forefathers;
neither take thou vengeance of our sins:

The second part is an addition from the Book of Common Prayer, but it is so catholic in content that I strongly suspect it actually has its quasi-liturgical origins in the Sarum Rite:

spare us, good Lord, spare thy people,
whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood,
and be not angry with us for ever.
Spare us, good Lord.

And that concludes this Lenten series.  I do hope you have enjoyed this series and found something in it to stimulate your prayer.

May you have a happy and holy Easter.