Psalm 53 — Save me, O God, by your name

^53:1^ Unto the end, in verses; understanding for David. ^53:2^ When the men of Ziph had come and said to Saul, “Is not David hidden with us?” ^53:3^ Save me, O God, by your name, and judge me in your strength. ^53:4^ O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.

^53:5^ For strangers have risen up against me, and the mighty have sought after my soul, and they have not set God before their eyes.

^53:6^ For behold, God is my helper, and the Lord is the protector of my soul.

^53:7^ Turn back the evils upon my enemies and cut them off in your truth.

^53:8^ I will freely sacrifice to you, and will give praise, O God, to your name because it is good. ^53:9^ For you have delivered me out of all trouble and my eye has looked down upon my enemies.

523. God, in your name. Above, in other psalms, the psalmist showed the greatness of the evil of sins with regard to the inclination to sin and contempt of God; here he lays out the persecution he suffers from them.

The title is 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?”

The first part of the title is clear.

The second alludes to the history written in 1 Kings 23, when David arrived in the desert of the city of Ziph, and men of that city accused David to Saul, and Saul pursued him, but he was not able to capture him; so this accusation did not harm David. This signifies that the people of Ziph, that is, those flourishing in this world—the glory of the world is as the flower of the field (Isa 40:6)—accuse the holy ones, and they are not able to harm them, because the holy one is hidden among the people of Ziph, because a holy one does not flourish among sinners, but his flourishing is instead in secret, like the flowers of uprightness. Your life is hid with Christ in God (Col 3:3). David therefore deals in this psalm with the good who are hidden among the evil and the persecution they suffer from them.

Therefore, this psalm is divided into three parts.

In the first place, he sets out his prayer.

Second, he demonstrates the necessity of prayer, at for strangers.

Third, he puts forward the recompense he will make, at I will freely sacrifice.

Regarding the first, he makes two points.

First, he sets out his petition.

Second, he sets out the hearing of it, at O God, hear my prayer.

His petition treats of two things:

first, he asks for himself;

second, for his enemies.

For himself he asks that he be saved, not through his merits but because of his love of the divine name.

So he says, save me, O God, by your name. There is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). The name of the Lord is a strong tower (Prov 18:10).

For his adversaries he asks a judgment that can be understood in three ways.

In one way, as the judgment of discernment, so that his cause be distinguished from them. Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause (Ps 42:1).

In another way, as the judgment of the persecution, so that he may judge him according to his righteousness in freeing him from evils. He shall judge the poor with justice (Isa 11:4).

In another way, as the judgment of condemnation.

And he asks this not out of a desire for revenge but in conformity with divine justice.

Or he says this foreseeing the judgment of the evil men.

And this is why he says, judge me, O God, in your strength, hear my prayer. Here he sets out the hearing of the prayer.

In prayer, there are two things: what is asked and the asking. Sometimes, God hears what is asked and not the asking itself, because someone asks what he asks out of grace and mercy, and these are given by God. But the asking itself sometimes is done by a sinner, and therefore it is not heard, because it is not acceptable to God.

And so the psalmist asks that his prayer or asking be fulfilled when he says, O God, hear my prayer, and that he give ear to his words, give ear to the words of my mouth, which happens when God accepts and approves his words. Give ear, O Lord, to my words (Ps 5:2).

524. For strangers have risen up against me. Here he sets out the necessity for praying by emphasizing the persecution of enemies:

first, in terms of their inclination;

second, in terms of their power;

third, in terms of their contempt for God.

It is out of inclination, because when a complete stranger persecutes someone, this is dangerous, because he rises against him without pity; and therefore, the psalmist says, strangers, that is, demons, or sinners.

If the situation refers to any just man: they have risen against me without any compassion or mercy.

But strangers can also describe those who are simply not friends, as Saul was a “stranger” to David and, likewise, the men of Ziph, who accused him to Saul. My acquaintances like strangers have departed from me (Job 19:13).

The psalmist speaks of their power because when a weak person attacks, one can defend oneself, but these people are strong: the mighty have sought after my soul. Saul chose three thousand men of Israel to pursue David (1 Sam 13:2; cf. 24:3, 26:2).

Or the mighty are demons, as in Luke: when a strong man armed keeps his court, where the strong man is the devil (11:21).

The psalmist speaks of their contempt of God because sometimes a person desists in persecution to the extent that he is restrained by the love of God. But these people do not relent because of this, and for this reason, he says, and they have not set God before their eyes. As Psalm 9:34 says, he has said in his heart: God will not require it.

525. For behold, God is my helper. Here he explains that he has been heard in his prayer.

And first, he explains that he has been heard in regard to one thing.

Second, he sets out that he has been heard in regard to other things, at turn back the evils.

It was said above that his prayer was for himself when he said, save me, and for his enemies when he said, judge me in your strength.

First, therefore, he says that his prayer for himself was heard, because he says he was saved;

and then he speaks about his enemies who rose up against him and who were seeking his life;

and in both respects he was saved, because he says, behold, God is my helper against the insult of my enemies, namely, that he extends help to me. The Lord God is my helper (Isa 50:7).

He says that the Lord is the protector of my soul against the one who seeks my life, as if to say, “The Lord has saved me by gathering me into his safekeeping.” The souls of the just are in the hand of God (Wis 3:1). But you, O Lord, are my protector (Ps 3:4).

526. Turn back the evils upon my enemies. Here he asks that he be heard regarding his enemies.

And he asks two things in response to the two things they did to him—persecuting him and seeking to kill him—and therefore, he asks that they

suffer persecution

and be killed.

Regarding the first, he says, turn back, namely, from me, upon my enemies the evils which they sought to inflict on me, as if he were to say, “Turn against them the evils that they wish to bring against me.”

Regarding the second, he says, cut them off, that is, make it that they be cut off, that is, killed; and do this in your truth.

Or, in your truth means because of your power.

But this seems to be contrary to the word of Christ who says, pray for those who persecute you (Matt 5:44).

It should be said that all the imprecations that are found in the prophets can be understood in three ways.

In one way as the mode of speaking when one speaks by the spirit of God and foretells future things. This is a form of prayer: turn back, that is, you will turn back. This is why the Hebrew uses the present, “you turn back.”

In another way, the imprecations can be understood in conformity with divine justice.

In a third way, as spiritual denunciation. Sinners, when they stop sinning, die and stop sinning. And we must pray constantly for this.

527. I will freely sacrifice to you. Here he lays out the recompense.

First, the recompense itself is laid out;

second, the reason for the recompense.

He intends two things in recompense:

sacrifice

and confession.

Regarding the first, he says, I will freely sacrifice to you.

On the other hand, earlier he said, if you had desired sacrifice, I would have given it (Ps 50:18).

And it should be said that he says this about the sacrifice that is acceptable to God: the sacrifice of a contrite spirit and of chastisement of the body. I chastise my body (1 Cor 9:27). Present your bodies as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1).

The third kind of sacrifice is the sacrifice of better things: and do not forget to do good and to impart; for by such sacrifices God’s favor is obtained, that is, God is pleased (Heb 13:16).

Therefore, with this triple sacrifice I will sacrifice to you voluntarily, because with joy. On all days in which a free-will offering was made (Ezra 3:5). God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7).

Regarding the second, he says, I will give praise, O God, to your name, namely, by thanksgiving. Bless the God of heaven, that is, give thanks (Tobit 12:6).

And why? Not for temporal goods, as sinners do, about whom it is said, he will praise you when you shall do well to him (Ps 48:19), but rather because of God’s goodness and benignity, and because of the gifts received, because I have been heard in my petitions.

This is why he then says that he has been heard: for you have delivered me out of all trouble.

And I will praise you regarding enemies, because my eye has looked down upon my enemies, because they could not harm me.

Or, my eye has looked down upon my enemies because he scorns their happiness and their prosperity: the malignant is brought to nothing (Ps 14:4).