Bellarmine on Psalm LIII: Verses 5-7 (conclusion)

Verse 5

Turn back the evils upon my enemies; and cut them off in thy truth.

Averte mala inimicis meis; et in veritate tua disperde illos.

By imprecation is understood prediction, as we have often shown before: for the word can be understood from the Hebrew as a prediction: May the evil be turned back upon my enemies. Our reading will be easier if we interpret it as: Turn back the evils from me upon my enemies.  But the words are to be explained in the same sense: “Turn back the evils” which are hanging over me, turn them back from me and turn them against my enemies. And this is what came to pass; for Saul was pursuing David and then suddenly it came about that the Philistines were pursuing Saul. The dangers from Saul which threatened David now become dangers from the Philistines threatening Saul. The words and cut them off in thy truth were fulfilled not long after; for in the mountains of Gelboe Saul perished along with his army; it is quite probable that in that army were present men who perished and who had been pursuing David: if the Hebrew vocabulary is taken into account, disperdere / to cut off here means not dissipare / scatter but omnino delere /completely destroy and exstinguere / wipe out. See book I of Kings, last chapter.  The phrase in veritate tua / in thy truth, means according to thy promises, by which Thou shalt render to every man according to his works.[1]

[1]  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works. Filius enim hominis venturus est in gloria Patris sui cum angelis suis : et tunc reddet unicuique secundum opera ejus. [Matt. xvi. 27]

Verse 6

I will freely sacrifice to thee, and will give praise, O God, to thy name: because it is good:

Voluntarie sacrificabo tibi, et confitebor nomini tuo, Domine, quoniam bonum est.

Seeing that his prayer had been heard, whether through a foresight of his coming deliverance, or because, while David was in the act of praying, Saul left on account of the danger reported to him about the Philistines, David gives thanks to God and says: “I will freely sacrifice to thee,” that is, with a most ready heart I shall offer a sacrifice of praise; and he repeats this in other words when he says: “and I will give praise to thy name,” that is, I will offer a profession of praise to thee (for God’s name is here used for God Himself), “because it is good.” Now God’s name, used to stand as the thing signified (i.e., for God Himself), is the best of all things, as Christ Himself said: “ None is good but God alone.”[2] St. Augustine rightly advises that, by use of the word freely, (the Prophet shows that) God is to be loved purely for Himself, not on account of any possible reward, but for His own, ineffable goodness; and he who loves Him should make sacrifices and give praises to Him no less in adversity than in prosperity, for God is certainly no less good when He punishes us than when He nourishes and refreshes us.

[1]  And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? None is good but one, that is God. Jesus autem dixit ei : Quid me dicis bonum? nemo bonus, nisi unus Deus. [Marc. x. 18]; And Jesus said to him: Why dost thou call me good? None is good but God alone. Dixit autem ei Jesus : Quid me dicis bonum? nemo bonus nisi solus Deus. [Luc. Xviii. 19]

Verse 7

For thou hast delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye hath looked down upon my enemies.

Quoniam ex omni tribulatione eripuisti me, et super inimicos meos despexit oculus meus.

He shows from what happened that God is good, because He heard so swiftly His servant. “For,” “he says, thou hast delivered me out of all trouble,” that is, for, in revealing to me a certain deliverance, Thou hast already delivered me out of all trouble, “ and my eye hath looked down upon my

enemies,” that is, in that same foreshowing my eye hath already seen my enemies prostrate and vanquished: he refers here to what he had said before, “and cut them off in thy truth.” Unless it is preferable to interpret this, as we indicated above, so that the Prophet’s very act of praying began his deliverance, that is to say, Saul withdrawing at hearing of the reported arrival of the Philistines; then the sense would be: Since Thou hast delivered me out of all the present trouble, and my eye hath seen my enemies withdrawing with Saul their general. For the word despexit / looked down does not connote contempt but simply something seen, which is clear from the Hebrew word raathah; for it could be translated: my eye hath looked upon my enemies, that is, my eye did freely and without fear look upon my enemies. The Vulgate translator put despexit / looked down, to signify that David from a high location saw his enemies prostrate or withdrawing, as in the two explanations given. Now true it is that David looked down, that is, he looked from above at his enemies, whether because he was physically on the aforesaid mountain, or because the spirit of prophecy raised him to that height, and from the height(s) of divine revelation he saw his enemies lying down below him. Indeed, this Psalm is recited daily at the hour of Prime so that we may learn from David’s example to be strengthened against persecutors  with the weapons of prayer at the beginning of the day, knowing that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution(s patiently)”.[1]

[1] And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution. Et omnes, qui pie volunt vivere in Christo Jesu, persecutionem patientur. [II Tim. iii. 12]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.