Hebrew Psalm No. 56
(Psalm No. 55 in the Vulgate)
1 To the choirmaster, upon the mute dove of distant lands. A psalm of David. When the Philistines seized him in Geth. David, having withdrawn from King Achish's court to the cave of Odallah, was joined there by several of his former friends and a multitude of common people, numbering about four thousand. It was, in all likelihood, to console these companions in his misfortune, who were forced to live far from Jerusalem, where the sanctuary was located, that he composed this Psalm. By the words "the distant dove," David, according to some, meant to refer to himself, and according to others, to indicate that the Psalm was intended to be set to the music of a song beginning with the same words. 2 Have mercy on me, O God, for man persecutes me all day long; they do to me the war, I am being persecuted. Saul was David's persecutor. Christians can, by using these words in prayer, remember the corruption of human nature, which is in continual struggle with the Spirit. 3 All day long my adversaries harass me, for many are those who fight against me with their heads held high. 4 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 5 Through God's help, I will celebrate the fulfillment of his word. I trust in God; I fear nothing. What can a mortal man do to me? 6 They constantly poison my words; all their thoughts are against me to destroy me. Every day they spy on everything I say and do, and they interpret everything in a bad light. 7 They plot, they spy, they watch my every move, because they seek my life. 8 Charged with so many crimes, will they escape? In your anger, O God, strike down the nations. 9 You have counted the steps of my wandering life, you have gathered my tears in your wineskin; are they not written in your book? …in your wineskin: remember my tears. 10 Then my enemies will turn back on the day I call upon you. I know that God is on my side. 11 By God's help, I will celebrate the fulfillment of his word; by the Lord's help, I will celebrate the fulfillment of his promise. 12 I trust in God; I will not be afraid. What can a mortal man do to me? 13 The vows I have made to you, O God, I must fulfill. I will offer you sacrifices of thanksgiving. When I am freed, I will fulfill the vows I made to you. 14 For you have delivered my soul from death, have you not kept my feet from stumbling? That I may walk before God in the light of the living.
Hebrew Psalm No. 57
(Psalm No. 56 in the Vulgate)
1 To the choirmaster. «Do not destroy.» A psalm of David, when, pursued by Saul, he took refuge in the cave. In this psalm, David, having been delivered from an initial danger during his exile, prays to God to continue to help him. He praises God's mercy and gives thanks. The title does not specify David's exact situation when he wrote this psalm; should we refer to the story in 1 Samuel 22 or 24:4? Verse 7 seems to indicate that it refers to what we read in 24:4, namely, that Saul, while plotting against David, himself fell into his hands. Let the Christian, even here, remember the dangers and enemies of his salvation. 2 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take shelter in the shadow of your wings until the calamity has passed. 3 I cry out to God Most High, the God who fulfills his purpose for me. 4 He will send me salvation from heaven; my persecutor heaps insults upon me. God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness. 5 I lie among lions, men who breathe fire, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and whose tongues are sharp swords. David was, during his exile, always surrounded by Saul's troops. 6 Rise above the heavens, O God, let your glory shine throughout the earth. Show, O God, that you are the most high and most powerful God. 7 They had laid a snare before my steps; already my soul bowed down; they had dug a pit before me, and they fell into it, Sela. 8 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make joyful music. 9 Awake, my glory. Awake, my lyre and my harp. Let me awaken the dawn. My glory: that is to say, my soul, for the soul, being the image of God, is the glory of man. 10 I will praise you among the peoples, Lord; I will sing praises to you among the nations. 11 For your faithfulness reaches to the heavens, and your truth to the clouds. 12 Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let your glory shine over all the earth.
Hebrew Psalm No. 58
(Psalm No. 57 in the Vulgate)
1 To the choirmaster. Do not destroy. A psalm of David. 2 Do you then render justice by remaining silent? Do you judge according to justice, you sons of men? Can justice remain silent? Speak up, judge according to fairness, etc. 3 No, in the depths of your heart you plot your wicked schemes, in the land you sell by weight the violence of your hands. You are selling the injustice of your actions as if it were a right. 4 The wicked are corrupt from the womb; from birth, the deceitful go astray. 5 Their venom is like the venom of the serpent, of the deaf viper that stops its ears 6 and does not hear the voice of the enchanter, of the charmer skilled in his art. They are hardened, they do not want to return to better feelings. Even today in the East, people try to remove the venom from snakes, by various means called enchantments, and to tame them; if the attempt does not succeed, it is said that the snakes are deaf, and that they do not hear the enchanter. 7 O God, break their teeth in their mouths. Lord, tear out the jaws of the young lions. 8 Let them vanish like a rushing stream. If they aim arrows, let them be blunted. 9 Let them be like a slug that melts away. Like a stillborn child, let them not see the sun. 10 Before your pots can feel the thorn, green or burning, the hurricane will sweep them away. Before your cooking pots, you godless ones, are warmed by the fire in your desert encampments, a violent wind will rise and carry away the thorns (the branches), both the green and the scorched. This is a proverbial saying: Before your plans are carried out, they will be thwarted. 11 The righteous will be in joy At the sight of vengeance, he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. The righteous will rejoice in the punishment of the wicked, not out of a feeling of revenge, but out of zeal for divine justice. The fishermen will fall before God in such great numbers that the righteous will be able to wash their hands in their blood. Saint Augustine It says that the righteous wash their hands in the blood of sinners, in the sense that they strive to make their works, which are marked by hands, more and more perfect when they see divine vengeance strike the wicked. 12 And it will be said, «Yes, there is a reward for the righteous. Yes, there is a God who judges on earth.». Truly, the righteous are rewarded, and God does not leave injustice unpunished.
Hebrew Psalm No. 59
(Psalm No. 58 in the Vulgate)
1 To the choirmaster. Do not destroy. A psalm of David. When Saul sent guards to his house to kill him. But David, whom Michol lowered through a window, fled to Najoth, See 1 Samuel 1, 19. 2 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God, and protect me from my adversaries. 3 Deliver me from those who commit iniquity and save me from men of blood. 4 For behold, they lie in wait to take my life. Violent men plot against me, though I am innocent, though I have not sinned, Lord. 5 Despite my innocence, they rush forward and lie in wait. Awake, come to meet me and look! 6 You, Lord, God of hosts, God of Israel, rise up to punish all the nations; have no mercy on these traitors and evildoers. Selah. It is not only upon his own enemies that David calls down God's justice, but in the heat of his zeal, he also calls it upon the fishermen in general, so that the whole world may fear God, and that God's name may be sanctified. 7 They come back in the evening, they growl like a dog, they go around the town. When they withdraw, they will be hungry like stray dogs, and will roam the city looking for me. Several Church Fathers understand this to mean the enemies of God in general, and more particularly the Jews who have denied Jesus Christ, and who will only convert to the Lord at the end of time, after having anxiously sought worldly goods and having suffered hunger bread of life. 8 Behold, their mouths spew forth insults, and there are swords upon their lips: «Who is listening?» they say. Who is the one who hears, whom do we have to fear? 9 But you, Lord, laugh at them; you mock all the nations. 10 My strength will be in you, for God is my fortress. 11 The God who is favorable to me will come to meet me. God will allow me to look upon my enemies. 12 Do not kill them, lest my people forget; make them wander by your power and overthrow them, O Lord, our shield. Lest my people forget, do not allow them to die suddenly, so that those who depend on me, my followers, may take as an example the punishment with which you have struck them. Those who place this Psalm in the mouth of Jesus Christ, as indeed many psalms can be placed in his mouth, since David was a type of the Messiah, see in the words of this verse the prayer of Jesus Christ for the preservation of the Jews, that they may be for Christians an example to serve as a warning to them. 13 Their mouths sin with every word they speak; let them be caught in their own pride because of the curses and lies they utter. 14 Destroy them in your fury, destroy them, and let them be no more; let them know that God reigns over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah. 15 They return in the evening, growling like dogs, prowling around the city. 16 They wander about, looking for their prey, and they growl if they are not satisfied. Verses 15 and 16, as well as verse 7, are applied, in a spiritual sense, to all restless and worldly minds, who live far from God. 17 And I will sing of your strength, and in the morning I will sing praises to your goodness, for you are my fortress, a refuge in the day of my distress. 18 O my strength, I will sing in your honor, for God is my fortress, the God who is favorable to me. Full of gratitude for God's blessings, he said Saint Augustine, David could not give him any name that suited him better than that of merciful God, a name which should be a source of consolation for all, without anyone being able to despair.
Hebrew Psalm No. 60
(Psalm No. 59 in the Vulgate)
1 To the choirmaster, according to the tune of "The Lily of the Testimony." A psalm of David, to be taught. It was the custom to give the people national songs, so that they would learn them by heart and make them the subject of their meditations (see 2 Samuel 1:18, Deuteronomy 31:19). 2 When he did the war to the Syrians of Mesopotamia and to the Syrians of Zobah, and that Joab returned and defeated Edom in the Valley of Salt, killing twelve thousand of them. After the happy victory he won over the Syrians and the Edomites (2 Samuel 8), the enemies that David still faced were not entirely defeated; they even remained powerful (2 Samuel 10:6). It is therefore possible that they had invaded the land and held Israel under harsh oppression. In this desperate situation, the Psalmist addresses his prayer to God, he describes the suffering of his people (3-7), he hopes that they will be helped and that they will subdue the enemies from without (8-10), and he is full of confidence in God, who granted him the final victory over Edom (11-14). Nothing is said of this oppression of the people of Israel in the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles; but this is not proof against the accuracy of the title, since these books are only extracts from more extensive annals. We read in 1 Chronicles 18, 12 the number 18000, and the name of Abisai instead of Joab, this number may be a correction of 12000, or a copyist's error, and Abisai is put in place of Joab as commander of the army under his orders. Saint Augustine, Saint Jerome and other Church Fathers place this Psalm on the lips of the Church, which is often subjected to persecution on earth, yet never ceases to await with confidence from God its maintenance and growth. The Christian, who as a member of the Church shares in its destiny on a small scale, will remember in his prayer the reign of virtue, which he is called, not without obstacles, it is true, but with the help of God's grace and the cooperation of his own will, to establish and strengthen within himself. 3 O God, you have rejected us, you have scattered us, you were angry; grant us favor. 4 You have shaken the land, you have torn it in pieces. Repair its breaches, for it is tottering. Images of the disorder that followed the invasion of the enemies, and of the wounds that were inflicted on the State on this occasion. 5 You have shown your people severe trials, you have made us drink wine of staggering. The chalice (the wine) generally signifies the fate that God decrees (Ps. Hebrews 16:5); the chalice or wine of vertigo signifies a state of stupor, terror, and especially the state of one struck by God's judgments. Ps. Hebrews 75:9. Isaiah 51:17, 22. Revelation 13:10. 6 But you have given a banner to those who fear you, so that it may be raised because of your truth. Selah. You have nevertheless raised a signal of war, to which all those who are loyal to me have been able to take refuge after the misfortune which afflicted them. 7 So that your beloved ones may be delivered, save with your right hand and answer me. 8 God has spoken in his holiness: “I will rejoice greatly. I will take Shechem as my portion and measure out the valley of Succoth. The Psalmist refers to the very word of God. Next follows the promise concerning the expansion of the kingdom of Judah, which was a type of the Church of God. Shechem is the city of Jacob, and it stands for the land this side of the Jordan; the Valley of Succoth stands for the land beyond. Meaning: I have dominion over the lands this side and beyond the Jordan (therefore, we have no fear of losing them, of seeing them fall into the hands of our enemies). 9 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine. Ephraim is the armor of my head and Judah my scepter. Manasseh, Ephraim, and Judah were located on this side of the Jordan. Meaning: I remain master of my land, and my people hold it as their inheritance. The Christian will reflect on verses 8, 9, and 10, on the promises of protection and expansion made to the Church: or on the reign of virtue, which must take root and have its origin in one's own heart. 10 »Moab is my washbasin. On Edom, I throw my sandal. Land of the Philistines, shout for me!” Moab is the vessel of my bath, that is to say, will be deeply subjugated to me; I will place my foot on Edom, I will subdue it. 11 Who will lead me to the fortified city? Who will bring me to Edom? 12 Is it not you, O God, who have rejected us, O God, who no longer go out with our armies? Are you not the merciful God who will do, and who have done all these things? Do we not then have reason to hope in you, even in our present afflictions? 13 Give us your help against the oppressor. Human help is worthless. 14 With God we will accomplish mighty things; he will crush our enemies.
