6th Hour, Great Friday: Psalm 53

For the end, among hymns of instruction by David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul ‘Behold, is not David concealed among us?’

For the end of the fulfilment of the prophecy, accompanied by musical instruments, composed by David for instructional purposes, when the Ziphites went to Saul and told him that David was hidden with them.

Introduction

This a psalm by David and was composed after he survived being hunted by Saul. More particularly, David had fled to the wilderness of Ziph and was hidden there, in order to avoid capture by Saul. The inhabitants of Ziph, the Ziphites, at first welcomed him, but then betrayed him to Saul, who set out to arrest him. An attack by Philistines distracted him, however, and he was forced to turn back and deal with it. And so, David slipped away. After his escape, he wrote this psalm, which is one of thanksgiving.

Fathers of the Church such as Saint Gregory of Nyssa, however, interpret this event symbolically. They liken the wilderness of Ziph to the narrow way we have to tread to reach our salvation. The Ziphites are the demons who lie in wait and plot the death of those who strive, but when they’re initially thwarted they return to Saul, the devil, to receive fresh instructions. But those who are striving have almighty God on their side who will help them through all their vicissitudes. The didactic character of the psalm is therefore clear and this is why it aims at making striving Christians more prudent.

‘Save me, God, by your name and judge me by your might. God, hear my prayer, give heed to the words of my mouth’.

David is moved by the results of his escape and invokes the holy name of God for his continued preservation. God is known by his goodness and kindness, but also for his almighty power, through which he can judge people and dispense justice, as in the case of David here.  Invocation of the name of the Triune God was capable of working miracles, as Christ showed on several occasions, as did the apostles: ‘In the name of Jesus Christ, stand up and walk’. So David asks God to attend to his prayer, because it comes from the ‘depths of the heart’; he asks him to hearken to the words of his prayer, which come forth from his mouth. The entreaty is made with the whole of his being, that is, ‘soul and body’.

‘For strangers have risen up against me and the mighty have sought me life: they have not set God before them’.

These ‘strangers’ aren’t necessarily foreigners; they’re people who don’t hold God in awe, don’t respect him who lends his support to righteousness and reason. Otherwise there’s no explanation for this insurgence against David and the attempt to liquidate him. They hold power in their hands, they have authority, but they aren’t exercising it properly if they’re going after an innocent person. This is because they take no account of God they haven’t made him the criterion for their every action, but rather, their criterion is their own self-interest, the thirst for power.

‘For, behold, God assists me and the Lord is the helper of my soul. He shall return their evil to my enemies; in your truth, utterly destroy them’.

David believes in and has no doubts concerning the help God will give him, and also that the Lord will support and save him. The reference here is clearly to two persons of the Holy Trinity: God the Father and the Lord, the Son of God. In his despair  and need for immediate assistance, he calls upon two persons of the Holy Trinity: God, who was known to his fathers; and the Lord, Christ, who will be revealed and will redeem them. When the Lord alone is mentioned, it means God, but when there’s a separate reference to God and the Lord, it means God the Father and God the Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

‘I shall willingly sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, Lord, for it is good. For you have delivered me from all affliction and my eye has looked upon my enemies’.

Sacrifice after any benefaction was obligatory in order to render gratitude and as an expression of thanksgiving. But what kind of sacrifice should be made to please God? David describes it in psalm 50: ‘For you have not required sacrifice, else I would have given it; you take no pleasure in whole burnt offerings… A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit, a contrite and humbled heart will not be destroyed by God’. The God of David doesn’t want a sacrifice of bulls and goats, but a spiritual sacrifice, a heart with humility, because ‘God is spirit and those who worship him must do so in spirit and truth’. David will offer such a spiritual sacrifice to God with all his soul and he’ll acknowledge it as a gift of gratitude to the Lord. For the Lord is good, just and merciful and,  in the past, has repeatedly saved him from great sorrow. He vindicates him and allows him to see with his own eyes that his enemies are being punished.

Great Friday is traditionally known as Good Friday in English. This is because ‘good’ in Middle English also meant ‘holy’, so ‘Good Friday’ means ‘Holy Friday’.