Psalm 55 (54):10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He speaks of those who trouble and persecute him, and he does not wish this out of anger, my brothers. For the one who has proudly lifted himself should indeed face the depths. To those who have spoken wickedly, it is beneficial for their words to be scattered; let them unite in goodness, and let their speech harmonize. If they have conspired against me with a single intent, he assures us that all my adversaries will lose their singular evil purpose, their speech will become discordant, and they will not be united in their intentions. O Lord, bring them down and scatter their tongues. Why is drowning mentioned? Because they have lifted themselves up. Why the scattering? Because they have conspired for an evil cause.

Lord, you will bring them down and confuse their speech. Because they conspire for wickedness, abolish their unity, O Lord.

O Lord, cast down and disrupt their speech. These words spoken by David pertain to Christ in His dealings with the Jews: He implores the Lord to engulf the Jews' tongues, those that speak ill of Your Son; in essence, He asks that their voices be silenced and broken, creating discord among themselves, so they can no longer speak against our Savior, which the Jews ultimately faced when the Romans brought destruction upon them. Isychius remarks that unity in wickedness is a disaster, whereas the fracturing of those who conspire in evil is a great blessing. When evil turns upon itself, we who endure its attacks will find safety, as we will no longer be preoccupied with its threats.

In response to his plight, he once more approaches God in prayer, seeking the destruction of his adversaries' schemes. Completely eradicate, O Lord, meaning to plunge the malevolent plans of my foes into utter oblivion. He then expresses his desire to nullify their counsel by causing disunity among them: make their speech inconsistent, so that those who conspire against me speak both contradictory things. The Prophet likely referenced the chaos that unfolded in Babylon (Genesis 11:7). Illustratively, when Absalom, the son of David, sought to overthrow his father after seizing the city, his conspirators offered conflicting advice.

This psalm, divinely inspired for David to compose, was entrusted to Asaph, the leader of his musicians, ensuring that it could be sung with understanding by all, as the essence of this psalm culminates in Christ, particularly in His immaculate suffering. The entire world is shrouded in darkness, and every individual is deceitful, yet the Lord came to redeem the first Adam. Let us earnestly pray to God for the Holy Spirit, that we might turn to Him and honor Him, and to quell the wicked influence of sin that dwells within our souls and bodies. He makes this salvation mysterious to those who constantly yearn and hope, and who are ever in search of Him.