Here, a depiction of God as the great master of creation stands alongside that of God as the jealous guardian of his servant David, who was brave enough to serve the King of kings. For once, we have no trouble recognizing the ‘enemies.’ David’s tumultuous history is well known to us. However, the historical context will not help us. Once again, we must internalize the words, and the ‘enemies’ we pray against carry intangible arrows. We need God’s shield and all the spiritual yet warrior-like tools that St. Paul urges us to use: ‘the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit, that is, the Word of God’ (Eph 6:16-17).
The opening words, “I love you,” capture the psalmist’s internal feelings. Jesus, whom the psalmist divinely refers to in verse 10, “He bent the heavens and came down,” has told us that what comes out of a person’s heart determines whether they are clean or unclean; therefore, pure inner feelings originate from the heart. Once again, reference is made to Jesus in verse 29, “Lord, you give light to my lamp,” because Jesus had said, “I am the light of the world.”
The added verse (51) enables us to interpret this psalm as referring to the Anointed One, Christ, the conqueror of death and the abyss. Romans 15:9 quotes verse 50 of the psalm. Those who love passionately keep inventing new adjectives to express their love. The God thus loved “comes down” to be with us as the firm foundation of our lives.