Psalm 26 — The Lord is my light and my salvation

^26:1^ Unto the end, a psalm before he was anointed. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ^26:2^ While the wicked draw near against me to eat my flesh, my enemies who trouble me have themselves been weakened, and have fallen.

^26:3^ If a camp should stand against me, my heart shall not fear. If a battle should rise up against me, in this will I be confident.

^26:4^ One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. That I may see the delight of the Lord, and may visit his temple.

^26:5^ For he has hidden me in his tabernacle; in the day of evils, he has protected me in the secret place of his tabernacle.

^26:6a^ He has exalted me upon a rock and now he has lifted up my head above my enemies.

^26:6b^ I have gone round and have offered up in his tabernacle a sacrifice of jubilation. I will sing and recite a psalm to the Lord.

^26:7^ Hear, O Lord, my voice, with which I have cried to you. Have mercy on me and hear me.

^26:8^ My heart has said to you, “My face has sought you.” Your face, O Lord, will I still seek.

^26:9a^ Turn not away your face from me; turn not away in your wrath from your servant.

^26:9b^ You are my helper, forsake me not; do not despise me, O God my Savior. ^26:10^ For my father and my mother have left me, but the Lord has taken me up.

^26:11^ Set me, O Lord, a law in your way, and guide me in the right path, because of my enemies.

^26:12^ Deliver me not over to the will of those who trouble me; for unjust witnesses have risen up against me and iniquity has lied to itself.

^26:13^ I believe I will see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

^26:14^ Expect the Lord, do manfully, and let your heart take courage, and wait for the Lord.

233. Now having prayed, the psalmist speaks about the trust engendered by the prayer, and he makes two points regarding this.

First, he describes the trust engendered.

Second, he proceeds to pray that he will not fail in his trust: unto you, O Lord (Ps 27:1).

The title is unto the end, a psalm before he was anointed.

It should be noted that, as the gloss broadly says, David was anointed as king on three occasions. (Peter Lombard, Magna glossatura (Patrologia Latina [Migne], 191:265–67).)

The first was by Samuel. And then he was not really king but had a sign of kingship. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren (1 Sam 16:13). Then the Spirit of the Lord was sent upon David, since from then on he was a prophet, according to Jerome and Josephus. (Jerome, Divina biblioteca, Liber I Samulis 16 (Patrologia Latina [Migne], 28:591); Flavius Josephus, Antiquities 6.9.)

The second was in Hebron: the men of Judah came, and anointed David to be the king of Judah (2 Sam 2:4).

The third was when he reigned over all Israel after Isboseth the son of Saul had been killed (1 Sam 8:15).

These two anointings are counted as one, since in each one of them he was anointed for the real dignity of the kingship.

After the first, he suffered persecution from Saul, but after the second and the third he reigned in peace.

But on the contrary are the events concerning Absalom.

I respond that it should be said that he did not suffer persecution from outsiders, but from Absalom and Ziba. So he made this psalm before the second anointing.

Nevertheless, it seems better that the two anointings be referred to Christ in the New Testament as priest and king. And Christ was anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit: God has anointed you (Ps 44:8) as king and priest. And this anointing has poured down upon us. Like the precious ointment on the head, that ran down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron (Ps 132:2). Of his fullness we have all received (John 1:16).

Therefore, we are first anointed with a priestly anointing in the figure of the future king; we will be kings and free men.

And since we now suffer from our enemies, afterwards we will be anointed in two ways with actual glory, namely, with the stole of glory for the soul and for the body.

Now Christ was first anointed with the anointing of grace, and afterwards with that of glory.

Therefore, this psalm is divided into three parts.

In the first, he describes the trust engendered in God.

In the second, he shows the desire that comes from the trust engendered, at one thing I have asked.

In the third, he describes the fulfillment of his desire, at hear, O Lord.

He considers three aspects of the first.

First, he remembers the favors God had supplied to him, on account of which he does not fear, but is secure.

Second, he remembers the obstacles prepared by God for his enemies, at while the wicked draw near.

Third, he shows the trust that he has in God, at if a camp should stand.

Now, it should be noted that sometimes someone is aroused to fear from an interior cause and sometimes from an exterior cause.

Therefore, he first describes help against the first cause,

and second, against the second: the Lord is the protector.

Now there are two interior causes for fear: ignorance and weakness. So there is greater fear in darkness.

The second cause of fear is weakness.

And there is a remedy given by God against these.

Light is against the first, so he says, the Lord is my light. When I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light (Mic 7:8).

Salvation is against the second, so it follows, and my salvation. In God is my salvation and my glory; he is the God of my help, and my hope is in God (Ps 61:8).

And so he shows his trust: whom shall I fear, so illuminated? Who are you that you should be afraid of a mortal man and of the son of man who shall wither away like grass? (Isa 51:12). It is God who justifies, who is he that shall condemn? . . . If God is for us, who is against us? (Rom 8:34, 31).

The external cause is the man who opposes, but he should no longer be feared, since the Lord acts against him like a shield. So he says, the Lord is the protector of my life. I am your protector and your reward exceedingly great (Gen 15:1).

And so he says, of whom shall I be afraid? If of whom is taken in the masculine, the sense is “by whom,” namely, by what man. If it is taken as neuter, it means, “by what thing.” And so nothing should be feared, neither man or any thing.

While the wicked draw near against me. And since it can be said that God is the illuminator even of his enemies, he says here that God opposes them by removing this.

First, he speaks about their attempt.

Second, he describes the obstacle coming upon them, at they themselves have been weakened.

He makes three points about their attempt.

First, he puts forward their presumptuous attack;

second, their perverse act;

and third, their wicked effect.

In regard to the insult, he says, while the wicked draw near against me, that is, having the intention of harming, against me, that is, displaying themselves to me. Her adversaries are become her lords; her enemies are enriched because the Lord has spoken against her for the multitude of her iniquities; her children are led into captivity before the face (Lam 1:5).

In regard to the action, he says that they come to afflict me more seriously, to eat my flesh, that is, my bodily life. Let us swallow him up alive like hell and whole (Prov 1:12). Who have eaten the flesh of my people, and have flayed their skin from off them (Mic 3:3).

Or, to should be understood as indicating a consequence, so that the sense is, they eat my flesh, that is, my fleshly desires, since when the evil persecute the good, the evil or persecutors intend something, that is, bodily harm, and the first explanation follows this. But God, in permitting this, intends something else, namely, to purify from all carnal desires, and this is the second explanation. And the Apostle speaks in this way. Those who are Christ’s have crucified their flesh, with the vices and concupiscences (Gal 5:24).

In regard to the effect, he says, my enemies who trouble me. Those who trouble me will rejoice when I am moved (Ps 12:5).

They have been weakened, since they are not able to fulfill their intention; they have fallen, since they are overcome and swallowed up. But the Lord is with me as a strong warrior; therefore, those who persecute me shall fall, and shall be weak (Jer 20:11).

234. If a camp should stand against me. A man should have security against two things:

first, against the schemes of the evil;

second, against suffering from them, at if a battle should rise.

Therefore, he says, the Lord is my light, so that my enemies have fallen before me.

Following the gloss: (Jean-Eric Stroobant suggests that the word in the Latin should be ergo instead of glossa in his Thomas D’Aquin Commentaire sur Les Psaumes (Paris: Cerf, 1996), 317. Lombard’s Gloss does allude, however, to conspiracies going on in the camps; see Peter Lombard, Magna glossatura (Patrologia Latina [Migne] 191:269).) if a camp—camps are where soldiers rest—should stand against me, my heart shall not fear. While a man is in the camps, he does not fight, but plans and counsels fighting. Through a camp should be understood the counsels and plots of the wicked against someone. An angel of the Lord slew in the camp of the Assyrians (2 Kgs 19:35). The morning watch was come, and behold, the Lord ascends over the camp, and slew (Exod 14:24; 1 Sam 11).

My heart shall not fear, since the Lord is with me. Set me beside you and let any man’s hand fight against me (Job 17:3).

But if battle should rise against me, that is, if they attack me, and do battle against me, although they are many, in this will I be confident, since as is said, the success of war is not in the multitude of the army, but strength comes from heaven (1 Macc 3:19). For it is the custom of friends to help friends when they are attacked by enemies. Your comforts have given joy to my soul (Ps 93:19).

235. One thing I have asked of the Lord. Above, the psalmist described the trust engendered by prayer; now here he describes his desire that arose from this trust, and he makes two points about this.

First, he puts his desire forward.

Second, he assigns a cause to it, at for he has hidden me.

He considers three aspects of his desire.

First, he describes the quality of his desire;

second, the thing desired itself, at that I may dwell;

and third, his intention regarding the end, at that I may see the delight.

Therefore, the quality of a desire consists in two things: namely, in its unity and in its intensity. And both belong to the perfection of desire.

For the perfection of a desire depends on the perfection of its cause, namely love, which, when it is perfect, first gathers all the powers together into one, and moves them towards the beloved. (ST II-II, q. 23, a. 6.) For it is, according to Augustine, the weight of the one who loves. (Augustine, Confessions 13.10.) Now, a heavy thing tends to one direction without wavering, but this is not so if the thing is not well-weighted. But the divine love makes the whole man tend to God without wavering. For what have I in heaven, and besides you what do I desire upon earth? (Ps 72:25). Gregory says, the strength of love multiplies eagerness to seek. (Gregory the Great, XL homilarium in Evangelia libri duo 2.25 (Patrologia Latina [Migne], 76:1189).) Anna the prophetess did this, who departed not from the temple, by fastings and prayers serving night and day (Luke 2:37). And so it is said, but one thing is necessary (Luke 10:42). So he says, one thing I have asked, that is, one item or one petition. I desire one small petition of you, do not put me to shame (1 Kgs 2:20).

Second, he is intensely desirous, since love is like a stimulus and a fire. The lamps thereof are lamps of fire (Song 8:6). The charity of God presses us (2 Cor 5:14). So he says, this will I seek after. If you seek, seek (Isa 21:12). Seek and you shall find (Matt 7:7).

Afterwards, the thing asked for is defined, so he says, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord.

The spiritual house of the Lord is twofold, and there is a third material thing, namely, a church, in which it is salutary to die. This is no other but the house of God, and the gate of heaven (Gen 28:17). For in it, the soul of man is excited to devotion.

The spiritual house of God is the Church Militant. That you may know how you ought to behave in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim 3:15).

The other is the Church Triumphant. If our earthly house of this habitation be dissolved, that we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in heaven (2 Cor 5:1).

Therefore, this can be understood about both, since this house is the way to the other and its door. This is the gate of the Lord; the just shall enter through it (Ps 117:20).

And so we should desire to live in that house, namely the Church, all the days of my life, that is, even to the end. This is my rest for ever and ever: here will I dwell, for I have chosen it (Ps 131:14).

Now he dwells in the house of God through faith and charity and harmony in good works. Who makes men of one manner to dwell in a house (Ps 67:7). And it is praiseworthy to always dwell in it and to never be separated from it. Now, a man is separated from the Church through sin, through excommunication, and through schism or heresy. Therefore, he who dwells in it until the end, that is, in this Church, dwells in it forever. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord (Ps 83:5).

Next, he describes his intention: that I may see the delight of the Lord and may visit his temple.

And he describes two things:

that I may see the delight of the Lord

and may visit his temple.

Another text has, that I may live there continuously. Jerome has, and I may see the beauty of the Lord. According to Augustine: that there is a reward. (Augustine, Expositions on the Psalms 90.16 (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina, 39:1277).) Now this is eternal life: that they may know (John 17:3).

There are three desirable things in this vision which man naturally desires to see.

First is beauty. The highest beauty is in God himself, since beauty consists in shapeliness, but God is the form informing all things, and so he says, according to one text, that I may see the delights of the Lord. With beauty, if they, being delighted, took them to be gods, let them know how much the Lord of them is more beautiful than they, for the first author of beauty made all those things (Wis 13:3). (Cf. ST I, q. 5, a. 4.)

Second is delightfulness, and it drives away sorrow, and so a second text has, that I may contemplate the delights of the Lord, that is, the goodness of God in which is the highest delight. At your right hand are delights, even to the end (Ps 15:11).

Third is the orderly disposition of things. So there is great delight in understanding the knowledge of all things which are in the world, and so to see the disposition of divine providence is most greatly delightful. And so he says, that I may see the will of the Lord, that is, the reason willed and disposed by God. (In this quotation, Thomas is using a version which has swapped the word voluptatem (delight) for voluntatem (will).) That you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God (Rom 12:2).

Now we have this imperfectly and through faith in this life, but in the future we will have this perfectly in the house where the saints are contemplating God face to face. But we all contemplating the glory of the Lord with open face (2 Cor 3:18). Therefore, the saints who are in the fatherland order their contemplation to God himself and to those things which are ordered to God himself, and so he says, that I may visit his temple, that is, frequently see the temple, that is, the humanity of Christ. But he spoke this of the temple of his body (John 2:21).

Or we will visit, or see, the ordering of the Church. For the temple of God is holy, which you are (1 Cor 3:17).

Likewise, we will see the disposition of the whole world, and so in Hebrew, the psalm has, at daybreak, that is, that I may remain at daybreak. In the morning I will stand before you (Ps 5:5).

236. For he has hidden me in his tabernacle. Here the reason for the desire to dwell in the house of the Lord is given, as if one were to say, “Why do you desire so greatly to dwell in the house of God?” The reason is because of the favors received, and he makes two points about this.

First, he describes the favors themselves;

second, he adds the recompense, at I have gone around.

He makes two points about the favors.

First, he describes the favor of protection from evil;

second, the favor of progress in the good, at he has exalted me upon a rock.

He makes two observations about protection from evils.

First, he describes the favor;

second, he shows the need for it, at in the day of evils.

Therefore, he says, “Why do you ask to dwell in the house of the Lord?” For he has hidden me in his tabernacle.

And according to the literal sense, this is about what is described in 1 Samuel 24 when David fled to safety in the place of Engedi and hid himself there. So he speaks as a person fleeing and hiding in some place. According to the literal sense, the tabernacle was the place in which those praying were protected by divine help, and especially in the holy of holies where the propitiation was, and so they called the tabernacle of God the defense; as is said, he will overshadow you with his shoulders, and under his wings you shall trust (Ps 90:4). He spread his wings and has taken him and carried him on his shoulders (Deut 32:11).

But mystically, the tabernacle is said about the assumed humanity or the flesh of Christ in which he hides us through faith and hope. Your life is hid with Christ in God (Col 3:3).

Or in another way, the tabernacle is said to be the whole order of the Church, and the just man is hidden in both of these, since certain things do hide in this tabernacle under the appearances. The invisible and spiritual things are hidden where the good tend to be. Now the evil tend to be on the exterior. There shall be a tabernacle in the daytime from the heat (Isa 4:6).

But what does this shelter offer? Indeed, it was necessary to me in the day of evils, or of all those evils which were then threatening. And as when the enemy or tribulation approaches, those alone will be saved who return into the city, so those perish in tribulation who have their affections in exterior things, since when tribulation comes they are troubled about these things. Therefore, God himself is hidden, or Christ, or the mind of the just. Your Father who sees in secret will repay you (Matt 6:4).

237. He has exalted me upon a rock. Here he puts forward the other favor—advancement in the good—and it is twofold.

The first is exaltation in regard to oneself;

the second is in regard to enemies, at now he has lifted up my head.

Therefore, he says: he has exalted me upon a rock. According to the literal sense, he alludes to deeds that concern himself, since when he was suffering persecution, he went through impassable rocks as in 1 Samuel 24. But when he evaded them, then he exalted my heart above my enemies.

But it can be explained mystically: he has exalted me upon a rock, that is, in Christ. And the rock was Christ (1 Cor 10:4).

Or it is upon a rock, that is, in God. The Lord is my rock (2 Sam 22:2). When my heart was in anguish, you have exalted me upon a rock (Ps 60:3).

And he has already exalted him, as if to say, “I accomplished this in hope, but now it has taken place in reality.” He has lifted up my head, that is, my mind, above my enemies, that is, over all my appetites. Your lust shall be under you (Gen 4:7).

238. I have gone round. Here is described the recompense for the favors, and he describes two.

First is sacrifice: and I have offered up.

Second is song.

Jerome joins this with the previous: above my enemies, and they are around us.

I have gone round, that is, I have stood around offering devout prayers for them. Instead of making me a return of love, that is, as they ought, they detracted me (Ps 108:4). He himself stood around the altar (Sir 50:13).

Likewise, it belongs to the active soldier to encircle and protect the camp, as is said about Judas. He protected the camp with his sword (1 Macc 3:3). So, I have gone round, that is, I have protected.

Or, this circuit refers to contemplation.

A circle has two properties that distinguish it among the other figures.

One is that it has greater capacity than the others.

Another is that it is entirely uniform, without angles, and this fits contemplation. (Cf. ST II-II, q. 180, a. 3.)

It is so first in regard to its capacity, since one is said to circle by contemplating when all things which should be considered are contemplated. So he says, I have gone round, that is, I have considered all of your gifts and the favors of the Church.

Blessed Dionysius described three motions, namely, the circular, the straight, and the oblique. (Dionysius, The Divine Names 4.8 (Patrologia Graeca [Migne], 3:767–68).)

In the straight motion, something is moved differently, since it always has a different distance. And so in contemplation the movement is straight when someone is moved from one thing to another by considering the procession of things.

Someone is moved in a circular motion in contemplation when the thought of the soul is uniform, and then it is called circular when it recalls the soul from things. And first, he is gathered into himself; afterwards he is united to spiritual things; and afterwards, he ascends in contemplation of the one God.

An oblique motion is composed of both, when someone proceeds through the consideration of creatures but then goes on to the contemplation of God.

And so he says, I have gone round, in uniformity. This was the appearance of the brightness round about (Ezek 1:28).

And I have offered up. Now, there is a twofold sacrifice: the interior, by which a man gives his own soul to God. A sacrifice to God, namely, one acceptable to God, is an afflicted spirit (Ps 50:19). And every exterior sacrifice is ordered to representing this, so Augustine says, when you are offering exteriorly, it is to represent your soul offered to God. (Augustine, City of God 10.5.)

But since every representation acts through some sign, among which words hold the first place, so among sacrifices it seems that preeminence belongs to the sacrifice of praise. The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me (Ps 49:23). So he says, I have offered up in your tabernacle a sacrifice, not of cattle, but rather, a sacrifice of jubilation, that is, of divine praise.

And by this jubilation, I will sing to you a song with joy of mind and righteousness of works. My heart is ready (Ps 107:2). I will sing, as if to say, “I have a heart prepared to serve you with gladness of mind.” Serve the Lord with gladness (Ps 99:2).

239. Hear, O Lord, my voice. Above, the psalmist described his desire; here he bursts forth in asking for the thing desired, and he does this in three stages.

First, he asks to be heard.

Second, he puts his petition forward, at my heart has said to you.

Third, he shows the trust that he has in being heard, at I believe I will see the good things of the Lord.

Therefore, he introduces two reasons for being heard.

One is from his own devotion.

Another is from his misery.

Devotion is the cause for anyone being heard by God. Devotion is a cry of the heart which brings God to hear. And so he says, hear, since I do not cry externally but interiorly. Their cry has entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth (Jas 5:4).

Likewise, our misery provokes him to hear. I have seen the affliction of my people and am come down to deliver them (Exod 3:7; Acts 7:34). So he says, have mercy on me and hear me, as if to say, “I know my miserable self and my misery, so it belongs to you to have mercy.” Hear me a poor wretch making supplication (Jdt 9:17).

240. My heart has said to you. Here he gives his petitions.

First, he asks to see the divine face;

second, for the divine help, at you are my helper;

and third, for the direction of his way, at set me, O Lord, a way.

In regard to the divine face, he shows that he has a desire for the thing requested that is great, and intimate, and anxious, and assiduous.

It is intimate, since my heart has said to you. Sometimes a man asks for something with his mouth, but his heart has turned away to something else. Not every one who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter (Matt 7:21). This people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me (Isa 29:13, Matt 15:28). But when the petition comes from the intimate desire of the heart, then it is accepted by God, since then not only the mouth, but also the heart asks. Therefore has your servant found in his heart to pray this prayer to you (1 Sam 7:27). I cried with my whole heart (Ps 118:145).

He is said to have anxiety and proportion when he says, I have sought you. Sometimes it happens that what is desired is intimate and quiet and not much sought, but when desire is anxious, then one truly seeks. So he says, I have sought you, that is, I have asked frequently and diligently.

This shows a proportionate desire, since the image is not perfected unless it attains to the exemplar according to which it was made. So he says, my face has sought you. The face of a man is interior in that sight is interior—that is, the soul or the rational mind—and this, namely, my face, which is made to your image, has sought you. So he cannot be reformed and perfected unless he is joined to you, Lord. So as everything seeks its own perfection, so our mind seeks God.

And he shows that it is assiduous, since I will seek, that is, I will ask again and again. If you seek, seek (Isa 21:12). Seek and you shall find (Matt 7:7). It is proper for a lover to seek the beloved thing often. And he shows what he seeks when he says, your face, O Lord, will I seek. Moses asked for this. Show me your face (Exod 33:13). And the Lord did not immediately show him, but he said, I will show you all good (Exod 33:19). Blessed are the eyes that see the things that you see (Luke 10:23). And so David was not without hope, but still sought, so he says, in another place, show us your face (Ps 79:4). He shall pray to God, and he will be gracious to him, and he shall see his face with joy (Job 33:26).

241. Turn not away your face from me. Here he proposes a threefold petition.

First, he asks not to be cheated of the thing desired.

Second, he asks that the cause through which he might be cheated be removed.

Third, he asks to be directed in the way, at set me a law.

Therefore, he says, your face, O Lord, will I seek. And I ask, turn not away your face from me, as if to say, “As a man turns away from a man when he does not desire to hear him.” But it is otherwise in God than in man. For a man is changed by turning away his face. God himself is unmovable, but he is said to turn away his face insofar as we are turned away and changed. (Cf. ST I, q. 9, a. 1, ad 3.)

And through this, understand that in our heart there is a veil by which we are made unable to see his face. And so the text of Jerome has, do not hide. I will wait for the Lord who has hid his face from the house of Jacob (Isa 8:17).

Now the cause of turning away is the wrath of God in punishment of sin. And this turning away is the greatest punishment, and this is what is said, turn not away in your wrath from your servant, that is, do not be angry with me so that you turn your face away from me.

And he says, in your wrath, since sometimes he turns away in mercy, as when he does not regard sins. Turn away your face from my sins (Ps 50:11).

Sometimes he turns away in providence, when he allows someone to fall that he may rise up stronger, since to those who love God, all things work together unto good (Rom 8:28).

242. You are my helper. Here he asks for divine help in acting before he comes to his face, so that he may not be blocked from the vision of his face.

First, he gives his petition;

second, the reason for speaking, at for my father and my mother have left me.

Therefore, he asks for divine help, saying, “I desire to see your face, but I cannot come to this on my own; therefore, be my helper, that I may reach it.” My help is from the Lord (Ps 120:2).

But in regard to the superficial wording, it does not seem that the text is correct, since it seems to me to be better to say, you are my helper, and it is so in the Hebrew, namely, you have been my helper. And according to this, he remembers favors, as if to say, “You have been my helper; therefore, in regard to these things, forsake me not.”

And he asks that two things be removed: namely, his desertion and interior contempt; for if a man is forsaken, he is destroyed. Destruction is your own, O Israel (Hos 13:9).

Now, someone is deserted by another because he despised him. And God despises us, since we are fragile by nature and corrupt by guilt, and so he says, do not despise me, O God.

And why? Since you created me, and you are my Savior, that is, you saved me. Now, no one despises his own works. Despise not the works of your hands (Ps 137:8).

Afterwards the reason for his speaking is put down, so it follows, for my father and my mother have left me, but the Lord has taken me up. As if to say, “Since I have found you to be a helper when all others have failed, do not despise me.”

And so he first describes the failure of human help.

Second, he describes the divine help.

This text can be read in two ways.

In one way, according to the literal sense pertaining to David. In the history, when David was anointed, Jesse presented his older sons, but the Lord chose David since Samuel asked for him (1 Sam 16).

Or it can be read in the person of the just man, since according to the literal sense he who lacks every human help hopes in the Lord. My kinsmen have forsaken me, and those who knew me have forgotten me (Job 19:14). I looked for the succor of men, and there was none (Sir 51:10). But the Lord took him up and took up his care, and this is better. Blessed is he whom you have chosen and taken (Ps 64:5).

Now, mystically, my father, that is, Adam, and my mother, that is, Eve, have left me, that is, they deserted me, exposing me through sin.

Or, my father, that is, the devil since he was my father in the state of sin, has left me, since he does not have power over me, and my mother, Babylon, have left me, that is, they have scorned me. And because of this the Lord has taken me up.

243. Set me, O Lord, a law in your way. Above, the psalmist put forward two petitions:

the first was to see the divine face;

the second was for the help of divine protection.

Now here he puts forward another petition about the direction of his way, and makes two points about it.

First, he describes the petition.

Second, he shows its necessity, at because of my enemies.

He makes two points in regard to the petition.

First, he makes a petition for the law.

Second, he asks for direction in those things which belong to the law, at and guide.

He had said above, one thing I have asked, and had explained this, namely, to see your face. And since to reach this vision is arduous because an arduous way is traversed, one through which no one travels without the help of God, he asks for this help to be given. Blessed is the man whose help is from you . . . since they shall go from virtue to virtue (Ps 83:6, 8).

Indeed, because a man needs a guide in order to pass through an unknown way, he asks him, saying, set me, O Lord, a law in your way. As if to say, “It is necessary for me to ascend through the way, in which I ask you to give me a law.” A law is a rule of action. He advances in this way through acts of virtue, and so a law is necessary, which is a rule of human action. (Cf. ST I-II, q. 19, a. 4, resp.) As if to say, “Give me a rule of how to walk.”

Jerome has this: Lord, illuminate the way for me. The commandment is a lamp, and the law a light (Prov 6:23). To give a law is to illuminate.

But when someone knows in general how to act but does not know a particular aspect, he needs help principally on account of seducers. And he asks against these, saying, guide me in the right way. The way of the just is right, the path of the just is right to walk in (Isa 26:7).

And this is because of my enemies. This is the reason why I ask to be led in the right way. It is because he who knows the way (and the way is straight) goes forward safely if he does not encounter an adversary, but when he encounters an enemy or adversary he is in need of protection and direction. In this way wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me (Ps 141:4). These enemies of ours are fleshly concupiscence, depraved desires, demons, and depraved men or sinners, who resist going to God in the way.

244. Deliver me not over. Here he explains what was said, and he says two things.

First, he asks to be delivered from the danger of enemies.

Second, he shows that he has enemies, at for they have risen up.

Therefore, he says, deliver me not over to the will of those who trouble me. As if to say, “So I ask to be guided in the way, so that I may not fall into the power of enemies.” And he does not say “into their hands,” but to the will, that is, into their desires.

But it does happen that the saints are handed over to the hands of enemies, since the earth is given into the hands of the wicked (Job 9:24). But they are not handed over in soul, since it is their will to draw them into evil, but God does not permit this. If you give to your soul her desires, she will make you a joy to your enemies (Sir 18:31).

For unjust witnesses have risen up. Here, he shows that he has enemies.

First, he describes their intention;

second, their failure.

I say, because of my enemies, and this for unjust witnesses have risen up against me. These words can be expounded in three ways:

historically,

allegorically,

and morally.

Historically, they mean that according to the letter, some evil false witnesses spoke against David, namely Doeg the Idumean, who accused a priest and David and others (1 Sam 22).

Allegorically, they are about Christ, against whom false witnesses rose up to accuse him. Last of all there came two false witnesses (Matt 26:60).

Morally, they mean that against every just man there are false witnesses who sometimes are false teachers intending to make others fall away from the right way through their teaching. Woe to you who call evil good and good evil (Isa 5:20).

Likewise, flatterers are called false witnesses. O my people, those who call you blessed, the same deceive you (Isa 3:12). A false witness shall not be unpunished (Prov 19:9).

And iniquity has lied. Here he puts down their defect. These words, following what is described here, can be understood in three ways.

In one way like this: someone is said to speak to himself when he alone understands his own words but others do not. He who speaks a tongue speaks not to men but to God (1 Cor 14:2). And so the sense is that there are false witnesses who speak lies and persuade, but their iniquity lies to itself. As if to say, “Not to me, since I do not agree with them.”

Or, iniquity has lied to itself, that is, damned itself, since from their lies which they intended, they have incurred evil. He who digs a pit shall fall into it (Sir 27:29).

Or, iniquity has lied to itself, since they did not achieve the effect in regard to those things which they proposed to do to me and other just men. He disappoints the counsel of the wicked (Job 5:13).

Jerome has, open, that is, they have openly spoken against me.

245. I believe that I will see. Here he describes his hope of being heard.

First, he describes the hope which he has.

Second, he exhorts others to the same, at expect the Lord.

His own petition was that he should see God, and so he says, I believe, that is, I have firm trust, that I will see the good things of the Lord, that is, see God face to face. I know that my redeemer lives . . . and in my flesh I will see my God (Job 19:25—26). So he does not say, I will see the Lord, but the good things of the Lord, which can be understood in two ways.

Either he says, the good things of the Lord, that is, from the Lord, and this is not to be taken as the meaning here.

Or he says, the good things, that is, which are in the Lord, and this should be taken as the meaning here. For all things are in him as in the first font, and they are the same as himself. (Cf. Aquinas, Super Ioan. 2.90; ST I, q. 15, a. 2.) Now all good things came to me together with her (Wis 7:11).

And where? In the land of the living. The vision of God is life eternal, as is said in John 17:3. This is the land of the dying. Just as the land is receptive in regard to the heaven which fecundates it, so the life of the blessed is perfected by the immediate vision of God. (Cf. ST I, 12.5; ST Supp., q. 92, a. 1, resp.)

246. Expect the Lord. Here he leads others to hope when he says, expect the Lord. Blessed are all those who wait for him (Isa 30:18).

And while you wait have trust in action, so he says, do manfully, interiorly and exteriorly. Strengthen the feeble hands (Isa 35:3).

And he advises this because he who shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved (Matt 10:22). So, wait for the Lord, doing some good, for if the opposite is seen, woe to those who have lost patience, and have forsaken the right ways, and have gone aside into crooked ways (Sir 2:16).

Or, wait for the Lord, that is, expect the Lord. And then he repeats it for greater certitude.