Psalm 4

The prophet teaches us to fly to God in tribulation, with confidence tm him.

1 V/hen I called upon him, the God of my ustice heard me: when I was in distress, thou hast enlarged me. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye be dull of heart? Why do you love vanity, and seek after lying?

3 Know ye also that the Lord hath made his Holy One wonderful: the Lord will hear me when I shall cry unto him.

4 Be yeangry, and sin not: the things vou say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.

5 Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord: many say, Who sheweth us good things?

6 The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: thou hast given gladness in my heart.

7 By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they are multiplied,

q 8 In peace in the self-same I will sleep, and } 1 will rest:

9 For thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled

me in hope.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM. 1‘ When I called upon him, the God of my justice

heard me: when I was in distress, thou hast enlarged me. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.”

David, in the person of the Church, or any faithful soul advising sinners to follow its example, exhorts them to be converted, to put their confidence in God, to abandon evil, and do good, giving himself as an example—for when he was in trouble, he invoked the Almighty, and was heard. “The God of my justice heard me,” that is to say, the God from whom all my justice proceeds, whose grace makes me just. He then tells how he was heard, ** When £ was tn distress thou hast enlarged me.” God sometimes hears | us by removing the tribulation; sometimes by giving patience to bear it, which is a greater favour; some-| times by not only giving the patience to bear it, \

; ale is but even to be glad of it, which is the greatest favour | of all, and it is that of which the prophet -speaks ' here, Tribulation hems us in; joy enlarges our hearts; but when one glories in tribulation, his sadness is ' changed into joy, and tribulations bring to such per-|} sons not hemming in, but enlargement. ‘* uve : mercy on me ; and hear my prayer.” He asks fora continuation of the grace, as if he said, Hear me always, pity me always, as you have done hitherto. The holy prophet knew that while here below we are always exposed to danger, if his mercy do not only go before, but also accompany and follow us.

2 **O ye suns of men, how long will ye be dull of heart? Why do you love vanity, and seek after lying ?”

That is to say, how long will you have a heart of stone, a hard one, inclined to the earth, thinking of nothing but the goods of this world? For, according to the Lord, “ The hearts are weighed down: by excess, drunkenness, and the cares of this world ;” and because hardened hearts are not susceptible of celestial thoughts, but only of terrestrial and transitory, they only love what is terrestrial and transitory ; and as we take trouble only in seeking for the things we ardently love, the propbet adds, ** Why do you love vanity, and seek after lying 2”? The goods of this world are called vain and fallacious, because they are neither stable nor solid, though they may seem to be so; and are therefore, with justice, desiguated as false and fallacious, especially when compared to those of eternity.

3 ‘* Know ye also, that the Lord hath made his Holy One wonderful ; the Lord will hear me when I shall ery unto him.”

This is the strongest reason that can be advanced for man holding himself disengaged from temporal things. Because the Holy One of God, meaning the Son of God, the only one among men free from sin, came from heaven to us. Hence the demon, ia Mark iv., exclaimed: “J know you are the Holy One of God.” And this Holy One went his way, doing good, suffering persecutions, despising the things of this world, holding up those of the other, and hy such a new route arrived at eternal happiness, corporally reigning in heaven, and. spiritually happy for ever. And as he is our guide, and went before

COMMENTARY ON

us to prepare a place for us; undoubtedly, if we wa'k in his footsteps, we will come to true and everlasting happiness. And as he is not only our Leader, but also our Advocate and Mediator, David therefore adds: “ The Lord will hear me when I shall ery unto him ;” that is to say, | am now quite sure of being heard when I know there is on the right hand of God an intercessor on my behalf.

4 “ Be ye angry, and sin not: the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.”

The Holy Ghost having severely reproved and admonished mankind, and advised them to repent, tells them now what they ought to do, and instructs them to have a holy horror of sin, to resist their evil desires, and, by such means, to avoid sin; and, should they happen to fall, at once to be sorry and contrite ; and not to stop at the doing no harm, but

_to go further, by offering the sacrifice of justice in ‘doing good. ‘‘ Be angry, and sin not;” that is to _ Say, when your wicked and rebellious temper, the ) top and bottom of all our sins, stirs us up, let your auger vent itself on your own poor corrupt self ; con- | dend with it, so that you shall not fall into sin. St. Basil tells us that anger was implanted in us by God, | ¢o be a source of merit, “ The things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds ;” that is to say, in the dead hour of night, when you shall be alone in your bedchamber, free from all cares ; then turn over all your shortcomings, and in God’s presence be sorry for them, imitating the example of

David himself, who in Psalm vi. says, “ Every night.

Twill wash my bed; I will water my couch with my tears,’ thus carrying out the advice he gave to others,

5 “ Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord: many say, Who sheweth us good things?”

The second part of sanctity is here pourtrayed, namely, the going farther than doing no evil, but producing good. Good works are here called the sacrifice of justice, by reason of their being highly agreeable to God, and their contributing to his glory. “ Tet them see your good works, that they may glorify your Father who is in heaven,” saith our Lord. St. Paul on alms says: “I have received your offerings in the odour of sweetness ;” on fasting, and other corporal works, he has, Romans xii., ‘ Z beseech you, therefore, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God;” observe, though, how he adds: “ and trust in the Lord,” for fear of presumption, which is always lying in wait on our good works. We must work well, but in such manner as not to be proudly confident in our works, like the Pharisee, ‘‘ Who gave thanks to God, that he was not like other men,” gc. Let us rather hope in the Lord, who will enable us to avoid gin, to produce good works, and arrive at the harbour of eternal salvation. For, as presumption is like a poison destroying the merit of our good works, so humble diffidence in our own strength, and a reliance

i on God, is like salt, seasoning and preserving all our

good actions. ‘‘ Many say, Who sheweth us good things?” ~ A common objection of the carnal, who are numerous, hence “‘ many.” When we preach to them the contempt of things here below, and exhort them to innocence and justice, many reply, Who will shew us what is good, if the things we see and handle be not good ? Who has come up from hell ? Who has gone up to heaven ?

6 ‘' The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upow us ; thou hast given gladness in my heart.”

The prophet replies by sayivg that the path of justice has been pointed out to us by God; that we have a master within us, the light of natural reason, to point out the real truth, for ‘‘ thzs light 1s signed upon us” indelibly, that is, on our superior part; for we consist of two parts, the soul, the superior, and the body, the inferior. In the superior part is the light that puts us above the brutes, a light derived from the countenance of God, and wherein we are the image and likeness of God. By means of this light we can, in the first place, understand the road that leads to happiness ; for the natural law, so written on our hearts, that even iniquity itself cannot blot it out, teaches that we should not do to another what we would not have done to ourselves, and therefore,

thut we must not steal, commit adultery, &c. |

Through the grace of God we can also understand | that real happiness consists in making ourselves as.

like as possible to God, for the perfection of an image |

is to be as like as possible to the original. Such considerations produce great joy, hope, and love of God in the mind, for what is more pleasing than the reflection of ones being the living image of a thing of infinite beauty, and that he is dearly beloved by that same omnipotent original? However, as all have not such emotions, David concludes the verse by saying, thou hast “ given gladness,” not in their hearts, but ‘ a mine,’ which all just and pious people equally experience.

7 “ By the fruit of their corn, thetr wine, and oil, they are mudtiplied.”

Another argument from which men may understand that God is the author of all good, for it is he who, in the fitting time, multiplies the grain and produces the fruit, as St. Paul has it, Acts xiv., ‘‘Vevertheless he left not himself without testimony, doing good from heaven, giving rains and fruitful seasons, Jjilling our hearts with food and gladness.”

8 “In peace in the self-same J will sleep, and I will rest.”

David’s conclusion then is, whatever the conduct of those whom I have been exhorting may be, my desire is to confide entirely in God, and rest altogether in him. ‘Jn peace,” that is, in the most perfect tranquillity ; “7 the self-same,” that is, in union, along with. “ J will sleep and rest,” that is, [ will securely lie down, and profoundly sleep. Observe the word ** self-same,” a word of frequent use in the Psalms, and signifies with, or in union with,

9 “ For thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope.”

A reason for his casting all his solicitude on God, and for his saying that he would sleep and rest in peace in the other world, because God, by his most true and faithful promises, made him to settle himself in hope alone. Thus the just man, the friend of God, dwells in divine hope alone, as he would in a fortified house, doing what in him lies for this world as well as for the next, not confiding in his own strength nor in anything created, but in God alone, and, therefore, is not confounded, but securely sleeps, and will sleep with equal security in the world to come,

• PSALM V. A prayer to God against the iniquities of men.

1 Give ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my cry.

2 Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God.

3 For to thee will I pray: O Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear my voice.

4 In the morning I will stand before thee, anc will see: because thou art not a God that willest iniquity.

5 Neither shall the wicked dwell near thee: nor shall the unjust abide before thy eyes.

6 Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity: thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie. The bloody and the deceitful man the Lord will abhor, ~

7 But as for me in the multitude of thy mercy, I will come into thy house; I will worship towards thy holy temple, in thy fear.

8 Conduct me, O Lord, in thy justice; because of my enemies, direct my way in thy sight.

9 For there is no truth in their mouth: their heart is vain.

10 Their throat is an open sepulchre: they dealt deceitfully with their tongues: judge them, O God. Let them fall from their devices: according to the multitude of their wickednesses cast them out: for they haye provoked thee, O Lord.

11 But let all them be glad that hope in thee: they shall rejoice for ever, and thou shalt dwell in them. And all they that love thy name shall glory in thee:

12 For thou wilt bless the just. O Lord, thou hast crowned us, as with a shield of thy

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “Give ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my

cry.

3 “¢ Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God.”

In three ways one is not heard by another; either because the words are not heard; or because the words are not understood ; or because the person to whom they are addfessed is otherwise engaged. God sees every thing, understands every thing, and looks after every thing; but he is said, sometimes, to see not, to understand not, to abandon every thing, because he so despises the intercessor; as if he did not see, understand, or care about his prayers. Therefore, the holy prophet, when about to pray, commences by asking that God may see, understand, and attend to him. Now God despises the suppliant as if he did not see him or hear him, when the one who puts up the prayer, puts it up in so distracted a way that he does not actually feel what he is saying, or prays so coldly that his prayer cannot possibly ascend. In such cases God bolds bimself as if he did not know what was wanted, when the petitioner himself did not seem to know, in his acking for things of no possible use to him, however urgent and ardent he may have been in asking for them. Then, finally, God is like one paying no’ attention to the suppliant, when the suppliant is unworthy of being heard, by reason of his want of humility, confidence, or other requisites ; or by reason of the sinful state in which he is still, and his having no idea of penance, The prophet then, inspired by the Holy Ghost, with consummate skill asks God for the gift of perfect prayer; that is to say, that when he shall pray, his prayers may not be repulsed, but that they may be beard, understood, and attended to. Adding, “ AZy King,” for aking is supposed to hear his people; and ‘* My God,” raising up an additional claim as a ereature, and therefore depending on his Greator for every” thing.

3 ‘ For to thee will I pray; O Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear my voice. }

4 “In the morning I will stand before thee, and will see : because thou art not a God that willest iniquity.”

I will not only pray, but I will stand up in contemplation ; in the morning, before the cares of the world obtrude; and the principal subject of my meditation shall be, your hatred of sin; your great regard for innocence and justice; and therefore, you being justice and the light, if I wish to please you, I must aim at justice and innocence, and hate iniquity. Sue i - 5 ‘ Neither shall the wicked dwell near thee, nor shall the unjust abide before thy eyes.” :

God not only hates sin, but sinners too; andthere- ° fore, the wicked shall receive no hospitality from him: “ Nor shall the ynjust abide before thy eyes;” that is, you will nof look’ long upon them with an eye of clemeney. He may Jook upon them for a while with -

an eye of clemency, and give them much of the goods of this world; but such will not be of long continuance, for in a short time he will fling them from his face unto eternal perdition.

6 ** Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity: thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie. The bloody and deceitful man the Lord will abhor.”

God’s hatred of evil, or cvil doers, is not only negative, but he positively hates, seeks to destroy them, and, actually, will do so: and as sin is committed by act, word, thought, or desire, each is here enumerated: first, the “Workers of iniquaty ;” secondly, they that « Speak a lée;” thirdly, ‘* The bloody and the deceitful.”

7 “* But as for me in the multitude of thy mercy, [°

will come into thy house ; J will worship towards thy holy demple, in thy fear.”

After saying, that in the morniag he would meditate on the hatred God bears to sin and to sinners, he now tells us the fruit of such meditation, saying, “ But as for me, in the multitude of thy mercy,” much as to say, relying on thy great mercy, and not on my own strength, to avoid sin, ‘‘ Z wall come tnto thy house,”’ the house of prayer. “I will worship towards thy holy temple,” that is to say, I will throw myself prostrate in presence of thy tabernacle, “in thy fear,” for in fear and trembling will I implore your assistance.

8 ‘ Conduct me, O Lord, in thy justice : my enemies, direct my way in thy sight.”

From God’s house he now puts up the prayer that God may lead him in his justice; that is, through the paths of justice, by causing him to keep all bis commandments, and thus to avoid all sin; which is the same as ‘* Direct my way in thy sight;” in other words, make me walk the straight road, having God always before me. And he makes therein special mention of his enemies; for divine grace is needed against them, to direct, to protect, to anticipate, and to follow up the number of enemies who lie in wait for us, and seek to lead us to sin, be they demons or mortals, making use of threats or allurements. He includes in the word enemies, all those who, however friendly they may appear to be, come in the way of our salvation. For, “‘ Wan’s domestics are his enemies.” The meaning, then, is, make me walk the straight road before thee. We should always ask the grace of God to walk in the way of his commandments.

9 ‘* For there is no truth in their mouth : their heart as vain.

10 ‘ Their throat is an open sepulchre : they dealt deceitfully with their tongues: judge them, O God. Let them fall from their devices: according to the multitude of their wickednesses cast them out; for they have Provoked thee, O Lord.”

He assigns a reason for his praying for help against his insidious enemies, namely, their purpose of injuring him, and the difficulty of avoiding their stratagems. ‘ There is no truth in their mouth, et

because of

he says, because, when they want to deceive, they terrify, secking to make one avoid some trifling evil, that thereby they may be led into a greater one; when they want to deceive us in another shape, they allure by persuading us to go after some good of no value, and thereby lose one of great value. “ Their heart is vain” within, and they are perverse without. They relish nothing, desire nothing, and can, therefore, speak of nothing but what is vain. And he repeats the same in the following verse, but inverting the order of it. ‘“* Their heart is an open sepulchre,” being a repetition of, “ theer heart is vain;” and “‘ they dealt deceit fully with their tongues,” being a repetition of, “ there ts no truth in their mouth.” In making use, then, of the words, “ throat,” “ open sepulchre,” he implies that the mouth, throat, and tongue, being the members wherewith speech is pronounced or issued, are, as it were, the mouth of the sepulchre; and that the soul or heart, the seat of the, bad, foul, horrid thoughts and desires, like fetid and putrid corpses, and exhaling the foul odours of sinful language form the interior of the sepulchre. And he therefore adds, “* They dealt deceitfully with their tongues ;” that is, my enemies, having no truth in their hearts, not only say what is false, but also what is. deceitful, because they would, under the show of rectitude, persuade me to what is bad. Judge them, O Lord,” &c. This must be taken more as a prophecy than an imprecation. It means that the enemies of the just will not only be excluded from the inheritance, but they will be condemned to eternal punishment, and will accomplish none of the objects they seek for. ‘‘ Judge them” is more significant in the Hebrew, which makes it, ‘‘ condemn them.” ‘* Let them fall from their devices,” that is, let them be disappointed in the hope they had of perverting the elect. ‘* According to the multitude of ther wickednesses cast them out,” that is, their sins will drive them from the inheritance into everlasting darkness: ‘ for they have provoked thee, O Lord,” that is to say, because when they thought themselves they were injuring others, it was in reality God they injured, as we have in 1 ings viil., ** Lhey have not cast you, but me out ;” and in “Acts ¥. -, You have not lied to men, but to God.”

11 ‘‘ But let all them be glad that hope in thee: they shall rejoice for ever, and thou shalt dwell in them. And all they that love hy name shail glory in thee.’

12 “ For thou wilt bless the just. O Lord, thou hast crowned us, as with a shield of thy good will.”

The happy inheritance of the just, as promised in the Psalm, is here predicted. ‘‘ Let them all be glad that hope in thee,” that is to say, though the just are now engaged in a laborious contest, let them rejoice in hope; not putting their hope in the vanities of this world, but in the true God, through whom, in the proper time, they will exult for ever in his praise. * And thou shalt dwell in them,” making them, as it were, your habitation; they will, therefore, be in God, a3 he is in them; and he mil be all unto all

10 in them. And this external praise and exultation wiil arise from the immense internal joy and glory which will be their lot. _ * For all they that love thy name shall glory in thee?’ namely, all the truly just, love making them the just, the friends, the sons of God. Their glory will arise from ‘‘ your blessing the just,” that is, from your blessing every just man; and with the blessing, conferring favours on them, by giving them the crown of glory they deserve. And as the benevolence of God, who elected us before the foundation of the world, is the root of all good, inasmuch as from it proceed vocation, justification, merit, and glory itself, he thus concludes, ‘‘ O Lord, thou hast crowned us as with a shield of thy good wil.” I acknowledge, O Lord, that all our happiness comes from thy grace and goodness, which, like

COMMENTARY ON THE

PSALMS.

hating sin supremely. Fur God then chastises the’ sinner in anger and rage, when the chastisement does not proceed from the fatherly love he bears us, with a view to our correction, but to annihilate the sinner, and to satisfy hisown justice. This happens in this world, when the sinner is struck with blindness_and-obstinacy, 80 that sin becomes the punishment of sin; and in the other world, when the soul is Consigned to hell’sflames; stricken with Such horror, and fearing the abyss of the judgments of God, he does not say against the scourge of punishment which, instead of separating from, rather brings us nearer to God; but he dreads the supreme evil and misfortune of being abandoned to the desires of his heart, to his ignominious passions, to obduracy, ani _blindness, and finally to eternal separation from God.

the shield of the soldier, surrounds and. protects us./ \ Anger-and fury are here synonymous, so are reprove

The same idea is expressed in the cii. Psalm, “* Wh crowneth thee in mercy and compassion.”

ee ee

A prayer of a penitent sinner, under the scourge of God. The first Penitential Psalm.

1 O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy wrath.

2 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for Iam weak : heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.

3 And my soul is troubled exceedingly: but thou, O Lord, how long ?

4 Turn to me, O Lord, and deliver my soul: O save me for thy mercy’s sake.

5 For there is no one in death, that is mindful es thee : and who shall confess to thee in hell +

night I will wash my bed: I will water my couch with my tears.

7 My eye is troubled through indignation: I have grown old amongst all my enemies.

8 Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity : for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.

9 The Lord hath heard my supplication : the Lord hath received my prayer.

10 Let all my enemies be ashamed, and be very much troubled: let them be turned back, and be ashamed very speedily.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM. 1 “0 Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy wrath.” The prayer of one truly penitent and contrite, and

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and rebuke; for the prophets not unfrequently use such repetitions, by way of emphasis or explanation. 2 “ Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak: heat me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.” ‘The penitent uses some arguments to move God ot to rebuke him in his fury, the first drawn from is own weakness, as if he said, Lord, do not lool

upon my sins as offences against yourself; but as my, own wretchedness and infirmity; and, therefore, }

me. Burn me, cut me, if you will; but with a view to heal me ii your mercy, and not to destroy me in your justice. or our sins are real miseries, and the more malice we have in committing them, the greater do they become; while the less knowledge and fear we have of them, the greater is the misery it entails onus. Therefore, says he, * Have mercy on me, Sor I am weak ;” that is to say, look with mercy on my sins, however great and numerous, ia the light of so many diseases and infirmities, that make me

punish me not as a judge, but as a physician heal:

weak and feeble. ‘‘ Heal me, O Lord, for my bones 6 I have laboured in my groanings, every /are troubled.” The same idea in different language ;

| for when God does have merey, he removes the

misery, and consequently, heals the sore; and thus, \ os having mercy” is synonymous with ‘ healing.” The same applies to ‘because Tam infirm,” and “my bones are troubled; for bones denote health and strength, and one’s bones are said to be troubled when one’s health fails, or his strength is impaired or debilitated.

3.“ And my soul is troubled exceedingly: but thou,

O Lord, sii yb A sin, as he has it in Psalm |, “Mor I know my iniquity.” In other words, Lam not only wretcheil, but I acknowledge it; and therefore, my soul, looking in upon its wretcheduess and deformity, is so horrified, confused, and filled with wholesome fear, that it becomes impatient and clamorous ; “dwt thou, O Lord, how long ?” Why not pity me; why not rier

how long ? cond serene from the consciousness of bis.

heal me? The word “ how long,” without any other .

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

word, is very significant, for it indicates the expres-

fa ciper He

nn of a tre abled soul unable to utter a full sentence. 4 Turn to me, O Lord, and deliver my soul: O

save me ‘onthy mercy’ Ss sabe a TheSthir 1 araerthent, drawn from God’s mercy ; “ Turn to me;” that is, look on me; for God’s look

is the source of all our good.‘ Turn thy face, and we will be saved;” and in another, Psalm xxix., he says, “ You turned away your face, and I became j confused ;” and when the “Lord looked onRetor

he.hegan, to..weep-biterly;” and St. James, chap. i., calls God the Father of lights;” for_as.the sun by his light enlightens, ¥

illuminates, | inflames, ¢ and warms-our-souls: “ And deliver my soul;” rescue it from the pit into which it has fallen; from the noose of the hunter, in which it is held bound and captive; deliver it from the hands of its enemies, into which sin has consigned it. °* Save me;” that is, deliver me from the imminent damnation of hell; for, properly speaking, to save one, means to save them from the imminent danger of death. Observe the order followed here. \First, God turns to us, and looks upon us with his “grace. Secondly, we turn to him, and thus the soul i is rescued from sin. Thirdly, so saved from sin, we ' are saved from the danger of imminent damnation. And all these stages in the process of justification, turn up, not from any previous merits of ours, (for what does a sinner merit but punishment?) but through the mercy of God; and he therefore adds,

, “ for thy mercy’s sake,” as if he said, I dare to ask | so great a favour, having no reliance whatever on / my own merits, but on your mercy.

_ “5 For there is no one in death, thatis mindful of thee: and who.shall confess to thee in hell 2”

; A fonih arguments’ deduced from the glory of God. I ask, hesays, not “‘ to be rebuked in thy fury,” because in such case I should undoubtedly be consigned to eternal death ; and thus both your praise and your memory would be partly lost, for the damned have no recollection of God, so as to praise him; nor is there any one in hell to confess to God, that is, to praise him by confessing his prodigies and his goodness. Some will have the death spoken of here, to the death of the body only; and by hell, they mean the grave; and make the sense to be, that the dead lying in their graves do not praise God, and are not mindful of him, as they have no feeling, and they quote the words of Ezechias, chap. xxxviii., “ For hell will not confess to thee, nor will death pravse thee,” while it is pretty clear that Ezechias only asked to be delivered from the danger of corporal death. But I consider that the passage should be understood to mean everlasting death and the hell of the damned. For, though Ezechias feared the death of the body, he feared also the death of the soul, and, therefore, in his thanksgiving to God, he sungthe cintigtcy because he felt that the restoration of

arms,.and enlivens.our. bodies, } . 89. Gol, -looking.-upon us. with an eye of-affection,’

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his bodily health was a sort of intimation to him, that Godinhis goodnesshad remitted his sins, and delivered him from the danger of hell, and therefore, he says: ‘* But you have rescued my soul that it may not be lost: you have cast all my sins behind your back, because hell will not confess to thee, nor death praise thee; they who descend into the lake will not expect thy truth.” All these arguments would be of no weight, were the death of the body alone in question here. For though tha dead in the body and lying in their oe are incapable of praising God, yet their souls live and praise him, and even their very bodies in the grave expect God’s truth, that is, his faithful promise of resuscitating them. They alone who descend into the lake of eternal damnation neither expect God’s truth, nor remember his benefices, nor give him present or future praise. Sosail passage of Ezechias has been understood by Sé. Jerome and the other fathers,

6 “I have laboured in my groanings, every night I will wash my bed: 1 will water my couch with my tears.”

The fifth argtiment, drawn from fruits worthy of penance. For, as the apostle has it, 1 Cor. xi. a AP we would j iudge ourselves, we would not be judged; that is to say, if we would condemn and punish ourselves, God would not condemn nor punish us. For he spares those who do not spare themselves. He therefore says, that he not only understands and detestshis guilt, but that he will also, as far forth as he ca punish himself, both now and for the future.

“TI have laboured in my groanings,” which means, I have deplored my sins with such a flood of tears, that Iam thoroughly tired, though I do not still cease to shed them ; for, ‘ T will wash my bed every night,” means that every night, instead of enjoying sleep or rest, I will copiously deplore my sins, and water.my. couch with my tears. Tlere-wee “Must notice the profusion ‘of téars and the long duration... ofthem. For the Hebrew for washing conveys the idea, that the ‘quantity of tears shed was so great that one might swim in them, and even the word watering implies a large quantity, when the whole bed was washed with them. ‘ J will water” also is very significant, for it implies the quantity of tears shed to be so great that they ran like a stream. The words “ every night” are ambiguous in the Hebrew, for they may signify the whole night, in which sense St. Jerome has taken it, or every night, as it is understood by the Septuagint. In either sense, wonderful to be told, and, perhaps, true in both senses, namely, that every night a long time was spent by him in shedding tears. A serious consideration for those who, after the commission of many and grievous sins, can scarce bring themselves to shed a single tear when they come to ask pardon for them.

7“ My eye is troubled through indignation : I have grown old amongst all my enemies.”

The effect: of such a profuse effusion of tears. The Hebrew, instead of the word “ troubled,” has “worn

out” or “ grown dark,” to show how great was his anger and indignation with himself for the hideousness of his sins; and so profuse his tears in consequence, that his eyes grew dim and melted. “J have grown old amongst my enemies ;” that means, I cannot but be highly indignant with myself for never having perfectly conquered any vice, never subdued any of my spiritual enemies, but have grown old among them all. By enemies, he means all who provoke one to sin, be they demons or men, or vice itself, and evil habits.

8 ‘* Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity : for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.”

Having taken to heart so much his having grown

Id amid his enemies, he exclaims, ‘‘ Depart from pres? that is to say, relying on the divine assistance, / I will consort no more with you, I will not yield to } your temptations. ‘ Hor the Lord hath heard the ' voice of my weeping ;” that is to say, the Lord, moved

to merey by my tears, has not only forgiven them, but has given me greater grace to resist you.

9 “The Lord hath heard my supplication > the Lord hath received my prayer.”

An explanation of the former verse, and repeated two or three times, to shew the certainty of his. having been heard; and that thereby he may gather fresh courage to resist temptation.

10 “* Let all my enemies be ashamed, and be very much troubled : let them be turned back, and be ashamed very speedily.”

A final prayer for a total end to his spiritual diffculties. ‘* Let them be ashamed and very much troubled” for having effected nothing, but, on the contrary, having laboured in vain. “ Let them be turned back” to their own place from whenee they came, ‘ And be ashamed very speedily ;” that is, let them be off as quickly as possible, and in confusion at my determination not to defer my conversion ; but, on the contrary, from this hour, this moment, I enter on the straight and perfect way of the Lord.

This conclusion may also be looked upon as a prayer for the conversion of those who, by their persecutions or their temptations, had been the cause of his sins. He prays that they too, by coming to know the truth, and to hate sin, “ May be ashamed, and very much troubled,” and thus the more quickly converted to God. Finally, these words may be taken in the nature of an imprecation, to take effect on the day of judgment; for on that day all the wicked, whether men or-demons, who attempted to stir upthe just to impatience or to any other sin, “* Weld be ashamed, and very much troubled,” and will * Be turned back” to see the truth, but without benefiting themselves thereby. Then shall they say, as it isin Sup. v., “ We therefore have strayed from the way of truth.” That will come about very quickly, because “* The day of the Lord tarrieth not,” though we may think otherwise. But when it shall come, and come all of a sudden, then will be seen bow quickly it came.

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

PSALM VIT. David, trusiing in the justice of his cause, prayeth for God’s help against his enemies.

1 OLord my God, in thee have I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me.

2 Lest at any time he seize upon my soul like a lion, while there is no one to redeem me, nor to save.

3 O Lord, my God, if I have done this thing, if there be iniquity in my hands:

4 If I have rendered to them that repaid me evils, let me deservedly fall empty before my enemies.

5 Let the enemy pursue my soul, and take it, and tread down my life on the earth, and bring down my glory to the dust.

6 Rise up, O Lord, in thy anger: and be thou exalted in the borders of my enemies. And arise, O Lord my God, in the precept which thou hast commanded.

7 And a congregation of people shall suxround thee. And for their sakes return thou on high.

8 The Lord judgeth the people. Judge me, O Lord, according to my justice, and according to my innocence in me.

9 The wickedness of sinners shall be brought to nought; and thou shalt direct the just: the searcher of hearts and reins is God.

10 Just is my help from the Lord: who saveth the upright of heart.

11 God isa just judge, strong and patient: is he angry every day?

12 Except you will be converted, he will brandish his sword: he hath bent his bow, and. made it ready.

13 And in it he hath prepared the instruments of death: he hath made ready his arrows for them that burn.

14 Behold, he hath been in labour with injustice: he hath conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity.

15 He hath opened a pit, and dug it: and he is fallen into the hole he made.

16 His sorrow shall be turned on his own head ; and his iniquity shall come down upon his crown.

17 I will give glory to the Lord accord. ing to his justice; and will sing to the name of the Lord the Most High.

1 “ O Lord my God, in thee have I put my trust : save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me.” “In thee have I put my trust,” because nearly all

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

have deserted me, so that my very son Absalom, and my father-in-law Saul, seek to put me to death. I have no one to trust in but you, my God. ‘“ Save me from all them that persecute me.” Numerous were his persecutors—some by their advice, some by their maledictions, some by war and arms.

2 ‘ Lest at any time he seize upon my soul like a lion, awhile there is no one to redeem me, nor to save,”

Meaning the leader of the persecution ; for fear, says he, Saul or Absalom “‘ sezze upon my soul,” that is, take my life without any mercy, just as the Hon seizes on other animals, ‘ whale there 1s no one to redeem me, nor to save,” that is, if you do not redeem and save me; for David knew that all human industry, without God, was of no avail. The word ‘“‘ redeem” is used in the Scripture for any sort of deliverance, though, properly speaking, it supposes something to be paid on redemption. For, as God is said to sell those he alienates from his mercy, and delivers to the ministers of his justice for punishment; so he is said to redeem those whom, in his mercy, he liberates, after rescuing them from the same ministers.

3 ‘+O Lord my God, if Ihave done this thing, if there be iniquity in my hands:

4“ Tf I have rendered to them that repaid me evils, let*me deservedly fall empty before my enemies.”

A reason assigned for asking deliverance of God,

namely, on account of God’s knowledge of his inno- |

cence, thereby refuting Saul and Semei’s calumny of his plotting against Saul, and his invasion of the kingdom: for he asserts that he not only did not return evil for good, nor even evil for evil, but, on the contrary, that he returned good for evil. He first asserts that he did not return evil for good. “ [fT have done this,” that is, if I have conspired against the king, or invaded the kingdom by any fraud or force; * ¢f there be iniquity in my hands,” that is, if I have done eyil, returning it for good, I who was treated with such honour by Saul, adopted as his son-in-law, placed over a thousand soldiers—if I have been, as he asserts, the person to conspire against him, ‘‘ Jf I have rendered to them that repaid me evils ;” that means, when Saul and Semei, for all the favours I conferred on them, would only give evil in return, even to seek my death, I did not seek theirs, though I might easily, and could with impunity have done so. “Let me deservedly fall empty before my enemies,” which means, if such calumuies of theirs be not false, I don’t murmur at, nor refuse to fall “ empty” in battle, thatis, without any military glory, having inflicted no injury on the enemy, and after having suffered a great deal,

5 ‘* Let the enemy pursue my soul, and take tt, and

tread down my life on the earth, and bring down my glory to the dust.”

The evils he imprecates on himself, if the calumnies of Saul or Semei be true. See how they rise. First, “* Let the enemy pursue my soul,” that is, endeayour to killme, Second, “ And take it,” in such

ig

a way that I cannot possibly escape when he takes me to kill me.* Third, “‘ And tread down my life on the earth;” put me to an ignominious death, such as the death of those who are trampled under foot, and bruised to atoms. Fourth, *‘ And bring down my glory to the dust;” that my memory, instead of being exalted and revered, may be for ever infamous and opprobrious.

6 ‘* Rise up, O Lord, in thy anger: and be thou exalted in the borders of my enemies. And arise, O Lord my God, in the precept which thou hast commanded.”

Having asserted his innocence, he justly asks of God to defend him. And as God is metaphorically said to sleep, when he does not help; and to rise from sleep when he begins to help, as in Psalm liii., “ Rise, why sleepest thou, O Lord ?” he now says, “Rise in thy anger;” that is, be angry with my enemies ; repel and terrify them, lest they hurt me. “ And be exalted in the borders of my enemies,” means much the same, for the meaning is, appear aloft in the borders of my enemies, that all may see you, and be sensible of your presence. ** And arise, O Lord my God, in the precept which thow hast commanded.”

Hitherto he had simply asked of God help against his enemies; he now assigns a reason for God's granting it; and that is, because God had ordered the judges of the land to free the innocent from their oppressors ; whence it follows that God, who is the supreme Judge over all judges, ought to do so-too. ** Rise in the precept thou hast commanded ;” that is, agreeably to the order you gave.

7 “And a congregation of people shall surround thee. And for their sakes return thou on high,”

Your interference in reducing my enemies and defending me, will bring many to know you, to confess to you, to praise you, and to surround you with a congregation ; for wherever any are congregated in thy name, there art thou in the midst of them. Having asserted that ‘‘ A congregation of people would surround him,” he now adds, “ and for their sakes return on high.” As you have exalted yourself in the territory of my enemies, terrifying them from the throne of your justice, on my account, do the same when necessary—return on high again, for the sake of the congregation that praise thee.

8 * The Lord judgeth the people. Judge me, O Lord, according to my justice, and according to my innocence in me.”

A reason assigned for standing by and supporting the congregation of people that adhered to him; he being the supreme Judge and Sovereign, to whom it properly appertained to protect and govern those under his charge. ‘‘ Judge me, O Lord, aceording to my justice, and according to my innocence in me.” The conclusion of the whole imprecation, Conscious of the falsehood of the calumny of Saul and Semei, and having God witness thereto, he asks him, as the supreme Judge, to judge his cause accord-

ing to its justice and his innocence, and to give to every one their desert.

9 “* The wickedness of sinners shall be brought to nought; and thou shalt direct the just: the searcher of hearts and reins is God.”

This may be called the second part of the Psalm, in which the prophet. teaches evil doers that they harm themselves; and exhorts all to be converted from iniquity to justice. “ The wickedness of sinners shall be brought to nought,” that is, let them do ail in them lies—use all their efforts to injure the just— it will be all in vain, to no purpose; because “* You direct the just;’ by your providence you guide him, so that he shall neither turn to the right nor to the left. You alone can do so, for to you alone are the truly just known, inasmuch as it is you that search their hearts; that is, know their thoughts and their loins, that is, their desires.

10 ‘' Just is my help from the Lord: who saveth the upright of heart.”

From a universal opinion he infers, in particular, that it is right for bim to expect help from the Lord ; for it is just that God should help the just, for it belongs to him, as searcher of hearts, to save those that are upright of heart, that is, those who are truly just before God.

11 ‘ God is a just judge, strong and patient: ts he angry every day 2?”

God is a just judge, both strong and patient; but not at all times angry or threatful, only when he is driven thereto by the evil doings of those who know how severely he prohibits certain actions to sinners ; and yet they hesitate not in doing them.

12 ‘ Hacept you will be converted, he will brandish his sword: he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.”

To prove that God is not always angry or threatful, but that he only sometimes gives way to his wrath, and carries out the threats he menaced, he adds, ** Except you will be converted, he wall brandish his sword,” that is, he will so wield it in-destruction, that it will appear to emit light; and he will use the bow as well as the sword, for, ‘‘ he hath bent his bow, and made tt ready.” The sword and the bow are introduced to shew that God strikes from near and from afar. When the sin committed is proximate and patent, then God strikes at once, and openly, as if with asword, When the sin is remote, or occult, then he seems to strike from a distance, as if with an arrow.

13 “+ And in it he hath prepared the instruments of death, he hathmade ready his arrows for them that burn.”

Kor fear we should suppose that the divine weapons could be easily repelled or avoided, he says those weapons are “instruments of death,” that the arrows are. made of inflammable matter, so as to become weapons of fire, penetrating and consuming, with the greatest rapidity, every thing they strike. ‘I'he literal translation would be, “ Vessels of death;” but vessels are most frequently used in the Scriptures to signify arms or instruments ;

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

thus, in Psalm Ixx.,“ Vessels of psalms ;” Tsaias xxii., ‘* Vessels of music ;’’ Jeremias |., ‘‘ Vessels of anger ;” cap. li., ‘ Vessels of war.”

14 “ Behold, he hath been in labour with injustice : he hath conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity.”

In the three following verses the prophet shews that such weapons, being really fiery weapons, are sent with the greatest force, and sure to be unerring. For God’s providence so arranges that the very evil the sinners prepare for the just should prove - fatal to themselves ; for such is the wonderful hatred of God for sinners as to cause all their machinations to retort uponthemselves. The sinner, says he, “Hath conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity ;” “ and dug a pit,” and dug it deeply, that he might take away the life of the just man, either publicly or privately ; but, through God’s intervention, the sinner fell into his own pit, and ‘ the sorrow he conceived,” and the ‘ iniquity he brought forth,” have redoundeL on his own head. To explain in detail, “ He hath been in labour with injustice.” That is to say, the sinner has been guilty of some act of violence or injustice to the just man. The word, “ He has been in labour,” is not to be looked upen here as different from the word “ brought forth,” in the eud of the verse ; they both mean the same, as he presently explains more clearly what seed it is that he has been in “labour with,” or “ brought forth.” “ He hath conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity.” The seed as well as the fuetus is conceived. “* Conception of sorrow,” means conception of hatred, or envy of the neighbour, which are the seed of all evil; and hatred and envy are most. properly designated by conception of sorrow, for hatred and envy distort and destroy the mind of the person possessed by them. From the bad seed thus conceived spring the bad actions, such as murder, rapine, detraction, false testimony, and the like ; and though some may consider the three expressions, “ He hath been in labour with tnjustice;” “He hath conceived sorrow,” and ** Brought forth iniquity,” to refer to three different things, and parturiiion would seem to be midway between conception and birth; but, in reality, two things only, as I said before, are implied, because two only apply to the verse ii.; next, “ His sorrow shall be turned on his own head, and his iniquity shall come down upon his crown ;” again, if “ the conceiving of sorrow” be distinct from the * being tn labour with injustice,” it ought to precede, not to follow. By the words then, “ He hath been in labour with injustice,” is meant a summary of the entire, of which conception and bringing forth is an explanation.

15 “* He hath opened a pit and dug it: and he is fallen into the hole he made.”

After saying that the sinner had brought forth ini-. quity against the just, he adds, that “he opened a pit,” giving us to understand by such similes, that.

‘the wicked plot against the just, sometimes privately,

metimes openly; and as parturition and delving:

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

are sometimes troublesome and laborious enough, so are the evil doings of the sinner—hence the exclamation of the damned, Sap. v., “ We have walked the difficult ways.” “ And he is fallen into the hole he made.” The prophet now begins to shew that the evil doings of the sinner hurt themselves alone, and that they are the sword and the arrows of God ; and having finished with the latter, he takes it up again, saying: “ He hath opened a pit,” in the hope that the just man, ignorant of its existence, may fall into it, but instead thereof himself fell in.

16 ‘* His sorrow shall be turned on his own head : and his iniquity shall come down upon his crown.”

Not only occult sins, such as the opening of the pit, but even public, such as hatred or envy externally manifested, and the sins springing from hatred and envy, such as bloodshed and rapine and the like, will, by the divine dispensation, recoil on the evil doer; we have examples in Saul and David; the Jews and Christ; the persecutors and the martyrs.

17 “ Twill give glory to the Lord according to his justice : and will sing to the name of the Lord the Most High.” ;

‘fhe Psalm concludes in praise to God:. Literally it is, ** F will confess,” which expression in the Scriptures is constantly used for praise, for he who praises him confesses he is worthy of such praise * according to his justice.” I will give him not more praise than he merits who so wonderfully delivers the just and punishes the sinner. “ And I will sing to the name of the Lord the Most High ;” the same idea in different language, viz., I will sing a hymn to the highest God, to the supreme Judge, who sits on a most lofty throne above all other judges.