Psalm 42

The Church commemorates former favours, and present afflictions : under which she prays for succour.

1 We have heard, O God, with our ears: our fathers have declared to us, the work thou hast wrought in their days, and in the days of old.

2 Thy hand destroyed the gentiles, and thou plantedst them: thou didst afflict the people and cast them out.

3 For they got not the possession of the land by their own sword: neither did their ownarm save them. But thy right hand and thy arm, and the light of thy countenance: because thou wast pleased with them.

4 Thou art thyself my king and my God; who commandest the saving of Jacob.

5 Through thee we will push down our enemies with the horn: and through thy name we will despise them that rise up against us. 6 For I will not trust in my bow: neither shall my sword save me.

7 But thou hast saved us from them that afflict us; and hast put them to shame that hate us.

8 In God shall we glory all the day long: and in thy name we will give praise for ever.

9 But now thou hast cast us off, and put

‘us to shame: and thou, O God, wilt not go

out with our armies.

10 Thou hast made us turn our back to our enemies: and they that hated us plurdered for themselves.

11 Thou hast given us up like sheep to be eaten: thou hast scattered us among the nations.

12 Thou hast sold thy people for no price: and there was no reckoning in the exchange ‘of them. 13 Thou hast made us a reproach to our neighbours, a scoff and derision to them that are round about us. 14 Thou hast made us a by-word among the gentiles; a shaking of the head among the peoples. 15 All the day long my shame is before me: and the confusion of my face hath covered me. 16 At the voice of him that reproacheth and detracteth me; at the face of the enemy and persecutor. 17 All these things have come upon us, yet we have not forgotten thee: and we have not done wickedly in thy covenant. 18 And our heart hath not turned back: neither hast thou turned aside our steps from thy way. 19 For thou hast humbled us in the place of affliction: and the shadow of death hath covered us. 20 If we have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have spread forth our hands to a strange god: 21 Shall not God search out these things? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Beeause for thy sake we are killed all the day long: we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

• 99 ayise, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, and cast us mot off to the end.

':23 Why turnest thou thy face away? and forgettest our want and our trouble?

24 For our soul is humbled down to the dust: our belly eleaveth to the earth.

25 Arise, O Lord, help us; and redeem us for thy name’s sake,

-d-$*We have heard, O God, with our ears: our fahers have declared to us, the work thou hast wrought in their days, and in the days of old.”

.God’s people under persecution, and groaning in affliction, brings to his recollection the wonderful things God was wont to do for the defence of his faithful, and wonders how he now seems to have deserted them, thereby hoping to move him to mercy. “0O God,” says the prophet, speaking in the person of the Church, or the martyrs of both Testaments,

‘we have heard with our ears,” he might have said,

“we have heard,” simply, but he adds, ‘ with our ears,” to express the greater certainty. St. John, in

the beginning of his first epistle, uses the same lan-

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

guage, “What we have seen with our eyes, and our hands have handled,” when he might have said, ‘“ we have seen and handled;” but such phrases, somehow, strengthen the assertions. They say, then, when they heard it, “Our fathers have declared to us.” It was not by vague rumour, or from people we did not know, that we heard it, but from our fathers; men worthy of belief, who never could have deceived us, “‘ they declared to us.” What did they hear or learn from them? ‘The work thou hast wrought in ther days, and in the days of old.” Our fathers told us not only of the wonderful works you did in their own times, but in the times of their fathers before thenr.

2‘ Thy hand destroyed the gentiles, and thou plantedst them ; thou didst afflict the people and cast them out.”

Descending to particulars, he instances one of the wonderful works God did for his faithful in the days of their fathers, ‘‘ Thy hand destroyed the Gentiles;” you scattered, and destroyed, and expelled from the land of promise the Chananeans and Jebuseans that dwelt therein, ‘‘ and thou plantedst them;” you established our fathers in their place; ‘* Thou didst afflict the people and cast them out ;” you harassed them in various grievous battles, until you finally rooted and “ cast them out” of the land of promise. From this passage we can infer that what he said in the first verse, ‘*‘Our fathers have declared to us the work thou hast wrought in their days,” does not refer to one particular date or epoch, but to a succession of events. Because the things recorded here happened in the time of Moses and Josue, who could not possibly have stated these matters to the Machabees, nor to the Apostles, nor even to David himself, but that those facts were handed down from one generation to another. “ Zhou plantedst them,” a highly figurative expression, implying that the Hebrews were as firmly fixed and rooted in the land of promise as if they had grown there, and that it would be as difficult to expel them as it would be to tear up a tree fromits roots. Trees, also, once planted, not only grow and get firmly fixed in the earth, but they also increase and multiply, as David himself, in a beautiful metaphor, expresses it in Psalm Ixxix., “Zhou plantedst the roots thereof and at filled the land, the shadow of it covered thé hills, and the branches thereof the cedars of God.”

3 ‘‘ For they got not the possession of the land by their own sword : neither did their own arm save them. But thy right hand and thy arm, and the light-of thy countenance: because thou wast pleased with them.”

He proves what he stated in the previous verse. “ For they got not the possession of the land by their own sword;” that is to say, our fathers, it is true, in the days of Moses and Josue, fought with- the Chananeans, but, had you not been their “ helper and protector,” they would not.only have failed in getting possession of the country, but they would not have been able to escape with their lives from the enemy, by reason of their being fewer in number, less skilled

COMMENTARY ON

in war, and having fortified cities to oppose them, It was not, then, by their swords, or by their arms, that they got hold of the land of promise, “ but thy right hand, and thy arm, and the light of thy countenance,” put them in possession, and preserved them in their battles with the Chananeans, from death or captivity; and all this, “because thou wast pleased with them;” all this was the consequence, not of their virtues or merits, but of your having freely chosen them to be your people. The truth of all this is evident from Josue vi., where we read that at the mere shout of the children of Israel, the walls of Jericho tumbled teetotally to the ground; and in chap x., where we read that while Josue was fighting, that God discharged a shower of hailstones on the enemy ; and the Scripture says, “ that many more were killed with the hailstones, than were slain by the swords of the children of Israel.”

4 “ Thou art thyself my king and my God ; who commandest the saving of Jacob.”

God’s people now expresses its admiration, saying, “ Thou art thyself my king and my God;” you that assisted and protected our fathers by reason of being their king and’their God, you are our Ged and our king too; the very same “who commandest the saving of Jacob ;” you who were wont to save your people, called after Jacob. “ Who commandest ;” who savest your people, not by fighting for them, or helping them, as one king would another, but by a simple word, by a simple command.

5 “* Through thee we will push down our enemies with the horn: and through thy name we will despise them that rise up against us.”

He now shews that not only is God the same that he was in the days of their fathers, but that the people too are the same ; and that they have the hope in God that their fathers had ; and is, therefore, astonished how the same God can deal so differently with the same people ; how he could bring them off

“conquerors on every occasion, and now permit them to be subdued and conquered. “ Through thee we will push down our enemies with the horn;” we, too, if you help and protect us, will equally subdue our enemies ; “and through thy name we will despise them that rise up against us;” once we invoke your name we will have no fear of the enemy, and will make little of any attempt of theirs’ upon us. “ We

wil push down our enemies with the horn,” is ame~

taphor, taken from the bull, who uses his horns to strike down everything in his way ; so we, relying on thy power, will break down every obstacle, and demolish all our enemies with the same ease and facility that the bull beats down every thing before him.

6 “ For I will not trust in my bow: neither shall my sword save me.”

He goes on with the resemblance between the past and present people of God. As they got not possession of the land by the sword, so I and my

people “will not trust in my bow;” will not rely on our arms or our strength; ‘nether shall my sword save me;” I know and feel, that if we conquer, it will not be by our swords, but through your help.

7 ‘* But thou hast saved us from them that afflict us; and hast put them to shame that hate us.”

He now explains the expression, ‘* my sword shall not save me,” by saying, ‘‘ but thou hast saved us Srom those that afflict us;” that is, I acknowledge my safety is not owing to my own strength, because, as often as I have been rescued from any danger, you “have saved us from those that afflict us;” and ** put to shame; so protecting us as to frustrate their designs, and cause them to retire in confusion “that hate us;” our enemies who sought to destroy us.

THE PSALMS.

8 ‘In God shall we glory all the day long: and in . thy name we will give praise for ever.”

He infers from the foregoing, that God’s people, whenever they shall be delivered from any tribulation, will thank God for it, and give him the whole glory thereof. ‘‘ In God shall we glory in him all the day long.” We won't glory in ourselves, but we will always glory in God who delivered us; ‘and in thy name,’ and in the name of thé Lord we will praise and glorify him for ever.

9 “* But now thou hast cast us off, and put us to shame: and thou, O God, wilt not go out with our armies.”

The stricken people now begin to complain; they are astonished! “ But now/” you, who so favoured and cherished us, ‘* hast cast us off, and put us to shame.” Inthe days of Antiochus, to be called a Jew was a disgrace; under the Roman emperors, the name of a Christian was stamped with infamy, and the faithful seemed to have been abandoned by God. & And thou, O God, wilt not go out with our armies.” If we want to repel the incursions of our enemies, you, who always led us to the fight, will not now accompany us, to fight for your people.

10 ** Thou hast made us turn our back to our enemies : and they that hated us plundered for themselves.”

The persecution continued. “ Thou hast made us turn our back to our enemies.” We that were in the van, have been thrown back into the rear; obliged to follow our enemies as so many captives. And our enemies “ that hated us,” used their own discretion, and “plundered for themselves,” converted every thing to their own use.

11 “* Thou hast given us up like sheep to be eaten: thou hast scattered us among the nations.”

A beautiful description of the sufferings of the martyrs. You let us be slaughtered as if we were so many sheep, who are daily killed in great numbers, without being able to offer the slightest resistance. “ Thou hast scattered us amongst the nations,” those who were not slaughtered, were dispersed all over the world; as has been the case with many of the saints.

12 “ Thou hast sold thy people for no price: and there was no reckoning in the exchange of them.”

He alludes to another description of punishment to which the martyrs were subjected, as if they were the vilest of slaves ; they were employed in cutting marble, or attending cattle, or obliged to combat with wild beasts in the theatres, for the amusement of the people. “ Zhou hast sold thy people for no price;” you have handed them over to their enemies, and got nothing in return, “ and there was no reckoning in the exchange of them.” What you got in return for them was so small that it was not worth counting.

13. ‘¢ Thou hast made us a reproach to our neighbours, _a scoff and derision to them that are round about us.”

In addition to the corporal punishments, they were scoffed at and derided. God having suffered them to be visited by so many temporal calamities, all the neighbours around them began to scoff at and deride them.

14 “ Thou hast made us a by-word among the gentiles ; a shaking of the head among the peoples.”

When the gentiles wished to express anything very odious or hateful, they would compare it to us; and the people not only spoke in such terms of us, but they shook their heads at us, in hatred and derision.

15 ‘ All the day long my shame is before me: and the confusion of my face hath covered me.

16 ‘‘ At the voice of him that reproacheth and detractcth me ; at the face of the enemy and persecutor.”

He now describes the effect of his being so derided and jeered at; it quite confused and confounded him. During the whole of my persecution ‘‘ my shame was befure me;” it was always staring me in the face, and encompassing me all round like a veil; and all this confusion was caused by “‘ the voice of him that reproacheth and detracteth me;” by those who called me a fool for worshipping one that had been crucified; and an impious person for not worshipping the gods; falsely reproaching me with infanticide, incest, and similar crimes; aud he explains who these were that so charged him when he adds, “ at the face of the enemy and the persecutor,” all done by his enemies. Such confusion and shame, however, would not appear to apply to the holy martyrs, when it is written, “He that shall be ashamed of me, the Son of man will be ashamed of him when he shall come in

his majesty and that of his Father,” Luke ix.; and °

again, ‘He that shall acknowledge me before men, the Son of man will acknowledge him when he shall come with his holy Angels in the glory of his Father.” The Lord does not prohibit shame and confusion when it does not prevent the acknowledgment of, or adherence to the truth. He censures those only who are so overcome by shame as not only not to acknowledge Christ, but even to deny him; and the following verse proves that it is not of such persons he speaks here, - 17 “All these things have come upon us, yet we have

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

not forgotten thee: and we have not done wickedly in thy covenant.”

Having related the favours of the Almighty to the fathers of old, and his desertion and abandonment of them in latter times, the prophet, speaking in their person, asserts that their sins cannot be alleged as a cause for treatment so different, and says, ‘‘ All these things have come upon us,” we have suffered all these persecutions and troubles; and, however, ‘‘ we have not forgotten thee,” we have not forsaken you to worship other gods. The term, “ forgetting God,” is not unfrequently applied to idolatry in the Scripture, as in Psalm cy., ‘* They changed their glory into the likeness of a calf.that eateth grass. They forgot God who saved them, who done great things in Egypt ;” and in Deuteronomy xxxii., “ They sacrificed to devils and not to God. Thou hast forsaken the God that begot thee, and hast forgotten the Lord that created thee;” and in this very Psalm, “ [f we have forgotten the name of our God, and ifwe have spread forth our hands to a strange god.” They then insist that they did not worship any other god; and, therefore, they say, ‘ We have not forgotten thee, and we have not done wickedly in thy covenant ;” that is to say, we have not only not acknowledged other gods in forgetfulness of you, but we have not even ‘ done wickedly in thy covenant,” the covenant you struck with us for our observance on Mount Sina: And thus they protest that.they neither deserted God, nor transgressed his law.

18 ‘ And our heart hath not turned back : neither hast thou turned aside our steps from thy way.”

They repeat the same, in different terms, to establish their innocence more fully; for they say, when we did go with you we did so cordially, we neither turned back nor deserted you.

19 “ For thou hast humbled us in the place of afflietion: and the shadow of death hath covered us.”

The latter part of this verse should be read first, thus, ‘ The shadow of death hath covered us, for thou hast humbled us in the place of affliction,” which means that we have been immersed in the depth of miseries.

20 “ If we have forgotten the name of our God, and of we have spread forth our hands to a strange god:

21 “ Shall not God search out these things? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Because for thy sake we are killed all the day long : we are counted as sheep Jor the slaughter.”

They now prove, by the testimony of God himself, that they did not forget him, as they already stated ; for they say, “Jf we have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have spread forth our hands to a strange god,” that is, to pray to him, “ shall net God search out these things?” Most certainly he will, and find out all, “‘ for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.” He will certainly find out that we did not forget his name, “* because for thy sake we are killed all the day long.” They conciude by asking God to put an end

COMMENTARY

to the persecution, because they are daily put to death and tormented by reason of their adherence to him; “We are counted as sheep for the slaughter,” butchered every day like so many sheep, who are incapable of offering any resistance.

22 “ Arise, wity sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, and ‘cast us not off to the end.”

While your business is thus being done, and your servants are suffering so much in doing it, why are you silent, as if you were asleep, and were not cognizant of it? ‘Arise from sleep;” act as they do who rise from their sleep, and begin to see what they did not see before ; ‘‘ arise” to help us, “ and cast us not of” from your favour “to the end,” to the consummation, until, through your assistance, there shall be an end to the persecution. St. Paul alludes to this passage in Rom. viii., where he says, “* Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation? or distress? or famine? or nakedness? or danger? or persecution? or the sword? As tt ts written: For thy sake we are put to death; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

23 “* Why turnest thou thy face away? and forgettest our want and our trouble ?”

He goes.on with the same prayer, using two other metaphors. He drew one from sheep in the preceding verse, and now he takes one from the aversion of God’s face; and the other from his forgetfulness; neither of which can, properly, be applied to God. God, however, is said to turn away his face, as if he did not see our wretchedness, when he does not help us; and he is also said to forget when he does not succour the needy and the troubled, as if he altogether forgot them.

24 “ For our soul is humbled down to the dust: our belly cleaveth to the earth.”

Continuing the same prayer, and knowing that the prayer of the humble is most grateful to God, he now says, that he has humbled himself to such a degree, that he can humble himself no more. He who prays while he stands, can humble himself by kneeling ; and he who prays in that position, can humble himself still more by prostration ; but when once so humbled, he can go no further. Now, one can be humbled ia mind and body even to the earth : in mind, if he truly reflect, and understand, and acknowledge that he is mere dust, in the language of Abraham, who said, ‘I will speak to my Lord, J, who am but dust and ashes: in his body, if he prays prostrate on the earth, as Matthew and Mark relate of our Lord. If Luke says he prayed on that occasion, on his knees, it only shews that he began the prayer on his kaees, and concluded it in a prostrate position. The petitioners here pray in both positions, for they say, “ Yor our soul is humbled down to the dust; our belly cleaveth to the earth.” Acknowledging ourselves to be dust, our bellies in prostration have adhered to the earth, while we prayed in that position.

ON TUE

133 25 “ Arise, O Lord, help us: and redeem us for thy name’s sake.”

PSALMS.

He now adds the last and most efficacious reason: for moving God to deal mercifully with his people ; and that is, to save his name from farther blasphemy. “ Arise, and help us,” in this our trouble; “ and redeem us;” that is, deliver us, “for thy name's sake;” that it may no longer be blasphemed, but glorified ; and, as “thou hast sold thy people for no price,” redeem them now without any price ; not for our deserts, but “‘ for thy name’s sake ;” through your mercy and kindness. we will now discuss a few points that naturally present themselves to the reader.

The first is, how it happens that the speakers in this Psalm complain of being punished, without having in anywise offended; while other saints generally attribute their persecutions to their own sins. Daniel, for instance, speaking of the captivity in Babylon, says : “We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly, and have revolted; and we have gone aside from thy commandments and thy judgments.” And the three holy children thrown into the fiery furnace, from which they were miraculously delivered by God, confess to him as follows: “ For thou hast executed true judgments in all the things that thou hast brought upon us, and upon Jerusalem the holy city; for we have sinned,

and committed iniquity, departing from thee; and we

have trespassed in all things.” Such also is the language of the Machabees: “or we suffer thus for our sins.” The answer is, that God suffers his people to be persecuted by reason of their sins; but the inspired writers and speakers use different language, and different forms of speech. Sometimes they assume the person of the more infirm members, (‘for we are one body, and members one of another,”) and charge themselves with the sins of their brethren, just as the tongue would charge itself for sins committed by the other members. Sometimes they speak in the person of the saints and of the perfect, who suffer grievously in the common persecution caused by the sins of others. Thus the Scriptures do not contradict each other, for Daniel and the Machabees spoke in the person of the infirm members; the

persons speaking in this Psalm do it in their own —

proper, holy, and sanctified persons.

The second question. When God persecutes the wicked, why does he punish the innocent along with them? The answer is: when the innocent so suffer, they are not. persecuted, but tried; and God wishes, by a severe trial, as if by “the fire of the fining pot,” “or the fan of the floor,’ so to purge his Church, and to make it appear who are the true, who are the false believers, who the gold, who the brass, who the grain, who the chaff; as the Apostle says, Rom. v., ** Patience worketh trial,;” and in Wisdom iii, we read, * God hath tried them, and

For the better understanding of this,.

found them worthy of himself; as gold in the furnace he hath proved them.”

‘Question the third. Why, then, do the saints complain of persecution, and pray for a speedy termination of it? We are ordered to endure tribulation, not to love it; and nobody loves what he is merely bound to tolerate, though he may love the act of toleration ; for though he may rejoice in the toleration of any thing, he would prefer not being called upon to tolerate it. With that, persecutions and temptations are dangerous, and the victory over them being uncertain, the saints must not be tvo confident, or rely too much on their own strength.

A fourth question. Why does God sometimes pour down so many favours on his people, and enable them to master their enemies ; and at other times deprive them of all such favours, and allow them to be subdued and conquered by their enemies? To let all see that the gifts of Providence come from himself alone, and not from the evil spirits, or by chance. He, then, gives these gifts to his friends when he deems it expedient; but, for fear they may cling to or adhere to them, and take up with a stable for a house, with an exile for their country, he often takes them from them, as we have explained at length in the beginning of Psalm xli.

PSALM XLIYV. The excellence of Christ’s kingdom, and the endowments of his Church.

1 My heart hath uttered a good word: I speak my works to the king: my tongue ts the pen of a scrivener that writeth swiftly.

2 Thou art beautiful above the sons of men: grace is poured abroad in thy lps; therefore hath God blessed thee for ever.

3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou most mighty.

4 With thy comeliness and thy beauty set out, proceed prosperously, and reign. Because of truth and meekness and justice: and thy right hand shall conduct thee wonderfully.

5 Thy arrows are sharp: under thee shall people fall into the hearts of the king’s enemies.

6 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of uprightness.

7 &hou hast loved justice, and hatedst iniquity: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

8 Myrrh and stacte and cassia perfume thy garments, from the iyory houses: out of

which

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

9 The daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy glory. The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing: surrounded with variety.

10 Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear: and forget thy people and thy father’s house.

11 And the king shall greatly desire thy beauty: for he is the Lord thy God, and him they shall adore.

12 And the daughters of Tyre with gifts, yea, all the rich among the people, shall entreat thy countenance,

13 Allthe glory of the king’s daughter is within in golden borders,

15 Clothed round about with varieties. After her shall virgins be brought to the king: her neighbours shall be brought to thee.

15 Theyshall be brought with gladness and rejoicing: they shall be brought into the temple of the king.

16 Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee: thou shalt make them princes over all the earth,

18 Theyshall remember thy namethroughout all generations. Therefore shall people praise thee for ever; yea, for ever and ever.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 ** My heart hath uttered a good word: I speak my works to the king: my tongue is the pen of a scrivener that writeth swiftly.”

This verse forms a preface to the rest of the Psalm. In it the prophet tells us that the whole proceeded from the mere inspiration of the Holy Ghost, without any co-operation on his part. For, though the whole of the holy Scripture is the word of God, and dictated by the Holy Spirit, there is, however, a great difference between the prophecies therein and the historical part, or the epistles, In the prophecies, the holy writers exercised neither their reflection, nor their memory, nor their reasoning powers; but they, simply, either wrote or spoke what God dictated to them, as Baruch testifies of Jeremias, when he said, “* With his mouth he pronounced all these words, as if he were reading to me.” But when the sacred writers undertook a history, or an epistle, God inspired them with the desire to write, and so directed them, that they should write correctly, and without any errors, but yet in such manner as to oblige them, at the same time, to exercise their own memory and genius, in recording such transactions, and in digesting the order and the manner of so writing, as the author of the Machabees testifies in chap. ii. of the Second Book, worth reading, but too long to quote here. David, then, when he chanted God’s praises in the Psalms,

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

or deplored his own calamities, or that of his people, drew upon his memory and his talents, and did not compose without some trouble; but when he comes to prophesy, as he does in this Psalm, he claims no part whatever therein beyond the mere service of his pen or of his tongue. Such is the essence of this preface, which was more clearly put by~him in 2 Kings xxiii., where he says, “ The Spirit of the Lord hath spoken by me, and his word by my tongue.” He, therefore, says, ‘* My heart hath uttered a good word;” that is, my mind, from the fulness and abundance of the divine light and heavenly revelations, has given to men this Psalm, containing “a@ good word;” that is, a most grateful and saving word to all mankind. To understand the passage fully, we must go into details. First, observe the word the prophet uses, ‘‘ hath uttered,’ which, if translated literally, would have been, ‘‘ belched up,” to shew that this Psalm was not composed by him, nor left to his discretion; but, like wind that is involuntarily cast off the stomach, that he was obliged to give it out whether he would ornot. Secondly, the prophet wished to express that he was not giving out all that God had revealed to him, but only a part; for, though belching is a sign of repletion, it is small in itself; for the prophets see many things, “of which it is not lawful for man to speak ;” and, therefcre, Isaias said, “ Mfy secret to myself;” and those who have had revelations from God, confess that they could not fiud words to express what they saw ; and hence, perhaps, the prophet says, ‘‘ My heart hath uttered a good word;” not good words, in the plural number. Thirdly, the Psalm is called a ‘ good word,” because it does not predict any misfortune, such as the sacking of the city, or the captivity of the people, as the other prophecies do; but, on the contrary, all that is favourable and pleasant, and likely to bring great joy and gladness. Fourthly, in describing the emanation of this ‘good word” from the heart of David, he has regard to the production of the word eternal, and seeks to take us by the hand to lead us to understand the generation of the divine word, produced, not as sons are ordinarily produced, by generation, nor by election, nor chosen from a number of sons; but born of his father, the word of his mind, his only word, and, therefore, supremely excellent and good; so that the expression, ‘‘ good word,” may be peculiarly applied to him. “T sneak my works to the king.” Some will have these words to mean, I confess my sins to God; or, I speak those verses of the king; or, I dedicate my work to the king ; or, I address the king ; which explanations I won’t condemn ; but the one I offer will agree better, I think, with what went before and what follows; for, in my opinion, this second sentence of the verse is only an explanation of the first part, and assigns a reason for his having said, ‘‘ A/y heart hath uttered a good word;” just as if he said, I simply attribute all my acts to my king, who is God,

and claim nothing for myself; therefore, I have not said, I have written this Psalm; but, “my heart hath ultered a good word;” because the thing did not proceed from me, but from the fulness of my illumination; which he explains more clearly in the next sentence, where he says, ‘ My tongue is the pen of @ serivener that writeth swiftly; that means, my tongue has certainly produced this Psalm, but not as my tongue, nor as a member of my body that is moved at my pleasure; but as the pen of the Holy Ghost, as if of a ‘ scrivener that writeth swiftly.” He says, (observe) that his tongue is the pen of a scrivener that writeth swiftly, and not the tongue of a spirit that speaketh swiftly; because he means to shew that his tongue was like a pen, a mere instrument in announcing the prophecy, and not part of a whole, like the members of the body ; ‘‘ that writeth swifily,” to give us to understand that the Holy Ghost needs no time to consider what, how, and ° when matters are to be written; for they only write slowly who require to consider what they are to write, and how they will give expression to their ideas.

2“ Thou art beautiful above the sons of men: grace is poured abroad in thy lips ; therefore hath God blessed thee for ever.”

He now commences the praises of Christ, praising him, first, for his beauty; secondly, for his eloquence ; as. well as for his strength and vigour; thirdly, for the qualities of his mind; lastly, for his royal dignity and power, to which he adds his external . beauties, such as the grandeur of his palaces and robes. He begins with beauty, for he is describing a spouse; and, as regards a spouse, eloquence takes precedence of beauty, strength of eloquence, virtues of strength, and divinity of virtues; and, therefore, he says, ‘* Thou art beautiful above the sons of men.” The sentence, though, seems abrupt and obscure, when he does not say who is that beautiful person; but, as we remarked before, his reason for beginning with, ‘‘ my heart hath uttered a good word,” to let us see that he only uttered some of what he saw, and not the entire; and thus the meaning is, No wonder, Christ, thou shouldest be called beloved, for ‘thou art beautiful above the sons of men.” Observe, he says, ‘‘ above the sons of men;” not above the Angels, because God the Son did not become an Angel, but man; as if he said, You, my beloved, art man, but “ beautiful above the sons of men;” and so he was; for, as regards his divinity, his beauty was boundless ; as regards the qualities of his soul, he was more beautiful than any created spirit; and as regards the beauty of his glorified body, “itis more beautiful than the sun;” and “ the sun and moon admire his beauty.” Next comes, “* grace ts poured abroad in thy lips,” an encomium derived from the graces of his language, thereby adding to that derived from his beauty; and he says, “it is poured abroad in thy lips,” to shew that the

beauty of Christ’s language was natural and permanent, and not acquired by study or practice; for we read in the Gospel, Luke iv., “* And they wondered at the words of grace that proceeded from his mouth; and, in John vii., “* Never did man speak like this man.” Saints Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, and especially Saint Matthew, felt the force of his words, the secret power in them that caused them, by a simple call, to abandon their all, and follow him. What is more wonderful! the sea, the winds, fevers and diseases, nay, even the very dead, felt the power of his voice; which, after all, must appear no great wonder, when we consider that it was the divine and substantial word that spoke in his sweetest and most effective accents, in tbe flesh he had assumed; ‘“ therefore hath God blessed thee for ever.” No wonder you should *‘ be beautiful,” and that * grace should be on thy lips,” because “ God hath blessed thee for ever.”

3 ‘' Gard thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou most mighty.”

From the praise of his beauty and his eloquence, he now comes to extol his bravery; and, by a figure of speech, instead of telling us in what his bravery consists, he calls upon him to “ Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou most mighty ;” as much as to say, Come, beloved of God, who art not only most beautiful and graceful, but also most valiant and brave ; come, put on thy armour; come, and deliver your people; and he tells us in the following verse what sort of armvuur he means, saying :—

4 “+ With thy comeliness and thy beauty set out, proceed prosperously, and reign. Because of truth and meekness and justice: and thy right hand shall conduct thee wonderfully.”

The words, “With thy comeliness and thy beauty,” may be connected with the preceding verse, and the reading would be, ‘‘ Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, in thy comeliness and thy beauty;” or they can be connected with what follows ; thus, ‘° With thy comeliness and thy beauty set out, proceed prosperously, and reign ;” but, in either reading, the meauing is the same; namely, that Christ has no other arms but “ his beauty and his comeliness.” 'To understand which we must remember, that true and perfect beauty, as St. Augustine says, is the beauty of the soul that never stales, and pleases the eyes not only of men, but even of Angels, aye, even of God, who cannot be deceived. For, as ordinary beauty depends on a certain proportion of limb, and softness of complexion ; thus the beauty of the soul is made up of justice, which is tantamount to the proportion of limb ; and wisdom, which represents beauty of complexion ; for it shines like light, or rather, as we read in Wisdom vii., “ being compared with the light she is found before it.” The soul, then, that is guided in its will by justice, and in its understanding by wisdom, is truly beautiful. For these two qualifications make it so, and through them most dear to God ; and

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

are, at the same time, the most powerful weapons that

Christ used in conquering the devil. For Christ contended with the devil, not through his omnipotence, as

he might have done, but through his wisdom and

his justice; subduing his craft by the one, and his

malice by the other. The devil, by his craft, prompted

the first man to anger God by his disobedience; and

thereby to deprive God of the honour due to him,

and all mankind of eternal life ; uniting malice with

his craftiness, and prompted thereto, moreover, by

eavy, seeing the place from which he had fallen was

destined for man; but the wisdom of Christ was

more than a match for such craft, because, by the

obedience he, as man, tendered to God, he gave much

greater honour to him than he had lost by the dis-

obedience of Adam; and by the same obedience se-

cured a much greater share of glory for the human

race than they would have enjoyed, bad Adam not

fallen. With that, Christ, by his love, (which is the

essence of true and perfect justice,) conquered the

envy and malice of the devil, for he loved even his

enemies, prayed on the very cross for his persecutors,

chose to suffer and to die, in order to reconcile his

enemies to God, and to make them from being ene-

mies, his friends, brethren, and co-hcirs ; and ali that

is conveyed in the expression, ‘in thy comeliness and thy beauty;” that is to say, in the comeliness of thy wisdom, and the beauty of thy justice, guided

and armed with the sword, and the bow set out, pro-

ceed prosperously and reign; which means, advance

in battle against the devil, prosper in the fight, and

after having conquered and subdued the prince of this world, take possession of your kingdom, that you

may for ever afterrule in the heart of man, through

faith and love. ‘* Because of truth and meekness and justice, and thy right hand shall conduct thee wonder-=

Sully.” He tells us why Christ should reign, and

that is because he has the qualities that belong to a

king, truth, meekness, and justice, from which we

learn, that a king should be truthful and faithful to what he says, and just in what he does; which at-

tributes are applied to God himself, in Psalm exliv.,

“ The Lord is faithful in all his words, and holy in all his works ;” but, as there is a certain roughness or severity consequent on all justice, and is like a blemish

on it, with Christ’s justice, which is most perfect, he

couples meekness. For Christ is meekly just, judging,

to be sure, with the strictest justice, but without harsh-

ness, or moroseness, conciliating instead of repelling

those whom he judges. ‘“ And thy right hand shalt conduct.thee wonderfully.” By governing in such tem-

per you will see your kingdom increase to a wonder-

ful extent, and you will need no external aids, for

your own ‘‘ right hand,” your own strength and

bravery will suffice ‘to thee wonderfully,” and so

extend your kingdom until you shall have “ put all

5 ‘ Thy arrows are sharp: under thee shall people fall, into the hearts of the king’s enemies,”

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

He tells us how the right hand of Christ will conduct him so wonderfully in extending his kingdom, because “the arrows’ that you will let flyat them “are sharp,” and will, therefore, penetrate “‘ cnto the hearts of the king’s enemies ;” your enemies will fall before you, and will be subdued by you. ‘The arrows here signify the word of God, or the preaching of his word, for such. are the instruments Christ generally uses in extending his kingdom; hence, he says in Psalm ii, ‘¢ But I am appointed king by him over Sion his holy mountain, preaching his commandment.” The wordof God is called a sword, an arrow, a mallet, and various other instruments, for it has some similarity to them all. It is called a sharp arrow, for it wonderfully sinks into the heart of man, much deeper than the words of the most eloquent orator, as the Apostle, Heb. iv., says, ‘for the word of God is living and effectual; and more penetrating than any two-edged sword.” The words, “under thee shall people fall,” should be read as if in a parenthesis ; and they will only fall, and not be killed; they will only die to sin that they may live to justice ; that they may be subject to Christ, to be subject to whom is to reign.

6 ‘ Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom ts a sceptre of uprightness.”

He now comes to the supreme dignity of the Messias, openly calls him God, and declares his throne will be everlasting. This passage is quoted by St. Paul to the Hebrews, to prove that Christ is as much above the Angels, as is a master over his servant ; or the Creator above the creature. He then, says, ** Thy throne, O (Christ.) God,” will not be a transient one, as was that of David, or Solomon, but will flourish “for ever and ever.”

7“ Thou hast loved justice, and hatedst iniquity : therefore God, thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.”

This verse may be interpreted in two ways, ac-

_ cording to the force we put upon the word ‘ therefore” in it. . It may signify the effect produced, and the meaning would be, As you have loved justice and hated iniquity, by being “ obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross,” therefore God anointed thee with the oil of gladness, that glorified thee, ‘Sand gave thee a name that is above every name, that at thy name every knee should bend, of those that are in heaven, on earth, andin hell.” Such glorification is properly styled *‘ the unction of gladness; because it puts an end to all pain and sorrow ; * above thy fellows,” has its own signification ; for, though the Angels have been, and men will be, glorified, nobody ever was, or will be,-exalted to the right hand of the Father; and nobody ever got, or will get, a name above every name, with the exception of Christ, who is the head of men and Angels, and is at the same time God and man. In the second exposition, the word “ therefore” is taken to signify the cause, and the meaning would be: you loved jus-

tice and hated iniquity, because God anointed you with the oil of spiritual grace in a much more copious manner than he gave it to any one else; and hence it arose that your graces were boundless, while all others got it in a limited manner, and only through you. Such is the explanation of St. Augustine, who calls our attention to the repetition of the word of God in this verse, and says, the first is the vocative, the second the nominative case, making the meaning to be, O Christ God! God your Father has anointed thee with the oil of gladness. The anointing, of course, applies only to his human nature.

8 “ Myrrh and stacte and cassia perfume thy garments, from the ivory houses: out of which

9 “ The daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy glory. The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing : surrounded with variety.”

A very difficult and obscure passage. The words need first to be explained. Myrrh is a well-known bitter aromatic perfume. Stacte is a genuine term for a drop of anything, but seems to represent aloes here, which is also a bitter, but odoriferous gum, but different from myrrh ; for we read in the Gospel, of Nicodemus having bought a hundred pounds of myrrb and aloes for the embalmmentof Christ. Cassia is the bark of a tree, highly aromatic also. By houses of ivory are meant sumptuous palaces, whose walls are inlaid or covered with ivory ; just as Nero’s house was called golden, and the gates of Constantinople the golden gates, not because they were solid gold, but from the profusion of gilding on them; and thus is interpreted the expression in 3 Kings xxii, “ The ivory house built by Achab;” and, in Amos iii, ‘¢ Zhe ivory houses will be ruined.” The expression “ daughters of kings,” means the multitudes of various kingdoms; for the holy Scriptures most commonly use the expression, daughter of — Jerusalem, daughter of Babylon, daughter of the Assyrians, of Tyre, to designate the people of those places ; or the words may be taken literally to mean daughters of princes; that is, holy, exalted souls, for the whole sentence is figurative. To come now to the meaning. These aromatic substances represent the gilts of the Holy Ghost, who diffuses a wonderful odour of sanctity ; and the prophet having in the previous verse spoken of the unction of Christ, when he said, ‘ therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee,’ be now very properly introduces the myrrh, aloes, and cassia, in explanation of the beautiful odours consequent on such anointing, of which St. Paul speaks, 2 Cor. ii., when he says, “ For we are unto God the good odour of Christ.” And as Christ, in his passion, especially exhaled the stronge:t odours of virtue, of resolute patience, of humble obedience, and ardent love, he, therefore, brings in myrrh, bitter, but odoriferous, to represent patience ; aloes, also bitter, though aromatic, to represent humility and obedience: of which St. Paul says, “ He humbled himself, becoming obedient even. unto

death ;” and, finally, cassia, warm and odoriferous, to represent that most ardent love that caused him to pray even for his persecutors, while they were nailing him to the cross. All these aromas flowed “ from the garments and the ivory houses” of Christ. The “ garments” mean Christ’s humanity, that covered his divinity, as it were, with a garment ora veil; and the “ivory houses” represent the same humanity, which, like a fair temple of ivory, afforded a residence to the divinity. It is not unusual in the Scriptures to call our human nature by the name of garment and house; thus, in 2 Cor. v., he unites them when he says, “ Lor we know tf our earthly house of this habitation be dissolved, that we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in heaven. For in this also we groan, desiring to be clothed over with our habitation, which is from heaven, yet so that we may be found clothed, not naked. For we also who are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: because we would not be unclothed, but clothed over; that what zs mortal may be swallowed up, by life.” Here we have this mortal body of ours called a house and a tabernacle, as also a garment, with which ‘“ we would not be unclothed, but clothed;” and the heavenly house, in turn, a garment and a habitation. So with the hu.nan nature of Christ, that diffused such sweet odours of the virtues, it may be called a garment, and a house of ivory at the same time ; unless one may wish to refer the garment to his soul, and the house of ivory to his body, which Christ himself seems to have had in view when he said to the Jews, “ Destroy this temple, and in three days I wil build wt up again.” The word “ ivory houses,” being in the plural number, is an objection of no great value, for the prophet calls it a noun of multitude ; just as we call a large establishment the buildings, though there, in reality, is only one object before our mind. “ Out of which the daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy glory;” that is, from which perfumes, exhaling from the vestments and ivory houses of thy humanity ; “the daughters of kings; whether it means the royal and exalted souls, or multitudes of people from various kingdoms; “ have delighted thee,” as they “ ran after thee to the odour of thy ointments.” For Christ is greatly delighted when he sees multitudes of the saints, attracted by his odours, running after them; and, in fact, any one, once they get but the slightest scent of such odours as flow from the patience, humility, and love of Christ, cannot be prevented from running after them, and will endure any amount of torments sooner than suffer themselves to be separated from him, exclaiming, with the Apostle, ‘ Who shall separate us Srom the love of Christ?” And in this respect do the daughters of kings, when they run after the odour of his ointments, especially delight our Lord, because they do it to honour him, with a pure intention of glorifying him. The martyrs glorified God wonder-

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

fully when, by their sufferings, they ran after their master, to which himself alluded when he predicted Peter’s suffering, on which the Gospel remarks, “ Signifying by what death he should glorify God.” “ The queen stood on thy right hand in gilded clothing, surrounded with variety.” The ‘prophecies hitherto regarded the bridegroom; he now turns to the bride, by whic4 bride, as all commentators allow, is meant the Church ; for St. Paul to the Ephesians, v., lays down directly that the Church is the bride of Christ. The principal meaning of the passage, then, is to take the bride as designating the Church. Any faithful, holy soul even, may be intended by it; particularly the Blessed Virgin, who, together with? being his mother according to the flesh, is his spouse according to the spirit, and holds the first place

_ among the members of the Church. It is, then, most

appropriately used in the festivals of the Blessed Virgin, and of other virgins, to whom, with great propriety, the Church says,‘ Come, spouse of Christ.’’ David, then, addressing Christ, says, “ The queen stood on thy right hand.” Thy spouse, who, from the fact of her being so, is a queen, stood by thee, “on thy right hand,” quite close to thee, in the place of honour, on thy right hand, “zn gilded clothing,” in precious garments, such as become a queen. Take up now the several words. The word “ stood,” in the perfect, instead of the future tense, is used here, a practice much in use with the prophets, who see the future as if it had actually passed; and, as St. Chrysostom remarks, she stood, instead of being seated, as queens usually are, to imply her inferiority to God, for it is only an equal, such as the Son, that can sit with him; and, therefore, the Church, as well as all the heavenly powers, are always said to stand before God. The word, in Hebrew, implies standing firmly, as if to convey that the bride was so sure, safe, and firm in her position that there could be no possible danger of her being rejected or repudiated.

10 “ Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear: and forget thy people and thy father’s house.”

He now addresses the Church herself, in terms of the most pious and friendly admonition. He calls her ‘* daughter,” either because he speaks in the person of God the Father, or as one of the fathers of the Church. If applied to the Blessed Virgin, it requires no straining of expression, she being truly the daughter of David. ‘ Hearken, O daughter,” hear the voice of your spouse, “ and see,” attentively consider what you hear, ‘* and incline thy éar;’”’ humbly obey his commands, “ and forget thy people and thy Jather’s house,” that you may the more freely serve your spouse, and forget the world and the things that belong to it, for the Church has been chosen from the world, and has come out from it; and though it is stillin the world, it ought no more belong to it than | does its spouse. Py the world, is very properly understood the people who love the things of the world, :

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

which same world is the mansion of our old father Adam, who was driven into it from paradise. The word “ forget” has much point in it, for it implies that we must cease to love the world so entirely and so completely, as if we had totally forgotten that we were ever in it, or that it had any existence. _ 11 “And the king shall greatly desire thy beauty : Jor he is the Lord thy God, and him they shall adore.”

He assigns a reason why the bride should leave her people, and her father’s house, and be entirely devoted to the love of her heavenly spouse, and to his service, for thus “ the king shall greatly desire thy beauty,” and wish to have thee above him. And since the principal beauty of the bride is interior, as will be explained in a few verses after this one, consisting in virtue, especially in obedience to the commandments, or in love of which all the commandments turn; he therefore adds, ‘‘ for he is the Lord thy God;” that is to say, the principal reason for his so loving your beauty, which is based, mainly on your obedience, is, because “ he ts the Lord thy God.” Nothing is more imperatively required by the Lord from his servants, or by God from his creatures, than obedience. And for fear there should be any mistake about his being the absolute Lord and true God, he adds, “ and him they shall adore;” that is to say, your betrothed is one with whom you cannot claim equality, he is only so by grace, remaining still your Lord, and the Lord of all creatures, who are bound to adore him.

12 “ And the daughters of Tyre with gifts, yea all the rich among the people, shall entreat thy countenance.”

Having stated that the bridegroom would be adored, he now adds, that the bride too would get her share, would be honoured as a queen, by presents and supplications. ‘‘ And the daughters of Tyre with gifts, yea, all the rich among the people, shall entreat thy countenance;” the daughters of the gentiles, heretofore enemies to your Lord, will be{brought under subjection to him, and will come to you, ‘ and entreat your countenance,” will by your intercession, moving you not only by words and entreaties, but by gifts and presents: “ all the rich among the people,” because, if the rich take up anything, consent or agree to it, the whole body generally follow them. ‘ The daughters of Tyre,” the women of the city, meaning the whole city, but the women are specially named as generally having more immediate access to the queen, and more so than men have to the king; and as the bride here does not represent a single individual, but the Church, which is composed of men and women, so by the daughters of Tyre we understand, all the gentiles, be they men or women. Tyre was a great city of the gentiles, bounding the land of promise, and renowned for its greatness and riches, and is therefore made here to represent all the gentiles. ‘““ With gifts,” the offerings which the converted gentiles offered to build or to ornament churches, or to feed the poor, or for other pious purposes. “ Shall

entreat thy countenance ;” some will have it, that thy countenance means the countenance of Christ, but the more simple explanation is, to refer to the Church. The expression is a Hebrew one, which signifies, to intercede for, or to deprecate one’s anger: thus Saul says, in 1 Kings xiii, “ And Z have not appeased the Jace of the Lord;” and in Psalm xciv., “ Let us preoccupy his face in thanksgiving ;” and in Psalm cxviii., “T entreated thy face with all my heart.” Entreating the face is an expression taken from the fact of our looking intently on the face of the person we seek to move, and judging from its expression, whether we are likely to suéceed or to be refused.

13 ‘ All the glory of the king's daughter is. within in golden borders,

14 “ Clothed round about with varieties. After her shall virgins be brought to the king : her neighbours shall - be brought to thee.”

Having spoken at such length of the beauty of the bride, for fear any one may suppose those beauties were beauties of the person, he now states that all those beauties were interior, regarding the mind alone. “* All her glory,” whether as regards her person or her costly dress, are all spiritual, internal, and to be looked for in the heart alone. Hence St. Peter admonishes the women of his time to take the bride here described, as a model in the decoration of their interior. ‘‘ Whose adorning let it not be the outward plaiting of the hair, or the wearing of gold, or the putting on of apparel, but the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptibility of a quiet and meek spirit, which is rich in the sight of God.” We are not, however, hence justified in censuring the external decorations of the Church, and the altars, on the occasion of administering the sacraments, and on great festivals, for question is here, not of material edifices, but of men, who are the people of God, and members of Christ, whose principal ornament and decorations should consist in their virtues ; from which virtues, however, good works ought to spring, “‘ that those who see them, may glorify our Father who is in heaven,” as our Saviour says. The “ golden borders” most appositely represent charity, which is compared to gold, as being the most precious and valuable of all the virtues. We have already explained the variegated vestment, fo which vestment the Apostle seems to speak, when he says, ‘* Put ye on the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty , patience.” “A fter her shall virgins be brought to the king.” Though there is only one spouse of Christ, one only beloved by him, the universal Church, there are a certain portion specially beloved by him, enjoy certain prerogatives; and they are those who have dedicated their virginity to God, in the hope of the being better able to please him ; of whom the Apostle says, “ He that is without a wife, ts solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife: and he

ts divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit. But she that ts married thinketh on the things of the world, how she may please her husband.” Of such the prophet now speaks, and in these verses extols that virginity so precious in the sight of Christ, the virgin “ who feedeth among the lilies.” “ After her shall virgins be brought to the king.” Next to his principal bride, the Church, shall rank all those celestial brides who have consecrated their virginity to God. ‘* Her neighbours shall be brought to thee ;” that is, the only virgins that shall be introduced will be those that were neighbours to thee, by reason of acknowledging thy true Church.

15 ‘* They shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing : they shall be brought into the temple of the king.”

He informs us of the joy consequent on such a number of nuptial feasts. The virgins will be * brought with gladness and rejoicing,” introduced to the nuptial feast, amidst the great joy and applause of the whole heavenly Jerusalem. He, perhaps, here alludes to the canticle which virgins alone were entitled to sing there. “ And they sung as wt were a new canticle before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the ancients; and no man could say the canticle, but those hundred forty-four thousand who were purchased from the earth. These are they who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These:follow the lamb, whither soever he goeth.” Happy souls that follow the lamb in his virginal path, and in joy and gladness chant that new canticle, unknown to the fathers of old, and which can be chanted by none other than themselves, and in such jubilation will be introduced to the celestial tabernacle, which may be called a palace from its magnificence, and a temple from its holiness.

16 ‘“‘ Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee: thou shalt make them princes over all the earth.”

Having hitherto dilated on the dignity and the ornamentation of the bridegroom and the bride, he now comes to the fruit of the marriage ; saying, that a most prosperous issue will come from it, that will govern the entire world. It is doubtful, though, whether he here addresses the bridegroom or the bride, but most probably the latter ; because, he had advised her to forget her people and her father’s house ; and now, by way of consoling her for having left them, he promises her an abundance of children, and predicts that the fruit of the union between the Church and ber heavenly spouse will be most prosperous and happy. “* Instead of thy fathers sons are born to thee.” Instead of your fathers, who are now dead, that is, instead of the patriarchs and prophets, and fathers, you have left behind, and you have been ordered to forget; ‘sons are born to thee;” that is, Apostles and Disciples of Christ, able to teach, and make laws for the entire world; therefore, ‘* thou shalt make them princes over all the earth.” And, in

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

| ae fact, the Apostles, the first children of the Church, made laws for the whole world, a thing never accomplished by any one temporal monareh. For, as St. John Chrysostom remarks, The Romans could not impose laws on the Persians, nor the Persians on the Romans ; while the Apostles imposed laws upon both, and upon all other nations. And, as in the first age of the Church, the patriarch fathers had the Apostles as sons; thus, in the following age the Apostles as fathers had the Bishops as sons; who, though they may not be severally so, are, as a body, princes over the whole world ; and, thus, by means of the succession of Bishops, the Church always has sous born to her for the fathers, for her to place in their position and dignities.

17 ‘“* They shall remember thy name throughout all generations. Therefore shall people praise thee for ever ; yea, for ever and ever.”

He concludes the Psalm by saying that those spiritual nuptials he had so lauded, and the fruit of the nuptials, would tend to the glory of God. For, says he, the sons who will supply the place of their fathers will become fathers in turn, and ‘‘ will remember thy name;” will celebrate ycur grace and power, throughout all generations.” St. John Chrysostom remarks that this prophecy applies to David’s own Psalms, that we now see celebrated and chanted all over the world. “ Therefore shall people praise thee for ever; yea, for ever and ever.” From the fact of the Apostles and their successors, the Bishops, being always sure to “‘ remember his name,” to chant and proclaim his praise, the prophet justly infers that the people entrusted to their care will do so too, and that “for ever, yea, for ever and ever ;” that is, ° both here and hereafter.