Psalm 81

An exhortation to judges and men in power.

1 God hath stood in the congregation of gods: and deing in the midst of them he judgeth gods.

2 How long will you judge unjustly; and accept the persons of the wicked? —

3 Judge for the needy and fatherless: do justice to the humble and the poor.

4 Rescue the poor; and deliver the needy out of the hand of the sinner.

5 They have not known nor understood ; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth shall be moved.

6 I havesaid: You are gods, and all of you the sons of the Most High.

7 But you like men shall die; and shall fall like one of the princes.

8 Arise, O God, judge thou the earth: for theu shalt inherit among all the natiens.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “ God hath stood in the congregation of gods : and being in the midst of them, he judgeth gods.”

The holy prophet pronounces that God is always present with judges when they are delivering their judgment, and that he sits in judgment on theirs. A consideration that would prove highly useful to judges, if they would seriously consider that all causes will be judged in the sight of the supreme Judge. ‘ God hath stood;” is always present in his majesty, though invisible ; “em the congregation of gods;” in the assembly of the judges when they meet to sit in judgment ; and, while they are judging the people, he, “zn the midst” of them standing by, judges the judges themselves.

2 “* How long will you judge unjustly ; and accept the persons of the wicked 2?”

Whether this is the language of the prophet reproving the judges for not reflecting on the fact of God’s presence at their judgments, and thus judge wrongfully; or whether it is the language of God, who, on assisting at the trials, and examining the decisions, reproves the corrupt judges for their principal and most frequent crime, their regard of persons, which causes them to decide unjustly, is uncertain, but, whether spoken by God or by the prophet, is immaterial; because it is the Holy Ghost who speaks through the mouth of the prophet, and because it seldom happens that a poor man, however just, meets with favour or partiality; and it is quite the other way with the rich man, no matter how much in the wrong ; he, therefore, censures them most severely for such regard of persons. ‘* How long will you judge unjustly 2?” Wow long will you persevere

in this sin of unjust judgment? and he assigns the

_ principal cause of their doing so when he says, “‘and

accept the persons of the wicked;” for, hence all the unjust judgments, the judges not looking to the merits of the cause, but to the favour of the rich and powerful, who themselves sin by the fact of wishing the judges to lean to them instead of to justice. To “accept the persons of the wicked,” then, means to pronounce sentence, not according to the justice of the case, but according to the wishes of one party, be he friend, benefactor, or relation.

3.“ Judge for the needy and fatherless : do justice to the humble and the poor.”

Having censured the vice of regard of person, he now adverts to the oppression of the poor, which judges are guilty of when they defer justice to the poor, or when they decide unjustly against them, for fear of displeasing their more powerful adversaries. “ Judge for the needy and the fatherless.” Freely entertain, diligently discuss, and, for fear they may suffer by protracted litigation, decide as quickly as possible on the case of the poor, and especially of the orphan. This, however, supposes that they have justice at their side; for, in Lev. xix. we read, Respect not the person of the poor, nor honour the countenance of the mighty, but judge thy neighbour according to justice.” The meaning, then, is, not to judge at all times in favour of the poor; but, when he shall have justice at his side, that the judge shall take care to make ié appear, and not to allow him to be oppressed by the influence of his adversaries.

4 ‘+ Rescue the poor; and deliver the needy out of the hand of the sinner.”

The judge does not discharge his duty by giving a just decision if he do not compel the rich and the powerful to make restitution tothe poor andthe needy, either by restoring what they took from them, or by compensating them for their losses through defamation or litigation ; and he therefore says, ‘* Rescue the poor’ from the powerful, ‘and the needy” from the same sinner. A repetition for the sake of impression. In this point especially, should judges and princes shew their power in protecting the poor. By so doing, they conciliate God and the people ; but as they generally do not, the prophet adds :

5 “ They have not known nor understood: they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth shall be moved.”

He now deplores the wilful blindness of those judges, whose injustice is the cause of all the confusion all over the world. For, as the Lord himself says, ‘Jf the salt lose its flavour, with what shall it be salted?” and again, ‘‘ If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great will the darkness itself be?” so we can say of those who administer justice, If justice be not found in them, where will it be found? Injustice will reign supreme. ‘“ They have not known nor understood.” They took no trouble to inquire

into the facts nor the law of the case. Such ignorance caused them “to walk on in darkness ;” to give erroneous decisions, like one going astray in the dark ; and from erroneous decisions, from such ignorance, arose confusion, tumult, sedition and rebellion, on the part of the people; as is signified in the next sentence, ‘‘all the foundations of the earth shall be moved;” that means, the whole world will be confused, and knocked about. When the whole kingdom of Israel revolted from David, no other reason could be assigned for such revolt but Absalom’s having persuaded the people that David took no trouble in hearing their complaints, and doing them justice, 2 Kings xiii. The holy Scripture assigns bribery as the cause of so much corruption among judges. Thus, Isaias i., ‘* They all love bribes, they run after rewards; they judge not for the fatherless, and the widow's cause cometh not in to them; and in Exod. xxiii., ‘‘ either shalt thou take bribes, which blind the wise;” and in Deut. xvi., “ Thow shalt not accept gifts: for gifts blind the eyes of the wise, and change the words of the just;” and finally, Eccli. xx., “ Presents and gifts blind the eyes of judges, and make them dumb in the mouth, so that they cannot correct.”

6 ‘‘ [have said: You are gods, and all of you the sons of the Most High.”

Having hitherto censured those judges for their respect of persons, their injustice, and their ignorance, he now shews how derogdtory such vices are to the high position in which God had placed them. ‘ I have sad;” I have asserted, that you judges and princes “‘ are God's, and all of you the sons of the Most High.” He calls them the sons of the Most High ; either, because they were nearly equal to the Angels who, in Job, are called “ sons of God;” or to slew that these judges were not gods, strictly speaking, as is the true supreme God, who has neither beginning nor end; but that they may be called gods, inasmuch as they are sons of God, of the one true God ; and made, to a certain extent, gods by him when he gave them a share in his authority, and power of sitting in judgment. In the Gospel of St. John, our Lord, in quoting this passage, says, that they are called gods, because “ the word of God was spoken to them.” Then said he, “Jf he called them gods, to whom the word of God was spoken; Do you say of him, whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world : Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?” 'The meaning of the expression, “To whom the word of God was spoken,” is the being appointed to, or entrusted with, some particular duty by God. Thus, “ The word of God came to the prophets whom he sent to preach;” and in Luke iii., “ Lhe word of the Lord came to John.” Hence, we see the force uf Christ’s argument. If those whom God entrusted with any particular duty or mission were called gods, how much a better title thereto have I not, who am the Son of God, sent with all

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power into the world by my heavenly Father? We are not, however, to infer from this passage that all princes and judges have their power immediately from God. Some have, such as Moses in the Old, and Peter in the New Testament. Others have it through the consent of the people, who give up the power of the natural law conferred on them, which power had its origin in God, ‘‘ For there ts no power but from God,” Rom. xiii.

7 “+ But you like men shall die ; and shall fall WePone of the princes.” :

I have told you what you were through God’s mercy. I will now tell you what you are through your own perversity. Through God’s mercy you were God’s, and like Angels; but, from the sin you inherit from your first parent, ‘‘like men you shall die;” and, from your own wickedness in abusing the power committed to you, ‘‘ you shall fall” from the highest pinnacle of glory to the lowest pit of bell, _ “‘ like one of the princes,” the fallen angels.

8 “Arise, O God, judge thou the earth : for thow shalt inherit among all the nations.”

The prophet concludes by asking God’s assistance against the injustice of the princes aad judges of this world, and prays that he who is the real master and owner of this world may correct the judgments of man, may punish unjust judges, and relieve the oppressed poor according to his own power and wisdom ; the prayer being a prophetic one, in which he predicts the coming of the Messias, who, as he will come in for the inheritance of the world, will also se that justice be fairly administered therein for ever, through his princes and judgés, and afterwards by himself on the day of judgment. ‘* Arise, O God, judge the earth; since the judges so abuse their authority, you, that are the supreme Judge, arise and “ judge the earth,” including the judges themselves, and deliver the suffering poor from their unjust oppressors; ‘for thou shalt inherit among all the nations ;” because all nations, as they ever did, so they ever will belong to you; because you never placed any one in power here below without reserving the supreme authority to yourself above.

PSALM LXXXII. A prayer against the enemies of God’s church.

1 O God, who shall be like to thee? hold not thy peace; neither be thou still, O God.

2 For lo, thy enemies have made a noise: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.

3 They have taken a malicious counsel against thy people, and have consulted against thy saints.

4 They have said: Come and let us destroy them, so that they be not a nation: and let the name of Israel be remembered no more.

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5 For they have contrived with one consent: they have made a covenant together against thee.

6 The tabernacles of the Edomites and the Ishmaelites: Moab, and the Agarens,

7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalec: the Philistines, with the inhabitants of Tyre.

8 Yea,and the Assyrian also is joined with them: they are come to the aid of the sons of Lot.

9 Do to them as thou didst to Madian and to Sisara: as to Jabin at the brook of Cisson.

10 Who perished at Endor: and became as dung for the earth

11 Make their princes like Oreb, and Zeb, and Zebee, and Salmana. All their princes,

12 Who have said: Let us possess the sanctuary of God for an inheritance.

13 O my God, make them like a wheel; and as stubble before the wind:

14 As fire which ’burneth the wood; and as a flame burning mountains: ;

15 So shalt thou pursue them with thy tempest ;.and shalt trouble them in thy wrath.

16 Fill their faces with shame: and they shall seek thy name, O Lord.

18 Let them be ashamed and troubled for ever and ever; and let them be confounded and perish.

18 And let them know that the Lord is thy name: thou alone art the Most High over all the earth.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “O God, who shall be like to thee? hold not thy peace ; neither be thou still, O God.”

The prophet, assuming the person. of the people, prays to God that, as he is more powerful than all their enemies, he should no longer defer taking vengeance on their persecutors. ‘‘ O God, who shall be like to thee?” No one can be compared in power and strength to you, the only all-powerful. ‘Therefore, ** hold not thy peace;” have no further patience with them; wreak the vengeance they deserve on them, in which no one can resist you. St. Augustine very properly applies this passage to Christ, who, while in this world, seemed like other men, but will have no one like him on the day of judgment, “ when he shall appear in the glory of his Father, and sit on the throne of his majesty.” Who also, during his passion, was silent, and, ‘dike a meek lamb,” restrained himself; but will not be silent on the day of judgment, nor suppress his most just anger when he shall say, ‘ Go, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.”

2 “ For lo, thy enemies have made a noise: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.”

A strong reason is offered here for God’s being no longer silent, and that is, because his enemies, assembling in a great body, and from various nations, raised a most wousual tumult; and they who had hitherto been euemies in private, now openly professed themselves as such. The expression, “ have made a noise,” signifies, in the Hebrew, the discontented growl of a multitude. ‘ Have lifted up the head,” St. Augustine says, refers to Antichrist, who will be the head of Christ’s enemies; for, when he shall appear, many, who did not dare to profess themselves enemies of the Church, will openly attach themselves to Antichrist, will boldly “lift up their own head,” and will also lift up the common head of all the wicked, Antichrist.

3‘ They have taken a malicious counsel against thy people, and have consulted against thy saints.

4 “ They have said: Come and let us destroy them, so that they be not a nation: and let the name of Israel be remembered no more.”

He now explains the greatness of the danger, so that God may not wait or defer his help any longer, inasmuch as the enemy were not preparing for a raid or an incursion, but for the thorough annihilation and complete desolation of the Church of God. Hence it is probable that this was fulfilled to some extent, as it were, in type and figure in the time of the Machabees; for, we read in the first book of the Machabees, that all the nations around assembled to destroy the house of Jacob. It refers, however, principally to the time of Antichrist, for then all the wicked will, simultaneously, with all their might, endeavour to destroy the strongholds of the saicts. “* They have taken a malicious counsel against thy people;” by a malicious counsel we are to understand one not only full of craft, but also taken in private, such being the force of the Hebrew; and such will be the counsels of Antichrist; private, because he will take counsel with the devil, whom he worships in private; and crafty, for he will pretend to be Christ, in order to deceive Christians ; and, at the same time, in order to seduce the Jews, he will introduce circumcision, and other rights of theirs. “ And have oonsulted against thy saints.” They have entered into a wicked conspiracy against the faithful, who have been sanctified by the blood of your only begotten Son. “ Let us destroy them so that they be not a nation; utterly crush and annihilate them ; “ and let the name of Israel be remembered no more ;” no trace of their name, no recollection of themselves,

5 “* For they have contrived with one consent: they have made a covenant together aqainst thee,

6 “ The tabernacles of the Edomites, and the Ishmaelites: Moab, and the Agarens,

7 * Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalec: the Philistines, with the inhabitants of Tyre.

8 ‘* Yea, and the Assyrian also is joined with them: they are come to the aid of the sons of Lot.”

An enumeration of the nations who sought to: extinguish God’s people. “ Kor they have contrived

with one consent.” All the enemies of Israel unanimously conspired; “they have made a covenant together against thee;’ entered into a common treaty against your people. Here they are: Ist, the tabernacles of the Edomites; that is, the whole body of them. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, who was also called Edom. 2ndly, the Ishmaelites, the descendants of Ishmael the son of Abraham by Agar his handmaid. 3dly, Moab, the people sprung from Moab, the son of Lot. 4thly, the Agarens, the people coming from Agar, the handmaid of Abraham, but from another husband, to whom she was married, after having been dismissed by Abraham, d5thly, Gebal, the people descended from Gebal, but whether that. be the name of a place or a person is quite uncertain, as the name occurs in no other part of the Scriptures. 6thly, Ammon, the people sprung from Ammon, the son of Lot, and brother to Moab; both of whom Lot begot from his daughters. 7thly, Amalec, the people descended from Amalec, the grandson of Esau. 8thly, the Philistines, frequent mention of whom is made in the book: of Kings. - 9thly, with the inhabitants of Tyre, a town of extensive commerce. 10thly, the Assyrians, who came to aid the sons of Lot, viz., the Moabites and Ammonites, against the Jews. Those ten different nations or people represent the nations that fought against the Jews, or rather, the multitude of the eastern barbarians, who, with Antichrist, will hereafter raise up a bitter persecution against the Church.

9 * Dotothem as thou didst to Madian and to Sisara: as to Jabin at the brook of Cisson.”

The prophet now predicts, in the shape of an imprecation, the extermination of those nations who fought against the Machabees, and particularly of Autichrist and his army, comparing them to other persecutors who met a similar end. ‘‘ Do to them as thou didst to Madian.” Scatter and rout them

as you formerly scattered the Madianites in the time

of Gedeon, Judges vi. and vii. ; “as to Sisara,” the leader of king Jabin’s army; “as to Jabin at the brook of Cisson;” and as you destroyed Jabin himself, the king of Chanaan, near the torrent called Cisson, Judges iv. and v. The prophet quotes these especially, their defeat having been miraculous, haying been conquered by a few, and rather through fear inspired by God than by the bravery of the Jews.

10 “Who perished at Endor : and became as dung for the earth.”

They were conquered at Endor, Josue xvi., and became as dung for the earth, for their bodies remained unburied and rotted, thereby enriching the

ground ; being thus reduced from the height of glory to the depth of infamy.

: 11 “‘ Make their princes Vike Oreb, and Zeb. I Zebee, and Salmana. All their princes,” Noh

He reverts to Gedeon’s history, who not only routed the army of the Madianites, but soon after killed two

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of their princes, Oreb and Zeb; and two of théir kiugs, Zebee and Salmana, Judges vii. and viii.

12 “Who have said: Let us possess the sanctuary of God for an inheritance.” iif

All these princes and kings said, Let us possess the sanctuary of God, asif it were our own, and came to us by inheritance; that place that was sanctified © by God as his own dwelling place. The Jerusalem alluded to here means the Church of God; which Antichrist will endeavour to subdue and lead captive with all his might. '

13 ‘Omy God, make them like a wheel ; and as stubble before the wind :”

The prophet describes the instability and the death of the wicked, by a most appropriate simile. A wheel when rolling down a precipice is constantly turniug about, cannot stop for a moment, and is ultimately smashed in pieces. Straws carried by the wind are repeatedly tossed to and fro, until they ultimately disappear ; and so, the prophet predicts God will deal with the wicked persecutors of the just ; as, in fact, we learn from daily experience, for nothing is more uncertain than the prosperity of the wicked, and their end is death everlasting.

14 ‘As fire which burneth the wood ; and as a flame burning mountains :

15 ‘So shalt thou pursue them with thy tempest ; and. shalt trouble them in thy wrath.”

He prophesied that the wicked would be punished, their uncertainty in this world, and their utter destruction in the next; he now predicts the quickness and the ease with which God will punish them ; for, though he did so in the previous verse, where he said they would be scattered like the straws blown about: by the wind, he now likens God’s anger to a raging fire that destroys the trees of the forest, and the herbage of the plains. ‘ As fire which burneth the wood;” the trees of the forest, many. of which are withered, readily take fire, and extend the conflagra-- tion ; “and as a flame burning mountains,” especially when the grass is dry in parching seasons. ‘* So shalt thou pursue them with thy tempest;’ you will just as easily pursue and destroy them; which he explains by adding, “and shalt trouble them in thy wrath ;” tempest and wrath being the same, for both signify the just judgment of God, which, like a ve-. hement irresistible storm, wiil strike down, confound,’ and scatter the wicked.

16 “ Fill their faces with shame : and they shall seek thy name, O Lord.

17 “* Let them be ashamed and troubled for ever and ever ; and let them be confounded and perish.

18 ‘‘And let them know that the Lord is thy name : thou alone art the Most High over all the earth.”

In the conclusion of the Psalm he prophesies that some of his persecutors would be so taught by the scourges inflicted on them, that they would be converted; as will many of the Jews, who will ultimately acknowledge their error, aud in shame will be brought

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to God. Some will persevere and remain obdurate, but they, too, will be confounded, and will, even against their will, be brought to know the singular power of God, and that he is the true Lord of all things. ‘+ Fill their faces with shame; with confusion, that when they understand the disgraceful position in which they have placed themselves ‘they shall seck thy name;” call upon you to help them. But as to those who will not be moved by such scourges, but get rather, like Pharao, to be more hardened, ‘‘ Let them be ashamed and troubled ;” filled with eterna] confusion; for “let them be con- Sounded and perish.” ‘ And let them know,” (against their will,) ‘‘ that the Lord is thy name.” Having now learned it by experience, let them understand that the name of Lord belongs to you exclusively, that all things depend on your nod, and are subservient to you; while you serve nobody, and want nothing, having everything within yourself. While all those who are called lords, have usurped a name that does not belong to them; or at least, who deserve no such name, while they need many things; and must, therefore, yield to mavy necessities ; “ thou alone art the Most High over all the earth.” Let them also know that your power is pre-eminently beyond that of all the princes of the earth ; nor is there one who can cope with you, or be in anywise compared to you. This prophecy is already fulfilled to some extent, but will be thoroughly accomplished on the day of judgment. :

PSALM LXXXIiTl.

The soul aspireth after heaven ; rejoicing in the meantime, in being in the communion ef God's church upon earth.

1 How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts!

2 My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God. ;

3 For the sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtle a nest for herself where she may lay her young ones: thy altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God.

4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord: they shall praise thee for ever and ever.

5 Blessed is the man whose help is from thee: in his heart he hath disposed to ascend by steps,

6 In the vale of tears, in the place which he hath set.

_ 7 For the lawgiver shall give a blessing; they shall go from virtue to virtue: the God of gods shall be seen in Sion.

8 O Lord God of Hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob.

9 Behold, O God, our protector; and look on the face of thy Christ.

10 For better is one day in thy courts above thousands. I have chosen to be an abject in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners.

11 For God loveth mercy and truth: the Lord will give grace and glory. ;

12 He will not deprive of good things them that walk in innocence: O Lord of Hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 ‘* How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts !

2 ** My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God.”

Such are the effusions of a pious soul making for its country, and expressing its desire of coming to its journey’s end; such desires proceeding from the happiness to be found in its home, as well as from the troubles to be encountered in its pilgrimage. For the pious soul, whatever may be the amount of its happiness here below, always looks upon itself as miserable and ‘suffering persecution.” For the prosperity of this world is a great temptation, and a persecution. He exclaims, then, and that in admiration, “© How lovely are thy tabernacles, O. Lord of Hostst” Oh, what an amount of love have not the pious for your tabernacles, those heavenly mansions of yours, O Lord of Hosts! ‘ Lord of Hosts,” what can make your tabernacles more beautiful, or more delightful than the innumerable hosts of Angels, endowed with all wisdom, perfection, power, and beauty, the least glimpse of one of whom would suffice to gladden one’s whole pilgrimage here below; while the combined brightness and splendour of the entire is but as darkness when compared to the brightness of Him whom we hope there to behold face to face. In the Jerusalem of the Jews there was only one tabernacle ; and therefore, as he speaks here of many, he cannot possibly be supposed to refer to that one of timber, gilded over and made by the hands of man; but to those heavenly ‘‘tabernacles not made by human hands,” of which the Lord speaks when he says, ‘‘ There are many mansions in my Father's house.” ‘* My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord.” Having said that the tabernacles of the Lord were an object of great affection to the pious in their exile, he now ranks himself amongst them, saying, ‘‘ My soul longeth and fainteth,” when I reflect on the courts of the Lord, and consider their beauty; I so long for them, that I languish, decline, and faintaway. “* My heart and my flesh have rejoiged in the iying God.” To give

us an idea of the extent of his longings and of his love, he tells the effects produced by them ; for when one is stricken by a vehement love or desire, they not only turn over in their mind, but they express their admiration of the object of their love. “ Ay heart and my flesh;” that is, my mind and my tongue have united in the praise of the living God, the increate and infinite beauty, for whom I sigh. This latter part of the verse by no means contradicts the first ; though he speaks of his soul fainting there, rejoicing here, for various are the feelings of those in love; they one time deplore the absence of the one beloved, and faint away; and soon again they rejoice when they have got back their beloved, and burst forth in praise of it or him. He calls him “the living God,” not only to distinguish him from the idols, ‘‘ who have eyes, and see not ; who have ears and hear not,” by reason of their being inanimate things; but also because God alone can be said, strictly speaking, to live ; for, to live is to have the power of motion from one’s self, and not from another; but created things are said to live, because they have in them a certain principle of motion, yet without God they have none; for, ‘‘ zn him we live, and move, and have our being.” His life, then, is such as to require no impulse from any other being, that is to say, he has from himself alone the power of understanding and willing; being himself the source of life, not deriving it from any one, but bestowing it on all. “Jn him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

3 “ For the sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtle a nest for herself where she may lay her young ones: thy altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God,”

The holy pilgrim’s anxious wish was for a home in heaven; but, as he will have to wait awhile for that, he consoles himself with having found a little nest on earth, the altars of his Lord; for we have nothing in this world so calculated to give us an idea of the tabernacle above as the holy altar. It brings before the memory a host of heavenly recollections, There is daily offered that Lamb of God, who, by his blood, opened the kingdom of heaven to believers. There a pledge of the glory to come is given us. There we stand nearer to God, and pray to him with more earnestness. There we pour forth our whole hearts, and chant his praises more devoutly and more attentively than in any other place, or at any other time. He therefore says, “* The sparrow hath Sound herself a house.” All animals look for some place of rest for themselves, and even the little sparrow has found a house for itself, its little nest, “ and the turtle, a nest for itself;” not only have those animals, such as the sparrow, accustomed to the society of man, got a dwelling for themselves, but even the turtle, a solitary animal, has too her nest, in which to place her young ones, and rest in security with them. “ Thy altars,” as for my part, whether my

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life be an active one, like that of the sparrow, or contemplative like that of the turtle, “ thy altars’’ are my nest, where I may securely rest for awhile, and lay up my vows, my chaste desires and pious meditations, my prayers and hymns of praise, as so many young ones. ‘* My God and my King,” you who direct me while I stray here and there, like a sparrow, and who consolest me, while I mourn like the solitary turtle.

4 * Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord: they shall praise thee for ever and ever.”

He said he found a nest wherein to rest for awhile. but being admonished from that very nest, of the superiority of the house of eternity to any temporary rest, he exclaims, ‘‘ Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord.” However happy I may be for a brief moment in this little nest of mine, they alone are truly happy, they alone enjoy perfect rest, “‘ who dwell in that house of yours,” where alone are to be found riches, glory, many mansions, and everlasting rest and peace. '

5 “* Blessed is the man whose help is from thee ; in his heart he hath disposed to ascend by steps,

o ‘“‘ In the vale of tears, mm the place which he hath set.

Having spoken of the happiness of him who dwells in the house of the Lord, he adds, that he, too, is happy, if not actually so, at least, by reason of the hope that is in him, when, depending on the divine assistance, he firmly resolves in his heart not to remain in this valley here below, but to be always ascending higher and higher, through successive grades of virtue, until he shall have arrived at the place which Gud has marked ont as the end of his labour, eternal happiness. ‘‘ Blessed is the man whose help” is not a reliance on his own strength, but ‘from thee,” O Lord. “ In his heart he hath disposed to ascend by steps in the vale of tears,” made up his mind while a mortal in this valley of tears, to seek daily to arrive at a higher degree of perfection “ in the place which he hath set” in this valley of tears in which he set himself by sin; for God set him in Paradise, but he set himself in the valley of tears by sin.

7 “ For the lawgiver shall give a blessing ; they shall ge Srom virtue to virtue: the God of gods shall be seen in

ion.

The prophet now explains how the just man, in ascending through the valley of tears, will arrive at that place of rest that is established by God, and points out the beginning, the means and-the end of such ascension, Justification is the beginning, for without it the law cannot be fulfilled, the observance cf the law is the means, and the beatific vision the end. “ For the lawgiver shall give a blessing;’? Ged, who. gave the law, and made it the way to life, fr he said, “ Jf thow wilt enter into life, keep the commandiments :” he will also ‘ give w blessing,” an abur = dance of grace through the Holy Ghost, by justify-

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

ing us from sin, pouring his love into us, and expel- Ying all fear. “ They shall go from virtue to. virtue.” Having received his grace and his blessing, they will

_make daily advances in virtue, and acquire more strength to resist every temptation and overcome every difficulty ; for virtue is to be understood here as strength or power. ‘“ The God of gods shall be seen in Sion,” and thus they will, at length, arrive at the heavenly mountain Sion, where they shall see, face to face, the one true God, who is not only the God of heaven and‘ earth, but also of the Angels, of the blessed, who, to a certain extent, are gods.

8 “@O Lord God of Hosts, hear my prayer : give ear, O God of Jacob.

He now returns to his original longings to form one of those who ascend from the valley of tears, and happily proceed on their road, going from virtue to virtue. ‘ O Lord, God of Hosts,” who aboundest in power, strength, and virtue, “hear my prayer,” in which I ask you for the grace of going from virtue to virtue, and by such virtue to be strengthened in the interior man. “ Give ear, O God of Jacob,” you that are the God of your faithful, the children of Jacob, hear one who is in spirit one of the children of Jacob.

9 ‘* Behold, O God, our protector ; and look on the face of thy Christ.”

He had already implored the divine assistance, on the grounds of God’s power being boundless, and his being most concerned for the welfare of his people ; he nowrepeats the prayer in a different form, but with greater emphasis. Instead of ‘‘ God of Hosts,” he now calls him “ our protector,” or, as it is in the Hebrew, “our shield,” indicating that God is allpowerful to protect his people, and that he is like a shield to defend them. Instead of “ hear my prayer,” he says here, “‘ behold,” as much as to say, not only hear me, but look on me, and see the dangers by which I am surrounded. In the previous verse he said, “ Give ear, O God of Jacob;” for which he now says, “* Look on the face of thy Christ,” look on the true Prince of your people, the Messias, the Lamb without spot, who taketh away the sins of the world, and, for his sake, protect us. How could David thus refer to Christ, who was not then incarnate ? He had not then, as ‘‘ Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, given himself a redemption for all,’ 1 Tim. ii, Christ’s merits were before God from eternity, hence he is called in the Apocalypse, “ The Lamb slain from the beginning of the world,” because, from the very beginning of the world, God granted many fayours, especially spiritual ones, to his servants, through the previous merits of the passion of Christ. “‘ Who hath blessed us with all spirttual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,” Ephes. i.

10 ‘ For better is one day in thy courts above thou-

sands, Ihave chosen to be an abject in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners.”

The holy soul, in his exile from God, in order to shew that he did not ask for protection against the evils of this world, but against the temptations and spiritual dangers that beset us on our journey to the house of God, now adds, that such is the happiness of that heavenly country, that one day in it would be preferable to a thousand days elsewhere, and that he would prefer the last place in it, to the first in any other place ; two reflections that cannot, if seriously considered, fail to produce the most lively affections in a pure heart. The word “ for” assigns a reason for bis having expressed with so much affection, * Behold, O God, our protector,” as if he said, lam so extremely anxious for your protection in this my journey to my country ; for, should I fail in getting there, the loss would be too great, “for better is one day” in those heavenly courts, than days without end elsewhere. ‘J have chosen to be an abject in the house of my God.” So sublime and grand is the everlasting house prepared for us in heaven, that I would prefer the last place in it, even at the very door of it, “ rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners,” in the palaces of the great, because while no iniquity will find a place in one house, it abounds in the other; and,\when we compare all these grand mansions to the everlasting house of heaven, they may truly be called so many tents or tabernacles, without a sure foundation, without permanence, for these are not the tabernacles alluded to in the first verse of the Psalm, the Hebrew for both being quite different.

11 “ For God loveth mercy and truth: the Lord will give grace and glory.”

In this and the following verse the prophet consoles the just man in his journey up through the valley of tears, and longing for his true country ; for he promises him grace and glory from God; grace through which he will be justified, and an advance in justice, as he ascends from virtue to virtue; and glory, through which he will be glorified, when he shall have arrived at mount Sion, where he shall behold God face to face, and no longer through faith ; and he proves that God will give such grace and glory, because “ he loves mercy and truth.” For he that “loves mercy” shews mercy, and that mercy makes him confer grace ; and he that loves truth, or, in other words, justice, will faithfully render what he has promised to those that love him.

12 ‘* He will not deprive of good things them that walk in innocence: O Lord of Hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.”

He repeats his assertion, but restricts the promise of grace and glory to those who tread the path of innocence ; as if he said, God, who abounds in mercy and justice, will not deprive those who, once justified, tread the path of innocence, and who persevere and advance in faith, hope, and charity, of these blessings of grace and glory which alone descrve the

name of blessings. If they do not, if they retrograde and tread the path of iniqnity, they will fall from grace, and come to confusion instead of glory. He concludes the Psalm by turning to God, saying, “ Lord of Hosts,” of armies, ‘‘ blessed is the man who trusteth in thee,” with that true, solid confidence that usually springs from true faith and a good conscience.