Psalm 84

The coming of Christ to bring peace and salvation to man. rt

‘1 Lord, thou hast blessed thy land: thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob.

2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people: thou hast covered all their sins.

3 ‘Thou hast mitigated all thy anger: thou hast turned away from the wrath of thy indignation.

4 Convert us, O God our Saviour: and turn off thy anger from us.

5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever: or wilt thou extend thy wrath from generation to generation ?

6 Thou wilt turn, O God, and bring us to life: and thy people shall rejoice in thee.

7 Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy; and grant us thy salvation.

8 I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me: for he will speak peace unto his people: And unto his saints: and unto them that are converted to the heart.

9 Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him: that glory may dwell in our land.

10 Mercy and truth have met each other:

justice and peace have kissed. 11 Truth is sprung out of the earth: and justice hath looked down from heaven.

12 For the Lord will give goodness: and our earth shall yield her fruit.

14 Justice shall walk before him; and shall set his steps in the way. :

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1‘ O Lord, thou hast blessed thy land: thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob.”

The prophet, through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, discloses the eternal decree of God regarding the future salvation of man, in the beginning of the Psalm, telling us the first cause and ultimate effect of such salvation. Love was the first cause—that love through which God loved mankind. For no reason can be assigned why “ God so loved the world as to give his only begotten Son,” John lil, through whom we may be redeemed, “ and blessed with all

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

spiritual blessings,’ Ephes. i., but the will of God alone, or, rather, his good pleasure and mercy. The | ultimate effect of such salvation will consist in complete delivery from captivity, which will be thoroughly accomplished in the resurrection only, when we shall arrive at the liberty of the glory of the children of God. We are at present only partially free ; but we are in expectation of the redemption of our bodies that is to set us free from all corruption and necessity. He, therefore, begins by saying, ‘‘ Lord, thou hast blessed thy land;” you cursed the laud you created and gave to man to inhabit, on account of the sin of the first man; but I know, from revelation, that you also, in your own mind, by your own decree, “ blessed thy land;” ~ decreed in your own good pleasure to visit and bless it with all manner of blessings and graces, by sending your only begotten, “full of grace and truth,” into that land which you created. ‘ Thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob.” In the same eternal decree, having been appeased by the death of your Son, which you foresaw, thou hast turned away, or put an end to the captivity of Jacob, your people, so that they may thenceforth enjoy the liberty of the glory of the children of God. By Jacob the prophet means, not only the people of Israel, but the whole human race, “‘ who are, like the branches of the wild olive tree, engrafted into the good olive tree ;” and, like “living stones, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets.”

2“ Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people: thou hast covered all their sins.”

He now explains the manner in which God, by his blessing the land, put an end to the captivity of Jacob, and says it was by remitting the sius of his people. For, as sin was the cause of their being held in bondage, the remission of the sin procured their liberty. “* Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people.” In your own mind, and by your own decree, thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, for which iniquity you had given them up to the devil, as you would to the minister of justice. ‘* Thou hast covered all their sins ;” the same idea repeated ; ** thow hast covered;” hidden them, wrapt them up, so that you may not.see and punish them: but, as nothing can be hid or concealed from God, when he, therefore, forgives sin, he extinguishes it altogether, so that it has no longer any existence whatever; and when God is said to cover sin, he does so, not as one would cover a sore with a plaster, thereby merely hiding it only ; but he covers it with a plaster that effectually cures and removes it altogether. “ All their sins ;” to shew it was not one sin, such as original sin, common to all, that was forgiven, but that the personal and peculiar sins of each individual were included.

3“ Thou hast mitigated all thy anger: thou hast turned away from the wrath of thy indignation.”

He now assigns a reason for God’s having forgiven —

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

the iniquity of his people, and says it arose from his having been appeased, and having laid aside his anger. For, as it was anger that prompted God thus to revenge himself, so, when he was appeased, he was led to forgive us; and that was effected “ by the Lamb that was slain from the beginning of the world ;” and that immaculate Lamb was given to us through the good pleasure and mercy of him ‘who so loved the world as to give his only begotten Son for at.” Here, then, is the order of our redemption. The benediction, or the good pleasure of God, gave us his Son.as a Saviour; the Son, by his death, appeased God’s anger, and made satisfaction to his justice for the sins of the whole world; God, having been thus appeased, forgave the sins, and the remission of the Sins put an end to the captivity; and the Holy Ghost revealed the whole of this mystery, so concealed in the mind of God, to his prophet; and he describes it to us in those three verses. The expression, ‘all thy anger,” signifies that the redemption effected by our Saviour was all-sufficient and most

effectual, and it also conveys that the liberty we shall |

enjoy hereafter will be most full, complete, and entire, leaving not a trace of punishment or misery, for such proceed from God’s anger. “ Thou hast turned away JSrom the wrath of thy indignation,” is a repetition of ihe same idea.

4 “ Convert us, O God our Saviour: and turn off thy anger from us.”

The prophet, speaking in the person of God’s people, begins now to pray for the execation and completion of the divine decree, and first begs of God to mitigate his anger; the first effect-of which would be the beginning of our salvation; that is to say, his divine assistance, through which our conver-

sion to God commences ; for we cannot be converted

to God, unless his grace go before us, and by calling, enlightening, assisting, and moving, convert us. He, therefore, says, ‘‘ Convert us, O God our Saviour.” O God our Siviour, begin the work of our salvation, by inspiring us with the holy desire of conversion. And that, in your mercy, you may. commence it, “turn off thy anger from us.” Be reconciled to us, and forget the offences tbat have estranged us from you.

5 “ Wilt thou be angry with us for ever: or wilt thou extend thy wrath from generation to generation 2”

He perseveres in the petition, saying, We have borne your anger long enough; do not defer the gift of your mercy, and the restoration of your peace. “ Wilt thou be angry with us for ever ?” Will your enmity to the human race be everlasting ? “or wilt thou extend thy wrath from generation to generation?” a thing that does not accord with your infinite clemency.

6 “ Thou wilt turn, O God, and bring us to life: and thy people shall rejoice in thee.”

He tells us the effects that will follow from being reconciled with God; to man will come !ife, to God

praise. “ Thou wilt turn, O Giod;” by laying aside your anger, and on being reconciled, will “ bring us to life;” for “ the wages of sin is death ; but the grace of God everlasting life, in Christ Jesus our Lord ;” “and thy people,” come to life and strength through so great a favour, ‘* shall rejoice in thee,” and joyously chant your praise. :

7 ““Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy; and grant us thy salvation.”

Having asked that the divine wrath may be mitigated ; and having asked for that reconciliation and \ regeneration that always accompanies remission of sin, be now asks for the coming of the Saviour, through whom we were brought clearly to see and to behold God’s kindness and mercy to us, of which the Apostle says, “* The grace of God hath appeared to all men;” and again, ‘+ the goodness and kindness of our Saviour God appeared.” For who can for a moment doubt of the care that God has for mankind, and the extent of his warmest love, when he sent his only begotten Son to redeem us by his precious blood from the captivity of the devil? ‘“* Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy ;” make us plainly see and feel by experience, that mercy through which you determined in your mind, from eternity, to bless thy land; “and grant us thy salvation.” Send us your Son for a Saviour, for then you will clearly shew unto all the extent of your mercy, goodness, and grace, St. Augustine, taking a moral view of this passage, says that God shews us his mercy when he persuades us, and makes us see and understand that we are nothing, and can do nothing, of ourselves ; but that it is through his mercy we exist at all, or can do any thing we go through; we thus are neither proud nor puffed up, but are humble in our own eyes; and it is to such people the Saviour gives his grace.

8 “ Twill hear what the Lord God will speak in me: for he will speak peace unio his people: and unto his saints: and unto them that are converted to the heart.”

To convince us of the truth of what. he now means to express, the prophet here reminds us that he spcaks not from himself, but what has been revealel to him, and that he is only announcing what he has heard from the Lord. “ J will hear what the Lord God will speak in me;” that is, I will tell whatever I shall hear ; and, therefore, having laid my petition. before him, I will hear his answer to make it known to others. ‘* What he will speak in me;” to give us to understand that when God speaks to the prophet, he does it interiorly, and spiritually. For the Holy Ghost, who abides in the prophets, speaks to them through their heart, and then, through their tongues, to the ears of mankind. The expression, “7 will hear,” besides attention, signifies a desire to hear as it were, to say, I will most willingly and attentively hear; for God usually says nothing but what is good and useful; “for he will speak peace unto his people.” The reasou I have for hearing him with pleasure and with attention is, because | know

he will speak peace to his people. The summary, then, of God’s message to his people is the announcement and promise of peace through the coming of the Messias, for which the prophet asked when he said, “ Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy, and grant us thy salvation.’”’ God, then, will grant a Saviour, and through him, will announce and establish a most perfect peace; hence he is styled “the Prince of Peace ;” and, as the Apostle says, ‘‘ making peace through the blood of his cross, both as to the things that are on earth and the things that are in heaven.” Now peace comprehends all God’s favours; and we shall never be in perfect possession of it until we shall have arrived at the heavenly Jerusalem, which is interpreted the vision of peace. Peace is opposed to war, in which we shall for ever be mixed up, until ‘‘ death is swallowed up in victory, and this mortal shall have put on mmortality.” Then there will be an end to that war with our vices and concupiscences, with the princes of darkness, with all our difficulties and necessities. For, while we live here below, ‘‘ the life of man ts a warfare upon earth,” however we may desire, as far as in ourselves lies, to be at peace with all men. ‘And unto his saints, and unto them that are converted to the heart.” He now explains the expression, ‘to his people;” God promised peace to his people, but not to the whole of them} for they are composed of good and bad, and the bad can have no peace. For, “much peace have they that love thy law; while, “‘ the wicked have no peace, saith the Lord;” and, when he says, “unto them that are converted to the heart,” he tells us who the saints are to whom peace is promised. For sanctity, and consequently peace, then begins when man turns from exterior to interior matters; and, therefore, Isaias says, ‘* Return ye transgressors to the heart;” and of the prodigal son is said, “‘ and returning to himself, he said.” Man begins to return to himself, or to return, if you will, to his heart, when he begins to reflect within himself on the vanity of all things here below, and how trifling and how short-lived is the pleasure to be derived from sin; and on the contrary, how noble virtue is, and of what value are the goods of eternity. In a little while man begins to advance by degrees, when he comes to consider and judge of externals, not by the aid of his own sense, or the discourses of the children of the world; but, “returning to his heart,” he consults sound reason on every thing, consults the faith that has been divinely inspired, consults the truth itself, which is God. Finally, that man is truly converted to the heart, and begins to taste that peace “that surpasses all understanding,” who raises a tabernacle in his heart to God, and, on the wings of contemplation, rises from the image, the soul of man, to the reality, God himself; and there, beholding the infinite beauty of his Creator, is so inflamed and carried away by his love as to despise the whole world beside, and unite himself to God exclusively in the

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

bonds of love, totally indifferent to, and forgetful of, the whole world. No pressure from abroad can disturb one so disposed.

9 ‘ Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him : that glory may dwell in our land.”

On the coming of the Messias peace will be preached, but the establishment will be delayed for sometime. However, salvation, which means the power of healing and of performing other miracles, will be always at hand, and available to those who believe in him, and havea pious and reverential fear of him. Hence, great glory will accrue to God, for all who see his wonderful works will praise and magnify him ; many proofs of which can be read in the Gospels ; and it is to it the prophet alludes when he says, “ Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him ;” that is to say, the salvation of God, or Christ himself, the Saviour, will be at hand to save, through his power, all that fear him; all that worship him with a holy fear; “that glory may dwell in our land;” those numerous miracles will be performed with a view to make God’s glory known, and to dwell in that land of promise to which the Saviour will be sent specially. And if the salvation of the body be near to them that fear him, and God’s glory be thereby greatly augmented, with much more reason will the salvation of the soul be near to those that fear him. ‘ For to those who will receive him, he wilt give power to become sons of God,” 1 John; and thence his glory will be made manifest, “ as the only begotten of the Lather, full of grace and truth,”

JO“ Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed.”

He now reveals another mystery that will be accomplished on the coming of the Messias ; that is, the usion of mercy and justice, which seem so opposed to each other; the one prompting to punish, the other to forgive ; for Christ’s passion and suffering was meant to deliver the human race in mercy, while it made the fullest satisfaction to the divine justice. “ Mercy and truth have met each other.” They met in the time of the Messias, whereas at other times they seemed to move in contrary directions. “ Justice and peace have kissed;” the justice that inflicts punishment, previously called truth and peace, which then was called mercy, will be joined in the bonds of the strictest friendship ; and, as it were, kissed each other.

11 “ Truth is sprung out of the earth: and justice hath looked down from heaven.”

He now touches on the mystery of the Incarnation, making use of the past for the future tense, as is usual with the prophets. “ Truth is sprung out of the earth.” Christ, who is the truth, will be born of the Virgin Mary, ‘“‘and justice hath looked down from heaven.” Then also justice from heaven will be made manifest, because, on the birth of Christ, true justice began to come down from heaven, and man began

to be justified by faith in Christ; as also, because by the coming of Christ, “ Zhe wrath of God ts revealed Srom heaven against all impiety and injustice,” for the extent of God’s anger aud hatred ofsin would never have been thoroughly known, had not God decreed that it should be expiated by the death of his only Son; and, even, we should never have known the extent of God’s anger to the sinner on the day of judgment, had we not seen the amount and the extent of Christ’s sufferings in atoning for the sins of others, ‘‘ For if in the green wood they do these things, what shall be done in the dry?” says our Lord, Luke xxiii.

12 “ For the Lord will give goodness: and our earth shall yield her fruit.”

He still treats of the mystery of the Incarnation, shewing that truth would spring out of the earth ; not in the manner of the seed that we sow and cultivate, but in the manner of the natural flowers that grow spontaneously, with no other culture than the beams of the sun, and the rains of heaven. “¢ For the Lord will give goodness,” he will send his Holy Spirit from heaven, who will overshadow a virgin, and thus our land, which was never ploughed nor sown, aud was altogether an untouched virgin, will yield her fruit. Hence, he says, in the canticle of canticles, ‘‘Z am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys.”

13 “ Justice shall walk before him; and shall set his steps in the way.”

The prophet concludes by shewing that Christ would be so replete with justice and sanctity, that the rays of his justice would go before him, and by their light shew the way to complete progress in this gloomy valley of our mortality. “ Justice shall walk before him.” Christ, the sun and true light of the world, will send the rays of his justice and wisdom betore him, as it is in Psalm Ixxxviii., ‘ Mercy and truth shall go before thy face;’ and in Isaias lviii., “ And thy justice shall go before thy face;” and. thus “ shall set his steps in the way,” shall enter on his pilgrimage to bring many pilgrims back to their country.

PSALM LXXXV. A prayer for God's grace to assist us to the end.

1 Incline thy ear, O Lord, and hear me: for I am needy and poor.

2 Preserve my soul, for I am holy: save thy servant, O my God, that trusteth in thee.

3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I have cried to thee all the day.

4 Give joy to the soul of thy servant, for to thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul.

5 For thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild;

and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon thee.

6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer: and attend to the voice of my petition.

7 Ihave called upon thee in the day of my trouble; because thou hast heard me.

8 There is none among the gods like unto thee, O Lord: and there is none according to thy works.

9 All the nations thou hast made shall come and adore before thee, O Lord: and they shall glorify thy name.

10 For thou art great, and doest wonderful things: thou art God alone.

11 Conduct me, O Lord, in thy way, and I will walk in thy truth: let my heart rejoice that it may fear thy name.

12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart: and I will glorify thy name for ever:

13 For thy mercy is great towards me: and thou hast delivered my soul out of the lower hell.

14 O God, the wicked are risen up against me: and the assembly of the mighty have sought my soul: and they have not set thee before their eyes.

15 And thou, O Lord, art a God of compassion, and merciful, patient, and of much mercy, and true.

16 O look upon me, and have mercy on me; give thy command to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid.

17 Shew me a token for good: that they who hate me may see, and be confounded, because thou, O Iord, hast helped me, and hast comforted me.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “Incline thy ear, O Lord, and hear me: for Iam needy and poor.”

He begins his prayer by touching on God’s greatness and his own poverty, anexcellent form of prayer, and calculated to get what we want; for, ‘the prayer of him that humbleth himself, shall pierce the clouds,” Kecli. xxxv. ‘‘ Incline thy ear,” for you sit so high, you have need to do so, in order to hear me, who lie so low, “for I ain needy and poor.” Aslam the beggar sitting at the rich’ man’s gate, incline thy ear to your poor servant, and hear him. By the poor and the needy he means the person, who, though he may abound in the riches of the world, still does not put his trust in them, takes no pride in them, does not despise others, but rather despises the wealth itself ; and does not look upon himself one bit better or greater than those who are not possessed of such

wealth. St, Augustine very properly remarks, that | Lazarus was not taken up into Abraham’s bosom by reason of his poverty, but on account of his humility ; nor was the rich glutton burried in hell for his riches,

but for his pride. Had such been the case, Abraham |

too, who abounded in riches, would have been buried in hell.. But, as Abraham looked upon himself, and culled himself “dust and ashes,” Gen. xviii., and observed the commandments of God so faithfully, that he was most ready to sacrifice, not only all his wealth, but even his only son for whom he had it in store, at the command of God, he was, therefore, not only himself brought to the place of rest after his death, but in his bosom were gathered together all who then died in the Lord. David, too, abounded in the riches of this world’; but, as he took no pride in them, set no value on them, but depended entirely on God, in whom he had placed his entire hore, his strength, and his riches, and without whom he knew he was nothing, and could do nothing; he, therefore, w'th great truth, proclaimed himself really poor and needy. =

2 “ Preserve my soul, for I am-holy : save thy servant, O my God, that trusteth in thee.”

He tells in what respect he wishes to be heard, and first proposes whatis really uppermost in his mind, and which the Lord himself directed should be sought for in preference to every thing, and that is, “ Seek Jjirst the kingdom of God and his. justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.” “ Preserve my soul,” that so many enemies lie in wait for, in this my exile, “for I am holy.” I ask for the safety of my soul, because I got it from you, and you have justified me who was dead in sin, through the blood of your Son, and you have sanctificd me, and enlivened me. For, as St. Augustine says, when one feels a confidence that he has been justified through the sacraments, and calls himself holy, through the grace of God ; such is not to be looked upon as the pride of a vain man, but the confession of one who is not ungrateful; but if one cannot venture to say, I am justified and cleansed, he can at least say, “ J am holy ;” that is, I am one of the faithful, a professor of our holy faith and religion, dedicated and consecrated to God through baptism. ‘‘ Save thy servant, O my God, that trusteth in thee.” A repetition of the preceding. soul to be saved is, that he may not lose life everlasting. St, Peter, in his first Epistle, uses similar language, when he says, “ Who, by the power of God are kept by faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed an the last time.” He asks, then, for life everlasting, for fear of losing which, he asks for the safety of his soul, assigning a reason, when he says, “ thy servant that trusteth in thee;” because, when God saves his servant, he saves what belongs to himself ; and, when he saves him that trusts in him, he shews himself to be just and faithful, in carrying out what he promised.

The reason he wishes his.

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

3 ‘+ Have mercy on me, O Lord, for [ have cried to thee all the day.

4 “ Give joy to the soul of thy servant, for to thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul.”

He had asked, in the second verse, for supreme happiness ; that is, the salvation of his soul, the object of all his desires; and he now most properly asks for the means of arriving at such an end, namely, that interior joy that manfully bears up against the temptations and the dangers of this our exile, until it come to that harbour of safety, where there will be no temptations, no dangers. ‘‘ Have mercy on me, O Lord.” In mercy hear my prayer, ‘for I have cried to thee all the day; I have put up my prayers with the greatest fervour and perseverance, for nothing is more necessary in prayer than great fervour, which the expression, ‘‘ J have cried,” implies, and with perceverauce, which the words, ‘all theday,” convey. Here is the petition, which, in mercy, he asked should be listened to, and for which he cried the whole day, “ Give joy to the soul of thy servant.” Iam hemmed in on all sides by temptations, nothing but what is bitter presents itself to me in this valley of tears, while my very prosperity terrifies me as much as my adversity saddens me; therefore, “Give

• joy to the soul of thy servant, for to thee, O Lord, I

have lifted up my soul.” As Ihave not found rest in anything created, I have raised up my soul on the wings of thought and desire to thee my Creator. Love bears one’s soul up ; and it has been truly said, that the soul is more where it loves, than where it actually is, Thought and desire are the wings of love; for he that loves is borne on to, and abides in, what he loves, by thinking constaatly on, and longing for, the object of his love. Whoever truly, and from his heart, loves God, by thinking on him and longing for him, lifts up his soul to God; while, on the contrary, whoever loves the earth, by thinking on and coveting the things of the earth, lets his soul down to its level. Thus he alone, with the prophet, can truly say, ‘* To thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul,” and can with justice ask for consolation, saying, ‘* Give joy to the soul of thy servant,” who has no inordinate affection for any thing created, and is in no way stuck in che mud of this world.

5 ‘For thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild ; and plen~ teous in mercy to all that call upon thee.”

A reason assigned for having raised up his soul to God in order to obtain consolation ; because “ God is sweet and mild;” and as St. Jobn says, “ God is light, and in him there is no darkness.” So we can say God is sweet, and in him there is no bitterness ; whereas in the consolations of th's world there is an abundance of bitterness with little or no sweetness. And not only is God sweet, but he is also mild; offering no repulse to those who approach him, and bearing with our imperfections. St. Augustine observes that God’s mildness is most remarkable in bearing with us when we pray; when, during our

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prayers, we divert our attention to so many different subjects. The judge would hardly have patience with the culprit who, while laying his petition before the court, would turn about to talk with his friends, especially on matters of no moment. And not only is God sweet and mild in himself, inasmuch as he repels no one approaching the fountain of his sweetness ; but he is also “ plenteous in mercy,” for he freely admits and receives, and offers himself to be tasted of by all that call upon him, having no regard to rich or poor, Jew or gentile. ‘ Hor whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” If he sometimes does not hear or have mercy on those who pray to him, the reason is because they do not really call upon him, or do not call upon him as they ought. He very often hears us, but at the fitting time; and he very often hears the wish of him who prays, instead of the words he utters ; for instance, when the petitioner asks a thing quite unsuited to him, and which he would not have asked had he known it to be so.

6 “ Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer: and attend to the voice of my ‘petition. ”

A repetition of the first part of the first verse, in different language, in order to express his great desire for what he asks.

7 “ Ihave called upon thee in the day of my trouble ; because thou hast heard me.”

This verse would seem to have been introduced as an explanation of the preceding. He said therein, “ Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer,” and God may fairly have asked him, When did you pray? When will you have me give ear to your prayer? The prophet answers, I have prayed every day, and I will pray every day while I stray about in this exile. Every day of my exile is a day of trouble, for he who loves his country cannot but loathe his exile. ‘* Zn the day of my trouble ;” during the whole time of my exile, [ found nought but trouble and sorrow ; aud therefore [have always “ called upon thee,” and with so much confidence, ‘‘ because thou hast heard me.”

8 ‘ There is none among the gods like unto thee, O Lord : and there is none according to thy works.”

He assigns a reason for flying to God alone, for invoking him, and for seeking to lift up his soul to him, because there is no one, not only among men, but even among gods, like God ; either in essence or in power, or in wisdom, or in goodness. If by the word “ gods” we understand false gods, idols, and demons, of which it is said in Psalm xcy,, ‘* Ad the gods of the gentiles are devils;” then, what he says here is absolutely true; for idols have eyes and do not see, and depend on man both for motion and protection; but the true God sees without corporeal eyes, depends on no one, but all things depend on him; “ Yor in him we live, move, and have our being.” The demons, it is true, were made to God’s image, but they lost it by sin. ‘‘ And there is none according to thy works.” Not only is there no god

like unto thee, O Lord, but none of them have produced any one work equal to avy of yours; for God made the heavens, and the earth, and every thing in them, from nothing ; other gods only work from the matter which our God created.

9 “All the nations thou hast made shall come and adore before thee, O Lord: and they shall glorify thy name.”

From this verse we learn that, in the preceding one, he referred to the fa’se gods, who were adored by the sinners as true and supreme gods; for the prophet proves that none of those gods are like our God, that their worship will one day cease, and their falsity and vanity be made perfectly clear; while the worship of our God will be everlasting, a fact partly accomplished in the Church of Christ, and fully so on the day of judgment. For, though in the days of David there were gods of the Moabites, of the Ammonites, of the Philistines, and of various nations, still, on the promulgation of the Gospel of Christ, idolatry began to disappear, and the worship of the true God to be introduced among all nations. Thus, ‘ail the nations shall come;”? that is, they came from all nations, and, after abandoning their false gods, they adored the true one; but, on the day of judgment, all men, without any exception, shall know that the gods of the gentiles were demons, or empty images, and, whether they will or will not, shall bow the Ends before the Lord, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaias, * or every knee shall be bowed to me,” a text applied by St. Paul, Rom. xiv., and Phil. i, to Christ as the true God. “ And they shall glorify thy name;” but in a different manner; the just will from love, and with pleasure; but the wicked will through fear, and against their will, glorify the Lord on the day of judgment, and will say, * Thov art just, O Lord, and righteous ts thy judgment.”

10 “‘ For thou art great, and doest wonderful things : thou art God alone.”

The reason why the worship of false gods will cease, and all nations will adore and glorify the Lord is, “for he is God alone,” truly great, “ and does wonderful things,” that nobody else can do; a thing that will be well known on the day of judgment, especially when, at his nod, all the dead shail arise, and be gathered before the tribunal of Christ, when, without the slightest resistance or opposition, the just shall be exalted to their kingdom, and the wicked shoved down to everlasting punishment. Hence the Apostle, when speaking of said judgment, uses the expression, “ of the great God,” for it is in the last judgment that his greatness is most clearly exhibited, ‘ wazting for the blessed hope and coming of the glor y of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”

11 “ Conduct me, O Lord, in thy way, and I will walk m thy truth : let my heart rejoice that it may fear thy name.’

For fear of straying from the path that leads to

his country, he has again recourse to prayer, in which he asks for guidance in this his wandering and his exile, and at the same time, asks for spiritual help and succour, for fear he may faint on the way. “ Conduct me, O Lord, in thy way.” Shew me the way, through the assistance of your grace, not only by enlightening my mind, but by moving my will; and thus, “ J will walk in thy truth,” according to the truth of your law and of your faith. “ Let my heart rejoice;” he asked in the third verse “that his soul should have joy;” let it, then, rejoice when you gladden and console my heart, “ that i may fear thy name;” I do not seek consolation for consolation sake, but in order that, being refreshed by it as if with food, I may persevere in thy holy fear, By fearing to offend you will be sure to proceed in the direct road of your commandments, to that country where I will serve you without any fear,

12 “I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart : and I will glorify thy name for ever ;”

To prayer he adds thanksgiving, for nothing tends more to obtain fresh favours than to appear mindful of, and grateful for, the past. ‘* Z will praise thee, O Lord, my God,” I will render you the tribute of praise and thanksgiving, “‘wth my whole heart,” with the full tide of my affections, ‘ And I will glorify thy name ;” that is, thy power, “for ever,” while I live, incessantly,

13 ‘* For thy mercy is great towards me: and thou hast delwered my soul out of the lower hell.”

The favour for which he returns thanks is, that God, in his great mercy, and not through the merits of the supplicant, should have delivered his soul from the lowest hell; that is, should have justified him from the sins that would have carried him to hell, had he not been delivered through grace. And, in truth, the mercy of God, which converts the sinner into a just man, is as great as the punishment of eternal fire from which we are saved, or the everlasting happiness to which we get a right and free access. Hence St, Peter says, “Who, according to his great mercy, hath regenerated us unto a lively hope.” Various explanations are offered of the words, “lowest hell.” We adopt that of Saints Augustine, Jerome, and Bernard, who say it means that part of hell where no one praises the Lord, and from which there is no egress. —

14 * O God, the wicked are risen up against me; and the assembly of the mighty have sought my soul : and they have not set thee before their eyes.”

Having returned thanks, he comes again to pray, asking to be delivered from the multitude of the enemies that sought his life; and though some make him allude to his corporal enemies, or to those of Ezechias, some will haye him allude to the enemies of Christ, who caused his death; the explanation of St. Augustine is more in accordance with the rest of the Psalm ; and he says it is to be understood of the members of Christ’s body of the just, or any person

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suffering persecution from their spiritual enemies, be they heretics or schismatics, or bad Christians. The man of God, then, delivered through the grace of Christ from the lower hell, fighting in the meantime with his spiritual enemies, in heavy groans exclaims, O my God, “ behold the wicked are risen up against me;” neither few in number, nor weak in strength, but “an assembly of the mighty ;” a great congregation of most powerful enemies “ have sought my soul” to destroy it; and in their blindness and obduracy “have not set thee before their eyes;” have not considered that you are the protector of the just, and they presumed to wage war, not with weak mortals, but with the Lord God of armies.

15 “ And thou, O Lord, art a God of compassion, and merciful, patient, and of much mercy, and true.”

Having mentioned the quantity and the quality of his enemies, he now asks for help against them, and in various terms proclaims God’s goodness, to show he was not rash in hoping for assistance from so good a God. He is a God of compassion, which in Hebrew signifies the regard a parent has for his child, “Merciful,” which means a bestower of grace, or the making one acceptable, as St. Paui says, “By which he made us acceptable through his beloved Son;” that is, made us acceptable to him or received us into grace, “Patient,” the word in Hebrew signifies longnosed, not easily provoked to anger, for with the Hebrews a long nose was looked upon as a sign of much patience ; “and of much mercy,” abounding in mercy ; “ and true,” or faithful, Hence we learn that God loves us with the affection of a father, and, therefore, most ready to forgive, most slow to be provoked, liberal, and ready to promise in his mercy, and faithfully to carry out such promises ; all of which afford incalculable consolation and confidence to pious souls, who, from their heart, attach themselves to God; for all this applies only to those who fear God, as is more clearly explained in Psalm cii. They who abuse God’s goodness “‘treaswre up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the just judgment of God,” Rom. ii.; to whom he says in Heb. x,, “Jt is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

16 ‘* O look upon me, and have mercy on me: give thy command to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid.”

Having explained God’s goodness in so many terms, he now begs that he may have a share in it. “ O look on me” with the eyes of your infinite goodness, and prodigal as you are of your mercies, ‘ have mercy on me.” —“ Give thy command to thy servant.” Grant that my numerous enemies may not prevail over me, but, on the contrary, give thy servant strength and power to subdue and command them, and thereby ‘* save the son of thy handmaid,” whether from their secret snares or open persecutions.

17 “' Shew me a token for good; that they who hate

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me may see, and be confounded, because thou, O Lord, hast helped me, and hast comforted me.” -

He concludes by asking for some external sign that may let even his enemies see that God always consoles and assists his faithful servants. ‘* Skew me a token for good;” give me some sign that will assure me of something good, that is, of your grace and favour, ‘that they who hate me may see,” that my enemies may see it, be confounded, and despair of subduing me, “‘ because thou, O Lord, hast helped me and hast comforted me.” As you have really helped me in the combat, and by your interior grace consoled me in my trouble, shew also some external sign of your favour, that my enemies, on seeing it, may be confounded. A question has been raised, what is the sign he asks for? St. Jerome says, it is the sign of the cross of Christ, for it is a token for good, it being the token of redemption, and when the evil spirits, who hate us, behold it, they. are confounded. St. Augustine explains it of the sign that will appear on the last day, which will be for good to the elect, and on the sight of which all their enemies will be confounded. Others interpret it of the sign given by Isaias to king Achaz when he said to him, “ Zhe Lord himself will give you a sign, behold, @ virgin will conceive, and will bring forth a son.” That was truly a token for good to David, to have the Messias descended from him, and to the whole world that was to be delivered, through Christ, from all its enemies. Perhaps, the token for good means that spiritual joy, which he asked for in the beginning of the Psalm, when he said, “ Give joy to the soul of thy servant ;” for such joy to a holy soul in tribulation is the clearest sign of the grace of God, and on the sight of it, all manner of persecutors are confounded, and then the meaning would be, “shew me a token for good ;” give me the grace of that spiritual joy that will appear exteriorly in my countenance, “‘that they who hate me may see” such calmness and tranquillity of sonl, “and be confounded;” for you, O Lord, have helped me in the struggle, consoled me in my sorrow, and have already converted my sadness into interior joy and gladness.

PSALM LXXXVI. The glory of the church of Christ.

1 The foundations thereof are in the holy mountains.

2 The Lord loveth the gates of Sion above all the tabernacles of Jacob.

3 Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God.

4 I will be mindful of Rahab and of Babylon knowing me. Behold, the foreigners and Tyre, and the people of the Ethiopians, these were there.

5 Shall not Sion say: This man and that man is born in her? and the Highest himself hath founded her.

6 The Lord shall tell in Ais writings of peoples and of princes, of them that have been in her.

7 The dwelling in thee is as it were of all rejoicing.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1‘ The foundations thereof are in the holy mountains.”

The prophet commences by praising the city, by reason of the holy mountains it has for a foundation. He names not the city, so wrapt in admiration is he with the beauty of the new city he sees descending from heaven, the Church of Christ, whose foundations may be considered in various lights. If we regard the first founders and propagators of the Christian religion, the foundations signify the twelve Apostles, as we read in Apoc. xxi., “ And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.’ If we consider the doctrine on which the faith of the Church is founded, the foundations are the Apostles and the prophets, who were the immediate ministers of the word of God, of whom the Apostle says, “ Built upon the foundations of the Apostles and the prophets.” Finally, if we regard ecclesiastical power and authority, according to which the foundation in a house corresponds with the head in a body, Christ and Peter are the foundations, Christ being the primary. Of Christ the Apostle says, “ Wor no one can lay any other foundation but that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus;” and of Peter, Christ himself says, “ Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.” Those, then, are the holy mountains, upon which the city of God is built, getting the name of mountains by reason of their altitude and excellence; and holy, for their elevation is not by reason of their pride, but by reason of their sanctity, wisdom, and authority. The objection of Christ’s being called the corner-stone surmounting the edifice, viz., “ The stone which the builders rejected, the same

_ ds become the head of the corner;” and also, ‘ Jesus

Christ himself being the chief corner-stone,” is of no consequence, for there are two corner-s'ones, one in the foundation, the other in the summit of the building, and both connecting two walls; and though, in an ordinary building, the same stone cannot be in the foundation supporting the entire building, and on the top supported by the building; still, in the spiritual edifice, one and the same stone, that is, one and the same prelate, supports and bears the whole edifice by his authority, while, at the same time, he presides over, and is borne, through obedience, by the whole edifice, by all the living stones, which two duties apply principally to Christ, who is

ie

eae.

absolutely the head and ruler of the whole Church ; and they also apply to the supreme pontiff, who is Christ’s vicar on earth; and, to a certain extent, to all prelates, in regard of those over whom they preside, for all prelates should bear and be borne ; bear with the infirmities of those over whom they are placed, and be borne with when they correct or command. The city has anotuer subject of praise in its gates.

2 * The Lord loveth the gates of Sion above all the tabernacles of Jacob.”

Having said that the city of God had holy mountains for its foundations, so that there was no fear of its falling, like buildings erected on sand; he nowadds, that, with its beg exempt from danger on that score, it. also is incapable of being stormed by the enemy, so strongly are the gates of it fortified; Psalm cxlvii. saying of them, “because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates.” ‘* The Lord loveth the gates of Sion,” by reason of the strength of its gates, that render it impregnable ‘‘ above all the tabernacles of Jacob;” loves those gates more than the tabernacles of Jacob; for, however beautiful and elegantly laid out those tabernacles may have been when the Jews were on their journey from Egypt to the land of promise, still they had neither gates nor foundations, and, therefore, were frail and temporary. These words refer to the stability and permanence of the Church, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail; and especially to the time when it shall arrive at its heavenly country, for which the patriarch sighed, and of whom the Apostle says, ‘Mor he looked for a city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God;” and, in the Apocalypse, the new Jerusalem is said to have “twelve gates, and in the gates twelve Angels, and names wriiten thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.” By the twelve gates we understand the twelve Apostles; for it is through their true and sound preaching that we all enter into the Church of God; their being called the foundations in another place is of no moment, for they are gates and foundations together; gates by their preaching, foundations by their after support of the faithful. Christ, to be sure, said, “J am the gate;” Christ is the gate, no doubt, because it is through his merits we all enter, and are saved; but the city hag twelve gates and one gate, as well as it has one foundation and twelve foundations; for Christ was in the Apostles, and spoke through the Apostles, as St. Paul says, ‘‘ Do you seek a proof of Christ who speaketh in me?’ hus, when we enter through the Apostles, we enter through Christ, because the Apostles did not preach up themselves, but through Christ, and Christ preached through them ; and, when we are founded and built upon the Apostles, we are founded and built on Christ. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel being written on the gates signifies that the first members of the Church came from the children of Israel, to whom

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the Apostles themselves belonged; then came the fulness of the gentiles. In the Apocalypse, when mention is made of the elect, and of those to be saved, mention is first made of twelve thousand” from each of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel; and then follows “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues.”

3“ Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God.”

The prophet, as it were, intoxicated with the spirit, as he began abruptly by admiring the excellence of the city, saying, “‘ The foundations thereof are wn the holy mountain,” now just as abruptly changes his mode of speech, and addresses the city itself, saying, ‘¢ Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God;” as much as to say, Holy city, don’t wonder if I began incoherently, for 1 am overwhelmed by the multitude of your praises; for the Holy Ghost hs been telling me many glorious, grand, and wonderful things about you. And, in fact, who could ebserve any order in narrating the praises of a city where God wiil be all unto all, and where those blessings are reserved for the elect, ‘‘ which eye hati not seen, ear hath not heard, and which hath not entered into the heart.of man to conceive.’ And though, strictly speaking, the city of God in heaven, and, to a certain extent, his Church, spread over the earth, are alluded to here, even of that earthly Jerusilem, type, as it was, of the Church, “ glortous things are said.” It was a royal and sacerdotal city, the temple of the Lord, the Ark of the covenant, and many things belonging to both were there; and what is more, there it was that the King of Angels and the Lord of all nature gave his instructions, performed his miracles, effected the redemption of the human race, was buried there, sent the Holy Ghost from heaven there, and there laid the foundations of his Church to endure for ever.

4 “ 7 will be mindful of Rahab and of Babylon knowing me. Behold, the foreigners and Tyre, and the peo~ ple of the Ethiopians, trese were there.”

He now praises the holy city, by reason of the number and the variety of the nations who inhabit it, for it is not confined to the Jews alone, as was the case in the Old Testament ; but all nations are to inhabit the Catholic Church, which is the true Jerusalem, so praised in this Psalm: He mentions Rahab and Babylon, Palestine, Tyre, and the Ethiopians, all gentiles, but well known to the Jews.

tahab means proud, and by it he means the. Hgyptians; and the meaning is, in calling and enrolling the elect of the new Jerusalem, I will bear in mind, not only the Jews, but even the Egyptians and Babylonians, who know me through faith and religious worship. For behold, the foreigners, the nations of Palestine, and the people of Tyre, and the. Kthiopians “ were there,” that is, those nations called and invited by me, will be there too; for he makes use of the past tense, as usual, to signify the future.

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

5 “ Shall not. Sion say: This man and that man is born in her? and the Highest himself hath founded her.” The prophet now adds, as the chief praise of Sion, that the Highest, the Son of God, who founded her, was born in her. For the most glorious thing that could be said of her was, that he who, in his divine nature, founded her, chose, in his human nature, to be born in her. The text should be read thus, according to the Hebrew, ‘‘ Shall not this man say to Sion?” Is it possible that any one will say to Sion a thing so wonderful and so unheard of, “that a man is born in her; and the Highest himself hath founded her 2” will any one tell Sion that there is one born in her, her very Creator? This very evident prophecy has been carped at by the Jews, who cannot possibly get over it. Christ, however, was born in Bethlehem, and not in Sion; to which we reply, that the Sion spoken of here means the Church of God’s people, and that Christ, as man, was born therein, while, as God, he is the founder of it. It may also be fairly said that Christ was born in Sion, inasmuch as his parents, Solomon and David, his ancestors, belonged to Sion. 6 “ Thé Lord shall tell in his writings of peoples and of princes, of them that have been in her.” He answers the question he put when he said, “ Will any one say to Sion?” for he says the Lord himself will put the question; nay more, in order that it may be kept in eternal memory, that he will write it in the book in which are the people and the princes, who through regeneration have been in the city. “ Zhe Lord shall tell;” will announce that in Sion one has been born who is the very founder of the city of Sion; and he will tell it “tn his writings of peoples and of princes ;” in the rolls of those people and princes who have been regenerated in the city, for he who is the head of them all, is also the founder of the city ; and will, therefore, be written in the head of the book. That book will be published on the day of judgment, for then the books will be opened with another book, the book of life, of which our Saviour says, “‘ /vejovce because your names are written in heaven.” By princes we understand the Apostles whom God appointed princes over all the earth. 7 “ The dwelling in thee is as it were of all rejuicing.” The conclusion of the Psalm, declaring the supreme happiness of all the inhabitants of that city, whose foundations were alluded to in the beginning of the Psalm ; for the peculiar happiness of the holy city of Jerusalem is, that in it no poor, no sad, no miserable person is to be found, for “ God will, wipe away every tear from their eyes;” and though this is to be accomplished in the heavenly Jerusalem only, stillin the Church militant, those who are enrolled citizens in heaven are all rejoicing in hope, and to them the Saviour says, “ Wobody shall take your joy from you;” and the Apostle, ‘ Always rejoicing ;” and in fact, ifGod’s servants rejoice even in tribulation, when

ean they be sad? St. Augustine remarks that the Psalmist does not use the word “ rejoicing” absolutely, but “as i were of all rejoicing,” lest we should suppose that the joy spoken of here was such as we see with the children of this world, who rejoice in the acquisition of gold or silver, or in carnal pleasures, or‘the like. The dwelling in the heaveuly Jerusalem will be, toa certain extent, like a dwelling where a banquet or a wedding feast is celebrated with music, songs, and pleasure; but no such things will have a place there, nor will the cause be the same for such joy and gladuess.

PSALM LXAXVIL

A prayer of one under grievous affliction : it agrees to Christ in his passion, and alludes to las death and burial.

1 O Lord the God of my salvation: I have cried in the day, and in the night before thee.

2 Let my prayer come in before thee: incline thy ear to my petition.

3 For my soul is filled with evils; and my life hath drawn nigh to hell.

4 I am counted among them that go down to the pit: I am become as a man without help,

5 Free among the dead. Like the slain sleeping in the sepulchres, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cast off from thy hand.

6 They have laid me in the lower pit; in the dark places, and in the shadow of death.

7 Thy wrath is strong over me: and all thy waves thou hast brought in upon me.

8 Thou hast put away my acquaintance - far from me: they have set me an abomination to themselves. I was delivered up, and came not forth:

9 My eyes languished through poverty. All the day I cried tothee, O Lord: I stretched out my hands to thee.

10 Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? or shall physicians raise to life, and give praise to thee?

11 Shall any one in the sepulchre declare thy mercy, and thy truth in destruction?

12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark; and thy justice in the land of forgetfulness ?

13 ButI, O Lerd, have cried to thee; and in the morning my prayer shall prevent thee.

14 Lord, why casteth thou off my prayer: why turnest thou away thy face from me?

15 I am poor, and in labours from my youth: and being exalted have been humbled and troubled.

16 Thy wrath hath come upon me: and thy terrors have troubled me. :

17 They have come round about me like water all the day: they have compassed me about together.

18 Friend and neighbour thou hast put far from me; and my acquaintance, because of misery.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1“ O Lord the God of my salvation: I have cried in the day, and in the night before thee.”

The prophet, speaking in the person of Christ, repeats and expresses in various terms what our Lord expressed when hanging on the cross, “ My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ in order to shew the greatness of his sufferings. He, then, begins with a prayer to God the Father, saying, “‘ O Lord, the God of my salvation,” from whom, through a speedy resurrection, I hope for salvation. ‘‘ J have cried in the day and in the night before thee.” He did so on the day of his passion, when he cried on the cross, “ My God, my Ged, why hast thou forsaken me?’ and on the night before, when he thrice cried out in the garden, “ Mather, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.”

2 ** Let my prayer come in before thee: incline thy ear to my petition.”

Hear my prayer, I beseech you. Such is the meaning of this verse, full of metaphorical language. “ Let my prayer come in before you;” as an orator would be admitted to plead a cause. “ /ncline thy car to my petition.” Give a favourable audience to said orator when he shall have been admitted.

3 “ For my soul zs filled with evils ; and my life hath drawn nigh to hell.”

This refers to the time when our Saviour exclaimed, “ My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” for, then, Christ’s soul was evidently “ full of evils,” by reason of the great pains all over his body, by reason of his feeling for his mother, who stood by; and then, especially, “ his life was drawn nigh to hell;” for he was just about to die, and to go down to the hell where all the souls of the faithful were shut up.

4 “ Tam counted among them that go down to the pit: Lam become as a man without help,”

Having mentioned the grievous bodily pains that brought him nigh unto death, he now. alludes to the contempt and ignominy he suffered in man’s opinion on his death; for they looked upon him as an ordinary mortal, who died reluctantly, who could in nowise help himself, and had nobody else to help him; whereas, though among the dead, he was not sub-

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ject to death, nor to the captivity of the devil, and could die when he chose, and rise when he chose. “ Fam counted among them that go down to the pit.” . People thought that I had gone down to where the souls are, as all mortals have gone down, forcibly and against my will, and, therefore, looked upon me as no more than any other mortal. “ 7 am become,” in the opinion of the world, “as @ man without help;’ for they insulted me, wagging their heads, and saying, “ He saved others, himself he cannot save.”

5 “ Free among the dead. Like the slain sleeping in the sepulehres, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cast off from thy hand.”

Death has dominion over all except myself, I alone am free, and nobody can put me to death against my will; as our Saviour says, John x., “ And I have power to lay my life down, and I have power to take a up again.” * Inke the slain.” He tells further what men thought about him. They looked upon bim “like the slain sleeping in the sepulchres;”’ like so many who died of their wounds, and lay in their graves in the sleep of death.” “ Whom thou rememberest no more;” whom you, O Lord, care for no longer, as being no longer under your charge as human beings, which he repeats and explains by saying, ‘And they are cast off from thy hand;’ you have forgotten them, and think no more of them, for they are cast off from your providential hand, as having no further existence.

6 “* They have laid me in the lower pit ; wn the dark places, and in the shadow of death.”

My enemies, who put me to death, caused my soul to descend to the lower pit, while my body lay in the sepulchre, and the lower pit may be described as “the dark places, and in the shadow of death.” See Psalm xxii. 4. hereon.

7“ Thy wrath is strong over me: and all thy waves thou hast brought in upon me.”

Speaking still in the person of Christ, he now makes use of two metaphors to explain the extent of his sufferings. ‘“‘ Thy wrath is strong over me;” your anger at the sins of mankind, or rather the justice that prompted you to inflict condign punishment. on the sinner, was not only poured out upon me, but was made strong and was increased upon me, never to lose hold of me until satisfaction to the last farthing should have been exacted. This is the first metaphor by which we are given to understand that the sufferings of our Lord were as intense as was the anger of Almighty God, by reason of the sins of the whole world. A serious matter for all of us who have been redeemed to reflect on; “and all thy waves thou hast brought in upon me.” Another metaphor, in which the passion of our Lord is compared to all the billows of the sea tumbling in upon, overwhelming, and dashing on the rock, one unfortunate creature struggling in the sea. For as our Lord Jesus Christ had undertaken to wipe away the sins of the whole

world, it was not one or two tides of sorrow he had to bear up against, but an yniversal inundation of the sins of mankind,

8 “ Thou hast put away my acquaintance far from me: they have set me an abomination to themselves. I was delivered up, and came not forth :”

In addition to his sufferings came the aversion of his acquaintance, and by acquaintance we are to understand all who knew him through his conversation and his teaching, but did not believe him to be either God or the Messias, of whom it is said in John, ‘‘ He came unto his own and his own received him not.” © Thou hast put away my acquaintance far from me,” allowed those who knew me to shun and avoid me; “ they have set me an abomination to themselves,” they not only held back from me as if they did not know me, but they even execrated me as a deceiver, as a Samaritan, as one possessed by a devil, as a friend of publicans and sinners, all of which we read in the Gospels. This verse may also be applied to his disciples, who may be called his acquaintance; for St. Luke says, chap. xxiii, “ And all his acquaintance stood afar off;” and in St. Mat. xxvi., ‘‘ And all the disciples leaving him, fled away.” “ They have set me an abomination to themselves,” was accomplished in Peter, “who began to curse and swear that he knew not the man;” for, though St. Peter in reality had no such hatred of Christ in his heart, he professed it, however, when he swore so vehemently that he had no knowledge of him. Even his disciples, before they understood the mystery of his passion, and when they looked upon it as fraught with evil to him and to themselves, considered it an abomination ; hence they said to him, ‘¢ Rabbi, the Jews but just now sought to stone thee, and goest thou thither again?’- And when St. Peter heard of his intended passion, he too looked upon it as an abomination, saying, “ Lord, be it far from thee; this shall not be unto thee.” *% Iwas delivered up, and came not forth.” Iwas like one shut up in a prison, without the power of leaving it until I should have suffered what had been decreed by you.

9 * My eyes languished through poverty. All the day I cried to thee, O Lord: I stretched out my hands to thee.”

The abundance of tears shed by me weakened and impoverished my eyes. ‘‘ All the day I cried to thee,” a repetition of the first verse, which is explained more fully by St. Paul, when he says, Heb. v., ‘‘ Who in the days of his flesh, offering up prayers and supplications with a strong ery and tears to him, that was able to save him from death, was heard for his reverence.” He is said to have cried out ‘ all the day,” because it is explained in the first verse, he cried out both by day and by night; for as the natural day is composed of night and day, so both parts of it may be termed the whole day, though each part may not be entire. “ I stretched out my hands to thee” in prayer ; or, perhaps, on the cross, that by such an oblation I

aed

may obtain a speedy resurrection for myself, and freedom from death everlasting, for my mystical body, the Church.

10 “* Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead ? or shall physicians raise to life, and give praise to thee ?

11 “ Shall any one in the sepulchre declare thy mercy, and thy truth gn destruction ?

12 ** Shall thy wonders be known in the dark; and thy justice in the land of forgetfulness 2?”

Speaking still in the person of Christ, he assigns a reason for having asked to be saved from death. These three verses are differen‘ly explained. They may be referred to that everlasting death which Christ wished to avert from his faithful; for a reason is assigned why he prays, and wishes for the aversion of such an evil, because God does not, nor ought he, shew his wonders to the damned ; neither ought they rise to life everlasting, nor will they relate with praise, the mercy and truth of God ; and, finally, they not only will not declare them, but they will not even know them. An objection to this explanation is, the introduction of sepulchres and physicians; sepulchres seem connected with dead bodies, and not with damned souls ; and physicians have more connexion with the body than with the soul. Another explanation refers these verses to the death of the body, which Christ for himself and for his faithful deprecates, while he prays for, and wishes a speedy resurrection for himself and for them ; and then the meaning would be, “ Wilt thow shew wonders to the dead?” I fear death, I desire to live, or that my life may be quickly restored to me and to my faithful; for, the dead, devoid of life or feeling, would in vain behold your wonderful works, that tend so much to your glory, and for which you should so deservedly be thanked, honoured, and praised. “ Or shall physicians arise to life, and give praise to thee 2” the dead are not only devoid of life and feeling, but even all the art and skill of medicine will not raise them or give them life and feeling to render you the tribute of praise. ‘“* Shall any one in the sepulchre declare thy mercy; and thy truth in destruction?” You do not shew your wonders to the dead, because they are lying inanimate in their sepulchres, they cannot appreciate them, and therefore, you do not declare your mercy to them, or your wonders, the works of your mercy and yourtruth, ‘‘ Jn destruction,” signifies here, the losing one’s life, and therefore, it is synonymous with lying in the sepulchre, where alone lie the dead. ‘‘ Shall thy wonders be known in the dark, and thy justice tn the land of Jorgetfulness #” The dead in their sepulchres will not. declare your mercy or relate your wonderful things, because they know them not; nor can they know them for they live in the darkness of death, and in the land of forgetfulness, where there is no memory of the past, and consequently no sense of the present. This exclamation is confirmed by the words of king Ezechias, who certainly asked for life in this world,

when he said, Isaias xxxviil., “ Mor hell shall not confess to thee; neither shall death praise thee, the living, the living shall give praise to thee, as I do this day.” We have a similar passage in Psalm cxiii., “ The dead shall not praise thee, O Lord, nor any of them that go down to hell, but we that live bless the Lord.” *

18 “ But I, O Lord, have cried to thee; and in the morning my prayer shall prevent thee.

14 “Lord, why castest thow off my prayer: why turnest thou away thy face from me?”

He now shews that the passion of Christ was so decided on by a divine decree, that it could not be changed; and explains at greater length the brief exclamation of our Saviour on the cross, “ My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” “ But I, Lord, have cried to thee,” that the chalice of my passion may pass from me; “ and in the morning my prayer shall prevent thee;” early enough, in the very morning or beginning of my passion, my prayer shall prevent or anticipate thee; for, though Christ’s prayer in the garden was offered in the night, still, that night was the morning or the beginning of his passion. “Why casteth thou off my prayer ?” Why don’t you hear me? Why don’t you cause this chalice to pass from me? “Why turnest thou away thy face from me?” Why do you turn away from me as if I were a stranger? Why do you abandon me? He makes use of all these expressions to give us some idea of the enormity of the sufferings, so repugnant to his human nature; for, absolutely speaking, the Lord wished for and chose such sufferings as a remedy for the sins of mankind; and the Father always heard him in what he wished and asked for.

15 “I am poor, and in labours from my youth: and being exalted have been humbled and troubled.”

For fear it may be supposed that the passion of Christ lasted only for three hours, or for one day, the Holy Ghost reveals here that his passion was constant during the whole period of his life. For, to say nothing of the chalice of his most bitter death, that was always before his eyes, he was at all times in troubles and difficulties; “Zam poor and in labours from my youth;” though in the form of God I was rich and happy, for you, mankind, have I become poor and in difficulties from my childhood. And so he was ; witness his birth in a stable, and his flight into Egypt; “and being exalted” on my cross, as on a throne, with my title written over my head, “ Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews,” still “have been humbled,” even unto death, “ and troubled,” at the blindness and the ruin of my people ; or, “ being exalted,” by the people crying out and saying, “ Blessed is the king, who cometh in the name ofthe Lord ;” and, for that reason, “ have been humbled,” so as to be scourged, and suffer death on the cross; and “have been troubled,” seeing the

16 “ Thy wrath hath come upon me : and thy terrors

He assigns a reason for having been humbled after having been so exalted, because God’s anger, by reason of the many and multifarious sins of mankind, came upon him, on Christ himself; for, as Isaias Ixili, says, ‘‘ Lor the wickedness of my people have LT struck him;” and, as 1 St. Peter ii. says, ‘‘ Who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the tree.” * Thy wrath hath come upon mé,’’ that was about to come on the wicked, ‘ and thy terrors,” intended for them, ‘‘ have troubled me;” and hence it was that in the garden he began to fear, and to be sad, and to be heavy, terrified, as he was, by what he was about to undergo for the expiation of sin, and the satisfaction of divine justice.

17 “* They have come round about me like water all the day : they have compassed me about together.”

He says that the anger of God, and the terror inspired by him, was like the absorbing and swallowing up a human being, as he briefly expressed before when he said, ‘‘ My soul is filled with evils,” which is more fully expressed here, when he says, they were like a sea all round about him, overwhelming and absorbing him.

18 “ Friend and neighbour thou hast put far from me; and my acquaintance, because of misery.”

To this heap of misery is added the intolerable one of being alone obliged to drink the bitter chalice, with no one to share with him, to help him in this dreadful calamity. ‘“ Thow hast put far from me,” in the height of my sufferings, the “friend and neighbour ;” Judas, who went farthest from him, and, from a friend and neighbour, proved an enemy. “And my acquaintance because of misery;’ the Apostles themselves, for, “leaving him, they ail Jied;” and, though St. John end some of the women came to him, instead of diminishing, they only augmented his sorrows. How justly, then, the Lord complains in Isaias Ixiii., “ Z have trodden the winepress alone, and of the gentiles there is not a man with me. I looked about, and there was none to help; L sought, and there was none to give aid.”