Psalm 89
A prayer for the mercy of God: recounting the short-. ness and miseries of the days of man.
1 Lord, thou hast been our refuge from generation to generation.
2 Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world was formed; from eternity and to eternity thou art God.
3 Turn not man away to be brought low: and thou hast said; Be converted, O ye sons of men.
4 For a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday, which is past. And as a watch in the night,
5 Things that are counted nothing, shall their years be.
6 In the morning man shall grow up like grass, in the morning he shall flourish and’ pass. away; in the evening he shall fall, grow dry and wither, ; _ @ For in thy wrath we have fainted away ; and are troubled in thy indignation.
8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thy eyes: our life in the light of thy countenance.
9 For all our days are spent; and in thy
wrath we have fainted away. Our years shall be considered as a spider:
10 The days of our years in them are threescore and ten years. Butif in the strong they be fourscore years: and what is more of them is labour and sorrow. For mildness is come upon us: and we shall be corrected.
11 Who knoweth the power of thy anger? and for thy fear
12 Cannumber thy wrath? So make thy right hand known: and men learned in heart, in wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord, how long? and be intreated in favour of thy servants,
14 We are filled in the morning with thy mercy: and we have rejoiced, and are delighted all our days.
15 We have rejoiced for the days in which thou hast humbled us: for the years in which we have seen evils.
16 Look upon thy servants and upon their works: and direct their children.
17 And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us: and direct thou the works of our hands over us; yea, the work of our hands do thou direct.
COMMENTARY
EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.
1 “ Lord, thou hast been our refuge from generation to generation.”
The prophet begins his prayer by returning thanks for past favours ; for he that seeks for fresh favours can make use of no argument so convincing as the shewing himself grateful for the past. “ Lord, thou hast been our refuge.” We allow we are subject to many and various daugers, but we have found a helper and a protector in you, and that not once or twice, but always, ‘from generation to generation.” The Hebrew for refuge signifies a well-fortified house, placed on an eminence, the tenants of which are quite secure from their enemies, from beasts, from flood, and from storms. And, in fact, they have recourse to God, and dwell in him, by constant reflection and daily desire for him, dwell as they would in a city fortified by faith, hope, and charity, and are most secure from all evil; for, with such persons, ‘all things work together unto good.”
2 “* Before the mountains were made, or the earth andthe world was formed ; from eternity and to eternity thou art God.” ;
He proves that the very same God might have been a refuge to those who hoped ‘in him at all times ; for he is always the same, especially powerful, wise, and kind; and, to shew that God existed before all these things that man confides so much in, he first names the mountains. ‘ Before the mountains were made;” for the mountains, being of great
ON THE PSALMS.
altitude and solidity, afford man a refuge in many ways; or, perhaps, he names the mountains first, by reason of their having been the first to appear when the waters that covered them at the creation began to recede ; or, perhaps, because the mountains form a.conspicuous and considerable portion of the earth. ‘From eternity and to eternity thou art God ;” you existed not only before the earth and the mountains, but from eternity thou art, and to eternity thou art God. And, observe, he does not say, Thou hast been, and will be God, but, Thou art God, in order to shew the true eternity of God, in which ~ there is no past or future, but one continuity of existence, without any change or variety, to which he alludes in Psalm ci., where he says, ‘‘ But thou art always the self-same, and thy years shall not fail.”
3 “* Turn not man away to be brought low: and thou hast said: Be converted, O ye sons of men.”
Now begins the prayer the prophet puts up to God; begging of him not to allow mankind to lapse into extreme degradation and ruin. For he saw that man, estranged from God by the sin of our first parents, was rushing headlong to destruction, end he, therefore, exclaims, “ Turn not man away to be brought low.” Do not suffer mankind to be turned away from the light of your countenance, to extreme wretchedness and meanness, so as to forget what is really good, and to turn to the things of the earth and the clay of secular desires, and thus be consigned to eternal perdition. And he assigns a reason for its not being meet that God should suffer a creature so noble as man to be lost. For “Thou hast said : Be converted, O ye sons of men;” that is to say, by the preaching of your prophets, and by your own secret inspirations, you have invited sinners; and you, therefore, by the powerful succour of your grace, should help the sinner in the way of his conversion, and not suffer him to sink to the depth of wretchedness.
4 * For a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday, which is past. And as a watch in the night,
; 5 “* Things that are counted nothing, shall their years é.
He now describes the abject state of the human race after the fall of man, by comparing the shortness of man’s life with God’s eternity. God’s eternity is so immense that a thousand years with him are but as part of a day with us; and yet, by reason of the fall of man, our life is not one of a thousand years, nor of a hundred, but scarcely of seventy, or, with the more robust, of eighty. Our life, then, as compared with the existence of God, is less than that of one day, nay more, of even part of a day ; and yet, had man not fallen into sin, he would have lived to eternity. ‘ For a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday, which is past,” We are come to the lowest degree of wretchedness ; for, while your existence is that of eternity, so that a thousand years are as but one day, that quickly passes with you, or, “as a watch in the night,” three hours; the life of
COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.
maan, who was created to your image, and, therefore, should have been everlasting, is now so brief that it may be looked upon as nothing; for “ things that are counted nothing, shall their years be;” very short and next to nothing.
6 “ In the morning man shall grow up like grass, in the morning he shall flourish and pass away :in the evening he shall fall, grow dry and wither.”
To shew how contemptible is the life of man, he compares it to grass, that in one day springs up, flowers, withers, and perishes. ‘“‘ Zn the morning,” in the early part of the day, man will appear in his youth, like the verdant grass, and will not stop there, but will pass on ; in the morning again, in the early
_part of the day, “he will flourish” in the vigour of youth; and will again pass on; ‘‘2n the evening,” in another part of the same day, ‘he shall fall,” his strength will begin to fail, “grow dry and wither” in his old age, in death, when all his bodily powers shall have been wasted. Alas, the blindness of man- Kind, who love the existence of one day, that ought to be looked upon as of no value, as if it were eternity! David is not alone in denouncing such folly ; for in Job, chap. xiv., we read, “ Man, born of a woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries. Who cometh forth like a flower, and ts destroyed, and fleeth as a shadow, and never continueth in the same state.” And after him, Isaias, on the same subject, says, ‘ All flesh ts grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of the field. The grass ws withered, and the flower is fallen, because the Spirit of the Lord hath blown upon it.”
7 ‘* For in thy wrath we have fainted away ; and are troubled in thy indignation.” :
He assigns a-cause for the shortness of human life, and says, it proceeds from the just anger of God, roused by the perversity of man. “ For in thy wrath we have fainted away;” we have been consumed and become mortal, by having provoked your anger; “and are troubled;” we, who previously led a life of quiet and security, are now troubled with the fear and horror of death, by reason of your anger. God does not get into anger or into rage, or into any excitement, but he is said figuratively to be so when he does not spare the sinner, but punishes him according to his merits.
8 “* Thou hast set our mquities before thy eyes: our life in the light of thy countenance.”
Having said that God’s anger was the cause of the shortness of our life, he now says that our sins are the cause of -God’s anger. He calls the sin of our first parents our sin, because it was common to ns, and comprised many sins, pride, disobedience, infidelity, curiosity, and other sins. Perhaps David also took in the sins of posterity as the cause of our life being shortened; for, up to the deluge, men lived to be nine hundred years; after the deluge, to two and three hundred years; and, in Moses’s time, to a hundred and twenty ; and, finally, in the days
of David, to eighty years. He, therefore, says, “* Thou hast set our iniquities before thy eyes;” you would not, in your mercy, hide our sins, but you put them right before you, that you may consider on them and punish them. For God is considered as forgiving sin when he turns his face away from it, as the prophet says, in Psalm 1. “ Zurn away thy Jace from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.”— “ Our life in the light of thy countenance” is only a - repetition of the first part of this verse; for “ our life” means the iniquities of our life, which God, for fear they should escape him, placed “in the light of his countenance ;” so lighted and shewed up that their hideousness may be apparent to all, and punished by the just judgment of God.
9 “ For ail our days are spent ; and in thy wrath we have fainted away. Our years shall be considered as a spider.”
The very punishment of death inflicted on us proves that God saw and condemned our delinquencies. ‘‘ Mor all our days are spent;” our life has passed away, none of it now remains; ‘ and in thy wrath we have fainted away ;” not only have our days been spent, but ourselves are spent wiih them; for, if Adam had not revolted, our days would have passed away, but they would have been succeeded by other days, and we would not have fainted away; but, at present, our days flow on so as to come to an end by the intervention of death; and we come to an end with them, and are destroyed by the anger of God, justly punishing us for our sins. “ Our years shall be considered as a spider.” Having said that death is the punishment of sin, he now adds that life itself, previous to death, is both wretched and short, according to the patriarch Jacob. ‘* The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years, few and evil;” and of their wretchedness he says, ‘* Our years shall be considered as a spider ;” as the spider’s whole occupation consists in weaving flimsy webs, that have no substance or duration, and which waste the body of the spider itself, so is the whole period of our life devoted to idle labour and pain, harassed by fear and suspicions, in running after the imaginary goods of this world, and guarding against its evils.
10 ‘ The days of our years in them are threescore and ten years. But if in the strong they be fourscore years: and what is more of them is labour and sorrow. For mildness is come upon us: and we shall be corrected.” i
He now passes from the misery to the shortness of our life, saying, The term of our life is marked and defined, averaging seventy years; a few of the more robust may reach eighty ; but if they go beyond that, their life is one of infirmity, pain, and trouble. Hale and robust people are to be found after their eightieth year, to be sure, but there is no rule without an exception; and if, previous to the deluge, men lived to be eight and nine hundred years, that was necessary for the propagation of the human race, as
it afterwards, in God’s providence, became necessary to curtail the life of man, in order to prevent an excess of population, as well as to punish men for their sins. ‘* Formildness is come upon us, and we shall be corrected.” The evils of old age bring this much good with them, that they make us lay aside our pride and the vanity of youth, they make us conscious of our own infirmity, and thus we become humbled, mild, and corrected under the powerful hand of God.
11 “Who knoweth the power of thy anger? and for thy fear :
12 “Can number thy wrath? So make thy right hand known, and men learned in heart, in wisdom.”
The prophet infers from the severity of the punishment inflicted on the sin of our first father, that God’s anger and severity, in regard of sin, is very great, and makes use of a beautiful figure of speech to express it. ‘ Who knoweth the power of thy anger 2’ Who can possibly conceive the force, power, and effects of your anger? “And forthy fear can number thy wrath?” who can fear you as you ought to he feared, and in such fear to measure the extent of your anger, or,enumerate the various modes of punishment? For as God was so incensed against all mankind for the one sia of our first parents, so as to condemn them to a life of pain, labour, and trouble here, and afterwards to death, to a return to the dust from whenee they came, it certainly may be fairly inferred, that .God’s anger to the sinner must be boundless, and that he has countless modes of punishing the sinner. And if the magnitude of God’s anger to the sinner is to be inferred from the corporeal death so inflicted on him, who can possibly conceive or comprehend the extent of that anger, not satisfied with the death of that wretched body, without consigning both soul and body, on the day of judgment, to everlasting and inextinguishable fire? It far exceeds the. understanding of man ! ‘So make thy right hand known: and men learned in heart, in wisdom.” From hence to the end of the Psalm the prophet prays to God, that as he was pleased, in his justice, to shorten the life of man, he may now, in his mercy, look down upon and help man in his pilgrimage here below. . So make thy right hand known.” Do, O Lord, at last stretch out your right hand to us, to sustain and support us, and to give us, in abundance, the gifts of your grace. ‘‘ And men learned in heart, in wisd om.” Prophets and Apostles with hearts fully imbued with the true wisdom, not like the wise ones of this world, whose tongue may be polished, but whose heart is not; or, if it be, it is not with wholesome and salutary wisdom, but with the pernicious wisdom of the world, “ which puffeth up, and does not edify.” : _ 13 “ Return, O Lord, how long? and be intreated in favour of thy servants.” Pas
He repeats the same prayer, but in more general terms, saying, Having been angry with us, by reason
COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.
of our sins, you have turned your face away from us 5" but, as.you have been appeased, turn to us at length,
and look upon us with an eye of kindness, ‘ And
be intreated in favour of thy servants.” Do not be
inexorable, but ‘listen to your servants, whom -yuu
have created, and whom you nourish and support for
14 “We are filled in the morning with thy mercy and we have rejoiced, and are delighted all our days.
15 “We have rejoiced for the days in which thou hast humbled us: for the years in which we have seen evils.”
When we shall have been reconciled to God, when he shall have been “ intreated in fuvour of his servants,” then we can justly say, ‘‘ we are filled in the morning with thy mercy ;” that is to say, in the beginning of that real day that we began to see the sun of justice, without any cloud to hide it from us, and the night and the darkness of this life had disappeared, we have been filled with that great merey of yours, that totally excluded all misery and trouble, of which it is written in Psalm cii., “* Who crowneth thee with mercy and compassion, who healeth all thy diseases, who satisfieth thy desire with good things ;” therefore, “we have rejoiced and are delighted;” for all that is left to the blessed, when freed from their sins, is to exult in praising God, and revel in the delight of having got possession of him. And we have rejoiced, not only for such a load of favours, but we have even ‘rejoiced for the days in which thou hast humbled us,” and for ‘ the years in which we have seen evils; both because prosperity is much sweeter to those who have tasted of adversity, and because our own patience in adversity had some share in this return of prosperity, according to the Apostle, 2 Cor. iv., ‘* For our present tribulation, which 1s momentary and light, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory.” Thus, we now bless those days and years in which our patience was tested, and we thank God, who did not spare us here below, that he may he able to do so for eternity.
16 ‘“‘ Look upon thy servants and upon their works : and direct their children.”
After he had asked for that supreme good that is the ultimate end of man’s life, and of all our aetions, he now asks for the means of acquiring it; that is to say, the grace of doing good. For, according to our Lord, we must “ Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice ;” he, therefore, says, ** Look upon thy servants ;” enlighten thy servants and inflame them with thy love; for God is the increate sun, who by one look both illuminates and enlivens. Also, ‘“* Look upon thy servants” with an eye of favour and benevolence, and direct, protect, and further them, as belonging to you; “and upon their works;” the good works you have caused them to commence ; for God is said to perform all our good works in us, because it is by his help and assistance they are done, and without his grace, both preceding them and accompanying them, they would be of no value what-
ever. And look upon, not only thy servants, but *‘ direct thetr children” also; whether their natural, or their spiritual. children ; that under thy guidance, both parents and children may persevere in the path of your commandments, and thus deserve to reach life everlasting.
17 ‘And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us : and direct thou the works of our hands over us ; yea, the work of our hands do thou direct.”
In order to shew how extremely desirous he is to get what he asks, he repeats the same petition in different language, for the expression, ‘* Let the brightness of our Lord be upon us,” is the same as “ Look upon thy servants ;” for God, as we already said, when he looks on us enlightens us; when he turns his face away, he leaves us in darkness; and the expression, ‘‘ and upon their works,” in the previous verse, he repeats here when he says, ‘‘ and direct thou the works of our hands over us;” that is to say, by overseeing us, makes us to work as we ought, and always to follow that most correct rule, thy will and thy law. He adds, ‘* Yea, the works of our hands do thou direct;” to shew that all our works may be brought under one head, that is, charity, the root of all, and containing all, ‘for he that loveth his neighbour hath fulfilled the law,” and, “* Charity ts kind, is patient.”
PSALM XC, The just is secure under the protection of God.
1 He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.
2 He shall say to the Lord : Thou art my protector, and my refuge : my God, in him will I trust.
3 For he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word.
4 He will overshadow thee with his shoulders : and under his wings thou shalt trust.
5 His truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night;
6 Of the arrow that flieth in the day; of the business that walketh about in the dark; of invasion, or of the noon-day devil.
7 Athousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee,
8 But thou shalt consider with thy eyes: and shalt see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou,O Lord, art my hope: thou hast made the Most High thy refuge.
10 There shall no evil come to thee: nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling.
11 For he hath given his Angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear thee up; lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon.
14 Because he hoped in me, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: 1 am with him in tribulation; I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.
16 I will fill him with length of days: and I will shew him my salvation.
EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.
1 “ He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.”
The first verse contains a remarkable promise, in which the Holy Ghost assures us that the divine assistance will never be wanting to those who really put their trust in God. To explain the words. ‘* He,” no matter who he may be, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, patrician or plebeiau, young or old, for “ God is no respecter of persons,” but he is “ rich to all that call upon him”—* that dwelleth,” to give us to understand that this liberal promise does not apply to those who put only a certain amount of trust in God, but that this trust must be continuous, constant, and firm, so that man may be said to dwell in God, through faith and confidence, and to carry it about with him, like a house, like a turtle, ‘ 2m the aid,” for God’s aid is not like one of the strongholds of this world, to which people fly for defence, but consists in an invisible and most secret tower that can be found, and entered by faith alone. However, the expression in the Greek as well as the Latin conveys, that we must place the most entire confidence in God, but still we are not to neglect the ordinary means that man can avail himself of. The husbandman puts his trust in him who gives the rain from heaven, and makes his sun to rise, but in the mean time he will be sure to plough, to sow, and to reap, knowing that God helps those who help themselves. “* Of the Most High,” God has been called by many names, but that of the “‘Most High” seems the most apposite in this passage, both because God is really most high, sits in the highest place, sees every thing, and is aware of every danger around us. And again, not only is he Most High, and sees every thing, but all things are subject to him, and therefore, he can deliver us from all manner of danger. ‘** Shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.” The second part of the verse, in which a reward is promised to those who put their trust in God, and the mean-. ing is, He that really trusts in the divine assistance will not be disappointed in his hope, but will be com-
282 pletely protected by the Lord. The several words in each member of the verse beautifully correspond with each other. The word ‘‘ dwelleth” corresponds with “ abide under;” the word, ‘in the aid,” with * nrotection,” and ‘ the Most High,” with “ the God of heaven.” To come now to the several words. The Hebrew for protection signifies shade or shadow, implying that God protects those that trust in him, as the hen that gathers her chickens under the shadow of her wings. Shadow may also signify the grace and favour of princes, a shade that easily, and from a great distance, affords protection, as we read of a stag that roamed about in the greatest security, by reason of its having a label on its neck, ‘* Touch me not, I belong to Cesar ;” thus, the true servants of God are always safe, even among lions, bears, serpents, fire, water, thunder, and tempests, for all creatures know and reverence the shadow of God. Even the Latin word “protection” is very significant. To protect means to cover from a distance, and one may becovered from a distance in two ways, bythe person standing nigh, and warding off the weapons that are shot from a distance ; or by standing afar off, and still warding off the weapons of close combat. God does both, for, abiding in us, he wards off the weapons that are shot from afar, for he sees the very first begining of the danger; and, by his wonderful power, stifles it in the bud, if he thinks proper; he also, though seated in heaven, puts aside all dangers, however proximate to us, for he has far-seeing eyes and long-reaching hands, so that he can easily cut short all impending dangers, his eye is his intelligence, his hand is his power, and his power his will. ‘** The God of heaven ;” for nobody is all-sufficient, needing nothing, and through and in himself omnipotent, but the true God, who made the heavens, “ for all the gods of the gentiles are devils; but the Lord made the heavens ;” and though the earth, and the sea, and the air are great and wonderful works of God, still, among things created there is nothing greater or more wonderful than the heavens, whether we regard its size, its beauty, its efficacy, its velocity, or its stability ; and no wonder the prophet should exclaim in another place, ‘‘ The heavens shew forth the glory of God.” — Shall abide.” This expression conveys that the person trusting in God will be protected by him, not now and then, or casually, but will be constantly protected by him, that the protection of God will not be like a hut on the road side, but like one’s own or his father’s house. Here we cannot but wonder at the folly of mankind, who make so little of such a promise. Those in power spend much money on their fortresses and body-guards, and yet are often betrayed by them; but here it is not frail and deceitful man, but the Almighty and truthful God that says, “ Trust in me, and I will protect you,” and yet scarce can one be found to trust himself to God as he ought.
2 ‘ He shall say to the Lord ; Thou art my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust.”
COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.
The prophet now proves and explains his assertion by the testimony of a just man confiding in God, who gives his testimony from experience. “ He shall say to the Lord;” that is, the just mau, who dwells in the aid of the Most High, will acknowledge the favour of the protection had trom God. He calls God absolutely Lord, because God alone is truly and strictly Lord, both because he has neither equal nor superior, is subject to no necessity, wants nothing ; as also, because all things are at his beck, without him they can neither move nor exist ; and fiually, because he alone can change, destroy, or repair all things as he pleases, ‘‘ Zhou art my protector, my refuge, my God.” These words represent three of God’s favours, for which the just man returns thanks; one, a past favour; the second, a present; and the third, a future favour. The first favour is that uuspeakable mercy of God, through which he supports man after falling into mortal sin, and rushing headlong to hell; of whom is said in Psalm cxvii., “ Being pushed, I was overturned that I might fall; but the Lord supported me ;” so St. Bernard explains the passage, and says, “A sign of such support is, when the person who fell rises up more humble, more resolute, and more cautious, as did. David, and Peter, and Magdalen.” The just man, then, who confides in God, mentions this favour first, not that it arises from confidence, (for it precedes instead of coming from confidence), but because he says to himself, if God be so good as to protect the enemy who does not confide in him, and to inspire him with penance and confidence, how good and kind must he not be to the friend and child who does confide in him. The second favour is one of the present time, and is contained in the expression, ‘‘ and my refuge.” For, when God protects any one through the grace of justification, he does not, at once, take him up to heaven, but he places him in the line of his soldiers, who are fighting here below, but if he trust in the. Lord, he will prove “‘a refuge’ to him in every temptation and difficulty, and a most safe and secure refuge, as the Hebrew word for refuge implies. The third favour is a future one, and the greatest of all, and is contained in the words, “‘ my God,” for God is the supreme good, and God is always God in himself, and, therefore, the supreme good ; and he will be peculiarly so ‘¢ when we shall see him as he ts,” for then we shall enjoy the supreme good. The just man, therefore, reflecting and allowing that God was one time his protector, then his refuge, and, after this life, will constitute his happiness, comes to the conclusion, “ in him will I trust;” that is, 1 am firmly determined to put my trust in him, through every danger and temptation, as did holy Job, when he said, “ Although he should kall me, I will trust in him.”
3 ‘ For he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word.” 3
Having said, in the previous verse, that he would put his trust in God, he now assigns a reason for
COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.
doing so, “ For he hath delivered me from. the snaré of the hunters, and from the sharp word,” in which he alludes to two favours conferred on him, one temporal, the other spiritual, The temporal blessing consists in immunity from snares, stratagems, and frauds of the wicked, the source of much temporal injury; the frauds being designated by the ‘ snares of the hunters,” and the ‘ sharp word” implies the injuries consequent on the frauds. And, as frauds and stratagems are generally effected through the tongue, Kccli. li. says, “ Zhow hast preserved me JSrom the snare of an unjust tongue.” God, then, in his singular providence, has caused, and always will cause, the frauds and schemes of the wicked to do no harm to the just, who confide in the aid of the Most High. Another favour, and much a greater one, is an exemption from the temptations of the evil spirits ; for such is their craft, that men, however prudent they may be, when compared with them, may be looked upon as half fools. Those demons, then, are the hunters of whom the Apostle says, ‘‘ Yor they who would become rich, Jail into temptation, and into the snare of the devil;” and again, ‘ And they recover themselves from the snares of the devil, by whom they are held captives, at his will.” Those demons are so numerous as nearly to fill completely the dark prison in which they are confined, and, according to St. Jerome, they are so powerful and:so ferocious as to be compared, in the Scriptures, ‘‘to dions and dragons ;” and they have no other study but constantly ‘ going about roaring, seeking whom they may devour ;” and, if we would seriously and attentively keep this fact before us, we would watch with as much fear and trembling in our prayers as it-is probable Daniel did in the lions’ den, or the three children in the fiery furnace. All created things are so many snares, which catch the heart of man either through the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, or the pride of life. The wise man says of them, ‘ Zhe creatures of God are made a snare to the feet of the unwise,” Wisdom xiv. ; and Kccli. ix. has, “ For thou art going in the midst of snares,” “ The sharp word” is that spiritual death incurred by the person caught in such snares, or, if you will, it may mean that sentence that will be pronounced on the wicked, “ Go, ye cursed, into everlasting jfire;” for what can be rougher or more severe than such a sentence, when it conveys the loss of all that is bright and good, and an accumulation of all that is evil, not for a time, but for eternity. Such sentence of a most just judge will be justly pronounced on those who voluntarily suffer themselves to be tangled in the snares of the hunters, the demons.
4 * He will overshadow thee with his shoulders: and under his wings thou shalt trust.”
The prophet now speaks in his own person, and addresses the just man, who spoke hitherto, saying, you were right in saying I will trust in him, for
‘he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters ;” for he really did deliver you, and will always deliver you from every danger, for while you will be but a little one, and no match for your enemies, he will foster you under his wings, like a hen or an eagle. God has been compared to two birds in the Holy Scriptures, the eagle and the hen; to the former in Deut. xxxii., “As the eagle enticing her young to Jy, and hovering over them;” to the latter in Mat. xxili., ‘ How often would I have gathered together thy children, as the hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.” God was an eagle before, a hen after the incarnation ; or, if it be referred to Christ alone, as God he is an eagle, as man a hen; or he was a hen previous to an eagle after his resurrection. He, therefore, says, “‘ He will overshadow thee with his shoulders.” God, like an eagle ora hen, will gather you under his wings, and will so “ overshadow” and
~ protect you, that you will have nothing to fear from
the heat of the sun, nor the severity of the rain or the storm, or from birds of prey; lodged, therefore, © in the greatest safety “ wnder his wings,” under his care and protection, ‘‘ how shalt trust” for deliverance and safety.
5 ‘ Elis truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night ;
6 “ Of the arrow that flieth in the day ; of the business that walketh about in the dark ; of invasion, or of the noon-day devil.”
The prophet now explains another figure in regard of the more advanced in years, who can defend themselves ; for God arms them with an extraordinary shield. The poets record the shields of Aineas and Achilles, which were said to have been gifts from heaven, and through which they became invulnerable; but that was all a fable; but the shield of which David speaks is really celestial, and truly renders those invulnerable who know how to make proper use of it; and the prophet says, “* He shall compass thee with a shield;” not with a helmet which protects the head only, nor with a coat of mail that protects the breast and shoulders only, but with a shield that may be used for the protection of the entire body, for it may be raised or lowered, turned to all sides, and opposed to every blow. ‘* Jn all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one,” says St. Paul, Ephes. vi. That shield is truth, so the passage says, ‘‘ His truth shall compass thee with a shield;” as if he said, The truth of the Lord shall encompass thee like a shield. The truth of the Lord has two acceptations in the Scripture. In one sense it means God’s strict observance of his promises, as in Psalm Ixxxviii., “ My truth and my mercy shall be with him;? and in another part of the Psalm, * But my mercy I will not take from him; nor will I suffer my truth to fail.” In another sense it means the truths revealed to the prophets and Apostles, on which we have, in John
xvii, “Thy word is truth;” and in Proverbs xxx., “ Every word of God is fire-tried ; he is a buckler to them that hope tn him;” and in Ephes. vi., “Jn all things taking the shield of faith;” that is, of truth, which is had through faith alone, that being a supernatural truth. Both sorts of truth form the best possible shield to repel all the weapons of the enemy, whether in adversity or prosperity, for God’s promises are so fixed and unalterable, that of them may be said, “ Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away ;” for the truth of God is like holding ground in which the anchor of hope is firmly fixed. While the anchor is passing through the water it does not hold the ship, for water is a liquid and unsteady element, but once the anchor takes hold in the ground, it keeps the ship in her place. Thus our hope, when it is built on the promise of man, cannot but totter and waver; but when fixed in God’s truth, it remains firm and steady ; * For God ts true, and every man a liar,” Rom. iii. And who can injure him who has been promised the protection of that God who cannot deceive him? The truth of faith protects us like a shield also when it gives us a certainty that eternal happiness is prepared for the just, and torments everlasting for the sinner after this life; and that judgment will be held on the last day, when all men shall have to render the most exact account of all their deeds, words, thoughts, desires, omissions; in short, of every idle word, however brief, they may have uttered. Such and simi- Jar reflections, disclosed to us by the truth of faith, would easily protect us from all temptations, both in adversity and prosperity, if we would daily use them as a shield ; that is, if we daily and faithfully meditate on these truths of our religion, Who is he that would not bravely bear up against any terror whatever, by reflecting seriously on those words of our Lord? “ And fear not those that kill the body, and cannot kill the soul; but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell.” And who is there that will not despise the empty pleasures of this world, and the occasions of wronging their neighbour, when they seriously reflect on the following words of our Divine Master? ‘ or what doth it profit. a man ifhe gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall aman give in exchange for his soul 2”—“ Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night; of the arrow that flieth in the day.” He now tells us what the dangers are against which we need the shield of truth. The passage is a very obscure one, and variously explained, but of the various ones offered, we consider one to be the most simple and literal, as follows: You will have no dangers to fear, either by day or by night. “ Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night;” you need not fear anything that may frighten you by night; fear, here, being used for the thing that canses it; as it is also in 1 Peter iii., ‘* And be not afraid of their terror ;” just as hope is used for the hing hoped for, and desire for the thing desired, as
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in Titus ii., “* Wasting for the blessed hope;” and in Psalm Ixxvii., “And he gave them their desire ;” that is, the thing they desired. The words, “ ofthe arrow that flieth in the day,” mean, you will have to fear no dangers in the day time ; ‘‘of the business that walketh about in the dark,” is only a repetition and explanation of “ the terror of the night ;” “‘ of invasion or of the noon-day devil,” is a mere repetition of “ the arrow that jlieth in the day.” In fine, in these words we have a general promise of security, both by day and by night, to those who trust in God, and are armed with the shield of truth ; ‘‘ Mor if God be for us, who ts against us?” Rom. viii. ; as also, “ And who is he that can hurt you, if you be zealous of good?” 1 Peter iii.
7 ‘A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but tt shall not come nigh thee.”
The prophet follows up the description of the victory of the just man who confides in God, and makes proper use of the shield of truth. He reminds the just of the great value they should set upon such a victory, it being a rare one, and that of the few over the many. For in this fight “a thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but at shall not come nigh to thee;” neither the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flieth in the day, nor the business that walketh about in the dark, nor the noon-day devil shall come nigh to thee. ‘‘ Thy sede” means thy left side, being opposed to theright, and signifies adversity; whilst the right stands for prosperity ; and many more fall from the latter than from the former ; for prosperity is the source of pride, luxury, licentiousness, impudence, and other like vices; while adversity renders men humble, chaste, and patient ; for, as the Apostle says, “ Zribulation worketh patience.” ‘The numbers, a thousand and ten thousand, merely signify that many will fall on the left, but a great many more on the right hand; and it is in such sense these numbers are understood in Kings, ‘* Saud, slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands;” and, in Deut. xxxii., “ How should one pursue after a thousand, and two chase ten thousand ?”
8 “ But thou shalt consider with thy eyes ; and shalt see the reward of the wicked.”
A fresh source of joy to the just man, who not only has been promised a victory, but that he will, furthermore, have great pleasure in seeing his enemies laid low, and punished according to their deserts, a promise that is sometimes fulfilled even in this world. Thus, the children of Israel saw the Egyptians cast dead on the shores of the Red Sea; Moses and Aaron saw Dathan and Abiron swallowed up alive; Ezechias saw the prostrate corpses of Sennacherib’s army; and Judith, with God’s people, saw the head of Holofernes cut off, and his whole army scattered and routed; but this promise will be completely fulfilled on the day of judgment, when we shall see all our enemies prostrate on the ground, naked and unarmed, without any strength whatever, and consigned to eternal punishment. “ But thow:
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shalt consider,” not in a cursory way, or in a hurry, but with diligence and accuracy, you will consider all your enemies, their number, their position, what they deserved, and what they are suffering 5 ‘ with thy eyes; you will not take it from hearsay or report, but you shall see with those very eyes with which you saw the arms and the dangers of your enemies: for your eyes will then be your own property, a thing they are not now, while curiosity opens them, sleep closes them, old age dims them, and death destroys them ; and all in spite of you. “ And shall see the reward of the wicked ;” you will then see plainly the reward the wicked get for all their labour. Hence will arise a beautiful order of things, that now seem in general disorder and con- ' fusion. For, while punishment should follow sin, and virtue should be rewarded, it often happens that the just are afflicted, and bad men honoured ; and thus sorrow comes from virtue, joy from sin; but, on the last day, all things will be righted and put in their proper place ; guilt will meet its punishment, and that in proportion to its enormity ; while, on the contrary, justice shall be rewarded in proportion to its merits, too; and then will be accomplished what is prophesied in Psalm lvii., “ The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge ;” that is, when he shall see the sinner duly punished ; not that he will rejoice in their misfortunes, but for the vindication of the divine justice and wisdom, that will appear so conspicuous in the punishment of the wicked.
9 ‘¢ Because thou, O Lord, art my hope: thou hast made the Most High thy refuge.”
This verse is very easy, as far as the words are concerned, all of which have been explained when we discussed the first and second verses; but the connexion is not so apparent; because, in the preceeding verse, the prophet seems to have addressed the just man; he now seems to speak to God, saying, ‘* Because thou, O Lord, art my hope;” and we don’t see why he says so; and then the second part of the verse, “thow hast made the Most High thy refuge,” is addressed to the just man again, but without any connexion between the members of the sentence. The first part of the sentence is the voice of the just man speaking to God; the second part are the words of the prophet; we have already observed that this Psalm is, to a certain extent, dramatic, in the form of a dialogue, though the characters are not named, however; that the prophet speaks at one time, the just man at another, and God at another time. The prophet, then, having said to the just man, “ God will overshadow thee with his shoulders,” as the hen does her young; ‘* will compass thee with a shield,” as a general would his soldiers ; ‘ you shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the day;? and hence many will fall on your right and left, but the danger will not come near you, but you will rather see your enemies con-
285 quered ‘before your face—the just man, on hearing all this, turns to God, and says, ‘** Because thou, O Lord, art my hope,” I believe every word of it ; it’s all true, and that because you, O Lord, art my hope; I trust not in my own strength or arm, nor in the strength nor in the arms of my friends; but in thee alone, who art my whole and sole hope, and in whom alone I confide. Now, God is said to be the hope of the just, because they not only hope for help from him, but they hope he will prove himself a strong citadel in their regard, to which they fly for protection in time of persecution; and dwelling in which, through faith, hope, and charity, through prayer and contemplation, they can suffer no injury. The prophet. understood that well, and, therefore, he adds, ‘thou hast made the Most High thy refuge;” as much as to say, you have acted most wisely and properly in placing your hope in God; for thus you have selected your place of refuge in the highest possible and best fortified citadel you could select, God himself, where (as will be said in the following verse) no harm can possibly reach you.
10 ‘* There shall no evil come to thee: nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling.”
The prophet now tells what. good the just man is to derive from having made the Most High his re- ~ fuge, and says it consists in his being most safe from all evil. Evil is two-fold, that arising from sin, and that arising from the punishment consequent on sin, The evil of sin is absolutely and radically evil, and to it applies the first part of the verse, “‘ There shall no evil come to thee;” the evil of punishment is not simply evil, and, therefore, to it applies the second part of the verse, ‘‘ nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling.” That the evil of sin.is simply and absolutely evil, and that such is not the case with the evil of punishment, is clear from the fact that the former renders man absolutely evil, while the latter makes him only miserable; nobody can turn the evil of sin to good account ; not so as regards the evil of punishment. The evil of sin cannot be cal'ed good, for it is not right to call it so, it being iniquity ; nor is it of any use, when he who sins always loses more than he gains; the evil of punishment may be called good, for it is frequently both good and useful.
Jod, being the author of all good, is not the author of the evil of sin; while the evil of punishment has God, as being a just Judge, for its author. That can be inferred from the words of the prophet; for, when he says, “There shall no evil come to thee,” he speaks of the evil that is in us, and cannot be outside us ; such is the evil of sin, which must of necessity be within us, that is, in the power of our free will; and when he adds, “‘ nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling,” he speaks of the evil that may ha; pen to our property, our children, our house, our land ; and such is the evil of punishment. A serious doubt arises here regarding the truth of this promise ; for David was certaiily one of those just who trusted in
God, and still the evil of sin, adultery, murder, and the scourge, nay, even many scourges, “‘ came near his dwelling,” for he says himself, “ J washed my hands among the innocent, and I have been scourged all the day ;” which may also be said of Job, Tobias, of the prophets and Apostles, nay, even of Christ himself, who, too, was scourged ; nay, even the Lord scourgeth every son whom he receiveth,” Heb. xii. To this objection two answers may be made; the first is, that the promise does not regard this life, but the next, when that prophecy will be fulfilled ; “* Zhou shalt consider with thy eyes; and shalt see the reward of the wicked ;” for then, when we shall have entered the heavenly tabernacle, we will be quite safe from all the evil of sin, as well as of punishment; for God’s reason for °* strengthening the bolts of the heavenly Jerusalem,” and “ placing peace tn tts borders,” was that the scourge may not possibly come near it. The second auswer is, that the promise does regard this life, but that is to be understood with some restriction ; for the evil of sin will not come near the elect and those who trust in God; not that they cannot possibly fall into sin, but because, through God’s singular providence, their very sins will tend to their improvement, making them more humble and cautious, and more inflamed by the love of God, in proportion to the extent they are indebted to his grace and mercy. So St. Gregory applies it to St. Peter, which also holds in the case of St. Thomas, Mary Magdalen, and many others. The scourge, that is, the evil of punishment, will not ‘‘ come near their dwelling,” because, in spirit, they are dwelling in the heavenly tabernacles, and, with the Apostle Paul, engrossed entirely in meditation, they scarcely feel such temporal evils, or if they do, they despise them; nay, more, so far from looking upon them as evils, they consider them positive blessings and graces, from which they hope to reap an abundant crop of glory ; such were the feelings of the Apostle when he said, “ I am filled with comfort. I exceedingly abound with joy in all our tribulation.”
11 “ For he hath given his Angels charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways.”
The just man might have said, I am quite sure that no evil can possibly happen me, when I shall haye got within that heavenly tabernacle; but I would like to know who is to guard me on the way to it, to prevent my going astray, or falling in with robbers, or into a pit? The prophet replies, Never fear, “‘ For he hath given his Angels charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways.” Each word in which requires an explanation. ‘‘ For” does not refer to the preceding, but to the following sentence, the meaning being, whereas God gave you in charge to his Angels, to guard you on the way, the Angels will take you in their hands, for fear you should knock against a stone. “Angels”—Angels are blessed spirits, most noble princes, who guard with the
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greatest care, being most powerful, wise, and excellent, shewing us how God values the human race in assigning such guardians to it. But why Angels, instead of an Angel? According to our Lord, we have a guardian Angel every one of us; for he says, “ Their Angels always see the face of my Father ;” and when St.-Peter knocked at the door, those within said, “Jt is his Angel.” Granted; but we still have Angels who have common charge of us, such as those who are in charge of towns, states, and kingdoms; on which see chap. x. of Daniel. ss His;” they are called “his” Angels because there are fallen angels also, of whom is said in the Apocalypse, “And the dragon fought and his angels.” God, then, gave you in charge to “ his Angels,” and not to those angels who, instead of protecting you, would have sought to destroy you. “ Hath given charge;” the reason why the Angels take such care of us is, because God ordered them to do so, gave us in charge to them; for, though they guard us with right good will, loving us as they do, and though they have a horror of the evil angels, and wish the heavenly Jerusalem to be renewed as soon as possible; and though they know all this to be most agreeable to their King, Christ our Lord, still God’s command is uppermost, is their ruling motive for the whole; for they are conscious of being God’s servants, and there is nothing that he requires more strictly from his servants than prompt and implicit obedience ; ‘‘ over thee,” which means that God’s providence extends to all, and that he has given a guardian Angel to each and every human being; but still that he has a peculiar regard for the just, for those that confide in him; and, therefore, that he has given special orders to his Angels to look “ over thee,” the just man, who trusts in his help, ‘to keep thee ;” the charge God gave his Angels regarding the just was to preserve him from his enemies, the evil angels ; for man, by reason of the flesh that envelopes him, can see nothing save through the eyes of the flesh, and, therefore, is no match for the evil spirits, unless he get help from some one more powerful; ‘‘n all thy ways ;” not on thy way, but in all thy ways; for numerous are the ways of man, and in’
_every one of them he needs the help of his guardian
Angel. The law is the way, according to Psalm cxviii., ‘ Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord;’ and in the same Psalm, “I have run the way of thy commandments.” The way also means the works, as in Proverbs viii., “* The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways before he made any thing.” Finally, this life is a way to a certain extent. ‘The way of the law is varied, for there are many laws; the way of the works is equally so, for there are many works; the way of life is also varied, for there are many parts, ages, and states of life. We require assistance in every one of them, since we are liable to fall in every law, work, age, and state of our life.
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12 “In their hands they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”
A verse full of metaphors, but otherwise easily explained; we, therefore, have merely: to explain what he means by the “* Angels’ hands,” what the‘ stones” and the “feet” signify. The Angels’ hands signify the intellect and the will, or wisdom and power, for it is by understanding and by willing they do every thing. The stones, all the obstacles that we meet in this life, be they temporal or spiritual, such as scandals, temptations, persecutions, and the like. The feet mean our affections, that very often knock against the stones; and, as St. Augustine, treating of this passage, says, Our feet are two affections, fear and love; and, whenever man proceeds in his actions, words, or desires, he is carried by one or the other, by the desire of acquiring one thing or losing something else, or by a desire of avoiding evil, or the fear of falling into it; we then knock our foot against the stone, when we fall into sin, on an occasion offering of acquiring some temporal good, or of avoiding some temporal evil, whence we lose eternal happiness, and incur eternal punishment ; but they “‘who dwell in the aid of the Most High” are so assisted by the Angel-guardian, that the occasion is altogether removed ; that is, the stone is taken out of the way, or the mind is so enlightened as to distinguish good from evil; that the feet, that is, the affections are so raised from the earth that the temporal advantage, that could not be had without sin, is easily despised ; and the temporal evil, that could not be avoided without sin, is most patiently endured,
13 * Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk : and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon.”
Having made mention of the good Angels who have charge of the just man that trusts in God, he now alludes to the bad angels, and says, so far from their harming the just man, that he, on the contrary, will trample on and crush them, as the Apostle says, “ And may the God of peace crush Satan. speedily under your feet.” He calls Satan a serpent, by reason of his cunning, and a lion, by reason of his ferocity ; and, as there are various sorts of serpents, he calls him an asp, a basilisk, and a dragon, for to the cunning that is common to all serpents, the asp unites obstinacy, the basilisk cruelty, and the dragon great strength and power, for all of which Satan is remarkable. This is not the only passage in which the devil is called a serpent anda lion. In Job xxvi., and Isaias xxvii., he is called “ the winding snake” and “ the crooked serpent.” The Apocalypse calls him “ the dragon” and “the old serpent;” and St. Peter calls him “ the roaring lion.”
14 ‘Because he hoped in me, I will deliver him: I will protect him, because he hath known my name.”
‘As we read in Deuteronomy, that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand,” the holy prophet would have three witnesses to prove
what he promised in the beginning of the Psalm, viz., that all who truly trust in God would be protected by him. The first witness was the just man, who, from his own experience gave testimony to the truth of it, when he said, ** Hor he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters.” The second witness was the prophet himself, who, as the organ or voice of the Holy Ghost declared, “ He will overshadow thee with his shoulders.” The third witness is God himself, who, in the last three verses, cenfirms all that had been said, and adds a great deal more, for these three verses contain eight promises of God, which most appropriately commence with deliverance from evil, and advance up to elevation, to supreme happiness. Four of them, ‘ Z will deliver him, protect him, hear him, am with him in tribulation,” belong to this life ; and the four others, Z will deliver him, glorify him, fill him with length of days, and I will shew him my salvation,” belong to the next life. ‘* Because he hoped in me I will deliver him.” The deliverance that is promised here refers to deliverance from all evil, and may be referred to the deliverance previously mentioned through the Angels, or the shield, or in any other way, so that the meaning is, Let not the just man imagine for a moment that he can be delivered by the Angels, or by a shield, or by any means without me; they can do nothing without me, and it is I that will deliver him through them, and frequently without them, since it was in me principally, and not in them, that he trusted, Looking at the passage from a higher point of view, the deliverance here promised may be said to mean deliverance from the tyranny of sin, which may be said specially to be a mark of the perfect, and a most desirable one; our Saviour himself, speaking thereon, says, “* Whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin. Tf, therefore, the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” Now such liberty is not granted unto all, but to those that hope in God, “ Because he hoped in me I will deliver him.” It is not, then, every hope, but that confidence that is the fruit of a good conscience, and springs from filial love and affection, that frees man from the vices that tyrannize over him ; for, as ayarice ties him down, and holds him captive, and the more he advances in charity, the more is his avarice diminished ; and when his charity and attachment to the supreme good shall be most perfect, then, too, will his liberty be most complete, that liberty that is styled by the Apostle, “ the liberty of the glory of the children of God.” The next promise is, s° T will protect him, because he hath known my name.” For he that is freed from the tyranny of vice in this world, still is not perfectly free, he needs God’s help to advance in grace until he shall have come to glory. God, therefore, promises continual protection to those “‘ who have known his name;” that is, to those who have come to the knowledge of his power, wisdom, and goodness, which raises up in them the most firm
hopé and confidence. They, too, are said “to know his name,” who are on familiar terms with God, and know him as a pastor, a friend, and a father, speaking of which our Saviour says, ‘ J am the good shepherd, Iknow my sheep, and my sheep know me ;” and, on the other hand, speaking of the others, he says, “7 know you not;” and in 2 Thess.i., “ In a flame of fire, giving vengeance to them who know not God.” Wonderful altogether is God’s kindness to man, when he speaks to him not only as a Lord but as a friend, and no wonder David should exclaim : ‘Lord, what is man that thou art made known to him?”
15 “* He shall cry to me, and I will hear him: [am with him im tribulation: I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.” ‘ :
There are four promises in this verse; the first is a general promise of being heard, a promise which God alone can make ; and that there is no restriction whatever to the promise of hearing the prayer of all who confide in God, is clear from the words, ‘ and I will hear him;” other passages of Scripture confirm it. Deut. iv., “ Nedther ts there any other nation so great, that hath God so nigh to them, as our God is present to all our petitions.” John xili., “ You shall ask whatever you will, and tt shall be done to you;” and in Mark xi., ‘‘ 4/1] things whatsoever you ask, when ye pray, believe that you shall receive, and they shall come unto you;” and finally, in 1 John iii, ¢ We have confidence towards God, and whatsoever we shall ask we shall receive of him; and though certain conditions are necessary to have our prayer heard, the principal one is that which is expressed here, when he says, ‘‘ He shall cry to me;” which implies a vehement desire, springing from confidence and love. The three other promises come next. ‘* Jam with him in tribulation, Iwill deliver him, and I will glorify him.” Three promises correspond most exactly to the three most remarkable days in the year : the Friday on which the Lord, hanging on his cross, was in his greatest tribulation ; the Saturday on which he rested in peace from all his troubles; and the Sunday on which, by rising from the dead, he had a most glorious triumph. All the just and the elect have three such days before them ; for, with Christ, we must all go through our own tribulations on Friday, that is, in this life, which is the shortest, and is counted but as one day ; we must rest in the sepulchre on the Saturday; and, finally, rise on Sunday, and be glorified for ever with Christ. The Lord, therefore, says, “I am with him in tribulation;” for the person praying asked for the gift of patience above all things, “ which is necessary for you, that you may receive the promise,” Heb. x. Now, the Lord who said, “Z will hear him,” promises him, in the first place, the gift of patience, when he says, “J am with him in tribulation,” each word of which has a peculiar force of its own. “J am,” in the present tense, whereas everything else was expressed in the future; “J will deliver, I will protect, I will
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hear, [ will glorify, I will fil;” and this was 80 expressed, with a view to shew us that the troubles of this world are momentary, as the Apostle, 2 Cor. iv., says, “ Hor our present tribulation, which is momentary and light, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory ;” and, therefore God’s mercy causes our tribulations to fall upon us, as it were, drop by drop, whereas our future glory will flow upon us like the -inundation of a river, a: the Psalm expresses it, “ Thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure ;?—“ with him” conveys that God is present with every one, in various ways, but that he is specially, through his interior consolations, aud the influx of his unspeakable sweetness, with those who are in trouble; like a fond mother, whose entire care, even to the neglect of the others, is bestowed on the child in sickness; or as we ourselves, who nurse and care the ailing members of our body, and care not for the others. “ Jn tribulation;” this gives us to understand that, however great the consolations, whether temporal or spiritual, bestowed by God upon his friends here below, that they are not without a certain admixture of tribulation. Some, especially among sinners, have their troubles without any consolation ; but none, neither just nor wicked, have their consolations without some mixture of trouble; but there is this difference between the good and the bad—that the former, with few tribulations, more apparent than real, get true and solid consolations, for “ the fruit of the spirit is charity and joy,” Gal. vi. ; but as to those who have not the Spirit, how can they expect its fruits? “J will deliver him ;” this promise regards the future life, for it is at their death that the just are delivered from all present and future troubles, as St. John has it in the Apocalypse, ‘“ Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, from henceforth, now and for ever; that they may rest from their labours;” and again, chap. xxi., “ And God shallevipe away all tears from their eyes; and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more.” The wicked appear to be delivered from the troubles of this world by death, but itis by no means the fact; for they only pass from temporary to eternal tribulation ; they are no more delivered than is the wretch who is brought out of jail to the place of execution. Sometimes, however, the just, even in this life, are delivered from their tribulation, Such was the case with Josepb, Job, David, Tobias, Daniel, the three children, Susanna, and others ; but it was only a short and brief delivery. The fourth promise is, “and I will glorify him;” that, to a certain extent, sometimes happens also in this life, for holy Job was not only delivered from many and grievous tribulations, but was even raised to great glory afterwards; so was the patriarch Joseph ; so was king David; but, beyond yea or nay, the real and true glorification will be accomplished in the other world only, for “ Then shall the just shine as the sun in the kingdom of their
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Father,” Matt. xiii.; and he says to the Apostles, You also shall sit on twelve seats, judging the twelve tribes of Israel; and, to express their glorious position, the Psalmist says, “ Their principality is exceedingly strengthened ;” and the Apostle, in speaking on the matter, says, “ The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us.”
16 “TL will fill him with length of days: and I will shew him my salvation,”
These are the two last favours promised to those “who dwell in the aid of the Most High,” and may be looked upon as an explanation of the sixth favour. “7 will glorify him,” for the glory of the saints consists in their having secured supreme happiness; now, supreme happiness must be everlasting, for happiness, without being everlasting, is nothing more than misery; and eternity, wittout happiness, is eternal misery. He, therefore, describes real eternity ; first, by the expression, ‘Z will fill him with length of days,” and then true happiness by the words, “ and LT will shew him my salvation.” By length of days is meant a space of time, so extended as fully to satisfy man’s desire, for that is what he promises when he says, “‘ Z will fill him with length of days ;” and, as man’s desires cannot be satiated but by a continuance of what he desires, this length of days must be taken to mean eternity. The Scripture makes use of such expressions to designate eternity, because it speaks to those who can form no idea of eternity, but from the length or the number of days. In eternity there is no succession of days, but one,day always going cn, or rather one moment lasting for ever without change, succession, or vicissitude. But it may be said, the vicissitudes of the seasons bring their pleasure with them, and we find men beguiling the length of the day in summer, and of the night in winter, by various amusements. That arises from all the stages of this life being full of various inconveniences and troubles, which make us look forward with impatience to the future, but when the day, than which no better can be expected, shall have come, the wish, then, that it may always last, will be the wish of all. ‘And J will shew him my salvation.” 1 will cause the just man to live no longer by faith, by belief in what he sees not, but that he may clearly see and feel, and know by experience the salvation I offer him. That salvation consists in the beatific vision promised to us, which renders man’s salvation beth perfect and perpetual. The mind will then be cleared of all error and ignorance, when, it shall have arrived at the summit of wisdom, which consists in viewing the supreme and sovereign author of all things. From such wisdom there will spring up in the will a most ardent and steadfast love of the supreme good, that will completely take the affections from any thing gross or unworthy, and such salvation will have its own effect on the inferior part of man, that thus will become subject to the
superior without resistance or rebellion; and on the body itself, which will rise again immortal, impassible, most beautiful, and brighter than the sun. Here we cannot but wonder at the blindness of mankind; for while all wish for eternal happiness, and cannot avoid wishing intensely for it, they will, however, for some temporal or trifling advantage, whether in grasping and hoarding riches, or obtaining and keeping honours and preferments, or in gratifying and indulging their carnal and sensual desires, leave no stone unturned, will run backwards and forwards, watch, labour, sweat, exercise all ingenuity, draw upon their eloquence, apply all their talents; and still, where true, solid, and eternal happiness, real riches, the highest honours, unspeakable happiness that has been prepared for those that-_love God, are in question, they are so lazy that they will not even condescend to stir one finger for them. It is dreadful to reflect that man, endowed with reason and understanding, should so devote his whole life to the pursuit of things the most likely to shut him out from eternal happiness. We should pray to God, that as he has deigned to promise us such blessings, he may infuse his Holy Spirit into us, soas to enlighten our hearts, that we may know ‘‘ what ts the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,’ Eph. i.
PSALM XCI. Giod is to be praised for his wondrous works.
1 It is good to give praise to the Lord; and to sing to thy name, O Most High: 2 To shew forth thy mercy in the morn-
‘ing, and thy truth in the night:
3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, upon the psaltery ; with a canticle upon the harp.
4 For thou hast given me, O Lord, a delight in thy doings : and in the works of thy hand I shall rejoice.
5 O Lord, how great are thy works! thy thoughts are exceeding deep.
6 The senseless man shall not know: nor will the fool understand these things.
7 When the wicked shall spring up as grass: and all the workers of iniquity shall appear, that they may perish for ever and ever:
8 But thou, O Lord, art Most High for evermore.
9 For behold, thy enemies, O Lord, for behold, thy enemies shall perish: and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
10 But my horn shall be exalted like that of the unicorn: and my old age in plentiful mercy.
11 My eye also hath looked down upon my enemies: and my ear shall hear of the downfall of the malignant that rise up against me.
12 The just shall flourish like the palmtree: he shall grow up like the cedar of ‘Libanus,
13 They that are planted in the house of ‘the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God.
14 They shall still increase in a fruitful old age; and shall be well treated,
15 That they may shew, that the Lord our God is righteous, and there is no iniquity in him.
EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.
1 ‘It is good to give praise to the Lord; and to sing to thy name, O Most High :”
An exhortation to praise God with instrumental and vocal music. He says it is right, useful, delightful, and honourable to give God his meed of praise; right, because it is due to him; useful, because we save ourselves by it; delightful, for the lover always
“delights in praising the beloved; and honourable, because the office belongs to the celestial spirits; “and to sing to thy name, O Lord.” It is good to praise you, not only with our hearts and lips, but also to use musical instruments, such as the psaltery, whereon to make your praises resound, O Most High God:
2‘ To shew forth thy mercy in the morning, and thy truth in the night :”
Such must be the subject of our praise, to announce and proclaim to all the mercy in which you created the world, and the truth or the justice with which you rule it, And, as the work of mercy appears to every one, Ict it be announced in the day ; for who is there that does not know that the heavens and the earth, and all things in them were created by God, through his goodness and mercy, and not from necessity or compulsion. And, as the works of justice are occult; for, through God’s secret designs, the just are often afilicted, and the wicked exalted ; let such works be announced at night, ia the darkness of faith, and not in the light of knowledge. In like manner, let mercy be announced in the morning, and justice at night, that men may, in the light of their prosperity, return thanks to God for his mercy, and in the darkness of tribulation for his justice ; for, as St. Augustine observes on this passage, the father loves his children no less when he threatens than when he caresses them; nor should we be less grateful to God when he chastises us in the time of trouble, than when he heaps favours on us in our prosperity. We should imitate the prophet, who says, in another Psalm, “J will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth,”
COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.
3 “* Upon an instriiment of ten strings, upon the psaltery ; with a canticle upon the harp.”
As well as he explained the subject of his praise, when he said, “ Zt is good to give praise to the Lord,” he now explains the second part of the same verse ; “and to sing to thy name;’ for he says he is to sing with the harp and psaltery, but not without the sweet sounds of the human voice.
4 “ Por thou hast given me, O Lord, a delight in thy doings : and in the works of thy hands I shall rejoice.”
He now opens on the work of creation, one of God’s mercies. I have been studying the beauty, variety, excellence, strength, and the uses of your works; of the heavens, the earth, the waters, the stars, animals, and plants: I have been delighted beyond measure with them ; but it was not your works that delighted me, for I did not dwell upon them, but
“it was in yourself I delighted ; for your works led me
to reflect on your own infinite beauty; and, carried away by the love of such extraordinary beauty, I was delighted and lost in admiration ; and will, therefore, daily exult and praise thee “in the works of thy hands.”
5 “ O Lord, how great are thy works! thy thoughts are exceeding deep.”
Having said that he was delighted so much with the works of God, for fear he should be supposed to have comprehended them thoroughly, or to have an intimate knowledge ofthe excellence of all God’s works, he now adds, that the works of the Lord are too great, and his wisdom in producing them too profound for any one in this life to comprehend. “ How great are thy works!” 1 am lost in admiration at the greatness and the excellence of your works; I cannot comprehend the magnitude of them, for truly did Ecclesiasticus say, ‘‘ Who hath numbered the sand of the sea, and the drops of rain, and the days of the world? Who hath measured the height of heaven, and the breadth of the earth, and the depth of the abyss?” yet however great they may be, greater beyond comparison is the wisdom that created them ; of which the same inspired writer immediately adds, “ Who hath searched out the wisdom of God, that goeth before all things; and David here adds, “thy thoughts are exceeding deep;” that is to say, those thoughts of yours so full of wisdom, through which you have devised so many wonderful things, and so perfect that nothing can be added to or taken from them, are so occult as to surpass all human understanding. To give an instance of it in most trifling and common things. Who can compretend how in one small seed is contained an en~ ormous tree, with large and numerous branches, verdant foliage, beautiful blossoms, and its own seed for its own propagation ? Who can comprehend by what art God contrived to infuse life, sense, and motion into the minutest insects, aud with it endowing the ant with such prudence, the spider with such
COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.
‘eunning, and the gnats and the fleas with such a ‘power of incision with so poor an instrument?
6 ‘* The senseless man shall not know: nor will the
| He concludes this part of the Psalm, that treats on creation, by asserting, that it is only the wise, and not the senseless or the fool, that can know how great and inscrutable are the works of the Lord. For fools never look for any thing in things created but the pleasure or the advantage they derive from them, just as the brute beasts do, who have no understanding, and know not their own ignorance. But the wise, though they do not comprehend the greatness of God’s works, still, they feel they are unequal to ‘comprehending them, and-are sensible of their ignorance therein; and the more they are sensible of ‘it, the more they admire God’s works, and come near true wisdom. “ The senseless man shall not know” how wonderful are the works of the Lord; ‘‘ nor well the fool understand” how profound are his thoughts; for a knowledge of one’s own ignorance is only to be met with in the wise.
7 * When the wicked shall spring up as grass: and all the workers of iniquity shall appear, that they may perish for ever and ever :”
He now passes to direction and the providence of God, in which his justice or his truth is most conspicuous, and especially so in the fact of the wicked being allowed to flourish for a time, that they may be condemned to eternal punishment ; while the just, ‘on the contrary, suffer here for a while, that they may be crowned hereafter. “‘ When the wicked shall ‘spring up as grass;” when they shall flourish and multiply as quickly as the grass grows and in as great abundance ; ‘Sand all the workers of iniquity shall appear” most conspicuous, in high situations, and abounding i in riches, “ that they may perish for veg ‘and ever.” All this prosperity of theirs will be suffered by God as a reward for some of their works, while they are sure to be punished with everlasting death for their crimes.
8 ‘ But thou, O Lord, art Most High for evermore.”
Your position, O Lord, is quite different from that of the wicked, for their elevation is only temporary, but you are “ Most High” for ever and ever.
9 ‘ For behold, thy enemies, O Lord, for behold, thy enemies shall perish: and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.”
He proves that the wicked will prosper for a time ‘only, and that a short one. The word “ behold,” im-
plies the suddenness of the change, as if he said, They.
that so throve and flourished will perish all at once ; and the repetition of the expression is with a view to express his execration of them}; just as a similar repetition is used by him in Psalm cxxy., to express his devotion, ‘“‘O Lord, for I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmad.” Worthy of all execration is he who fears not becoming an enemy to God, that he may be a friend to the world;
for thus writes St. James, ‘ Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God.” What an amount of perversity to despise the friendship of the Creator for that of the creature. “ And all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.” This is but a repetition and explanation of the first part of the verse. Those he called ‘ enemies” there, he calls ““ workers of iniquity” here ; and those he said there “* shall perish,” he says here “shall be scattered ;” for men become enemies to God by the fact of their contradicting his will that has been made known to us through his law ; and they who “ work cniquity,” contradict his law ; “for the law of God is most direct and straight, and the rule of rectitude ; but iniquity is nothing else than crookedness, and a departure from that rule. The wicked “shall be scattered” like the dry grass, to which he compared them; for as the dry grass is hurried away and scattered by the wind, and no trace of it found after; thus, the wicked, when they shall have prospered and flourished for a while, by God’s will, are sure to be cut down and carried off, leaving not even a trace of their memory.
10 ‘* But my horn shall be exalted like that of the unicorn: and my old age in plentiful mercy.”
He now contrasts the lot of the just with that of the wicked, and shews that they will one day be exalted by the divine providence and justice; and he speaks in his own person, piously hoping he will one day be numbered among them. ‘“ My horn;” that is, my power, happiness, and. glery will rise aloft; not like the frail grass, but like the horn of the unicorn, an animal having only one horn, but that a large, straight, and powerful one ; “and my old age tn plentiful mercy;” that is, not only will my power, happiness, and glory be great, but it will be continued and constant, following me to my old age, for my “old age will be in plentiful mercy’’ before God.
11 “* My eye also hath looked down upon my enemies : and my ear shall hear of the downfall of the malignant that rise up against me.”
An addition to the just man’s happiness will be that he will no longer have any fear of his enemies ; he says, I have seen and despised them, for divine providence rendered them incapable of doing me any harm. ‘ And my ear shall hear of the malignant that rise up against me,” and as regards my absent enemies who, in their malignity, would rise up against me, “my ear shall hear” of their downfall too.
12 “' The just shall flourish like the palm-tree: he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus.”
The prophet now applies to other just men what he had said of himself, gracefully comparing them to the palm and cedar-trees, in contrast to the wicked he had compared to grass. Grags springs up in the morning, withers during the day, or is cut down by the mowers, is a thing of no permanence or endurance ; whereas the palm lives a long time, and gives forth its fruit and its leaves for a long time; so does
the cedar, the highest and the longest lived among trees, and in great request for the ornamentation of royal palaces and ceilings. Thus the wicked thrive and prosper for a while, and are then thrown into the fire; but the just, like the palm-tree, will flourish and hold verdant, and bear the sweetest fruits for ever ; nor will they sink under any burden, but will overcome all difficulties, and, furthermore, “ shall grow up, like the cedar of Libanus,” to an enormous height, sending out its branches of good works and roots of perseverance, which will enable them to resist any storm, however great, of temptation, and in the end, like the cedars, will be an ornament in the heavenly palace of the new Jerusalem.
13 “* They that are planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God.”
He assigns a reason for having compared the just to the palm and the cedar, because they will not be planted in the woods or the wild mountains, but will be planted in God’s own house, and will flourish in God’s own courts ; that is to say, they will be planted in his Church by true faith, watered by his sacraments and his word, -fixed and rooted in charity, they will not fail to give out in abundance the flowers of virtue and the fruit of good works. For, outside the Church, and without the foundation of faith, every plantation will be rooted up, inasmuch as it was not planted by the Heavenly Father.
14 “ They shall still increase in a fruitful old age ; and shall be well treated,”
What the prophet previously promised himself, ‘yiz., * that his old age should be in plentiful mercy,” he now promises to all the other just; that they will prosper, not only in their youth and vigour, but that they will have a long and happy old age. “ They shall still increase in a fruitful old age ;” and, furthermore, ‘ they shall be well treated ;” enjoying the blessings of this life, and hoping for the next.
15 “* That they may shew, that the Lord our God is righteous, and there is no iniquity in him.”
All this will turn up, that the just may shew and make known to all by word or by example, ‘‘ that the Lord our God is righteous ;” for, though he suf. fers the wicked to prosper for a while, he will, in his own time, exercise the judgments of his justice, by rewarding the good, and punishing the wicked.
PSALM XCII. The glory and stability of the kingdom, that is of the church of Christ.
1 The Lord hath reigned: he is clothed with beauty: the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself. For he hath established the world which shall not be moved,
2 Thy throne is prepared from of old: thou art from everlasting.
COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.
3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord; the floods have lifted up their voice. The floods have lifted up their waves,
4 With the noise of many waters. Wonderful are the surges of the sea: wonderful is the Lord on high.
5 Thy testimonies are become exceedingly credible: holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, unto length of days.
EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.
1 “ The Lord hath reigned : he is clothed with beauty : the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath. girded himself. For he hath established the world which shall not be moved.”
The beginning of this Psalm may apply either to the creation or the redemption, and it is not unusual for passages in the Scripture to have more literal meanings than one. “ The Lord hath reigned;” has got possession of his kingdom, has begun to reign ; “ he ts clothed with beauty; has assumed his beautiful robes of office. ‘* The Lord is clothed with strength;” he has not only got possession of the throne, but he has got strength and power to hold it, a matter of great consequence to one in power ; “and hath girded himself,” to govern and to rule. If this be referred to creation, God may be said to have begun to govern when he created the world, and peopled it. If it be referred to the reparation, it was in the resurrection that Christ begun to reign, and then he was clothed with the beauty of his glorious body, as well as with strength ; for all power in heaven and on earth was given unto him, so that he should no longer be subject to any creature, but have every thing under his feet. Finally, he girded
imself to extend his kingdom to the bounds of the earth, through the preaching of his Apostles. * For he hath established the world, which shall not be moved;” God began to reign from the beginning of the world, for he then founded it from its very lowest foundations, and he established and settled it so that it cannot be moved; and thus gave a fixed habitation to men, who are bound to obey and to acknowledge him as their King. Christ, too, by his passion and resurrection, established and settled the world, that was hitherto harassed by demons, and by the worship of many false gods, in one true faith and religion,
2 “* Thy throne is prepared from of old: thou art from
Though your reign commenced with the creation of the world, or with the resurrection, your existence did not date from it; for, “‘thow art from everlasting ;” which means that he not only existed, but that he had within him the fulness of existence, which contains every thing ; for, before the creation, God was not a pauper, nor did he need any thing, nor did he become richer or more wealthy by the crea-
COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.
tion of the world, for God did not create the world to enrich himself, but to share his riches with us. Thus, it was not from coercion that he created the world, but from mercy and love, which same mercy
and love led him to make atonement for the world. —
“ For God so loved the world as to give his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him may not é : ae =a
perish, but may have life everlasting,” John iii.
3 “The floods have lifted up, O Lord ; the floods have lifted up their voice. The floods have lifted up their waves,
4 “ With the noise of many waters. Wonderful are the surges of the sea: wonderful is the Lord on high.”
If these verses be referred to the creation, they explain the manner in which God made the earth habitable, so as to be the fixed residence of mankind. In the beginning of creation the waters covered the whole earth, and in consequence of a great inundation were raised considerably above it; but God,
_ being brighter and more elevated again, and infinitely more powerful than them, rebuked and restrained the waters, and shut them up in the caverns of the earth, with strict orders never to return thence. This is expressed more clearly in Psalm ciii., where he says, “* Who hast founded the earth npon its own basis, it shall not be moved for ever and ever. The deep like a garment is its clothing; above the mountains shall the waters stand;” that is to say, the earth
- was originally so formed that an abyss of water completely enveloped it, covering even the tops of the highest mountains; but, ‘At thy rebuke they shall Slee, at the voice of thy thunder they shall fear ;” that means, but you, O Almighty, rebuked the waters and so confused them by your thunder, that they fled and hid themselves in the depths of the earth; and then ‘ you set a bound which they shall not pass over ; neither shall they return to cover the earth.” A: description of the same is to be found in Job xxxviii., and has been beautifully condensed here by the
Prophet, “Wonderful are the surges of the sea; won-.
derful ts the Lord on high;” all the waters of the sea and the great abyss of waters raged and roared at a great elevation over the earth ; but the Lord, who is wonderful, who dwelleth on high, and who is higher than any thing created, confined the waters, and made the earth habitable. If we interpret this in reference to the redemption, we must take it as a description of the extent of the persecutions got up . by the Jews and Pagans against the kingdom of Christ, just commenced at his resurrection, and his victory over all his enemies. ‘+ The floods have lifted up their voice; the floods have lifted up ther waves.” The Jews lifted up their voices when they began to speak out against the Gospel and to thwart it. ““ Wonderful are the surges of the sea;” the persecutions of Nero, Domitian, and the other Roman emperors, that were seas as compared to rivers, when set alongside the persecutions of the Jews. “ Wonderful is the Lord on high;” more wonderful than them
all is the Lord who dwells on high, having obtained a victory over all his persecutors; and having, in spite of them all, propagated his kingdom throughout the entire world.
5 “ Thy testimonies are become exceedingly credible : holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, unto length of days.”
If this verse be referred to creation, it must be taken as a reply to an objection that may be raised, for one may say, how do we know that what has been said about the founding of the earth, the abyss of waters, and their being restrained and confined, took place at all; for this happened before the creation of man, when there was no one to witness it? The prophet replies that he has it from God’s own testimony, who revealed it to his servant Moses, and that such testimony is worthy of all belief, by reason of Moses having proved himself a faithful servant of God, and a true prophet, by many signs and prodigies. The same may be said if we refer the verse to the redemption, for the testimonies to Christ, conveyed to us through his Apostles, are become so exceedingly credible, through the miracles of both, and through the accomplishment of the prophecies, and for various other reasous without end, that so established Christianity, that no one, having heard them, can possibly gainsay it. From which the prophet concludes that ‘‘ holiness,” that is, that it should be regarded as holy, and that all who dwell in it should lead a holy life ; and by the holiness of their lives, correspond with the holiness of “ thy house,” the Church of God which has, and in which are preached, such testimonies; ‘‘wnto lergthof days;’ that it is right the Church should be saved and preserved by you, O Lord, unto length of days; “ thaé the gates of hell may not prevail against her,’’
PSALM XCIII. God shall judge and punish the oppressors of his people.
1 The Lord is the God to whom revenge belongeth: the God of revenge hath acted freely.
2 Lift up thyself, thou that judgest the earth: render a reward to the proud.
3 How long shall sinners, O Lord, how long shall sinners glory ?
4 Shall they utter, and speak iniquity: shall all speak who work injustice ?
5 Thy people, O Lord, they have brought low: and they have afflicted thy inheritance.
6 They have slain the widow and the stranger: and they have murdered the fatherless.
7 And they have said: The Lord. shall not see: neither shall the God of Jacob understand,
8 Understand, ye senseless among the people: and you fools, be wise at last.
9 He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? or he that formed the eye, doth he not ‘consider ?
10 He that chastiseth nations, shall he not rebuke: he that teacheth man knowledge?
11 The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men, that they are vain.
12 Blessed is the man whom thou shalt instruct, O Lord; and shalt teach him out of thy law.
13 That thou mayest give him rest from the evil days: till a pit be dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not cast off his people: neither will he forsake his own inheritance.
15 Until justice be turned into judgment: and they that are near it are all the upright in heart.
16 Who shall rise up for me against the ‘evil doers ? or who shall stand with me against the workers of iniquity ?
17 Unless the Lord had been my helper; my soul had almost dwelt in hell.
18 If I said: My foot is moved; thy mercy, O- Lord, assisted me,
19 According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, thy comforts have given joy to my soul,
20 Doth the seat of iniquity stick to thee, who framest labour in commandment?
21 They will hunt after the soul of the just, and will condemn innocent blood.
22 But the Lord is my refuge; and my God the help of my hope.
23 And he will render them their iniquity: and in their malice he will destroy them; the Lord our God will destroy them.
EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.
1 “ The Lord is the God to whom revenge belongeth . the God of revenge hath acted freely.”
In the beginning of this Psalm David lays down one proposition, from which all, if they choose, can plainly learn that not one of the wicked will go unpunished, Here is the proposition: The Lord God is the supreme Judge, most just and most powerful, so that none can resist him. For vengeance is the province of the Judge, and is, therefore, prohibited to private individuals, And though all judges are authorized to punish guilt and-crime, yet vengeance, absolutely speaking, belongs to God, who will punish the crimes not only of all people, but even of judges, princes, and kings. He, therefore, . says, “The Lord is the God to whom revenge belongeth;”
ON THE PSALMS.
that is, our Lord, who, strictly speaking, is the only Lord, who is obeyed by all in heaven and on earth ; he is the God “to whom revenge belongeth;” that is, the supreme Judge, who will punish all crime ; “‘ the God of revenge hath acted freely ;” punished when he
liked, for he fears no one, is not an acceptor of per-
sons, no one.can impede him, no one can resist him. That appeared in his ejecting the devil and his angels. from heaven; in the deluge, through which he destroyed the human race, with the exception of a few ; in the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah ; in the overwhelming of Pharao and his host in the Red Sea; and in various other signal judgments. I come now to explain the words. The Hebrew for God, in this passage, implies that he is stout, brave, strong, to ~ signify that he takes vengeance on crime with great severity. He is called ‘‘the God of revenge,” to give us to understand that vengeance. proceeds from him, just as he is called the God of peace, the God of hope, the God of salvation. For God is really a God of revenge, because he not only punishes the guilty, when he sits in judgment on them, but-he also takes vengeance on his creatures in innumerable and. occult ways. For, through the justice of God, sin often -becomes the punishment of sin, and the very things that men most desire and seek for become sources of punishment to them, through God’s justice. “* Hath acted freely; for he that is afraid cannot act freely, and the meaning is, that when God chooses to avenge the sins of mankind, he does so freely, and before the whole world.
2 Lift up thyself, thou that judgest the earth: render a reward to the proud.”
Having said that God was the avenger of crime, he now calls upon him to do his duty, and, by punishing the wicked, to close the mouths of those who question his providence. ‘‘ Lift up thyself, thow that judgest the earth;” you that are Judge of the whole world, rise, and ascend thy throne; ‘render a reward to the proud;” pass sentence of damnation on them, and thus punish the principal crime of man-, kind ; for pride is the queen of vices, and once it is subdued, vice in general is conquered. Another reason for specifying the proud here is, that they alone who will not humble themselves through penance, will be punished on the last day; ‘for all have sinned, and need the glory of God,” but those who humble themselves under the powerful hand of God, and have a contrite and humble heart, will be saved ; but the stiff-necked, who only excuse their sins, shall be severely punished.
38 “ How long shall sinners, O Lord, how long shall sinners glory 2”
He assigns a reason for calling for judgment on the wicked and the proud, and that is the long continuance of their pride and wickedness. This, however, is not to be read as an imprecation, but as a prediction, and that in order to console the just and the afflicted, to whom the prophet says that the
COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS,
wicked and the proud will quickly perish, however established their happiness and power may seem to be now. “ How long shall sinners, O Lord, how long shall sinners glory” in their strength, their prosperity, and their crimes? ‘* Shall they utter and speak iniquity 2” boast of their iniquitous doings, without any shame or fear whatever.
4 * Shall they utter, and speak iniquity : shall all speak who work injustice ?
5 * Thy people, O Lord, they have brought low: and they have afflicted thy inheritance.
6 “ They have slain the widow and the stranger : and they have murdered the fatherless.”
He tells what an amount of crime they perpetrated while they were suffered to run riot. ‘* Thy people, O Lord, they have brought low.” The assembly of the pious, your people, chosen and set aside by you, and devoted to you alone, has been humbled, laid low, afflicted, and persecuted by them; “ They have affiicted thy inheritance;”’ they have most unjustly oppressed the same assembly of the pious, your peculiar inheritance. And they have afflicted the community in general, but they have specially vented their fury on wretched people, destitute of all help ; for they killed “the widows” who lost their husbands, and “the strangers,” who were far from their own country, and unknown; and “ the fatherless,” who
-were left without the parent’s help when most they needed it. :
7 ‘* And they have said: The Lord shall not see: neither shall the God of Jacob understand.”
He assigns a reason for those wicked people having committed sin with such effrontery ; for they were so foolish as to suppose that God took no cognizance of human affairs, and that there was no judge to whom they would be bound to render an account of their works, “ And they have said” to each other ‘ the Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob understand ;” he will neither see nor hear, and thus will not know what we are doing, and, therefore, cannot examine or understand what we are about.
8 ‘* Understand, ye senseless among the people: and you fools, be wise at last.
9 “He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? or he that formed the eye, doth he not consider ?
10 “* He that chastiseth nations, shall he not rebuke: he that teacheth man knowledge 2”
The verse, ‘‘ He that planted the ear, shall he not hear 2” is a refutation of the verse, ‘* The Lord shall not see,” where seeing is used for the knowledge derived from either eyes or ears. The prophet proves that God both sees and hears, from the fact of haying given men eyes to see and ears to hear, and, therefore, must, of necessity, see and hear; for no one can give what he has not. The verse, “ He that chastiseth nations, shall he not rebuke ?” is a reply to the wicked, who said, ‘‘ Nedther shall the God of Jacob understand ;” for the prophet proves that God is endowed with intelligence and reflection, for it was
he gave both to man; forhe both teaches and instructs them when he creates them with a mind able to reason, and infuses the light of intelligence into their minds. ‘ Ye senseless among the people,” gives us to understand that the wicked are the most brainless set among the entire people, in preferring false to true happiness, and temporary to eternal. ‘‘ He that planted the ear” is a beautiful figure, giving us to understand that the sense of hearing, as well as the other senses, did not spring from the body itself, but were planted in it by God, as the trees, that do not spring from the earth itself, which is inanimate, but from the seed which man puts into the earth. ‘Shall he not hear 2” This does not imply that God enjoys the corporeal sense of hearing, but that he, essentially, knows what, we know only through the sense of hearing. The expression, “he that formed the eye,” is another figure, through which we are given to understand that the beautful mechanism of the eye, and the more extraordinary power it has to see objects, was made by God with as much facility as the potter forms any vessel whatever. ‘ He that chastiseth nations, shall he not rebuke?” He that chastises all nations, by smiting their conscience, and admonishing them to desist from evil, and often punishing them openly, shall he not also rebuke bis people, through the prophets, or through the scourge of tribulation ? and if God corrects and reproves, he certainly knows and understands what men are doing, and, therefore, falsely do the wicked say, Nezther shall the God of Jacob understand ?”
11 ‘* The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men, that they are vain.”
Haying refuted the assertions of the wicked, he says this is no new calumny of theirs, nor unknown to God. For ‘“‘he knoweth the thoughts of men that they are vain.” For man, after his nature was corrupted, by the fall of the first man, became vain and like the senseless brutes that think of nothing but the present. We are, therefore, reminded here not to presume on ourselves, but, in all humility, to ask God for wisdom ; for, “all men are vain in whom there is not the knowledge of God;” and St. James, therefore, admonishes us, “But if any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all abundantly, and upbraideth not;? that is, he never upbraids us with our importunity for asking too often or too much; for he is rich in mercy, and so generous and liberal that he not only gives us what we ask, but rewards us forasking it. ** Pray to thy Father in secret; and thy Father, who seeth an secret, will reward thee.”
12 “+ Blessed is the man whom thou shalt instruct, O Lord; and shalt teach him out of thy law.” ;
This is a consequence of the preceding verse, for, if the thoughts of man, as far as they spring from himself, are vain, it certainly follows that he alone, whom God deigus to instruct, that is, whose eyes are opened by God to see and arrive at what is really
good, is truly happy; that is to say, not vain, nor puffed up, but full of true and solid virtue. “ And shalt teach him out of thy law;’ that is, make him fully persuaded that he must give all the affections of his heart to the observance of God’s law; for he cannot be said to have learned God’s law who can merelyrepeat the commandments; it is he alone whose heart and affections, moved by the infusion of divine grace, are so devoted to the observance of them, that he keeps them through the love of justice, rather than the fear of punishment; and the law becomes to him a yoke that is sweet, and a burden that is light.
13 ‘That thou mayest give him rest from the evil days: till a pit be dug for the wicked.”
The prophet now instances one of the fruits of God’s teaching, for the man so instructed by God will feel the persecution of the wicked less acutely, until their own ruin shall have come about. ‘ That thou mayest give him rest from the evil days.” The advantage your teaching will confer on the just. man will sensibly mitigate the sadness consequent on the evil days, the days of tribulation and persecution. How long, though, are those days to last ? ‘‘ 771 a pit be dug for the wicked;” until the digging of that pit, in which the wicked are to be cast, shall have been finished, for then there will be an end to the evil days, as there will be no wicked to harass the just, as all grief and pain shall then have left them, and recoiled upon the wicked. We must here observe that this delight in the law, and the spiritual gladness that characterizes the just in this life, is not pure and simple, as it is in the kingdom of heaven, but it is mixed to a certain degree with sadness; for the sadness is only mitigated, and not entirely removed, as St. Paul says, 2 Cor. i., “ For, as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so also by Christ doth our comfort abound ;” and again, in chap. vi., “as sorrowful, yet always rejowcing,” where he does not say absolutely sorrowful, but “as sorrowful,” because his joy exceeded it, as he says, in chap. vii., “Zam filled with comfort, I exceedingly abound with joy in all our tribulation.” We have to observe also that while a crown is being woven for the just, a pit is being dug for the wicked, and that we must not be surprised at their punishment being sometimes deferred, when their pit, perhaps, is not entirely dug; as we are also not to wonder if the just be not crowned at once, when, perhaps, their crown is not completely woven. A matter of much wonder, though, is that the happiness and rise of the wicked should be the actual digging of their pit, and the higher they rise, the deeper they are sure to be buried; for the higher the wicked are exalted, the prouder they become ; and by the very fact, the deeper they fall before God, according to Psalm Ixxii., “ when they were lifted up, thou hast cast them down.”
14 “ For the Lord will not cast off his people : neither will he forsake his own inheritance.”
"COMMENTARY ON TIE PSALMS.
He assigns a reason for having said, ‘ 7ill a pit be dug for the wicked ;” such a death is prepared by divine providence for the wicked; “for the Lord will not cast off his people,” however angry he may appear to be for a time, and suffer them to be afilicted, which he repeats when he says, “ Neither will he forsake his own inheritance.” He calls the assembly of the elect his people and his inheritance, for they are truly the people of Israel, chosen to be his inheritance. e 7
15 ‘¢ Until justice be turned into judgment: and they that are near it are all the upright in heart.”
The prophet now informs us that the assembly of the just would not be repulsed nor deserted by God to the day of judgment, that is, so long as we shall be surrounded by temptation, ‘‘ wnti justice be turned into judgment;” that is, until the day when the justice of God, that now seems to be dormant, inasmuch as it does not. reward the good, nor punish the wicked, comes into play; and that which was previously justice in the name comes now to take action and reward the good, while it punishes the wicked— with a crown of justice, or the stipend of death everlasting. ‘ And they that are near tt are all the upright of heart ;” and then, according to the justice of God, which will appear admirable in the clouds they who will sit near him will be all they who loved him; who thén will not fear but love him, being “ apright of heart;” that is, conformable to his uprightness, and thereby just.
16 ‘‘Who shall rise up for me against the evil doers? or who shall stand with me against the workers of iniquity 2”
He said that there would be an end of all injustice; and, on the contrary, that justice would reign for ever, after the last judgment ; he now says that, in the mean time, in the interval of converting justice into judgment, that the divine assistance was of absolute necessity to the just, to protect them from the persecutions of the wicked. “ Who shall rise up Jor me against the evil doers?” Who will protect me from such a number of wicked men and angels? “or who shall stand with me, to defend me against the workers of iniquity ?” the second part of this verse being a mere repetition of the first.
17 ‘Unless the Lord had been my helper ; my soul had almost dwelt in hell.”
He tells the greatness of the danger we are in by reason of the multitnde of the malignant that meet us every where ; in saying so he speaks in the person of the pious, and says, “ Unless the Lord had been my helper,” were it not for his help and assistance, “my soul had almost dwelt in hell;” 1 was within an ace of everlasting death, for I would have fallen under the temptations, and doubted of the providence of God. From this passage it will be objected that God’s help is not absolutely necessary to overcome temptation, but that it enables us to overcome them with more facility ; for he would seem to say, If the Lord had not helped me I would hardly
COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.
have escaped death, which would appear to imply, that he would have escaped death, but with some trouble and difficulty. The answer is, that the expression, “ had almost,” refers not to the difficulty of the matter, but to the shortness of the time, making the meaning to be, Had not the Lord assisted me my soul had been in a few minutes after in hell.
18 “If I said: My foot is moved ; thy mercy, O Lord, assisted me.”
He explains the nature of the mercy without which his soul had almost dwelt in hell, and it was this—the moment I acknowledged my weakness, and my inability to meet temptation, “thy mercy, O Lord, assisted me,’ for it enlightened my understanding, purifyed my affections, &c., strengthened my will, all which enabled me to place the powers of my soul in the way of your commandments.
19 ‘* According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, thy comforts have given joy to my soul.”
God, in his providence, not only gives the virtue ef patience to the just, but with it great and unspeakable consolation ; which, though it does not remove tribulations, finds a place with them, and converts them into a subject of joy. So the Apostle says, 2 Cor. vii., “I exceedingly abound with joy in all our tribulation.” Because when the just man suffers any tribulation, he feels that he is only purged of the dross of his faults, should he have any to be purged of; or, if he has not, that he is only being tried by the Lord: he feels that he is only suffering with Christ that he may be afterwards glorified with him ; and, finally, he feels and understands that the reward of patience is great and valuable beyond meagure, according to the Apostle, 2 Cor. iv., “ for our present tribulation, which is momentary and light, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory.” He, therefore, says, ‘ According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart.” In proportion to the sorrows that produced sadness in my heart, ‘‘ thy consolations have given joy to my soul;” for it is not according to the sufferings in the flesh that God gives consolations in the flesh to the just in this world; but in proportion to their corporal sufferings God gives them spiritual consolations, that subdues the sadness arising from their corporal sufferings. Nor does this expression of the prophet, ** According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, thy comforts have given joy to my soul,” contradict the saying of the Apostle, “2 exceedingly abound in joy;” for spiritual joy is far and away beyond any corporal-sadness, but is always in proportion to the extent of the tribulation.
20 ‘* Doth the seat of iniquity stick to thee, who framest labour in commandment 2”
He assigns a reason why God should console the just in their trouble, and that is, when God, who is all justice, gave men his commandments, which are troublesome to observe, it was meet that he should, with the oil of his sweet consolation, soften down
‘and mollify the burden of a law in other respects
heavy and severe. ‘“* Doth the seat of iniquity stick to thee?’ Have, you chosen for a companion the judgment-seat of those who judge unjustly, ‘ who JSramest labour in commandment,” you who have made your commandments so difficult of observance.
21 “They will hunt after the soul of the just, and will condemn innocent blood.”
He concludes the Psalm by affirming that the wicked would deal unfairly with the just, but that God, in his providence, would watch them, and give both their deserts. ‘* They will hunt after the soul of the just ;” the wicked will, as usual, try to ensnare the just, as the hunter seeks to catch his prey ; “ and will condemn innocent blood,” when they shall have ensnared him they will condemn him to death, however conscious they may be of his perfect innocence ; which may be understood of corrupt judges, false accusers, and all ill-disposed characters.
22 ‘But the Lord 1s my refuge ; and my God the help of my hope.”
The prophet now speaks in the person of the just ; and, in reference to the expression, “ They will hunt after the soul of the just,” the just man replies, So they may; they may hunt after me, and condemn me to death, “but the Lord ws my refuge,” so that their treachery cannot reach me. ‘ And my God, the help of my hope.” In the Hebrew it is ‘my rock,” on which I firmly stand and build.
23 “And he will render them their iniquity: and in their malice he will destroy them: the Lord our God will destroy them.”
The most just providence of God consists in finally helping the just, and scattering the wicked. ‘ He will render them their iniquity.” He will cause their wickedness to recoil on themselves, for it will not harm the just, who will be rewarded with a crown for his patience; while it will damage the impious, who will be punished for his malice, which is explained in the next sentence; “Sand in their malice he will destroy them.” St. Augustine observes the force of “Sin ther malice,’ because God punishes them, not so much for what they did, but for the spirit, the malice in which they did it. Judas gave Christ to death, so did God the Father; but we thank him because, in the excess of his love, ‘* He spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all;” but we execrate Judas, who delivered up the Lord, not through love, but through avarice ; not for our salvation, but for his own purse. The prophet adds, ‘¢ The Lord our God will destroy them;” to explain who it was would destroy them, for though he said, in the beginning of the verse, that they would be destroyed, he did not say by whom, and he now says they will be destroyed by “the Lord our God,” whose providence they either denied or despised.”
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