Psalm 145

We are not to trust in men, but in_God alone.

1 Praise the Lord, O my soul: in my life I will praise the Lord: J will sing to my God as long as I shall be. Put not your trust in princes, “e

2 In the children of men, in whom there is no salvation.

3 His spirit shall go forth; and he shall return into his earth: in that day all their thoughts shall perish.

4 Blessed is he who hath the God of Jacob for his helper, whose hope is in the Lord his God:

5 Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them:

6 Who keepeth truth for ever; who exeeuteth judgment for them that suffer wrong; who giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth them that are fettered:

7 The Lord enlighteneth the blind. The Lord lifteth up them that are cast down: the Lord loveth the just.

8 The Lord keepeth the strangers: he will support the fatherless and the widow: and the ways of sinners he will destroy.

9 The Lord shall reign for ever; thy God, O Sion, unto generation and generation.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “ Praise the Lord, O my soul: in my life I will praise the Lord: I will sing tomy God as long as I shall be. Put not your trust in princes,

2 “ In the children of men, in whom there is no salvation.”

This Psalm commences in the shape of a dialogue. The exile finding his flesh beginning to groan in the ' hardships of his exile, exhorts his soul, just beginning to taste of happiness in hope, to praise God, and thereby to refresh the entire man. Addressing his soul, then, he says, ‘‘Praise the Lord, O my soul.”

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

The soul answers, “ Zn my life I will praise the Lord.” I will praise him when [ come to enjoy the true life, because here. below, instead of singing and praising him, we must rather weep and pray to him ; for though we do praise him, even at present, to some extent, it is not praise properly so called, or full praise, but is mingled with prayers and with tears; but when we come to the true life, then, indeed, will our praise deserve the name of praise, for it will be pure, everlasting, and most delightful. He repeats the same when he adds, ‘‘ J will sing to my Lord as long as I shall be,” when I shall have come to eternal life I will sing unceasingly to my God. At present I cannot sing while I have so many things to interrupt me, but-when I shall have been disengaged and free from all care, “ J will sing to my God as long as I shall be,” or during the whole space of that true life ; and as I shall never have any fear of dying, I shall sing for ever without failing. ‘ Put not your trust in princes,” seeing that many are retarded on the road to salvation by their admiration of place and power. Asif such things could confer happiness on those who enjoy such positions, in pity for their blindness, he exclaims, ‘“ Put not your trust in princes,” which he explains, by calling them “the sons of men,” mere mortals like yourselves, there being only one true prince, the Creator of mankind, in whom we should put our trust: and he assigus a reason why we should place no trust in them when he adds, ‘‘in whom there is no salvation,” because the princes of this world, when they cannot save others, have no salvation in themselves, nor are they saved themselves, but must be saved like all others, if they deserve it. Ifsuch be the case, how did Christ, who was man, and the ‘‘ Son of Man,” as he was wont to style himself, save the whole human race? He saved them through his divinity.

3 ‘‘ His spirit shall go forth ; and he shall return into his earth: in that day all their thoughts shall perish.” -

The prophet might have adduced many arguments to prove that ‘‘ there 2s no salvation in the children of men,” inasmuch as they are infirm, variable, deceitful, often aiming at what they are unable to acaccomplish, and as often refusing to accomplish what they are equal to; but he puts forward one simple reason alone, one that no one can contradict, one taken from death that is common to us all, for how can he save others who cannot save himself ? for, beyond aye or nay, let him shut himself in a fortified tower, let him surround it with a powerful army for protection, were he even monarch of the universe, *‘ his spirit shall go forth” from his body, and then his body shall ‘‘ return into his earth,” of which it was composed, and then, “ 7n that day all their thoughts shall perish,” the thoughts of all those who put their hope in him, depended on him, expected riches, places, appointments from him ; but the moment God takes away the spirit, that is, the life of him on whom they so depended, all their

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COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

castle-building tumb'es to the ground, and thus, ‘ all their thoughts shall perish.”

4 ‘ Blessed is he who hath the God of Jacob for his helper, whose hope ts in the Lord his God:

5 “* Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them: ; ;

The prophet now tells us that the person who will sincerely desire to arrive at true and everlasting salvation will have to place no confidence whatever in the princes of this world, but in the only true God alone. ‘ Blessed is he,” at least in hope, and in the safe and direct road to actual happiness, ‘‘ who hath the God of Jacob for his helper,” who has the one true God to assist and to protect him in this world. He calls the true God “the God of Jacob,” by reason of Jacob’s people adhering to God, while the Moabites, Ammonites, Philistines, and the other surrounding nations, worshipped false gods. And he tells at once whom God will help, when he says, “ whose hope is in the Lord his God,” or, God will help all who hope in him, of which there is abundant testimony in the Scriptures, “ Vo one hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded,” Kccli. ii. ; and ia Psalm exiii., “ The house of Israel hath hoped in the Lord, he is their helper and their protector.” He then proves the advantage of hoping in the Lord, because it was he ‘ who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them.” Whence it follows that there are no bounds to his power, that he is Lord of all things, and that all things are subject to him, and therefore, that any one protecied by hin has no reason for fear from any quarter.

6 ‘‘Who keepeth truth for ever; who executeth judgment for them that suffer wrong; who giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth them that are fettered :”

As the exile might have said, in reply, I know God is all-powerful, and that he can, if he choose, protect and assist me, but how do I know that he will? the prophet takes him up, and proves that God will do it, by reason of his justice, and of his mercy. By reason of his justice, ‘he keepeth truth Jor ever;” that is to say, he always stands to what he has promised, and he has promised help to those who put their trustin them. In like manver, in consequence of his being supremely just, ‘‘ he executes judgment for them that suffer wrong ;’ that is to say, he gives just judgment in favour of the just against the wicked, by punishing the latter, and rewarding the former; aud inasmuch as he is merciful, “ he gives food to the hungry,” providing for the temporal as well as the spiritual wants of those who trust in him, in a most extraordinary and wonderful manner.

7 ‘* The Lord enlighteneth the blind. The Lord lifteth up them that are cast down: the Lord loveth the ieistan __As it would not be enough for the exiles, on their return to their country, to be ensured safe conduct from robbers, and wherewithal to support them on the journey, if their feet were not at liberty, and

themselves wide-awake, besides being in rade health, he therefore, in order to shew how determined God is to assist those who put their trust in him, adds, “ The Lord looseth them that are in fetters,” the fetters of concupiscence, which he does gradually, by destroying all their evil desires; and as concupiscence always blinds us, ‘‘ the Lord enlighteneth the blind.” by giving them the light of wisdom and of interior prudence; and as sin was the cause, not only of concupiscence and blindness, but also of human infirmity, man having been brought, by means of sin, to the condition of him, who going down from Jericho, fell in with robbers who despoiled- him, and left him more dead than alive, the prophet therefore adds, “he lifteth up them that are cast down,” and finally, he adds, ‘‘the Lord loveth the just,” in order, that man, after having been healed, set free, and enlightened through grace, may look forward to perseverance through the goodness of God.

8 “ The Lord keepeth the strangers: he will support the fatherless and the widow : and the ways of sinners he will destroy.”

He now repeats that God will both help and protect the pilgrims who move along “‘the narrow way” to their country. “* The Lord keepeth the strangers,” they who do not belong to Babylon, nor to this world, but the true pilgrims in a strauge land. “ He will support the fatherless and the widow.” The fatherless are the just who have no one to protect them, who have no father in this world, and who put their hope in nothing in this world. The widow is the Church, who is truly a widow, so long as she is separated from her spouse, and subject to all the trials and troubles daily pouring in upon her. ‘These orphans and this widow will be all taken into God’s house at the fitting time, and then “he will destroy the ways of sinners,” the prosperous ways in which they walk being so many broad ways that lead to destruction, all of which God will, in the end of the world, thoroughly upset and destroy.

9 ‘* The Lord shall reign for ever: thy God, O Sion, unto generation and generation.”

Finally, on the termination of the exile, and on the ways of the wicked, as well as the wicked themselves having been exterminated, Christ’s eternal kingdom shall. commence, for “the Zord shall reign” with his saints, “‘ for ever.” Your God, I repeat, O holy Sion, will reign with his children for ever and ever. Amen.

PSALM CXLVI, An exhortation to praise God for his benefits.

1 Praise ye the Lord, because psalm is good: to our God be joyful and comely praise.

2 The Lord buildeth up Jerusalem: he will gather together the dispersed of Israel.

3 Who healeth the broken of heart, and bindeth up their bruises.

4 Who telleth the number of the stars; and calleth them all by their names.

5 Great is our Lord,and great is his power: and of his wisdom there is no number.

6 The Lord lifteth up the meek; and bringeth the wicked down evento the ground.

7 Sing ye to the Lord with praise: sing to our God upon the harp.

8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds ; and prepareth rain for the earth. Who maketh grass to grow on the mountains, and herbs for the service of men.

_ 9 Who giveth to beasts their food; and to the young ravens that call upon him.

10 He shall not delight in the strength of the horse: nor take pleasure in the legs of a man.

11 The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him; and in them that hope in his mercy.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “ Praise ye the Lord, because psalm is good : to. our God be joyful and comely praise.”

The prophet exhorts all to praise God; because it is most agreeable to him, and of the greatest advantage to us. “ To our God be joyful and comely praise.” See that the praise be in a joyful strain, and “ comely,” yet still in a becoming, decent manner, befitting the majesty of that God to whom it is offered. There can be no doubt of the benefits the chanting of God’s praise confers on us; because, if he who prays to God derives much benefit therefrom, why should he not, too, who praises him. Secondly, such praise tends to raise the soul from the things of this world to those of the world above ; Thirdly, it becomes a sort of foretaste of the bliss of heaven, and unites us with the Angels and saints. Fourthly, it is most agreeable by reason of its proceeding from love; for nothing is sweeter to the lover than to praise his beloved. Fifthly, it is of much benefit to us; because we thereby pay the tribute that is due of us; for it is only but just that we should praise the source of all good, and return thanks to our supreme benefactor. Hence, in the holy Sacrifice, when the priest says, ‘‘ Let us return thanks to the Lord our God,” he is answered, “ It is meet and just ;” and then the priest says, in addition, “It is truly meet, just, right, and conducive to salvation that we always and in all places give thanks to the Lord.” Of the fact of our praise being agreeable and pleasing to God there can be no doubt, from the fact of his having created men and Angels for no other purpose, but that they may know, serve, and praise him ; hence we read in Isaias xliii., “ And every one that calleth upon my name, I have created

him for my own glory;” and that cannot be called ambition, being purely justice. Now “ God zs just, and hath loved justice; his countenance hath beheld righteousness.” With that, God is delighted with sacrifice as with a most sweet and agreeable odour; and the sacrifice of praise is the most excellent of all, according to Psalm Ixix., “ The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me.” Finally, becoming praise is most pleasing to God; because he is delighted with our blessings, especially with those of much value, such as our virtues, all of which, such as faith, hope, charity, religion, devotion, humility, are brought into play when we offer him our tribute of praise.

2 “ The Lord buildeth up Jerusalem : he will gather together the dispersed of Israel.”

He now commences pointing out the matter for which we are to praise God, and says God should be praised, in the first place, for his kindness towards his people; as if he were to say, Praise the Lord, because he built Jerusalem; and “he will gather together the dispersed of Israel ;” meaning the children of Israel, scattered through the world. This may apply to the rebuilding of the temple, which had been destroyed by Nabuchodonosor, and which the Jews, upon regaining their liberty from Cyrus and Darius, set at once about rebuilding, and which David then, in the spirit of prophecy, foresaw. Or it may be understood of the building of the Church, through the Apostles, and the gathering the dispersed children of God together; as we read in John xi., “ That Jesus should die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but to gather together in one the children of God that were dispersed.” Finaliy, it may be understood of the heavenly Jerusalem, that is daily being built up like a city, by the accession of living stones, to which all the pilgrims, who are now scattered through the plains of Babylon, will be gathered.

3‘ Who healeth the broken of heart, and bindeth up their bruises.” ‘

He now tells how the dispersed of Israel will be gathered together. As regards the Babylonish captivity, it means that God would heal the Jews, now nigh broken-hearted, overwhelmed and depressed by innumerable calamities, and would “ bind up their bruises,” by inspiring Cyrus to harass them no longer, but to restore them to their country. In a more spiritual view of it, God collects the dispersed of Israel when he heals those who are contrite of heart ; that is, when despising not the humble and contrite, he heals them from the disease of sin; as David himself explains in Psalm cii., Who forgiveth all thy iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases.” The expression, “ And bindeth up all their bruises,” explains the mode in which God deals with such bruises, by binding them up, as the surgeons do. Now, the sacraments are the visible ligatures that

God makes use of to bind up our wounds; and as such —

ligatures are removed when the cure is effected, so,

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS,

on the resurrection, when all our diseases shall have been cured, there will be no further need for sacraments.

4 “* Who telleth the nwmber of the stars; and calleth them all by their names.”

He asserts, secondly, that God Shoei be praised by reason of his wisdom. This appears in the infinite number of the stars created by him, that appear countless to us, but of which he has such intimate knowledge that he can call them individually by name, a proof of his great wisdom; and if it did not require great wisdom, God would not have said to Abraham, ‘‘ Number the stars if thou canst;” nor would he have compared the number of the stars to the sand on the sea shore, of which Kcclesiasticus says, “* Who hath numbered the sand of the sea.” With that he adds, ** And calleth them all by their names,” to let us see what a distinct, separate, and intimate knowledge he has of the nature and properties of every one of them. It also implies their obedience, when from non-existence they started into existence, ata call. For God, by a call, endows with existence things that previously had no existence ; as, in Baruch, “ The stars were called, and they said: Here we are; and with cheerfulness they have shined forth to him who made them.” Finally, it implies that the stars are like a body of soldiers, who, on being called upon to advance, do so as quickly as possible ; as in Isaias xl., “ Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these things; who bringeth out their host by number, and calleth them all by their names.” With great justice, then, does the prophet add,

5 “* Great is our Lord, and great is his power: and of his wisdom there is no number.”

Here we have not only God’s wisdom, but also his power, praised, by reason of his not only knowing the number, nature, and pr operties of the stars, but also by his naming them, and giving them the existence and the power of motion. The expression, ‘ Of his wisdom there is no number,” means that the things God, in his wisdom knows, are countless. For God’s wisdom knows all things past, present, future, and possible; all our words, our thoughts, our desires, past, present, future, even to eternity.

6 “ The Lord lifteth up the meek; and bringeth the wicked down even to the ground.”

The third source of God’s praise is taken from his justice and his mercy ; for the Lord being both pious and merciful, protects the humble and the meek, and exalts them to the very heavens; and, on the

contrary, in his justice, humbles and lays. low the proud sinners, who would, in imitation of their king, Satan, raise themselves ‘above the stars, leaving them to grovel on the ground in wretchedness and misery.

7 ** Sing ye to the Lord with praise: sing to our God upon the harp.”

Previous to his praising God for his providence,

he again exhorts them to praise and to sing to him, “ Sing yeto the Lord with praise ;” begin your praise by singing a hymn, and then “sing on the harp;” follow it up by playing on the harp. In a spiritual point of view it means, that, after praising God with our lips, we should follow it up by our good works, so that there should be no discordance between the tongue and the hands, and that it may not be said of us, as of the Pharisees, “ They say and do not.”

8 ‘* Who covereth the heaven with clouds: and prepareth rain for the earth. Who maketh grass to grow on the mountains, and herbs for the service of men.”

He tells that the subject of his praise now will be God’s providence, that sometimes obscures the whole firmament with clouds, not for the purpose of shut- - ting out the light of the sun from us, but in order to prepare the rain necessary for the earth, without which the earth would yield no fruit. Ina spiritual sense, God “ covers the heavens with clouds’ when he shortens the days of our prosperity, in order that the rain of the grace of God may descend upon us in our trouble, through patience and humility. “ Who maketh grass to grow on the mountains, and herbs for the service of man.” He now explains the use of such rain, it making the grass to grow on the mountains, and the herbs. that man uses for food. The expression, “* who maketh to grow,” implies that both earth and rain would be of no use without God’s co-operation ; nay more, that, as the rain could not be had but from the clouds, and that through God, so the rain itself would not produce the herbs but through God. The expression, “‘ on the mountains,” means the necessity they are under of having much rain, for the plains and the valleys may be irrigated, while the mountains cannot.

9 “* Who giveth to beasts their food ; and to the young ravens that call upon him.”

He proceeds in recording God’s providence in regard of the beasts and of the birds, with aview to let man see that he will never be forsaken by God in his providence. The same argument is made use of in the Gospel; thus giving us to understand that the God who so bounteously feeds the wild beasts and the young ravens will never desert those made to his own image and likeness.

10 ‘' He shall not delight in the strength of the horse: nor take pleasure in the legs of a man.

11 “ The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him ; and in them that hope in his mercy.”

Having said that God provides for the young ravens that call on him, he concludes the Psalm by telling God that it is not the proud, who confide in their own strength, that are grateful to him, but the humble, who fear him and confide in him; who may be compared to the young ravens, who, conscious of their own infirmity, seek, by croaking, to get help from others. “ He shall not delight in the strength of the horse.” God has no regard for, takes no de-

light in, the pleasure of the horse, when men take so much pride in it. ‘ Wor take pleasure in the legs of a man;” nor does it please him to look at the handsome legs of a robust man, when men seem to confide in them to the extent of excluding God’s providence from having any share in protecting them; bat “ the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him;” with the humble, who tremble at his commands, and put their entire hope, not in theirown strength, but in God’s mercy.

Psalm 146

The church is called upon to praise God for his peculiar graces and favours to his people. In the Hebrew this psalm is joined to the foregoing.

12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise thy God, O Sion.

13 Because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates: he hath blessed thy children within thee.

14 Who hath placed peace in thy borders; and filleth thee with the fat of corn.

15 Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth: his word runneth swiftly.

16 Who giveth snow like wool; scattereth mists like ashes.

17 He sendeth his crystal like morsels: who shall stand before the face of his cold?

18 He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run.

19 Who declareth his word to Jacob; his justices and his judgments to Israel.

20 He hath not done in like manner to every nation: and his judgments he hath not made manifest to them. Alleluia.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM,

Jerusalem is a holy city, the more noble part of which is mount Sion, where the temple of the Lord was built, and is often used to express the city itself; aud, therefore, * praise the Lord, O Jerusulem,” and “praise thy God, Sion,” signify one and the same thing. If it be referred to the Jerusalem above, nothing more appropriate could be applied to it; for in that heavenly city no one need be occupied it jin providing for’ their personal wants, or those of their neighbours, there being no poor, no needy, to be found therein, and can, therefore, devote their whole time, as they really do, in praising God. Most justly, then, does he address the city, saying, “ Praise the Lord,” for you have nothing else to do; for you are specially bouad thereto by vea-

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

son of the signal favours he has conferred on you 5 and, finally, because it has been your great good fortune to get so close a view of the beauty and the excellence of the Lord. ‘The Church, in her exile, should also praise the Lord; but the whole Church cannot, nor caa the Church at all times do it, in the midst of the cares and troubles that frequently disturb her. And if the Church cannot accomplish it, much less can the synagogue.

13 ‘‘Becausehe hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates : he hath blessed thy children within thee.”

The reason why Jerusalem should bless the fierd: -

arises from the fact of his having conferred on her that abundance and security of which human happiness cousists. Security, without abundance, is no better than poverty, and abundance, without security, is replete with fear and danger. (God, therefore, so strengthened the bolts of the gates of Jerusalem that they could not possibly be stormed, and those inside are quite safe, inasmuch as no enemy can enter, no friend will be excluded; nothing bad can come in, nothing good will go out; and the divine blessing brought an abundance of all good things into this highly fortified city ; for it was not a particular blessing that God gave the holy city, but a general, an absolute one, to use the expression of the Apostle, “* Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.” These two things

perfectly apply to the Jerusalem above, where the

security is eternal, and the blessing consists in the ©

enjoyment of the supreme good. They also apply, to a certain extent, to the Church in her exile, though not so entirely; ‘for the gates of hell will not prevail against her,” and she has many blessings within her; but, meanwhile, many wicked enter into her,

and good revolt from her; she has the chaff mixed |

with the grain, the good with the bad fish, the kids with the lambs. There are other points of agreement also with the earthly Jerusalem, inasmuch as by reason of her being situated in the mountains, she appeared to be well fortified, and abounded, at one time, with inhabitants and with wealth; but, as she was more than once sacked and destroyed, it does not appear that the expression, ‘he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates,” is quite applicable to her. Qne would rather say the expression in Lament. ii. was, “ Her gates are sunk into the ground: he hath destroyed and broken her bars; and the bulwark hath moved; and the wall hath been destroyed together.” Nor was there such an abundance in the city at the same time, when we read, “* They said to their mothers, where is corn and wine? when they fainted away as the wounded in the streets of the city, when they breathed out their souls in the bosoms of their mothers.”

14 “Who hath placed peace in thy borders ; and filleth thee with the fat of corn.”

Not only is the holy city of Jerusalem highly fortified, but it is even exempt from the dangers of

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war, hence its name, Jerusalem, which signifies “ The vision of peace,” and the first that attempted to disturb that peace was expelled with such violence as to cause the Lord to say, ‘J saw Satan as lightning falling from heaven.” ‘“ Who hath placed peace in thy borders ;” who hath established universal peace through the length and breadth of Jerusalem. And further, not only does this city enjoy abundance, but even the most exquisite dainties, as conveyed in the expression, ‘the fat of corn;” and these without _ limit, as we can infer from the expression, ‘‘ who jilleth.” All this applies to our heavenly country in the strict sense of the words, for there alone will our inferior be in strict peace with our superior parts, and our superior parts with God; and there, too, will be strict peace between the citizens of all grades, high and low ; for there will be ore heart, one soul, and as the Lord expresses it, John xvii., “ Made perfect in one.’ There, too, * will all be filled with the fat of corn,” for truth and wisdom being the food of the soul, they will have actual truth as itis in itself, and not in figures or enigmas, and they will taste of the sweetness of the Word Eternal without being enveloped by the sacraments or the Scriptures; they will drink of the fountain of wisdom, instead of applying to the streams that flow from it, or to the ‘‘ showers falling gently upon the earth.” They will be so filled that they will never again hunger nor thirst for all eternity. In the Church militant also, which, to a certain extent, is the Jerusalem, we have peace with God, though we, at the same time, suffer pressure from the world. We do what we can to keep in peace with all; but we are in the midst of those who hate peace, and, therefore, ‘‘ Combats without, fears within,” are never wanting, and though we may feed on “ the fat of corn,” it is enveloped by too many coverings. We have the Word of God, but in the flesh; and though we eat of the flesh it is covered by the sacrament. We drink of the waters of wisdom, but it is from the shower of the Scriptures, and we are, therefore, never so satiated with those blessings as to make our happiness consist in hungering and thirsting for more. Much less applicable is all this to the earthly Jerusalem, the old synagogue of the Jews,

to which it was applicable in a figurative sense only.

15 ‘‘Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth: his word runneth swiftly.”

Having exhorted the holy city to thank God for the favours conferred on itself, he now exhorts it to praise God for the favours conferred on other na, tions, from which they may learn how much more liberal he has been in their regard. He, therefore, exhorts them to praise that God, ‘‘ who sendeth forth his speech to the earth,” who issues the precepts and decrees of his providence to the whole world; and * his word runneth quickly ;” such precepts and decrees are borne with the greatest expedition to all created beings, penetrate all things, and are put into

ye

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immediate execution. These words explain the order of divine providence that extends itself to every thing, and that with the greatest velocity, because God is every where, “‘ upholding all things by the word of his power,” Heb. i.; and “ reaches from end to end mightily, and ordereth ail things sweetly,” — Wisdom viii. Hence, David says, in Psalm cxviii., All things serve thee.”

THE PSALMS.

16 ‘Who giveth snow like wool; scattereth mists like ashes.

17 ‘“‘He sendeth his crystal like morsels: who shall stand before the face of his cold 2”

From God’s universal providence he now takes up one particular effect of it, in which the admirable power and wisdom of God are most conspicuous, and for which he deserves merited praise, even from the citizens above, exempt as they are from such changes. The wonderful effects of God’s power and wisdom, which, however, are most familiar and visible to us all, are to be found in his creation of heat and cold in the air. In certain countries, snow, frost, and ice will so abound, at certain times, that lakes, rivers, and even seas will become so congealed, that wagons, heavily laden, will be carried over them, as they would through so many roads or fields. The ice becomes so hard that bars of iron will hardly break it; and yet, God, when it pleaseth him, by a simple change in the wind, in one instant causes all to melt, and streams of water flow down from the housetops, from the hills, and the mountains. Thus, God, in one moment, converts the extreme cold into amost agreeable warmth. To enter into particulars. “Who giveth snow like wool ;” who rains down snow in such abundance, that every flake of it looks like flocks of wool, not only by reason of its whiteness, but also of its size. ‘* Scattereth mists like ashes ;” raises mists so dense, that they seem more like a cloud of ashes than of vapour. ‘“‘ He sendeth his crystal like morsels ;” who congeals the water when forming it into hail, so as to appear in small crystals like crumbs of bread. ‘Who shall stand before the face of his cold?’ An apostrophe of the prophet in admiration of God’s great power in producing so much cold; as much as to say, who can stand or bear so much cold ?

18 “He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run.”

Having described the extreme cold caused by the snow, frost, and ice, he now shows with what ease and celerity God causes them all to disappear. ‘ He shall send out his word,” his simple command, “ and shall melt them,” the snow, frost, and ice, and, at once, the cold disappears; and he explains how simply God effects that, when he adds, ** His wind shall blow, and the waters shall run;’ at his command the wind shifts to the south, causing the snow and the ice to thaw, and thus converting them into water,

19 ‘Who declareth 4s word to Jacob ; his justices and his judgments to Israel. ;

20 ‘ He hath not done in ike manner to every nation : and his judgments he hath not made manifest to them. Alleluia.”

He concludes by shewing how differently God, in his providence, deals with his own people, and with other nations, because he instructed other nations, merely by natural causes and effects, so as to know their Creator through the things created by him ; but he taught his own people through the prophets. “Who declareth his word to Jacob;” that is to say, Jerusalem praise that Lord, ‘ who declared his word to his people Jacob,” by speaking to them through Moses, and the prophets, and who pointed out ‘his justices and his judgments to Israel,” through the same Moses, to whom he gave the law, in order to hand it over to his people of Israel, and from it you will be able to understand “that he hath not done in like manner to every nation,” because to you alone, and to none others, “hath he made manifest his judgments,” meaning his laws. All this applies literally to the Jerusalem on earth, to whom God sent his prophets to announce his words, and explain his laws; but it is much more applicable to the spiritual Jerusalem, the Church, that received the incarnate word of God itself, through the preaching of the Apostles, and learned a much more sublime law, judgments and justifications. It is more applicable, again, to the Jerusalem above, to which God openly announces his word ; and in his word all its inhabitants behold the judgments of God, the order, disposition, and secrets of his divine providence, that to us are a great abyss.