Psalm 148

All creatures are invited to praise their Creator.

1 Praise ye the Lord from the heavens; praise ye him in the high places.

2 Praise ye him, all his Angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.

3 Praise ye him, O sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars and light.

4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens: and let all the waters that are above the heavens,

5 Praise the name of the Lord. For he spoke, and they were made: he commanded, and they were created.

6 He hath established them for ever, and for ages of ages: he hath made a decree, and it shall not pass away.

7 Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all ye deeps:

8 Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds,

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

9 Mountains, and all hills, fruitful trees, and all cedars: i

10 Beasts, and all cattle: serpents, and. feathered fowls:

11 Kings of the earth, and all people: princes and all judges of the earth:

12 Young men, and maidens: let the old . with the younger praise.the name of the. Lord:

13 For his name alone is exalted.

14 The praise of him is above heaven and earth: and he hath exalted the horn of his people. A hymn to all his saints: to the children of Israel, a people approaching to him. Alleluia.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “Praise ye the Lord from the heavens ; praise ye him in the high places.

2 “ Praise ye him, all his Angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.”

The Angels, as residing in the supreme heavens, as it were, in the very palace of the eternal King, get the first invitation. 'The words “ praise ye” are — not used in a spirit of command or exhortation, as if the Angels were deficient in their duty, and needed such ; it is spoken in a spirit of invitation and strong affection by the prophet, who is highly excited and — inflamed with the love of God, as if he said, Oh that all created things would praise their Creator! and you, ye Angels, who hold the first place in creation, follow up the praise you daily offer him ; “ from the heavens,” indicates where the Angels reside, which he repeats when he adds, ‘‘ praise ye him in the high places.” This he explains more clearly when he adds who they are that dwell there, saying, “ praise ye him, all his hosts,” meaning the heavenly powers, and not the sun, moon, and stars, as some will have it ; first, because nothing is more usual than such repetitions with David; secondly, the holy fathers are — unanimous that these words refer to the Cherubim, Seraphim, and the other Angels; thirdly, from Luke ii., where the Angels are called “ The multitude of the heavenly host ;” and fourthly, from Psalm Clisy where the Angels are more clearly indicated, when he says, “‘ Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts; you minis« ters of his, that do his will.”

3 “ Praise ye him, O sun and moon : praise him, all ye stars and light.

4 ‘* Praise him, ye heavens of heavens: and let all the waters that are above the heavens,”

From the Angels, who, as being endowed with reason and intelligence, praise God in the strict sense of the word, he descends to the heavenly bodies who do not offer that intellectual praise they are incapable of, but still praise him by reason of their — greatness, grandeur, size, speed, efficacy, splendour, — and beauty, just as every beautiful work redounds

COMMENTARY

to the credit of its maker. He names the sun first, it being universally allowed to be the principal body in nature ; next, the moon, it being apparently next in size to the sun; then he calls upon the stars, concluding with ‘the light,’ by which he means the light derived from the sun, moon, and stars. Having enumerated the heavenly bodies, he then calls upon “the heaven of heavens,” that is, the superior heavens, beneath which lie the inferior heavens in which the clouds and the birds move about ; whence we read in the Scriptures, “‘the birds of heaven, the clouds of heaven.” To those upper heavens he adds the waters that lie above the heavens, thus leaving no one thing in the superior part of the world without an invitation. In regard of those waters men are at liberty to argue to a certain extent, but in other respects they are not. First, it is certain that the waters named here are material, not spiritual waters, an error into which Origen fell, and which was exposed by the holy fathers. Secondly, that these waters are above, and not in, the heavens, as some erroneously imagine, for the prophet indicates it clearly here, by alling on the ‘“‘heaven of heavens” to praise him, and at once adds, ‘ all the waters that are above the heavens,’ those heavens, surely, that he had just quoted ; and in Psalm ciii., when speaking of the same heavens, he says, ‘‘ Who stretchest out the heavens like a pavilion, who coverest the higher rooms thereof with water ;’ and Moses, in the first chapter of Genesis, clearly places water over the firmament, in which firmament he shortly after places the stars ; and more clearly in Daniel iii., where all the works of the Lord are enumerated, in order ; first are placed the Angels, then the heavens, then the waters that are over the heavens, then the sun, moon, stars, and other inferior beings. ‘Thirdly, these waters are incorruptible and eternal, for to them, as well as to the other things hereinbefore enumerated, applies what he subsequently adds, ‘‘ He hath established them for ever, and for ages of ages.”

5 * Praise the name of the Lord. or he spoke, and _ they were made : he commanded, and they were created.

6 “ He hath established them for ever, and for ages of ages: he hath made a decree, and it shall not pass away.”

The reason why all those things aforesaid should praise God is, because they were all made by him, and will remain for ever incorrupt ; and what is much more wonderful, they were made without any labour, without any loss of time, by one word or command brought from non-existence to existence, and that for eternity. He merely said, ‘ Let there be light, and there was light.” He commanded a thing that had no existence to start into existence, and at once it, in obedience to his command, appeared. ‘“‘ He hath established them for ever, and for ages of ages.” He endowed them with immortality, in order that, like the inferior bodies, they may not rise up and die again. “* He hath made a decree,” passed a decree on this matter ; “ and it shall not pass away ;” a decree

that will not evaporate or become a dead letter, but will remain, and by remaining will preserve the very things it has reference to, so that they shall not pass away.

7 ‘ Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all ye deeps :”

He now passes to the perishable elements and to the world below, which consists of the earth, the air, the water, the beasts, fishes, fowl, as also the thunder, lightning, hail, winds, and other such matters. And as he first said, “ Praise ye the Lord Jrom the heavens,” he now says, “ Praise the Lord Srom the earth;” and as he classified all the superior beings under the head of the things belonging to heaven which is the seat of the Angels, so he deems it right now to bring all the inferior things under the head of those belonging to the earth, it being the seat of man. Hence, his reason for not naming fire, or air, or water ; in the first place, because the earth constitutes the second part of the world, and all other things, whether fire, air, or water, are subject to man, who inhabits it. ‘ Praise the Lord from the earth,” all you who live on the earth, or belong to it, and he mentions first the waters and the fishes who live in the depths of the earth ; for the dragons mean the sea monsters ; and the deeps, the deep seas in which they reside; as we read in Psalm Giii., “The sea-dragon which thou hast formed to play therein,” that is, the sea; and in Psalm Ixxiii., “ Thou didst crush the heads of the dragons in the waters.”

8 ‘ Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds, which fulfil his word :”

From the waters he passes to the air, where the fires exist; viz., lightning, thunderbolts, coruscations, as also hail, snow, ice, and the stormy winds, those furious winds that cause the storms and bring so much rain with them, all of which “ fw/fil his word;” that is, obey his commands, which last expression he adds with a view to let us see that all those accidests, that are looked upon by man as so many calamities, come from the hand of God, who makes use of them as so many instruments of his justice or of his mercy to punish the wicked or to deter the just from sin; and, therefore, that they do not come from chance, nor should they be called calamities but blessings, being the instruments of a good and gracious God.

9 ‘* Mountains, and all hills, fruitful trees, and all cedars :”

From the air he now reverts to the earth, and first alludes to the more striking parts of it, the “ mountains and hills,” which, of course, include the plains and the valleys, for you cannot have one without the other. He then passes to the products of the earth, naming the trees first that produce fruit, and then those that do not, such as the cedar, which however, serves for house and shipbuilding. He then touches on the animals that are to be found on

ON THE PSALMS.

the earth, briefly enumerating the priucipal ones, the wild, the domestic, and the beasts of burden; and finally, the serpents that crawl along the ground, and the birds that fly aloft in the air. He calls upon and challenges them all to praise God, not that they are capable of any such thing, but that man, by reflecting on their use and benefit to him, may praise God, and return him due thanks for them. But what benefit do the wild beasts, the lions, serpents, even the gnats and the wasps confer on man ? A great deal, for, whether they inspire us with terror, or annoy and torment us, they are calculated to remind us of our weakness and infirmity, and to what we have come through the disobedience of our first parents, by which we lost a great part of the dominion we previously had over all animals.

10 ‘“* Beasts, and all cattle: serpents, and feathered fouls:

11 “‘ Kings of the earth, and all people: princes and all judges of the earth:

12 ‘* Young men, and maidens: let the old with the younger praise the name of the Lord:

13 “ For his name alone is exalted.”

He finally invites all mankind to praise God, and, in order to comprehend all] manner of people, he mentions three different classes of people in respect of power, sex, and age. ‘“* Kings and people,” they

~ who command and they who obey; and, as all those who do command are not equal in authority, he adds, “ princes,” having supreme power, “ and all judges of the earth,” having subordinate authcrity ; and here is the difference of power. “‘ Young men and maidens,” which includes the sexes, “ the old with the younger,” to comprehend all ages. All, then, be they princes or subjects, men or women, old or young, are summoned to praise the Lord. ‘ For his name alone is exalted;” for there is no other name truly sublime, and worthy of all praise, but the name of God. Created things, however great, when compared with God’s greatness, sink into insignificance ; and whatever greatness or excellence they may be possessed of they have entirely from hiw, who alone is called, and justly is, the Most High.

14 ‘** The praise of him is above heaven and earth: and he hath exalted the horn of his people. A hymn to ail his saints ; to the children, of Israel, a people approaching to him. Alleluia.”

He assigns a reason for having said, “For his name alone is exalted,” because, says he, “ The praise of han is above heaven and earth;” -that is, everything in heaven and on earth declare his praise so full of everything of his glory, or, as Habacuc has it, ‘* His glory covered the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise ;” therefore “ his name alone is exalted.” And “he hath exalted the horn of his people;” he, of himself, alone exalted and sublime, has exalted the power and

‘glory of his people Israel, because he selected them as his own people, gave them divine laws, written with his own finger, and cared them with a special providence.

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

“ A hymn to all his saints; to the children of Israel, a people approaching to him, Alleluia.” This is the conclusion of the Psalin, as it were to say, The hymn,

then, to besung to God should be speciaily sung by all — -

his saints; that is, by all those dedicated and consecrated to him, the children of Israel especially, inasmuch astheycome nearerto God than any other people, through true knowledge and faith, trae worship and adoration, true filial confidence and love. This, however, aS St. Augustine properly observes, applies not to the children of Israel according to the flesh, but according to the spirit; for the former being stiff-necked never made any approach to God, as St. Stephen reproached them. ‘‘ You always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers dud so do you also. Whach of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain those who foretold of the coming of the Just One, of whom you have been the betrayers and murderers;” and the Apostle, Rom. ix., points out.who are the true children of Israel when he says, ‘* For all are not Israelites that are of Israel; neither are all they who are the seed of Abraham’s children;” that is to say, not they who are the children of the flesh are the children of God, but they that are the children of the promise are | counted for ‘‘ the seed.” And in the same epistle, chap. iv., he tells them that they were the children of Abraham “who follow the steps of the faith that our father Abraham had,” be they circumcised or not circumcised. Nor should we excludeall the children of Israel according tothe flesh, for in such case we would exclude the prophets and the Apostles ; we exclude those only who are Israelites according to the flesh alone, of whom St. Stephen speaks as above, and to whom the Precursor said, ‘ Ye offspring of vipers, who hath shewed you to flee from the wrath to come? do not begin to say, We have Abraham for our father,” and to whom the Lord himself said, ‘ Jf you be the children of Abraham do the works of Abraham— you are of your father the devil.” Finally, such are they, who, after having renounced the Lord, ave scattered all over the world, without a king, a priest. hood, and even without a God.

PSALM CXLIX. The church is particularly bound to praise God.

1 Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: los his praise be in the church of the saints.

2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: and let the children of Sion be joyful in their king.

3 Let them praise his name in choir: let them sing to him with the timbrel and the psaltery. J Sli

4 For the Lord is well pleased with his people: and he will exalt the meek unto sa Bm % vation. { A gee ee

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COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

6 The saints shall rejoice in glory: they shall be joyful in their beds.

6 The high praises of God shall be in their mouth: and two-edged swords in their hands: 7 To execute vengeance upon the nations,

— chastisements among the people: 8 To bind their kings with fetters, and ~ their nobles with manacles of iron. % To execute upon them the judgment

that is written: this glory is to all his saints. Alleluia.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM. 1 ‘Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle : let his praise be in the church of the saints.”

This first verse is directed to those he addressed in the last’verse of the preceding Psalm, when he said, ‘A hymn to all his saints, to a people approaching to him;” for these three last Psalms are so connected, and one appears to be such a continuation of the other, that they appear to form one Psalm, which, perhaps, is the reason that the three are read under one antiphon in the end of lauds. He, therefore, says, O you saints, the people approaching to God, ** Sing to the Lord a new canticle;” let other creatures sing a canticle for their creation, which is an old canticle, but sing you a canticle for your regeneration, justification, glorification, which is “a new canticle,” on a new subject, and to be chanted by new men. “ Let his praise be in the church of the saints ;” a reason assigned for having asked them to sing in such manner, being as much as to say, You saints, ‘ sing ye to the Lord a new canticle,” because it is but meet that God’s praise should be heard, especially in the congregation of the saints,

2 * Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: and let the children of Sion be joyful in their king.”

The new canticle is calculated to inspire great joy ; for it announces the favour of perfect happiness, and springs from most ardent love. Israel, the chosen people of God, therefore. that sings this new canticle, rajoice in singing “‘ in him that made him;” in their Creator, who not only called them into existence, but endowed them with grace, thus giving them not only existence, but to be Israel. ‘ And let the children of Sion be joyful in their king,” which is no more then a repetition of the above.

& “ Let them praise his name in chovr : let them sing 19 tam with the tumbrel and the psaltery.”

Not content with singing this new canticle with joy and gladness, they will blend instrumental with vocal music, so that their hands, as well as their tongues, or in other words, their actions, as well as their words, shall be directed to God’s praise and glory. The following Psalm would seem to indicate that the “choir” named here is a musical instrument, as well as the timbrel and the psaltery ; but it may also signify a number of voices in concert, and in such sense it has been understood by the fathers.

4 “ For the Lord is well pleased with his people: and

he will exalt the meek unto salvation.”

The reason for singing this new canticle is because the Lord hath been well pleased with his people; that is to say, loved them from eternity, from his own pure kindness, which good will of God is the foundation and primary source of all our blessings ; for predestination, vocation, justification, glorification, all are owing to God’s having been “ well pleased with his people;” and, touching on this, the Lord himself said, * Hear not, little flock; for at hath pleased your Father to give you a kingdom.” This good pleasure of God is frequently alluded to by St. Paul, and it justly forms the subject of the new canticle; “ and he will exalt the meek unto salvation ;? God not only resolved in his mind to deal thus kindly with his people, but he will carry it into immediate effect ; because ‘he will exalt the meek unto salvation;’ he will exalt to the highest degree possible, to eternal happiness, his meek and humble people, as being true members of him who said, ‘‘ J am meek and humble of heart.”

5 “ The saints shall rejoice in glory: they shall be joyful in their beds.”

He now describes the future glory of the elect, for which they are with all their hearts to sing this new canticle. ‘“ The saints shall rejoice in glory,” to which none but the truly just arrive, and at thesame time “ shall be joyful in their beds,” in that place of supreme rest, “ from henceforth now, sath the spirit, that they may rest from their labours,” Apoc. xiv. Thus, ‘the saints i glory’ shall rest from their labours, but not from their praise; they will “de in their beds,” to rest there, but not to sleep.

6 ‘ The high praises of God shall be in their mouth : and two-edged swords in their hands :”

The saints in their supreme felicity will not be altogether idle, for they will find occupation in chanting God’s praise and brandishing their swords, and the latter refers to the judiciary power with which they will be invested on the last day, to strike down all their persecutors, according to Deut. xxxii., “Jf I shall whet my sword as the lightning, and my hand take hold on judgment.”

7 ‘ To execute vengeance upon the nations, chastisements among the people :”

The use the saints will make of the two-edged swords will be to wreak vengeance on their enemies ou the day of judgment, to chastise them and to reproach them with their iniquities, for, “ Then shall the just stand with great constancy against those that have afflicted them.”

8 ‘' To bind their kings with setters, and their nobles with manacles of iron.”

Having said that “ the two-edged swords” represent the judiciary power entrusted to the saints on the last day, it will not appear strange they should use such power “‘ to execute vengeance,” and “to bind kings in fetters,” for such power includes the one as well as the other, and both will be fully exercised on the last day, when, in union with Christ, they will pass sentence on the Antiochuses, the Herods, the

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Neros, the Diocletians, and the other infidel princes, and will say, “ Having bound their hands and feet, cast them into the eaterior darkness.”

9 “To execute upon them the judgment that is writen : this glory is to all his saints. Alleluia.”

The prophet now explains clearly why he said “ to execute vengeance,” and “to bind kings in fetters.” That the saints, who on earth have suffered unjast persecution, may now “ execute the judgment” that was long since “ written” like a decree or a resolu-

tion, deeply engraved on a pillar, one that could not be changed or erased. “ Zhis glory is to all his saints,” the glory of sitting with Christ on the clouds, and judging the world; and its ruler will be the pe- -culiar privilege of the saints, as St. Paul has it, “ Know you not that the saints shall judge this world ? And if the world shall be judged by you, are you

unworthy to judge the smallest matters?” ‘Truly, therefore, “ is this glory to all his saints.” i PSALM CL, 4 Ait exhortation to praise God with all sorts of instru-

he : ments. 1 Praise ye the Lord in his holy places: praise ye him in the firmament of his power. 2 Praise ye him for his mighty acts: praise ye him according tothe multitude of his greatness. ~~ 3 Praise

a him with sound of trumpet: praise him with psaltery and¢harp.

4 Praise him with timbrel and choir: praise him with strings and organs.

5 Praise him on high-sounding cymbals: praise him on cymbals of joy: let every spirit praise the Lord. Alleluia. ea

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “* Praise ye the Lord in lis holy places: praise ye him in the firmament of his power.”

You saints and elect, praise the Lord who dwells in the heavenly sanctuary, ‘‘ praise him in the firmament of his: power,” a repetition of the first part of the verse, Praise him who resides in the heavens as he would in a highly fortified palace or on a splendid thrgne, for the Lord says, in Matt. v., “‘ Swear not by heaven for it is God's throne.”

2 © Praise ye him for his mighty acts: praise ye him according to the multitude of his greatness.”

He now teaches that God is to be praised, not because he simply resides in heaven, but because he resides there as the all-powerful Ruler and Lord of all things. Praise him for his mighty acts, for his great strength and power, “ Pravse ye him according to the multitude of his greatness,”. praise him beyond measure, for such is his greatness, being simply and abso-

lutely great. 8 Praise him with sound of trumpet: praise him with psaltery and harp.”

Praise him with all manner of instruments, wind

CLARERONT. os

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS. pa

ME See TR

4 v ‘ . instruments. such as the trumpet, and stringed such as the psaltery and harp. ess gee We 4. Praise him with tigbrel and choir: praise hin with strings and organs. rae og All sorts of instruments are now enumerated, for — though there is no certainty what sort of instrument their organ was, the probability is, that it was an — instrament composed of a number of pipes joined. ee together, such as our organ of the present day. 5 * Praise him on high sounding cymbals ; praise him 3 on cymbals of joy: let every spirit praise the Lord. Alleluia.” : Cymbals are musical instrsments, whose music is _ elicited by shaking them ; and they are called “ cymbals of joy,” as being ‘used on festive occasions, a8 peals of bells are with Christians. ‘‘ Let every spirit — praise the Lord.” Various are the interpretations — offered of this sentence; but in my mind, the most - satisfactory is to take the words, “every spirit,” as comprehending every thing that has life, be it spiritual, such as that of the Angels, or animal, such as that of animals, or both united, such as that of man; or even a figurative life, such as that of material objects, which, inanimate as they may be, are still said “to dive” in reference to God ; because they serve and obey him, as if they had sense and feeling, and understood the commands of the Creator. Hence the invitatory, “* The king to whom all things live;” atid in Baruch, “ The stars were called, and they said: Here we are.’ Such is also the expression _ in the Gospel, “ He conimanded the fever, and it left her;” and, in Mark iv., “And he rebuked the wind, — and said to the sea: Peace, be still. And the wind — ceased ; and there was made a great calm.”. The — prophet, then, after having summoned a number of. — persons and things to praise God, and finding that he could not severally enumerate and invite every person and thing in one general invitation, he comprehends all, and calls upon them to praise the Lord. — * Let every spirit praise the Lord.” But, then, ifthe wanted to include every thing, why - say, Let —

every thing, instead of every spirit, praise the Lord? The reason is, because it is only the living are able

to praise, and it would appear absurd to invite dead things or souls to join in choir, especially when the same prophet said, in Psalm exiii., “ The dead will not praise thee, O Lord;’ and Ezechias exclaims, — “ The living, the living, he shall give praisesto thee.” David, then, preferred the expression, Every spirit” or living thing, to every thing existing, to shew that he invited every thing that has life in any res| i unite in praising God. Here, then, is thee Commentary. I pray Almighty lat, | enabled us to explain those divine Psalms somehow, — so he may grant us,: in his mercy, after this our — pilgrimage here below, to arrive at our true country, — where, face to face, we may love him with our whole _ beart, and praise him without end. Amen. Praise be to God. “But piety with sufficiency ts great gain.” 2. Tims yess dae hee

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Translation of Explanatio in Psalmos,

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