Bellarmine on Psalm XLV: Verses 8 & 9

Verse 8

Come and behold ye the works of the Lord: what wonders he hath done upon earth, Making wars to cease even to the end of the earth. 

Venite, et videte opera Domini, quae posuit prodigia super terram, auferens bella usque ad finem terrae. 

He exhorts all the nations to think upon the wonderful works of God, and especially on what will come to pass in the last days when, all His enemies having been removed, or rather, having become the footstool of Christ, there will be an end to all wars and God alone will reign, with none resisting or rebelling against Him. This is the reign we expect and pray for when we say each day in the Lord’s prayer: “Thy kingdom come.” “Come and behold ye,” that is, come through faith, and with the eyes of the mind contemplate and consider “the works of the Lord: what wonders he hath done upon earth,” that is, consider the works which God hath done (here the praeterite is used for the future, in a prophetic manner) upon earth, which are to be so admired and wondered at as to be called wonders. He will perform these wonders “Making wars to cease even to the end of the earth,” and truly it is wondrous that He could remove wars from the furthest ends of the earth, and to remove them in such a way that they could never be renewed. Instead of what we read as what wonders he hath done upon earth, St. Jerome translates the Hebrew as what great devastation he will perform on earth : and the meaning is the same; for, from the devastation of the whole earth and the transfer of the righteous into heaven, and the expulsion of the wicked into hell, there will dawn a cessation of wars throughout the whole of the earth. Now the Hebrew word shammoth means either devastations or wonders and marvels: for shamam means to be wondered at or to be devastated; the Septuagint translators rightly translated this as wonders, because the Hebrew signifies this, although it can also mean devastations.

Verse 9

He shall destroy the bow, and break the weapons: and the shield he shall burn in the fire.

Arcum conteret, et confringet arma, et scuta comburet igni.

He speaks further about what he said regarding Making wars to cease; he says this will come to pass because the Lord will destroy weapons, such as weapons of offence, like the bow and the lance, as well as those used by soldiers for defence, such as shields: without weapons it will not be possible to wage war. In Hebrew, instead of the word arma / weapons, it has chanith, spear, or lance; but the Septuagint translators preferred the word arma / weapons because the Prophet clearly wanted to signify all weapons of offence; and so the sense is, He shall destroy the bow, and break the remaining weapons. For the word scuta / shields, the Hebrew uses currus / chariots, and indeed the 

sense is the same, because it is prophesied that both shields and military chariots, and other similar instruments of war, will be destroyed by fire; it should be realised that the Hebrew word hagaloth means currus / chariots, because they are round(ed); and this word properly means roundness. Now because shields are also round, and shields are more usually associated with lances and bows rather than chariots, the Septuagint translators wisely chose the translation as shields. Some explain these lines as being about a particular time in history, under Augustus or Constantine; but they are far more suited to the eternal peace which will come to be at the end of the world, when the Church will cease being militant and will begin to be triumphant, all her enemies having been vanquished.

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam

Bellarmine on Psalm XLV: Verses 6 & 7

 Verse 6

Nations were troubled, and kingdoms were bowed down: he uttered his voice, the earth trembled.

Conturbatae sunt gentes, et inclinata sunt regna : dedit vocem suam, mota est terra.

He foretells in plain words what he had predicted previously in a figurative way, namely the destruction of the Church’s enemies, leading to universal and perpetual peace. What he had previously said of the earth and mountains he now says openly about peoples and kingdoms. “Nations were troubled,” he says, because their demise was approaching; “and kingdoms were bowed down,” that is, because cast down from their heights and prostrate on the ground. “He spoke with His voice,” that is, God thundered from heaven, “and the earth trembled,” that is, it shook greatly, and the earth was dissolved and made desolate: for the Hebrew word mug, means to melt and be dissolved. What is here said of the destruction of earthly kingdoms was foretold more clearly by Daniel in chapter ii. of his book: “ the kingdom of Christ shall consume all these kingdoms;”[1] and it was explained by the Apostle in I Cor. xv. In these terms: “Afterwards the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father, when he shall have brought to nought all principality, and power, and virtue.”[2]

Verse 7

The Lord of armies is with us: the God of Jacob is our protector.

Dominus virtutum nobiscum; susceptor noster Deus Jacob.

In all these ruins of the nations and of kingdoms, God’s people will not be afraid because they will be able to say: “The Lord of armies is with us, our protector.,” that is, He who protects us to keep us safe is the God of Jacob. Now he says the Lord of armies because all the angels, who are most numerous and powerful, obey His orders, as it says in Psalm cii.: “You that are mighty in strength, and execute his word.” [3] Not only are the angels His soldiers, but every single one of the things He created: for “Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds which fulfill his word,” as it says in Ps. Cxlviii,[4] and as it says in Psalm cxviii: “for all things serve thee.”[5] And so two reasons are adduced in this verse as to why God’s people should fear nothing: firstly, because almighty God, for whom all things serve as soldiers, is this people’s helper. Secondly, because this same Lord is not only able to help His people but He wants to do so, because He wanted to be called the God of Jacob, that is, God of this people, that holy patriarch Jacob, close friend of God, from whose descendants the Lord deigned to take flesh.

[1] But in the days of those kingdoms the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, and his kingdom shall not be delivered up to another people, and it shall break in pieces, and shall consume all these kingdoms, and itself shall stand for ever. In diebus autem regnorum illorum suscitabit Deus caeli regnum, quod in aeternum non dissipabitur, et regnum ejus alteri populo non tradetur : comminuet autem, et consumet universa regna haec, et ipsum stabit in aeternum. [Dan. ii. 44]

[2] Afterwards the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father, when he shall have brought to nought all principality, and power, and virtue. Deinde finis : cum tradiderit regnum Deo et Patri, cum evacuaverit omnem principatum, et potestatem, et virtutem. [I Cor. xv. 24]

[3] Bless the Lord, all ye his angels: you that are mighty in strength, and execute his word, hearkening to the voice of his orders. Benedicite Domino, omnes angeli ejus, potentes virtute, facientes verbum illius, ad audiendam vocem sermonum ejus. [Ps. Cii. 20]

[4] Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds which fulfill his word: ignis, grando, nix, glacies, spiritus procellarum, quae faciunt verbum ejus; [Ps. Cxlviii. 8]

[5] By thy ordinance the day goeth on: for all things serve thee. Ordinatione tua perseverat dies, quoniam omnia serviunt tibi. [Ps. Cxviii. 91]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm XLV: Verses 4 & 5

Verses 4-5

The stream of the river maketh the city of God joyful: the most High hath sanctified his own tabernacle.

God is in the midst thereof, it shall not be moved: God will help it in the morning early.

Fluminis impetus lætificat civitatem Dei : sanctificavit tabernaculum suum Altissimus.

Deus in medio ejus, non commovebitur; adjuvabit eam Deus mane diluculo.

He now shows how God’s people will not be afraid when the earth is troubled and the mountains shall be removed into the heart of the sea; and he says the reason is that, instead of the abundance of bitterness which will trouble the wicked, the Church will be given an abundance of delight which will cause her to be joyful; and instead of the instability of the mountains that shall be removed into the heart of the sea, the Church will be given perpetual stability, because God will be in her midst. “The stream of the river maketh the city of God joyful,” that is, God’s people will not be afraid when the earth is troubled, because the tidal waves of the bitter sea will not flood into the Church; but the sweet and bright waters of the river, in a powerful stream and in great quantity will cause her to rejoice with an abundance of delight. In Hebrew it says nahar pelagan / rivulets of the river, or currents instead of what we have from the Greek, stream of the river; but these are not 

contradictory: for rivulets of water can flow with force or without force: the Septuagint translators wanted to make clear that those currents would not flow gently or with little force but in great abundance and force, so as to explain the power of the sweetness that  flows in the city of God. “ thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure.”[1] The Prophet adds: “the most High hath sanctified his own tabernacle,” as though to say : therefore God makes His city joyful, because He chose it and sanctified it to Himself in His tabernacle, and He wanted it to be His own dwelling, as it says in chapter xxi of the Apocalypse: “Behold the tabernacle of God with men, and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people.”[2] “God is in the midst thereof, it shall not be moved,” this is opposed to the instability of the earth and the mountains, as though to say: the people of God will not be afraid of being cast into the heart of the sea: for “God is in the midst thereof,” that is, God does not withdraw from them but is always closely present to them, as one might expect,  “in the midst,” intimately, in 

their hearts, and so this city will not be moved but will be made firm with a stability everlasting. And he concludes by showing whence and when these things shall be, saying: “God will help it in the morning early,” that is, joy and stability will be given to the city of God, since God will help it at the beginning of the day, that is, at the dawning of the day of eternal happiness. For the Scripture compares the time of infidelity to the darkness of night, the time of faith to the dawn, and the vision of God to the brightness of day. In his Epistle to the Romans, Blessed Paul says: “The night is passed, and the day is at hand.”[3] And in II Peter I., it says “And we have the more firm prophetical word: whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.”[4] And the Bride says in Cant. ii. : “Till the day break, and the shadows retire.”[5] And the prophet Malachy says in chapter iv. : “But unto you that fear my name, the Sun of justice shall arise .”[6]  And with this sentence the ancient reading agrees, which St. Augustine had, and which St. Ambrose remembered, and which the Church embraces in the Ecclesiastical office: “God will help her with His face,” that is, He will help her with His greatest and mightiest assistance when He shows her His face, and that will be when the Sun of justice shows Himself openly to her, He will bring about that day longed for and desired by all the Saints from the beginning of the world; and on this, the Apostle says: “For I know whom I have believed, and I am certain that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him, against that day.”[7]

[1] They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure. Inebriabuntur ab ubertate domus tuae, et torrente voluptatis tuae potabis eos; [Ps. Xxxv. 9]

[2] And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God with men, and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people; and God himself with them shall be their God. Et audivi vocem magnam de throno dicentem : Ecce tabernaculum Dei cum hominibus, et habitabit cum eis. Et ipsi populus ejus erunt, et ipse Deus cum eis erit eorum Deus : [Apoc. xxi. 3]

[3] The night is passed, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light. Nox praecessit, dies autem appropinquavit. Abjiciamus ergo opera tenebrarum, et induamur arma lucis. [Rom. Xiii. 12]

[4] And we have the more firm prophetical word: whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Et habemus firmiorem propheticum sermonem : cui benefacitis attendentes quasi lucernae lucenti in caliginoso donec dies elucescat, et lucifer oriatur in cordibus vestris : [II Pet. I. 19]

[5] Till the day break, and the shadows retire. Return: be like, my beloved, to a roe, or to a young hart upon the mountains of Bether. donec aspiret dies, et inclinentur umbrae. Revertere; similis esto, dilecte mi, capreae, hinnuloque cervorum super montes Bether. [Cant. ii. 17]

[6] But unto you that fear my name, the Sun of justice shall arise, and health in his wings: and you shall go forth, and shall leap like calves of the herd. Et orietur vobis timentibus nomen meum sol justitiae, et sanitas in pennis ejus : et egrediemini, et salietis sicut vituli de armento. [Malach. iv. 2]

[7] For which cause I also suffer these things: but I am not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed, and I am certain that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him, against that day. Ob quam causam etiam haec patior, sed non confundor. Scio enim cui credidi, et certus sum quia potens est depositum meum servare in illum diem. [II Tim. i. 12]

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam

Bellarmine on Psalm XLV: Verses 2 & 3

Verses 2 & 3

Therefore we will not fear, when the earth shall be troubled; and the mountains shall be removed into the heart of the sea. Their waters roared and were troubled: the mountains were troubled with his strength.

Propterea non timebimus dum turbabitur terra, et transferentur montes in cor maris. Sonuerunt, et turbatae sunt aquae eorum; conturbati sunt montes in fortitudine ejus.

These two verses are very obscure, but we are following the holy Fathers Basil and Chrysostom. From what the people of God said: “Our God is our refuge and strength,” he concludes that he will be fearless, even if the earth and the sea were to be turned upside down, and were to change positions with a dreadful sound. “Therefore,” say God’s people, “we will not fear, when the earth shall be troubled,” that is, when the earth shall be greatly troubled, or even if the earth shall be 

massively troubled, “and the mountains shall be removed into the heart of the sea,” that is, even if the mountains themselves, which seem to have been founded and rooted by God so that they might be thought to be immovable, even if they are agitated and shake and are cast into the depths of the sea, that is, even if it is thus and these things come to pass, “we will not fear,” because almighty God is our refuge and our strength. “Their waters roared and were troubled,” that is, we will not fear, even if the collapse of the mountains into the depths of the sea cause the waters of the sea to roar and be troubled. He says eorum / their, that is, of the seas, because where we have in cor maris / into the heart of the sea, the text in Hebrew and Greek reads, in corda marium, / into the hearts of the seas;  our translators however changed the plural into a singular and wrote maris / of the sea, but left the pronoun in the plural, whence arose this difficulty. “And the mountains were troubled.” that is, even if the mountains themselves were cast into the sea, 

their stability undone, by the might, power and strength of God. For it is God alone who is able to cause the earth to be troubled, to cast the mountains into the heart of the sea, and to make tremble the sea itself and the mountains, as it says in Psalm lxxvi: “ The waters saw thee, O God, and[1] they were afraid, and the depths were troubled.” See also Psalm ciii: “He looketh upon the earth, and maketh it tremble;”[2] and Isai. Li: “But I am the Lord thy God, who trouble the sea, and the waves thereof swell.”[3]  And so in these lines is announced the supreme confidence of God’s people, who will not fear, even if the world collapses; at the same time, the supreme power of God is made known,  who can disturb and move all the elements: as He will in fact do at the end of the world, when “there will be great earthquakes in divers places … by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves ... men withering away for fear;”[4] and then the people of God will not only not fear but will look up and “will raise their heads,” as it says in the Gospel, “for their redemption is at hand. Matth. ”[5]  All these things can be understood figuratively, so that by earth are signified earthly men, by mountains those who are not only earthly but the might and the proud, such as were the great kings, the enemies of the Church; by sea, however, is signified the bitterness of tribulations and pains buy which will swallow up all the wicked. The earth will be troubled when “  the wicked will be terrified with a terrible fear”[6] “And the mountains shall be removed into the heart of the sea,” when the 

great kings who once persecuted the Church, shall be cast down into the depths of the abyss; and then the waters of the seas will roar and be troubled, when the final tribulation to come will trouble the wicked and their kings in a dreadful manner, since then it will become apparenthow great is the power of God’s anger towards (unrepentant) sinners.

[1] The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee: and they were afraid, and the depths were troubled. Viderunt te aquae, Deus; viderunt te aquae, et timuerunt; et turbatae sunt abyssi. [Psalm lxxvi. 17]

[2] He looketh upon the earth, and maketh it tremble: he toucheth the mountains, and they smoke. Qui respicit terram, et facit eam tremere; qui tangit montes, et fumigant. [Psalm ciii. 32]

[3] But I am the Lord thy God, who trouble the sea, and the waves thereof swell: the Lord of hosts is my name. Ego autem sum Dominus Deus tuus, qui conturbo mare, et intumescunt fluctus ejus; Dominus exercituum nomen meum. [Isai. li. 15]

[4] Luc. Xxi. 25-6.

[5] Matth. Xxiv. Unable to trace this quotation. 

[6] Wisdom v. 2 et seq.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm XLV: Title, theme & verse 1

Title and theme

Unto the end, for the sons of Core, for the hidden.

In finem, filiis Core, pro arcanis. Psalmus.

A  fair number of more recent interpreters would have this Psalm to have been written in thanksgiving for David’s victories gained over his enemies by God’s help; but the wonder is that this view was held by none of the ancient Fathers. For St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, Theodoretus and Euthymius in an overwhelming consensus teach that this Psalm is about the deliverance of the Christian Church from the persecutions of infidels. This interpretation can be confirmed from the Psalm’s title; For the words pro arcanis / for the hidden show plainly enough that the Prophet is not speaking about the past but about the future, and that the time would be hidden to David and he would not know about it unless God revealed it to him. This Psalm is therefore rightly placed after the previous one: in the former is foretold the Church’s exaltation resulting from the spiritual marriage with Christ her Lord and King; in this Psalm are foretold persecution and deliverance from persecution; this deliverance will most especially come to pass, as St. Basil judges, at the consummation of the world.

Verse 1

Our God is our refuge and strength: a helper in troubles, which have found us exceedingly.

Deus noster refugium et virtus; adjutor in tribulationibus quae invenerunt nos nimis.

The soldiers of Christ overcome temptations not less by fleeing them than by enduring them. When it is a question of fleeing, God is the refuge most secure for them; and when it is a question of enduring, God is their (source of) strength and valour: in either time he is “a helper in troubles:” for He helps both by proffering a refuge and by being at hand to win victory. The phrase which have found us exceedingly, indicates that the tribulations suffered by the Church in the beginning were most serious, and they erupted suddenly and unexpectedly: For, as may be read in the Acts of the Apostles, chapters ii. and iii., after the ascension of the Lord and the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Church was being built up and was growing in Jerusalem in great peace and tranquillity. “And continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they took their meat with gladness and simplicity of heart; Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord increased daily together such as should be saved.”[1] But shortly afterwards, there began a most violent persecution, the Apostles were scourged, Stephen was stoned and all the disciples were scattered, with the exception of the Apostles. In Hebrew, the text reads adjutor in tribulationibus inventus es nimis / a helper in troubles thou art found exceedingly, that is, God is found in tribulations to be a very powerful help. Either sense is very beneficial, but the one that touches the truth of the reading sticks to the Septuagint translators who without doubt read that Hebrew word nimsah slightly differently; and they would never have translated what they wrote as invenerunt /have found in any other way, unless they were inexpert. St. Basil notes that many have the words of this verse on their lips: “Our God is our refuge and strength,” but very few utter them with a true intention which may be gathered from the passion they show for running to seek human help, or even the diabolical arts, as if they hold God’s help for nothing. Contrary to such as these, St. David says: “Our God is our refuge and strength,” because he placed little trust in the strength of men, or in their arms or their plans and application.

[1] And continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they took their meat with gladness and simplicity of heart; Quotidie quoque perdurantes unanimiter in templo, et frangentes circa domos panem, sumebant cibum cum exsultatione, et simplicitate cordis, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord increased daily together such as should be saved. collaudantes Deum et habentes gratiam ad omnem plebem. Dominus autem augebat qui salvi fierent quotidie in idipsum. [Act. ii. 46-7]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm XLIV: Verses 19-20

Verse 19

They shall remember thy name throughout all generations.

Memores erunt nominis tui in omni generatione et generationem.

He concludes the Psalm by saying that those spiritual nuptials of which he has chanted in the Psalm, and the fruit of the nuptials, that is, the most noble offspring that will be born of this holy marriage, will have no other end than the perpetual praise of God. For, he says, these sons who take the place of fathers and themselves become fathers of sons, “They shall remember thy name,” that is, they will sing of Thy power and grace “throughout all generations.” In the Hebrew and Greek codices, the first line is in the singular: memor ero nominis tui / I shall remember thy name, and this is how the Greek Fathers read it and it is also found in several Latin manuscript codices. But although Sts. Jerome and Augustine in their Commentaries read it as They shall remember thy name, and the Church on her Ecclesiastical office sings these words in the same way, the aim was not to make a correction, as in the recognised books of the time of Sixtus V and Clement VIII this text was changed, especially since there is no divergence in the sense. He who reads the words as memor ero nominis tui / I shall remember thy name, would maintain this is said by the Prophet, who is promising God that he will sing for all time the praises of God for the immense benefits granted to the human race, which are set forth in this Psalm. Others take a different interpretation because David would die and could not personally sing in praise of God through all generations, and they say that he wanted to sing through others, 

who, each succeeding each other, would sing these Psalms even to the consummation of the world; but this interpretation does not diverge from the other one; for it is to say: I shall remember thy name, and I will sing Thy praises through the memory and tongue of others, who shall succeed each other; and: Thy sons, who shall succeed each other, shall remember thy name, and they shall forever sing Thy praises written by me. St. John Chrysostom remarks that David the Prophet, as well as many other things which he foresaw and foretold, foresaw and foretold this of his songs in eternity, that there would not be a time in which their celebration would be interrupted; and we see this prophecy has been fulfilled and is fulfilled every day.

Verse 20

Therefore shall people praise thee for ever; yea, for ever and ever.

Propterea populi confitebuntur tibi in aeternum, et in saeculum saeculi.

From the fact that the Apostles, and their successors the bishops, will always remember the

Lord’s name, and sing and proclaim His praises, the Prophet rightly gathers that it will also come to pass that the faithful taught by the bishops, will make known to the Lord their praises of Him “for ever; yea, for ever and ever,” in this life and in the life to come; for although entreaties and tears will cease in the Father’s heavenly home, giving praise and glory (to God) will not cease.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm XLIV: Verse 18

Verse 18

Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee: thou shalt make them princes over all the earth.

Pro patribus tuis nati sunt tibi filii; constitues eos principes super omnem terram.

Hitherto, the Prophet has explained the dignity and adornments of the Bridegroom and the Bride: now he mentions the issue of the nuptials, saying that the most blessed fruit of this marriage will rule the entire world. It is uncertain whether the Prophet is here addressing the Bridegroom or the Bride: certain recent commentators have said the Bridegroom, led by the following reasoning, that the pronouns tuis / thy and tibi / to thee are of the masculine gender; (on the other hand,) according to the teaching of the Holy fathers Basil, Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine and, with them, Euthymius in his Commentaries, these words are addressed to the bride. St. Jerome in his epistle ad Principiam states that either interpretation is possible, which is true; and the Hebrew text of the sentence is not incompatible with this reading if points are removed or altered, as specialists readily understand. Now, since the Prophet warned the Bride that she should forget her people and her father’s house,[1] that is, her elders; he now consoles her by promising her an abundance of children in 

place of the elders, whom she is leaving behind, and whom she is instructed to forget; at the same time, as we have said, he foretells that the fruit of the nuptials of the heavenly Bridegroom and the Church, His Bride, will be most happy. “Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee,” that is, instead of the fathers you had and who are now dead, namely instead of the Patriarchs and the Prophets and the fathers whom you left behind in heathenesse[2] and whom you have been ordered to forget, “sons are born to thee,” that is, the Apostles and Disciples of Christ, who will be of such excellence as to issue laws for the whole world; and so “thou shalt make them princes over all the earth.” For truly, the Apostles, the first sons of the Church, gave laws for all the lands on earth, which no temporal monarch is able to do. For, as St. John Chrysostom notes, the monarchs of Rome could not give laws to the Persians, nor the Persians to the Romans; but the Apostles gave laws to the Romans, the Persians and all the other nations. And so, in the first age of the Church, she had Apostles for sons instead of the Patriarchs, their fathers; and then in the next age she had bishops for sons in place of the Apostolic fathers, who, not as individuals, but all together are princes of the whole earth; and so in this way, through successors to the bishops the Church always has sons in the place of fathers, whom she places in dignity on the thrones of the fathers.

[1] Vide Verse 12 supra.

[2] The quality or condition of being heathen; the belief and practice of the heathen; heathenism. OED online.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm XLIV: Verses 16-17

Verse 16

After her shall virgins be brought to the king: her neighbours shall be brought to thee.

Adducentur regi virgines post eam, proximae ejus afferentur tibi.

Although the bride of Christ is unique, and she is uniquely beloved, that is, the universal Church, there are after her other brides of Christ, with special prerogatives above the rest of the faithful, those souls who have solemnly dedicated to God their virginity according to the flesh, and who have taken pains to please Him alone. Of these, the Apostle says in I Corinth. Vii: “ He that is without a wife, is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife: and he is divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she that is married thinketh on the things of the world, how she may please her husband.”[1] Of these things, the Prophet now speaks and in these two lines commends virginity, which is wondrously pleasing to the virginal Christ, who feedeth among the lilies.[2] “After her,” he says, “shall virgins be brought to the king,” that is, after His principal bride, the Church, there shall also be brought to the nuptial chamber of the heavenly bridegroom those souls who have dedicated their virginity to God. “Her neighbours shall be brought to thee,” that is, 

only those virgins shall be brought to thee, O Spouse, who were close to the principal Bride of thy Church, that is, who were bound and united to her, which is what the holy Fathers Basil and Augustine as well as others, say, to the exclusion of heretics and schismatics: for virginity outside the Church does not have the privileged position of a bride. And since we said at the beginning that we read in this Psalm of a Bride, it may also be understood as referring to the Blessed Mary, mother of the lord, who is justly called the Queen of virgins: and we can explain the following things about her, so that the sense is: all true virgins shall be brought to Christ after her, that is, after the mother of the Lord; and her neighbours, that is, those who have come close to her through imitation of her perpetual virginity, shall be brought to the nuptial celebrations of the same spouse and king, Christ.

[1] Volo autem vos sine sollicitudine esse. Qui sine uxore est, sollicitus est quae Domini sunt, quomodo placeat Deo. Qui autem cum uxore est, sollicitus est quae sunt mundi, quomodo placeat uxori, et divisus est. Et mulier innupta, et virgo, cogitat quae Domini sunt, ut sit sancta corpore, et spiritu. Quae autem nupta est, cogitat quae sunt mundi, quomodo placeat viro. But I would have you to be without solicitude. He that is without a wife, is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife: and he is divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she that is married thinketh on the things of the world, how she may please her husband. [I Cor. Vii. 32-34]

[2] My beloved to me, and I to him who feedeth among the lilies, Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi, qui pascitur inter lilia, [Cant. of Cant. ii. 16]

Verse 17

They shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing: they shall be brought into the temple of the king.

Afferentur in laetitia et exsultatione; adducentur in templum regis.

He explains the joy of such a number of nuptial celebrations. “They shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing,” that is, the virgins shall be brought tot the nuptial feast with great joy and applause throughout the whole of heavenly Jerusalem. Perhaps he is referring in this text to that canticle which only the choir of virgins were permitted to sing in the heavenly kingdom, and of which we red in Apocalypse chapter xiv: “And they sung as it were a new canticle, before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the ancients; and no man could say the canticle, but those hundred forty-four thousand, who were purchased from the earth. These are they who were not defiled with women: for they are virgins. These follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.”[1] Happy souls who follow the Lamb advancing on His virginal way, and with joy and exultation they chant the new canticle, unknown to the ancient Fathers, and which no other can sing; and with this jubilation they will be led into the King’s temple, that is, into the heavenly tabernacle, which may be called a palace on account of its magnificence and a temple on account of its holiness.

[1] And they sung as it were a new canticle, before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the ancients; and no man could say the canticle, but those hundred forty-four thousand, who were purchased from the earth. These are they who were not defiled with women: for they are virgins. These follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb:Et cantabant quasi canticum novum ante sedem, et ante quatuor animalia, et seniores : et nemo poterat dicere canticum, nisi illa centum quadraginta quatuor millia, qui empti sunt de terra. Hi sunt, qui cum mulieribus non sunt coinquinati : virgines enim sunt. Hi sequuntur Agnum quocumque ierit. Hi empti sunt ex hominibus primitiae Deo, et Agno :[Apoc. Xiv. 3-4]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm XLIV: Verse 15

Verse 15

All the glory of the king's daughter is within, in golden borders, clothed round about with varieties.

Omnis gloria ejus filiae regis ab intus, in fimbriis aureis, circumamicta varietatibus.

Because David has spoken often of the Bride’s beauty and adornments, lest anyone perhaps might think these were physical and that this text might lead to carnal thoughts, he says: “All the glory,” rather than (meaning) her good looks or her sumptuous apparel, “of the Queen is within,” and if she is said to be adorned in “golden borders,” and “clothed round about,” with different robes, all these are spiritual and interior, and to be looked for in the heart. From this, St. Peter, in I Pet. iii., warns Christian women to be like the Bride and cultivate adornment which is interior. “Whose adorning let it not be the outward plaiting of the hair, or the wearing of gold, or the putting on of apparel: But the hidden man of the heart in the incorruptibility of a quiet and a meek spirit.”[1]   This is not however a reason to reprehend the exterior worship of churches in the celebration of the sacraments, in the ornamentation of altars and in sacred solemnities: for here it is not a question of a physical church but of men who are the people of God and Christ’s members, of whom the chief beauty and ornament consists in virtues, as we said above; from these virtues should be born exterior good works, “that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is 

in heaven,” as the Saviour teaches in Matthew v.[2]  Furthermore, it seems that nothing may be understood more appositely by the words “golden borders” than charity itself, which is compared to gold, because it is the most precious and pre-eminent among all the virtues; and it (charity) may be said to be similar to borders or fringes, because just as garments finish in borders, and are strengthened by these borders, so the end of all commandments and virtues is charity, and on charity all the commandments depend, and are formed by her, and all the virtues are perfected in her. Now we have spoken above about what the variegated robes may be. The Apostle seems to be speaking about  the variegated robes when he says: “Put ye on therefore, as the elect of God, holy, and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience.”[3] As far as the pronoun eius is concerned, it is not in the Hebrew or Greek text; but it is read in St. Jerome's epistle ad Principiam, and in the Commentary on the Psalms, as also in the Septuagint version and in St. Augustine; and the Hebrew word, if read with a point on the last letter, means gloria eius / his glory. It is however true that the eius should be referred to the Hebrew expression and is redundant in the Latin. That the Bride is called the king’s daughter should not be a cause of wonder; for the bride of the king’s son is commonly called the daughter of the father, the king, because bridegroom and bride are two in one flesh. I am not unaware that the Hebrew interpunction[4] differs from the Greek and Latin, but too much store should not be set on the interpunction added by the Rabbis and the Septuagint translators are more to be believed than the later Rabbis.

[1] Whose adorning let it not be the outward plaiting of the hair, or the wearing of gold, or the putting on of apparel: But the hidden man of the heart in the incorruptibility of a quiet and a meek spirit, which is rich in the sight of God. Quarum non sit extrinsecus capillatura, aut circumdatio auri, aut indumenti vestimentorum cultus : sed qui absconditus est cordis homo, in incorruptibilitate quieti, et modesti spiritus, qui est in conspectu Dei locuples. [I Pet. Iii. 3-4]

[2] So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Sic luceat lux vestra coram hominibus : ut videant opera vestra bona, et glorificent Patrem vestrum, qui in caelis est. [Matt. v. 16]

[3] Put ye on therefore, as the elect of God, holy, and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience: Induite vos ergo, sicut electi Dei, sancti, et dilecti, viscera misericordiae, benignitatem, humilitatem, modestiam, patientiam : [Coloss. iii. 12]

[4] The insertion of points between words, clauses, or sentences; punctuation.OED online.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm XLIV: Verse 14

Verse 14

And the daughters of Tyre with gifts, yea, all the rich among the people, shall entreat thy countenance.

Et filiae Tyri in muneribus vultum tuum deprecabuntur; omnes divites plebis.

Because he said (in verse 13):  “and him they shall adore,”namely, the Bridegroom, he also adds the Bride, so as to honour the Queen with gifts and prayers. “And the daughters of Tyre,” he says, “with gifts . . . shall entreat thy countenance,” that is, the daughters of the gentiles, formerly the enemies of thy Spouse, will be subjected to His dominion, and they will come to thee, to entreat thy countenance, not only with spoken prayers but with gifts and offerings. “All the rich among the people,” that is, as he spoke of the daughters of Tyre, meaning the chief amongst the more powerful, who are accustomed to be the wealthiest.  In this text, words need to be explained one by one. "And the daughters” is in Hebrew ubath, and the daughter, and this is the reading of Sts. Basil and Clement, and the Greek codex now has this. But St. Jerome and St. Augustine have; And the daughters. If we read: And the daughters of Tyre as meaning the city or people of Tyre, in the same way we say the daughters of Babylon or the daughters of Jerusalem; if we read And the daughters as meaning the women of the city of Tyre; this recalls the women rather than the men because he is addressing the Bride: for women are wont to have access in a more familiar manner to a queen than men have to a king. But if by bride we understand in this text not an actual woman but the Church, which includes men and women, then by daughters 

of Tyre may be understood all gentiles, male or female. The Hebrew word for Tyre is tsor and it is ambiguous: for it can signify tough or powerful as well as being the name of the city of Tyre. But the Septuagint translators chose Tyre as the meaning, and this interpretation was followed by the Latin interpreter; and all the Greek and Latin Fathers follow this, except forSt. Jerome in his epistle ad Principiam, where he prefers to read and explain the text as most valiant daughter. Furthermore, Tyre was a great and celebrated city of the gentiles, on the edges of the promised land and so the Prophet used this neighbouring city to represent all gentiles. “With gifts:” he uses the word gifts for the offerings which gentiles, converted to the faith, made for buildings and church decorations, in almsgiving for the poor, and similar good works. “Shall entreat thy countenance:” St. basil and certain others understand by the countenance of the Bride the head of the Church, that is, Christ; but a simpler interpretation is that the countenance of the Bride means the Church herself: for it is a Hebrew expression, to pray to the face or countenance of someone, meaning to pray for that person, as in I Kings xiii.: “I have not appeased the face of the Lord;”[1] and Psalm cxviii: “I entreated thy face.”[2] We are said to pray to a (person’s) face because when we pray to someone, we look at his face, and from the face we can read sorrow or happiness, and whether the person to whom we pray will be well-disposed or angry. “All the rich among the people:” this is by way of qualification, as though he were to say: The daughters of Tyre with gifts, shall entreat thy countenance; not all will have gifts, but only the rich (among them).

[1] I said: Now will the Philistines come down upon me to Galgal, and I have not appeased the face of the Lord. Forced by necessity, I offered the holocaust. dixi : Nunc descendent Philisthiim ad me in Galgala, et faciem Domini non placavi. Necessitate compulsus, obtuli holocaustum. [I Reg. xiii.12]

[2] I entreated thy face with all my heart: have mercy on me according to thy word. Deprecatus sum faciem tuam in toto corde meo; miserere mei secundum eloquium tuum. [Ps. Cxviii. 58]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm XLIV: Verses 12 -13

 Verse 12

Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear: and forget thy people and thy father's house.

Audi, filia, et vide, et inclina aurem tuam; et obliviscere populum tuum, et domum patris tui.

He now addresses the Church herself, and he teaches faithfully and piously. He calls her daughter, either because he is speaking in the person of God the Father, as St. Jerome says, or because he is speaking as one of the Church fathers, as St. Augustine says. But when by bride is understood the Blessed Virgin Mary, then it is altogether fitting for David to call her daughter because she is his descendant 

according to the flesh. “Hearken, O daughter,” he says, that is, hear the voice of thy spouse, “and see,” that is, consider carefully what thou hearest, “and incline thy ear,” that is, humbly obey His commands, “ and forget thy people, and thy father's house,” that is, in order to serve thy spouse more easily, forget the world and the things that are in the world: for the Church was chosen from the world and has left the world; and although the Church is still in the world, yet it ought not to be of the world, just as her spouse is not of the world: the world is rightly said to be those people who love worldly things, and this same world is the dwelling of our ancient father Adam, who was cast out of paradise into this world; unless it is it is better by father to understand the devil, who is the father of all the wicked, as it says in John viii: “You are of your father the devil.”[1] And assuredly, those who think on what we said above concerning the ineffable love of the bridegroom, who delivered Himself so that He might rescue us out of the depths of a snare and bear us aloft to the highest heaven, there to make us His glorious bride, those who think on these things will have no difficulty in removing their love from this world so as to transfer it entirely to their Spouse. That word forget is to be much emphasised: for it means a radical removal of love for the world, so that it recedes not only from the mind and the heart but also from the memory entirely, so that it is as if it never was.

[1] Ioann. Viii. 44.

Verse 13

And the king shall greatly desire thy beauty; for he is the Lord thy God, and him they shall adore.

Et concupiscet rex decorem tuum, quoniam ipse est Dominus Deus tuus, et adorabunt eum.

He offers a reason why the Bride should forget her people and her father’s house, so that she may be totally focused on love and obedience for her Spouse: because the king desires to see her beauty and to have her at His side. The true beauty of a bride is interior, as is explained more clearly further on in the Psalm, where it says: “ All the beauty (glory) of the king's daughter is within,”[1] and it consists mainly in obedience to His commandments, but in charity, on which all the commandments depend; and that reason, he adds, “for he is the Lord thy God,” that is, He loves thy beauty which has been put in obedience to Him, “for he is the Lord thy God.” For there is nothing a master requires more from his servants, or God from His creatures, than obedience; and, so that we may understand this Spouse is the absolute Lord and true God, he adds: “and Him they shall adore,” that is, thy spouse is not such that thou mayst claim equality with Him; He is indeed thy spouse, but through grace, and thy Lord and the Lord of all creatures, by nature, and adoration of Him is owed by all of these. In the Hebrew, it does not have the word Deus / God, but only Dominus / Lord, where we have “for he is the Lord thy God.” But not only the Septuagint, but also St. Jerome, translate as the Lord thy God;  and from the adoration owed to Him is gathered that He is not only Lord but God, that is, not just any

lord but the supreme Lord. In this same line, in the Hebrew and in the Greek, it has and Him thou wilt adore; but there is no divergence in the meaning: for all creatures must adore God and hence the bride herself must also adore Him; and this reading, Him they shall adore, is not recent; for it is found in St. Augustine, St. Basil, St. Chrysostom and others; on the contrary, St. Jerome in his epistle ad Principiam says that the Septuagint translated it as Him they shall adore.  The Greek reading, which now has Him thou wilt adore,  is either not from the Septuagint translators or has been corrupted. And because, as we have often said, the Septuagint translators had the best Hebrew codices, it is probable that  the Hebrew reading was altered by an error of the scribes at that time, which would be easily done as the Hebrew words for they will adore and thou wilt adore are not different, save for the last letters, namely iod and vau, which could easily be changed because of their similarity.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm XLIV: Verse 11 (Part 2 of 2)

 Verse 11

The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with variety.

Astitit regina a dextris tuis in vestitu deaurato, circumdata varietate.

the Blessed Virgin precedes all the angels; and the head of men and angels is Christ, who is not an angel but a man. From this St. John Chrysostom rightly warns men to think when they sin how ungrateful they are for such great benevolence from God; for God has raised the human race, and especially the Church, having been lifted up from a heathen and idolatrous state, from the depths of sin, and truly from the mire and dregs, to the highest dignity so that they stand with the angels in the kingdom of heaven, and receive the name of bride of Christ. All this, thanks to the love of the heavenly bridegroom, who “loved her (the church), and delivered Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her and cleanse her and that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle,” as the Apostle writes in Ephes. vi.[1]  “In gilded clothing; surrounded with variety;” all these words are represented by only two in the Hebrew, which translate as in auro de ophir / in gold of 

Ophir, and St. Jerome translates these words as, in diademate aureo / with a golden diadem, and others have other translations. But the Septuagint translators wanted to explain what should be included in the general sense of the Hebrew expression, and they rightlysaid it referred to precious robes, and all the other bridal ornaments for each of the various parts of her body, such as a diadem, a necklace, a girdle, footwear, and the like; this explanation seems to be drawn from the words spoken further on: “in golden borders, clothed round about with varieties.”[2] What these words mean spiritually is explained by the fathers in different ways; St. Augustine understands gold as meaning wisdom, clothing as doctrine, variety as the various languages in which this same ecclesiastical doctrine is taught. St. Basil understands gilded clothing as meaning ecclesiastical doctrine, but he understands variety as meaning dogmas, such as moral, natural, speculative, practical and so on. St. Jerome and St. Chrysostom understand gilded clothing as meaning the grace of justification, through a variety of different virtues, faith, hope, love, humility and so on. This interpretation can be confirmed from chapter xix of the Apocalypse, where it is said: “ The bride adorned with fine linen, glittering and white;”[3] and St John says in commentary: “For the fine linen are the justifications of saints.” It might also be added that not only does the variety of adornments of the bride consist of various virtues, which are necessary for everyone, but also of various gifts, which the Church possesses for her different members: for some are gifts for the Apostles, some for the Martyrs, others for the Virgins, others for the Doctors, others for the Confessors, and others for others.

[1] Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church, and delivered himself up for it: Viri, diligite uxores vestras, sicut et Christus dilexit Ecclesiam, et seipsum tradidit pro ea, That he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life: ut illam sanctificaret, mundans lavacro aquae in verbo vitae, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish. ut exhiberet ipse sibi gloriosam Ecclesiam, non habentem maculam, aut rugam, aut aliquid hujusmodi, sed ut sit sancta et immaculata. [Eph. v. 25-27]

[2] Psalm xliv. 14-15.

[3] And it is granted to her that she should clothe herself with fine linen, glittering and white. For the fine linen are the justifications of saints. Et datum est illi ut cooperiat se byssino splendenti et candido. Byssinum enim justificationes sunt sanctorum. [Apoc. Xix. 8]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm XLIV: Verse 11 (Part 1 of 2)

Verse 11

The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with variety.

Astitit regina a dextris tuis in vestitu deaurato, circumdata varietate.

Up to this point, David has prophesied about the bridegroom; now he begins to prophesy concerning the bride; the bride is understood by all the commentators to mean the Church, as the Apostle in Ephesians chapter v explicitly teaches that the Church is the bride of Christ. This, then, is the primary sense, that by bride is understood the Church; but these things that may be said of a bride may also be applied to anyone with a perfect soul, most especially to the Blessed Virgin Mary who, whilst mother of Christ according to the flesh, is also a bride according to the spirit, and occupies the first place among the members of the Church. Accordingly, not without reason is this Psalm sung on Feasts of the Blessed Virgin and also of other (Holy) virgins; for not without reason is it said of each: “Come, bride of Christ.” David addresses Christ, saying: “The queen stood on thy right hand,” that is, Thy bride, who is also the Queen, since she is Thy bride and Thou art king, stands “on thy right hand,” that is, near to Thee, and in the place of highest honour, beneath the royal throne: she stands “in gilded clothing; surrounded with variety,” that is, in rich robes befitting a Queen. Now each word bears consideration. Astitit / stood is written instead of assistet / stands, after the manner of Prophets who see the future as if it had already happened. Moreover, Chrysostom notes that it does not say was seated but stood, because sitting befits one equal. And so the Son sits at the right hand of the Father, as an equal; the Church, however, as inferior, stood with the heavenly 

powers, who are said to stand before God. The Hebrew word nitsbah properly signifies stood, and it denotes firmness, as though the Prophet were saying: Thy Bride cleaves firmly to Thee, and her firm stance is such that there is no danger of her being separated from Thee. Queen in Hebrew is shegal, which signifies a bride or a concubine,[1] from which arise various interpretations; for some have translated the words as the wife stood, others as the concubine stood; but the Septuagint translators, so as to explain this word should be understood as meaning a true wife and not a concubine, preferred to translate it as queen; but only legitimate wives were called queens, not the concubines of kings. “On thy right hand:” these words do not mean that the bride is on the right hand of the bridegroom and that the groom is to be understood as being on the left, but rather that the groom is in the middle  and (seated) higher up on a throne, with the Queen on His right and other princes on His left. Perhaps the Holy Spirit wanted through these words to reveal the incredible dignity of the Church who is not only admitted into the kingdom of heaven so as to stand with the angels before the throne of God, but who is given precedence over the angels, so that the Church, composed of men, may be on the right hand, and the hosts of angels on the left. For even if holy men were to be mingled with holy angels, so as to make up one city: yet many holy men would take precedence over many of the angels in the kingdom of heaven;

[1] A woman who cohabits with a man without being his wife; a kept mistress. In reference to polygamous peoples, as the ancient Hebrews and the Muslims: A ‘secondary wife’ whose position is recognized by law, but is inferior to that of a wife. Latin concubīnus, concubīna, < con- together + cubāre to lie.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.