Bellarmine on Psalm XXIII: Verse 4

 Verse 4

The innocent in hands, and clean of heart, who hath not taken his soul in vain, nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbour.

Innocens manibus et mundo corde, qui non accepit in vano animam suam, nec juravit in dolo proximo suo.

He replies that four conditions will need to be satisfied for someone to "ascend into the mountain of the Lord." The first is that he must be innocent in hands, that is, he must have committed nothing evil; the second, that he should be clean of heart, that he should have thought no evil, nor desired it; thirdly, that he must be someone who hath not taken his soul in vain, that is, not only must he have done or thought no evil, but he must also have done all those things required by God to achieve the end constituted for him; fourthly, that he should not have sworn deceitfully. The words qui non 

accepit in vano animam suam / who hath not taken his soul in vain, are twisted by some to refer to the swearing mentioned in the following phrase, by way of explanation. They want to read it as qui non accepit in vano animam eius,/ who hath not taken his soul in vain, where eius/his means God’s; according to the marks as read by the Rabbis, the words are qui non accepit in vano animam meam /  who hath not taken my soul in vain, understood to be referring to God. Truly, this reading does not seem probable, because not only do the Rabbis without good reason read my soul when the Hebrew word has a pronoun in the third person, not the first; St. Jerome translates it in the third person; and not only because that reading, my soul, is novel and unheard of, since the Latins and the Greeks hitherto understood a reflexive pronoun (or adjective), animam suam / his soul; but also, and finally, in the sacred Scriptures, swearing falsely by God is taking the name of God in vain; but consider that taking  

one’s own soul or God’s soul in vain as being equivalent to swearing falsely is nowhere read. Others view taking one’s soul in vain as nothing other than pointless, that is, thinking about and desiring temporal and perishable things.; but this was already understood in the words clean of heart, and it seems to be difficult and forced. The Prophet does indeed add that fourth condition, about falsely swearing, so that in that sin, which is one of the greatest as it is equally against God and against neighbour, he might include all the other sins which are committed through the instrument of the tongue. Accordingly, the one who is worthy of ascending into God’s mountain must be perfect in every respect, so that he has committed no sin in heart, in word or in deed but, and, on the contrary, has done all good works pertaining to his office. In truth, these conditions are found satisfied only in Christ. For He is one “ Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.”[1]  For the rest, “There is none that doth good, no not one.”[2] , as David says in Psalm xiii; and “All we like sheep have gone astray;”[3] and the Apostle Paul says: “ For all have sinned, and do need the glory of God.”[4] Hence, the Lord Himself says: “And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven.”[5]  The rest are earth-dwellers from the earth, He alone is celestial and from the heavens, holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and higher than the heavens after His ascension.[6] But it was not only Christ in His person who ascended into the mountain of the Lord but Himself with His body, which is the Church, which he washed with His blood so that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle.” This is continued (in the next verse).

[1] Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. qui peccatum non fecit, nec inventus est dolus in ore ejus : [I Pet. ii. 22]

[2] Unto the end, a psalm for David. The fool hath said in his heart: There is no God, They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways: there is none that doth good, no not one. In finem. Psalmus David. Dixit insipiens in corde suo : Non est Deus. Corrupti sunt, et abominabiles facti sunt in studiis suis; non est qui faciat bonum, non est usque ad unum. [Ps. Xiii. 1]

[3] All we like sheep have gone astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Omnes nos quasi oves erravimus, unusquisque in viam suam declinavit; et posuit Dominus in eo iniquitatem omnium nostrum. [Isai. Liii. 6]

[4] For all have sinned, and do need the glory of God. omnes enim peccaverunt, et egent gloria Dei. [Rom. Iii. 23]

[5] And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven. Et nemo ascendit in caelum, nisi qui descendit de caelo, Filius hominis, qui est in caelo. [Ioan. Iii. 13]

[6] 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. 27]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.