Bellarmine on Psalm LXXXIV: Verse 8

Verse 8

I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me: for he will speak peace unto his people:

Audiam quid loquatur in me Dominus Deus, quoniam loquetur pacem in plebem suam.

In order to make us certain of those things he is about to say, the Prophet reminds us in this verse that he is not speaking from himself but from God’s revelation to him; and that he is prophesying only that which he himself heard first from God. “I will hear,” he says, “what the Lord God will speak in me,” that is, I will speak of that which I hear from God; therefore, having put forward my petition , I will hear what God’s response may be, so that I can reveal to others. Now he says : “What the Lord God will speak in me,” so as to signify that God’s locutions to the Prophets is interior and spiritual. For the Holy Spirit dwelling within the Prophets speaks to them inwardly, and what they hear first with the ears of the heart then comes through their tongues to the bodily ears of others. The words in me do not appear in the Hebrew text but the Septuagint translators added them, so as to explain God’s way of speaking to the Prophets, as is seen in Osee I: “The beginning of the Lord's speaking by Osee;”[1] and in Zachar. i. “and the angel that spoke in me, said to me.”[2] Moreover, the words I will hear imply attention and a desire to hear, as though he were saying : Willingly and attentively I will hear, for it is God’s way to speak good and useful things. “For he will speak peace unto his people,” that is, I know God will speak peace to his people, therefore I will hear willingly and attentively what the Lord 

God may speak to me. And so the summary of God’s words is the announcement and promise of peace, through the coming of the Messiah, whom the Prophet petitioned, saying: “Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy; and grant us thy salvation.” God therefore grants a Saviour, and through Him He will announce and establish a most perfect peace : hence (Isaiah speaks of) “the Prince, of Peace;”[3] and it says in Coloss. i. : He will reconcile all things unto himself “  both as to the things that are on earth, and the things that are in heaven.”[4] Now peace encompasses the whole range of God’s benefits, and we shall never enjoy perfect peace until we arrive at the heavenly Jerusalem, which is interpreted as the vision of peace. For peace is opposed to war, but we shall not be free from war until “Death is swallowed up in victory,  and when this mortal hath put on immortality,”[5] as Blessed Paul says in I Corinth. xv.; for then will cease the war with vices and concupiscences, with the princes of darkness, with all our difficulties and necessities. For while we yet live here on earth, “The life of man upon earth is a warfare,”[6] however much we may desire within ourselves to be at peace with all.

[1] The beginning of the Lord's speaking by Osee:.... Principium loquendi Domino in Osee. [Osee i. 1]

[2] And I said: What are these, my Lord? and the angel that spoke in me, said to me: I will shew thee what these are: Et dixi : Quid sunt isti, domine mi? Et dixit ad me angelus qui loquebatur in me : Ego ostendam tibi quid sint haec. [Zachar. i. 9]

[3] Isaiah ix. 6.

[4] And through him to reconcile all things unto himself, making peace through the blood of his cross, both as to the things that are on earth, and the things that are in heaven. et per eum reconciliare omnia in ipsum, pacificans per sanguinem crucis ejus, sive quae in terris, sive quae in caelis sunt. [Coloss. i. 20]

[5] And when this mortal hath put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. Cum autem mortale hoc induerit immortalitatem, tunc fiet sermo, qui scriptus est : Absorpta est mors in victoria. [I Corinth. xv. 54]

[6] The life of man upon earth is a warfare, and his days are like the days of a hireling. Militia est vita hominis super terram; et sicut dies mercenarii, dies ejus. [Job. vii. 1]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXXXIV: Verse 7

Verse 7

Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy; and grant us thy salvation.

Ostende nobis, Domine, misericordiam tuam, et salutare tuum da nobis.

The prophet asks for mitigation of the divine wrath; he seeks reconciliation and the revitalisation which comes when sins are remitted through grace : he now asks for the coming of the Saviour, through whom we clearly perceive and see God’s kindness and mercy towards us. The Apostle says of this manifestation: “The grace of God our Saviour hath appeared to all men;”[1] and again: “The goodness and kindness of God our Saviour appeared.”[2] Who can doubt the care God has for the human race, and that God really loves us, when He sent His only-begotten son so that He might, by His precious blood, redeem us from the captivity of the devil?

“Shew us,” he says, “. . . thy mercy,” that is, make us to see plainly and to learn by unambiguous experience about that mercy by which in Thy mind Thou didst decree from eternity to bless Thy land. “And grant us thy salvation,” that is, and send Thy son to us as a Saviour; for then wilt Thou truly show unto all men Thy mercy, kindness and grace. From

the Hebrew, this can be translated as and grant us Thy Jesus; for the word Jesus means Saviour, as is known. These lines can also be interpreted very appropriately, and according to the letter, as about the perfect salvation which will be in the resurrection : for then will God show His mercy to us in a most particular manner, so that we can see it and almost touch it, “When he will crown us with mercy and compassion, and will satisfy our desire with good things: and he will renew our youth like the eagle's.”[3] Then He will make a gift of His salvation, to be enjoyed for ever, when He will show Himself unto us. Now the first interpretation refers to the fathers of the Old Testament, who were looking for Christ to come in the flesh : the second refers to ourselves, for we are looking for Christ to come in glory, “so that he will reform the body of our lowness, made like to the body of his glory,”as it has in Philipp. iii.[4] St. Augustine speaks usefully with a moral interpretation : God shows His mercy when He persuades us, and makes us see and grasp, that we are nothing and that we can do nothing of ourselves, but that it is from His mercy that we are what we are and are able to do the things we do. Thus we are not to exalt ourselves or be proud, but be humble in our eyes : for to the humble is given the Saviour’s grace.

[1] For the grace of God our Saviour hath appeared to all men; Apparuit enim gratia Dei Salvatoris nostri omnibus hominibus. [Titus. ii. 11]

[2] But when the goodness and kindness of God our Saviour appeared: Cum autem benignitas et humanitas apparuit Salvatoris nostri Dei. [Titus. iii. 4]

[3] Who redeemeth thy life from destruction: who crowneth thee with mercy and compassion. Who satisfieth thy desire with good things: thy youth shall be renewed like the eagle's. qui redimit de interitu vitam tuam, qui coronat te in misericordia et miserationibus; qui replet in bonis desiderium tuum : renovabitur ut aquilae juventus tua. [Psalm cii. 4-5]

[4] Who will reform the body of our lowness, made like to the body of his glory, according to the operation whereby also he is able to subdue all things unto himself. qui reformabit corpus humilitatis nostrae, configuratum corpori claritatis suae, secundum operationem, qua etiam possit subjicere sibi omnia. [Philipp. iii. 21]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXXXIV: Verse 6

Verse 6

Thou wilt turn, O God, and bring us to life: and thy people shall rejoice in thee.

Deus, tu conversus vivificabis nos, et plebs tua laetabitur in te.

He declares the effect that will follow on from reconciliation; for from this it will come to pass that man gains life and God will be praised. “Thou wilt turn, O God,” through laying aside anger and through reconciliation, “Thou wilt bring us to life:” for “the wages of sin is death. But the grace of God, life everlasting;”[1] “and thy people” brought to life and breathing thanks to so great a gift, “shall rejoice in thee,” and rejoicing shall sing Thy praises. In Hebrew, it has nonne / surely instead of Deus; Surely having turned Thou wilt bring us to life? But it is easy to see what the Septuagint translators had and read in their codices; for they were not lacking in learning and they translated the word as God; because the Hebrew word has the same letters as surely, but transposed. For conversus / turned, (Thou wilt turn), St. Augustine reads convertens / turning, as the Greek has ἑπισρἑψας ; but the sense is not : Thou, converting us, wilt bring us to life, but, Thou, turning Thyself to us, wilt bring us to life; and in this way this reading is harmonised with the Hebrew and the Latin.

[1] For the wages of sin is death. But the grace of God, life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Stipendia enim peccati, mors. Gratia autem Dei, vita aeterna, in Christo Jesu Domino nostro. [Rom. vi. 23]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXXXIV: Verses 4 & 5

Verse 4

Convert us, O God our saviour: and turn off thy anger from us.

Converte nos, Deus salutaris noster, et averte iram tuam a nobis.

The prophet now begins to pray, in the person of God’s people, for the execution and completion of the divine decree. Firstly, he asks God to begin to mitigate His anger, the first effect of this mitigation being the beginning of our salvation, that is, the divine assistance through which we start to be converted to God. For we cannot be converted from sin to God unless His grace prevents us,[1] and converts us by calling, enlightening, assisting and moving us. “Convert us, O God our saviour,” that is, begin to work on our salvation, Thou (who art) God our Saviour, as if Thou dost then Thou dost inspire in us a noble desire for conversion. Ans so that mercifully Thou mayst begin to do this, “turn off thy anger from us,” that is, to be reconciled with us, having cast from your mind the offences which made us Thine enemy.

[1] Prevent : 3. transitive. Theology. Of God, God's grace, etc.: to go before (a person) with spiritual guidance and help;  (a) so as to anticipate a person's actions or needs;  (b) so as to predispose (a person) to repentance, faith, and good works. E.g., 1841   R. C. Trench Parables: Lost Sheep (1860) 371   It is in fact only the same truth..that grace must prevent as well as follow us. 1869   E. M. Goulburn Pursuit of Holiness ii. 12   God in it prevents us (in the old sense of the word ‘prevents’), anticipates us with His Grace. OED

Verse 5

Wilt thou be angry with us for ever: or wilt thou extend thy wrath from generation to generation?

Numquid in aeternum irasceris nobis? aut extendes iram tuam a generatione in generationem?

He persists with the same petition, as though to say: We have borne Thine anger long enough; do not put off showing mercy and granting us peace. “Wilt thou be angry with us for ever?” that is, will your enmity towards the human race be without end? “Wilt thou extend 

thy wrath from generation to generation?” as though saying: This is not  not in keeping with Thine infinite clemency and goodness. In Hebrew, the particle aut / or is absent but it is certainly to be understood; the Septuagint translators have expressed it correctly.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXXXIV: Verse 3

Verse 3

Thou hast mitigated all thy anger: thou hast turned away from the wrath of thy indignation.

Mitigasti omnem iram tuam, avertisti ab ira indignationis tuae.

Here he gives a reason why, assuredly, God has forgiven the iniquity of His people; and he says it was dismissed because He had been placated and He had laid aside His anger. For in the same way that vengeance was the cause of God’s anger, so placation was the cause of God’s remission (of the iniquity) : God’s anger was placated, that is, God’s punitive justice : “The Lamb, (which was) slain from the beginning of the world.”[1]  His mercy and His goodwill gave to us the immaculate Lamb, He who “so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son.”[2] Here, then, is the order of our deliverance : God’s benediction, or goodwill, gave His son as Saviour; the Son, by His death, placated God’s anger, and satisfied His justice for the sins of the whole world; God, being placated, pardoned the sins; the forgiveness of sin set men free from captivity. And the Holy Spirit revealed to God’s Prophet the entire mystery hidden in God’s mind, and he has described it for us in these three lines. The phrase all thy anger signifies that Christ’s act of redemption was perfectly sufficient for full satisfaction. It also means that the future liberty which we shall have in due course, that is, at the last day, will be perfectly full and absolute, so that nothing of punishment or misery will remain; for all punishment proceeds from the anger of God. The sentence thou hast turned away from the wrath of thy indignation, repeats the same thing and has this sense : Thou hast turned Thyself away from Thine anger and indignation. In Hebrew, it has, Thou hast turned back, or Thou hast turned back from the anger of Thy rage.

[1] And all that dwell upon the earth adored him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, which was slain from the beginning of the world. et adoraverunt eam omnes, qui inhabitant terram : quorum non sunt scripta nomina in libro vitae Agni, qui occisus est ab origine mundi. [Apoc. xiii. 8]

[2] For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. Sic enim Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret : ut omnis qui credit in eum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam. [Ioann. iii. 16]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXXXIV: Verse 2

Verse 2

Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people: thou hast covered all their sins.

Remisisti iniquitatem plebis tuae, operuisti omnia peccata eorum.

He now announces the method by which God, in blessing the land, released Jacob (God’s people) from (their) captivity : and he says it was done by remitting the sins of His people. For just as sin was the cause of captivity, so the remission of sin was the cause of deliverance from captivity. “Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people,” that is, in Thy mind and by Thy decree, Thou hast pardoned the iniquity of Thy people, because on account of their iniquity Thou hadst given up this people to the devil, as to a minster of Thy justice. “Thou hast covered all their sins;” this is a repetition, announcing the same thing, “Thou hast covered,” that is, Thou hast hidden from Thy face, so that Thou mayst not see and punish; because in truth God cannot not see that which actually is, however it may be hidden or covered over; when God covers over sins, He destroys and pardons them completely, so that they are no more, and, as we said elsewhere, God covers over sins, when He forgives them, not like a cloth to hide them, but like a bandage that heals

and makes well. He says: “all their sins,” so as to explain what he said, the iniquity of Thy people does not signify (only) the one sin common to all the people, which is original sin, but every sin, be it common to all, or proper to each one. In Greek, it has remisisti iniquitates / Thou hast forgiven the iniquities; but in Hebrew the word is in the singular, iniquity; but the sense is the same.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXXXIV: Verse 1

Verse 1

Lord, thou hast blessed thy land: thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob.

Benedixisti, Domine, terram tuam; avertisti captivitatem Jacob.

At the beginning of the Psalm, through a revelation of the Holy Spirit, the Prophet shows us God’s eternal decree for the future deliverance (of man); firstly, he teaches us the first cause and final effect of our deliverance. The first cause is love, by which God loved mankind. No reason can be given as to why God “so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son,”[1] through whom we may be redeemed, “ and that we may be redeemed with every blessing,”; [2] no reason can be given except the goodwill of God, or His 

pleasure and mercy. The final effect will be complete deliverance from captivity, which we shall have in the resurrection, when we shall arrive at the freedom of the glory of the sons of God. As yet, we are only partially free, but we are looking forward to the redemption of our bodies, by which we shall be delivered from all corruption and necessity. He says, therefore, “Lord, thou hast blessed thy land,” that is, on account of the sin of the first man, Thou hast cursed the land Thou didst create and given to man as a habitation : but

I know from revelation that, in Thy mind and in Thy decree, “Thou hast blessed thy land;” Thou hast decreed in Thy eternal good pleasure to visit Thy land which Thou didst create, to bless it with every blessing and grace, sending there Thine only begotten son, “full of grace and truth.”[3]  The Hebrew and Greek codices explain more clearly this first cause of all good things, which is the goodwill of God. The Hebrew words properly signify Thou hast pleased Thyself in Thy land, or Thou hast willed well to Thy land. The Greek here means Thou hast willed well to Thy land. We frequently read in the Gospels and in St. Paul the Greek word εὐδοχἱα, referring to this origin and root of all God’s benefits. Now just as God cursed the earth, not for itself but on account of its inhabitants : so too he blesses the earth on account of its inhabitants : for this reason, the whole blessing is to be referred to men. “Thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob.” Here is explained the final effect of God’s mercy, which will be complete deliverance from captivity, into which we sink through sin. “Thou hast turned away,” he says, “the captivity of Jacob,” that is, being pleased in Thy eternal decree in the foreseen death of Thy son, Thou hast removed, or dissolved, the captivity of Jacob, Thy people, so that henceforth they may enjoy the freedom of the glory of God’s sons. The Hebrew word for Thou has turned away, is translated by St. Jerome as Thou hast led back: but the sense is the same. For the word Jacob is understood, with St. Augustine witnessing this, as the whole of God’s people, whether descended according to the flesh, such as the Jewish believers in Christ, or according to the spirit of faith, such as the gentiles converted to Christ, “who are like the branches of a wild olive ingrafted on a good olive tree, and like living stones built upon the foundation of the Apostles and the Prophets,” as the Apostle teaches in Rom. ix and x, and in Ephes. ii.

[1] Jesus answered, and said to him: If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him. Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei : Si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit, et Pater meus diliget eum, et ad eum veniemus, et mansionem apud eum faciemus; [Ioann. Xiv. 23]

[2] Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? or distress? or famine? or nakedness? or danger? or persecution? or the sword? Quis ergo nos separabit a caritate Christi? tribulatio? an angustia? an fames? an nuditas? an periculum? an persecutio? an gladius? [Rom. Viii. 35]

[3] …  no man shall pluck them out of my hand. ... et non peribunt in aeternum, et non rapiet eas quisquam de manu mea. ...: and no one can snatch them out of the hand of my Father. ... : et nemo potest rapere de manu Patris mei. I and the Father are one. Ego et Pater unum sumus. [Ioann. x. 28] 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXXXIV: Title & theme

Title and subject matter

Titulum et argumentum

Unto the end, for the sons of Core, a psalm.

In finem, filiis Core. Psalmus.

There are two viewpoints dealing with the theme of this Psalm. Some claim the Prophet is commemorating the deliverance of the people from one captivity, and the theme is then developed into praying on account of deliverance from another captivity, commemorating, namely, deliverance from the Egyptian captivity, and praying on account of the deliverance from the Babylonian captivity; or, praying on account of the deliverance from the Egyptian and Babylonian captivity, and praying for deliverance from the captivity of the devil, which was prefigured through them. Others, perhaps more rightly, judge that the Psalm concerns only one captivity, that of the human race under the prince of darkness, from whom we are delivered by Christ Our Lord; in the first three verses is foretold the deliverance from this captivity, and in the remainder the Psalmist prays for the fulfilment of the prophecy. The answer to the question why prophecies about the future would be written using the praeterite tense is that, although they are still to come to pass from our point of view, for God, the prophecy and the decree have already come to pass.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXII: Verses 9-10 (conclusion)

Verse 9

But they have sought my soul in vain, they shall go into the lower parts of the earth: They shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, they shall be the portions of foxes.

Ipsi vero in vanum quaesierunt animam meam : introibunt in inferiora terrae; tradentur in manus gladii; partes vulpium erunt.

In the last two verses (of the Psalm), the prophet foretells the final destruction and extermination of those men who persecute the just, and the everlasting blessedness and happiness of the just. “But they,” namely those wicked persecutors, “have sought my soul in vain:” for the wicked persecute the just so that they alone may securely possess the earth, and enjoy earthly delights and power; but they labour in vain : for they will not possess the earth but will be swallowed up by the earth; and once swallowed up by the earth, and 

assigned to hell, there they will not enjoy delights or power but will be given up to perpetual torments and made subject to demons, as though to the cruellest wolves and foxes. “They have sought my soul in vain,” that is, in vain have they tried to take my life and to kill me. This may be said of the righteous man, or of Christ in relation to Himself and His members. “They shall go into the lower parts of the earth;” behold why they laboured in vain, for their aim was to possess the earth completely; but they will be cast down beneath the earth, into the heart of the earth, they will be compelled to dwell perpetually in hell. “They shall be delivered into the hands of the sword,” that is, they will enjoy no peace in hell, much less the delights of the earth; but “they shall be delivered into the hands of the sword,” that is, into the hands of (their) tormentors: for the tortures, as instruments of punishment of the God, the supreme and wrathful judge, will torment the wretched without ceasing. “They shall be the portions of foxes,” that is, they will no longer wield extensive power over the just but will themselves be subjected to the unjust demons, as being their portion and inheritance. Now these particular demons are called foxes rather than wolves or lions because they trap and enslave sinners more by a fox’s cunning than by a lion’s strength. In Hebrew, it says: They have sought to kill my soul instead of the version we have, But they have sought my soul in vain. But it is easy to see which our Translators followed. For the Hebrew word lesoah, if read with other marks, and if the last letter is removed, becomes lesave, in vain, which the Septuagint translators put in their codices.

Verse 10

But the king shall rejoice in God, all they shall be praised that swear by him: because the mouth is stopped of them that speak wicked things.

Rex vero laetabitur in Deo; laudabuntur omnes qui jurant in eo, quia obstructum est os loquentium iniqua.

Behold how the wicked have laboured utterly in vain : for not only will they not attain the good things they desired, but they will also be unable to take away the good things from the just. For Christ, their king, of whom the Jews said: “ Away with him; away with him; crucify him,”[1] and whose name the pagans with all their power strove to eradicate, and against which all the pagans spoke, will live 

and reign for ever, “ shall rejoice in God,” being seated in glory at the right hand of the Father; and “all they shall be praised (in the day of judgement) that swear by him,” namely, those who, despite persecutions, religiously worship Him as the true God, and swear by His name, or swear obedient fidelity to Him. “They shall be praised,” I say, (namely) all Christ’s faithful, “because the mouth is stopped of them that speak wicked things,” that is, in the last day, the mouth of all the wicked shall be stopped; then the truth will be made manifest, and no-one will be able to contradict it, for the wicked will say, as it is written in Wisdom, chapter v.: 

“Therefore we have erred from the way of truth,”[2] and : “they, whom we had some time in derision, and for a parable of reproach.[3] We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honour. Behold how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among
the saints.”[4] The just therefore will be praised by their enemies, when the truth, revealed by divine judgement, will stop up everyone’s mouth who now, blaspheming, cursing, calumniating and lying, doth “speak wicked things.” Some refer these two verses to David, and others to Christ. For Saul, and David’s other enemies, who desired to kill him so as to reign securely, “labour in vain : ”[5]  for they were destroyed and David reigned gloriously. Likewise, the Jews who conspired to kill Christ, lest “the Romans will come, and take away our place and nation,”[6] did not want to have the Lamb as their king, and had (instead) a fox and a lion at the same time : for the Romans overthrew their city and took away their kingdom; they were altogether destroyed and Christ rose (from the dead) came to reign in the greatest glory, “and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”[7] We have however, following St. Augustine, have interpreted the lines as being about the just in general, and their head and king, Christ, so as to relate the teaching and consolation of the Scriptures as widely as possible.

[1] But they cried out: Away with him; away with him; crucify him. Pilate saith to them: Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered: We have no king but Caesar. Illi autem clamabant : Tolle, tolle, crucifige eum. Dicit eis Pilatus : Regem vestrum crucifigam? Responderunt pontifices : Non habemus regem, nisi Caesarem. [Ioann. Xix. 15]

[2] Therefore we have erred from the way of truth, and the light of justice hath not shined unto us, and the sun of understanding hath not risen upon us. Ergo erravimus a via veritatis, et justitiae lumen non luxit nobis, et sol intelligentiae non est ortus nobis. [Sap. v. 6]

[3] Saying within themselves, repenting, and groaning for anguish of spirit: These are they, whom we had some time in derision, and for a parable of reproach. dicentes intra se, pœnitentiam agentes, et prae angustia spiritus gementes : Hi sunt quos habuimus aliquando in derisum, et in similitudinem improperii. [Sap. v. 3]

[4] We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honour. Behold how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints. Nos insensati, vitam illorum aestimabamus insaniam, et finem illorum sine honore;  ecce quomodo computati sunt inter filios Dei, et inter sanctos sors illorum est. [Sap. v. 4-5]

[5] Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it. Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it. Canticum graduum Salomonis. Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum, in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eam. Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, frustra vigilat qui custodit eam. [Ps. Cxxvi. 1]

[6] If we let him alone so, all will believe in him; and the Romans will come, and take away our place and nation. Si dimittimus eum sic, omnes credent in eum, et venient Romani, et tollent nostrum locum, et gentem. [Ioann. xi. 48]

[7] And of his kingdom there shall be no end. et regni ejus non erit finis. [Luc. i. 33]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXII: Verse 8

Verse 8

And I will rejoice under the covert of thy wings: my soul hath stuck close to thee: thy right hand hath received me.

Et in velamento alarum tuarum exsultabo; adhaesit anima mea post te; me suscepit dextera tua.

Because he said : “Thou hast been my helper,” lest he might be thought to be (already) safe, having no need to work further for God’s protection, he adds: “And I will rejoice under the covert of thy wings,” that is, I will remain under the shelter of Thy wings, and, hoping in Thy protection, “I will rejoice,” safe from predators, while I hide under the wings of the almighty eagle. “My soul hath stuck close to thee.” Moved by this protection and by the immense gifts (from Thee), “ my soul hath stuck,” thanks to the glue of most powerful love, “close to Thee,” that is, it sticks to Thy footsteps, not suffering itself to be separated from them by the power of any temptation. Moreover, to stick to the footsteps of the Lord by virtue of the glue of love is not to love God with a dry and fruitless affection but rather to keep His commandments in charity; for as the Lord says: “ If any one love me, he will keep my word;” [1] and so he does not say hath stuck to Thee but close to Thee, obedient and subject to Thee. But lest it appear that he is taking credit to himself for so ardently sticking  to God, he adds: “Thy right hand hath received me,” that is, I follow you like this because Thou drawest me; I love you like this because Thou didst love me first, and through loving me Thou didst make me love Thee. Blessed is he who, however much he may excel in virtue, understands that his success is from God, and always shelters himself under God’s wings like a little chicken.  More blessed is he who is able to say: “My soul hath stuck close to thee,” and does not only hope in the shelter of God’s wings but also loves with all his heart, so that with the Apostle he is able to say: “Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ?”[2] Most blessed of all is he who from his own experience, or rather by bearing witness in his own spirit to the spirit of God, has learned that he has been received by God’s right hand; for the Lord Himself says of such men: “No man shall pluck them out of my hand. and no one can snatch them out of the hand of my Father. I and the Father are one.”[3]

[1] Jesus answered, and said to him: If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him. Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei : Si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit, et Pater meus diliget eum, et ad eum veniemus, et mansionem apud eum faciemus; [Ioann. Xiv. 23]

[2] Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? or distress? or famine? or nakedness? or danger? or persecution? or the sword? Quis ergo nos separabit a caritate Christi? tribulatio? an angustia? an fames? an nuditas? an periculum? an persecutio? an gladius? [Rom. Viii. 35]

[3] …  no man shall pluck them out of my hand. ... et non peribunt in aeternum, et non rapiet eas quisquam de manu mea. ...: and no one can snatch them out of the hand of my Father. ... : et nemo potest rapere de manu Patris mei. I and the Father are one. Ego et Pater unum sumus. [Ioann. x. 28] 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXII: Verse 7

Verse 7

If I have remembered thee upon my bed, I will meditate on thee in the morning: because thou hast been my helper.

Si memor fui tui super stratum meum, in matutinis meditabor in te, quia fuisti adjutor meus.

He shows that in this life too he will remember God and His gifts, not only in Heaven when, filled with marrow, he will praise God with joyful lips. “If,” he says, “I have remembered thee” in the depths of the night, while I still lay “upon my bed,” much more will I do this when rising in the morning and during the daytime, “I will meditate on thee,” that is, I will contemplate and meditate upon Thy power and Thy glory: “Because,” thou always “hast been my helper,” that is, I will always remember Thee in thanksgiving because Thou hast never forgotten me when I needed help and protection. St. Augustine drew from these lines a most useful lesson: if someone wishes to remember God in the midst of his work, and to keep love and fear (of the Lord) ever before his eyes, what is needed is to remember God whilst in bed, that is, peacefully in a quiet manner, and thus he may meditate upon His gifts 

and promises. For a great many men are busy in their work and if they do not have (time for) God, because they do not have time for breaks or rest in which to gather their thoughts, they miss out on meditation of heavenly things. A few Latin codices have Sic memor fui / Thus I have remembered; but our reading is correct: Si memor fui / If I have remembered, since this is what the Hebrew codices have and (is the reading of) the Holy Fathers Hilary and Augustine.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXII: Verses 5 & 6

 Verse 5

Thus will I bless thee all my life long: and in thy name I will lift up my hands.

Sic benedicam te in vita mea; et in nomine tuo levabo manus meas.

Thus, with continual praising, “ I bless thee all my life long,” that is, whatever may happen to me, whether favourable or adverse, I shall bless Thee all the time; “and in Thy name I will lift up my hands,” that is, when invoking Thy name I shall lift up my hands in prayer, expecting help from Thee alone in adversity, and thanking Thee in turn during favourable times. Indeed, the practice of lifting up hands in prayer was in use in both Testaments. For when Moses lifted up his hands to God, the people were victorious (Exod. Xvii); when he lowered them,  they started to lose. And the Apostle says in I Timoth. ii: “lifting up pure hands.”[1] St. Augustine warns, however, that those who lift up their hands in prayer to God, if they want obtain (an answer), should also apply their hands to doing good works. To lift up hands also signifies in the Scriptures the same as taking an oath before God. Thus we read in Genesis xiv of Abraham saying: “I lift up my hand to the Lord God the most high, the possessor of heaven and earth. That from the very woof thread unto the shoe latchet, I will not take of any things that are thine.”[2] And in Apoc. x.: “ And the angel . . . lifted up his hand to heaven, And he swore by him that liveth for ever and ever.”[3] The words: In thy name I will lift up my hands, can be explained as follows: By Thy name shall I swear, and Thee alone shall I worship as the true God; but the first explanation is more commonly held.

[1]  I will therefore that men pray in every place, lifting up pure hands, without anger and contention. Volo ergo viros orare in omni loco, levantes puras manus sine ira et disceptatione. [I Tim. ii. 8]

[2]  And he answered him: I lift up my hand to the Lord God the most high, the possessor of heaven and earth. That from the very woof thread unto the shoe latchet, I will not take of any things that are thine, lest thou say I have enriched Abram: Qui respondit ei : Levo manum meam ad Dominum Deum excelsum possessorem caeli et terra; quod a filo subtegminis usque ad corigiam caligae, non accipiam ex omnibus quae tua sunt, ne dicas : Ego ditavi Abram : [Gen. Xiv. 22]

[3]  And the angel, whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven, And he swore by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things which are therein; and the earth, and the things which are in it; and the sea, and the things which are therein: That time shall be no longer. Et angelus, quem vidi stantem super mare et super terram, levavit manum suam ad caelum : et juravit per viventem in saecula saeculorum, qui creavit caelum, et ea quae in eo sunt : et terram, et ea quae in ea sunt : et mare, et ea quae in eo sunt : Quia tempus non erit amplius : [Apoc. x. 5-6]

Verse 6

Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness: and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.

Sicut adipe et pinguedine repleatur anima mea, et labiis exsultationis laudabit os meum.

This is what he asked when he lifted up his hands in prayer to God. This, he says, I seek: that “my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness,” that is, filled with spiritual marrow and fatness, which is not properly speaking marrow and fatness (for these are bodily), but like marrow and fatness. For those possessed of good quality marrow and natural fatness are not swollen and distended with wind, but are rather healthy, strong, ruddy and lively; those who are deficient in them are emaciated, withered, weak, gloomy and deformed; thus, those who are full of spiritual grace are like those filled with good quality marrow, they are devout, fervent, and ever rejoicing; but those who are lacking this spirit are made sick by all spiritual things, they are overwhelmed by listlessness, they are weak and feeble, they can do nothing good, and they can bear no evil. But, as St. Augustine correctly warns, we can in this desert desire and pray for a feast of wisdom and justice, but we shall obtain this finally when we come into our heavenly home; for then will be fulfilled the words of Psalm cxlvii: “the Lord filleth thee with the fat of corn;”[1] and see Matth. v. : “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill;[2] and then, perfectly and without any end, without tiring, with “joyful lips,” that is, with lips resonant in exultation, “our mouth”“will praise” God; for then shall praise follow prayer, when we shall be full and be wanting for nothing, for it will come to pass when God will be all things to all men : now, however, we never have so many things that we do not want still more, and for this reason we need to pray persistently.

[1]  Who hath placed peace in thy borders: and filleth thee with the fat of corn. Qui posuit fines tuos pacem, et adipe frumenti satiat te. [Psalm cxlvii. 3]

[2] Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam : quoniam ipsi saturabuntur. [Matt. v. 6]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXII: Verse 4

Verse 4

For thy mercy is better than lives: thee my lips shall praise.

Quoniam melior est misericordia tua super vitas, labia mea laudabunt te.

The word quoniam / for seems not to refer to the previous but to the following lines, so that the meaning is: not only shall I see Thy power and Thy glory but my lips shall constantly praise 

Thee, for Thy mercy is better to me than life itself : for Thy mercy gave life to me and that same mercy sustains that life; and if I shall lose that life for Thee, Thy mercy will make it much happier for me; but if, to save my life, I should fall from Thy mercy and grace, I shall throw away my life and Thy mercy. In Hebrew, it has the word chaiim, meaning vitas / lives, in the plural; but the word can also be taken for vita / life, in the singular : many words are plural in form but singular in meaning; in the following lines : “Thus will I bless thee all my life long,” the word is in the plural but the translators have shown it in the singular. And so in this verse, we can interpret vitas / lives as life, as did the Holy Fathers Hilary and Jerome in his Commentary ; and this is also followed in the text of St. Hilary : but if it is preferred to accept a plural meaning, then we might understand by it the various occupations of the living, such as soldiers’ lives, the lives of clerics, the lives of farmers, and so on, as St. Augustine understands it, or lives in this world, howsoever long and happy, whether our own, of our spouses and loved ones, of our parents, brothers, or children.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXII: Verse 3

Verse 3

In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water: so in the sanctuary have I come before thee, to see thy power and thy glory.

In terra deserta, et invia, et inaquosa, sic in sancto apparui tibi, ut viderem virtutem tuam et gloriam tuam.

He describes the properties of a desert, which are three, “a land deserted” of inhabitants, an (inaccessible) land “where there is no way,” and a land with “no water;” of these, the second is the effect and the third is the cause of the first; for any land is generally deserted by its inhabitants through 

lack of water, and this lack makes the land arid and barren; but when a land is deserted and made uninhabitable, by this fact it becomes inaccessible: in this context invia / where there is no way refers not only to a land with no way but to an inaccessible land, and through which it is possible to walk only with difficulty: for the Hebrew word hhaieph can mean tired, weary, laborious : and in this text it refers to a land which may be passed through with great effort and weariness. It seems the Prophet wanted to signify that land uncultivated and lacking not only in the luxuries but in the essentials was useful to him in finding God. For the more a soul is stripped of carnal goods, or certainly, the more it removes the desire for earthly things, the more easily it ascends to the contemplation and savouring of heavenly things. “I” he says, “in this desert land, and where there is no way, and no water,” feeling thirsty, “so . . . have I come before thee,”that is, so have I 

come into Thy presence through a raising up of my mind, as though I were (actually) in Thy sanctuary, so that the desert becomes for me a place of sanctuary. I have come before Thee to see Thy power and Thy glory,” that is, thy might and thy majesty. Those words, in sancto / in the sanctuary, in Hebrew is bakodesh / in sanctitate / in holiness, which often refers in Hebrew to a sanctuary. St. Augustine interprets these words a little differently, and following him we can say that desert is to be understood as the world, which is deserted by true men and is inhabited by beasts, “carnal and animal”, as the Apostle calls them in I Cor. ii.;[1]  it is also inaccessible, because it is difficult to find a way out; finally, it is without water, because although it has pools of putrid water, referring to carnal wisdom, it is lacking in heavenly water, which is true wisdom, unless God in His great grace shows (His) way to the travellers in this desert, and sprinkles them with heavenly dew. David speaks therefore in his own person and also in that of the holy pilgrims, his companions: Here I am stuck in this desert, thirsting for heavenly water, and longing to find a way out, mentally watching from the morning (for a way of) ascending to Thy heavenly sanctuary, and so in the sanctuary I have come before Thee, so that through meditation and contemplation I might see Thy power and Thy glory, for in the desert of the world we see nothing that is not passing, fragile and base. “To see,” he says, “thy power,” with which Thou didst make all things from nothing, and Thou dost maintain them with the word of Thy power; to see also Thy glory, in which Thou art super-eminent by far compared to all others, and nothing is like unto Thee, and all things willy nilly do serve Thee : and in this vision I started to feel dew and to taste manna, and to find the way that is Christ.

[1] Vide: But the sensual man perceiveth not these things that are of the Spirit of God; for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand, because it is spiritually examined. Animalis autem homo non percipit ea quae sunt Spiritus Dei : stultitia enim est illi, et non potest intelligere : quia spiritualiter examinatur. [I Cor. ii. 14]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXII: Verses 1-2

Verses 1 & 2

O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day. For thee my soul hath thirsted; for thee my flesh, O how many ways!

Deus, Deus meus, ad te de luce vigilo. Sitivit in te anima mea; quam multipliciter tibi caro mea!

A just man describes his first actions at the break of day: and he says it is to seek God, to desire God and to confess his wretchedness to God. “O God, my God,” that is, Thou, God, art my fortitude and my strength, for without Thee I am nothing, and I can do nothing; in Hebrew there are two words (used here): one means God and the other strong, but usually translated as God. And so the Greek and Latin editions, which have God, God, cannot be criticised; but the meaning is what we have said, because the Hebrew word El means God as strong. “To thee do I watch at break of day,” that is, when I see first light with my bodily eyes, I also open my eyes to Thee as light spiritual and uncreated, and thus I begin to keep watch, seeking Thee, not the works of this world. I do this because “For thee my soul hath thirsted,” that is, because it desires Thee, as its food and drink, as its light and source of joy. My very flesh thirsts in many ways for Thee, the fountain-head of all good things : for although flesh cannot properly be said to thirst for God, it can however be said to thirst, for it needs His mercy

on account of its multiple miseries : just as parched earth may thirst for rain, without which it can produce nothing good. How many are the needs and miseries of (our) corruptible flesh, from which He alone can cure, and no-one, it says in Psalm cii: “Who healeth all thy diseases,”[1] has not experienced this. In the Hebrew codex, after the words: O God, my God, is the pronoun Thou, which the Septuagint translators left out, but its presence must be understood, so that the sense is: Thou art God, and therefore I fly to Thee with confidence, and I make so bold as to address Thee. The sentence to thee do I watch at break of day, in Hebrew is one expression, ashacareca, which means before dawn I seek Thee, or in the twilight of morning, when the light of dawn begins to blend into the night time shadows, I am watchful, so that I may seek Thee: from this we understand David’s desire for God was continuous and intense, and rightly, for He is all our good and all men are unappreciative who are forgetful of God, as it says in Luke vi. : “(Who) he is kind to the unthankful, and to the evil.”[2] Finally, the phrase O how many ways is in Hebrew camah, but this word is not found except in this place where St. Jerome translates it as has desired; but in vain do we struggle with the meaning of this word which is found nowhere else and so no-one can be critical of the first translators.

[1] Who forgiveth all thy iniquities: who healeth all thy diseases. qui propitiatur omnibus iniquitatibus tuis, qui sanat omnes infirmitates tuas; [Psalm cii. 3]

[2] But love ye your enemies: do good, and lend, hoping for nothing thereby: and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the sons of the Highest; for he is kind to the unthankful, and to the evil. Verumtamen diligite inimicos vestros : benefacite, et mutuum date, nihil inde sperantes : et erit merces vestra multa, et eritis filii Altissimi, quia ipse benignus est super ingratos et malos. [Luke vi. 35]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LXII: Title & theme

Title and subject matter

Titulum et argumentum

A psalm of David when he was in the desert of Edom.

Psalmus David, cum esset in deserto Idumææ.

It is not written that David ever hid in the desert of Edom,[1] but in the desert of Judæa, see I Kings xxii and xxiii; in the Hebrew text it has in the desert of Judæa; but since the Holy Fathers Hilary, Jerome and Augustine in his Commentary write in the desert of Edom, the reading of the Vulgate version is not to be disregarded. Euthymius tries to reconcile these various readings by saying that the desert in which David hid belonged at one time to Edom but afterwards to Judæa: but this is guess-work. It seems more probable that the desert of Judæa was called the desert of Edom for the sake of increasing its extent : in the same way Jerusalem is sometimes called Sodom;[2] for the desert of Edom is much larger than the desert of Judæa: indeed the whole region of the Edomites is made up of mountains and a wilderness, as may be understood from I Malachi, where, speaking of the possession of Edom, God says: “I have made his mountains a wilderness, and given his inheritance to the dragons of the desert.”[3]  The same may be gathered from IV Kings iii, wherein it is stated that crossing the desert of Edom requires a journey of seven days, with no water, and so on. The theme of this Psalm is the prayer of David who, during his time in the desert in which he was then hiding, laments his own exile, and that of other righteous men, and shows his desire at some point to move on from the desert of this world towards his heavenly homeland.

[1] The country inhabited by the descendants of Edom. The word Idumea is the græcized form of the Hebrew name 'Edôm (Egypt., Aduma; Assyr., U-du-um-ma-ai, U-du-mu, U-du-mi), which appears to have been applied to the region from the red colour of its sandstone cliffs. Idumea was situated south of Juda and the Dead Sea. Red in Hebrew is "Edom". This became another name for Esau.

[2] Vide, e.g., And their bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city, which is called spiritually, Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord also was crucified. Et corpora eorum jacebunt in plateis civitatis magnae, quae vocatur spiritualiter Sodoma, et Aegyptus, ubi et Dominus eorum crucifixus est. [Apoc. xi. 8]

[3] But have hated Esau? and I have made his mountains a wilderness, and given his inheritance to the dragons of the desert. Esau autem odio habui, et posui montes ejus in solitudinem, et haereditatem ejus in dracones deserti. [Malch. i. 3]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm LIII: Verses 5-7 (conclusion)

Verse 5

Turn back the evils upon my enemies; and cut them off in thy truth.

Averte mala inimicis meis; et in veritate tua disperde illos.

By imprecation is understood prediction, as we have often shown before: for the word can be understood from the Hebrew as a prediction: May the evil be turned back upon my enemies. Our reading will be easier if we interpret it as: Turn back the evils from me upon my enemies.  But the words are to be explained in the same sense: “Turn back the evils” which are hanging over me, turn them back from me and turn them against my enemies. And this is what came to pass; for Saul was pursuing David and then suddenly it came about that the Philistines were pursuing Saul. The dangers from Saul which threatened David now become dangers from the Philistines threatening Saul. The words and cut them off in thy truth were fulfilled not long after; for in the mountains of Gelboe Saul perished along with his army; it is quite probable that in that army were present men who perished and who had been pursuing David: if the Hebrew vocabulary is taken into account, disperdere / to cut off here means not dissipare / scatter but omnino delere /completely destroy and exstinguere / wipe out. See book I of Kings, last chapter.  The phrase in veritate tua / in thy truth, means according to thy promises, by which Thou shalt render to every man according to his works.[1]

[1]  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works. Filius enim hominis venturus est in gloria Patris sui cum angelis suis : et tunc reddet unicuique secundum opera ejus. [Matt. xvi. 27]

Verse 6

I will freely sacrifice to thee, and will give praise, O God, to thy name: because it is good:

Voluntarie sacrificabo tibi, et confitebor nomini tuo, Domine, quoniam bonum est.

Seeing that his prayer had been heard, whether through a foresight of his coming deliverance, or because, while David was in the act of praying, Saul left on account of the danger reported to him about the Philistines, David gives thanks to God and says: “I will freely sacrifice to thee,” that is, with a most ready heart I shall offer a sacrifice of praise; and he repeats this in other words when he says: “and I will give praise to thy name,” that is, I will offer a profession of praise to thee (for God’s name is here used for God Himself), “because it is good.” Now God’s name, used to stand as the thing signified (i.e., for God Himself), is the best of all things, as Christ Himself said: “ None is good but God alone.”[2] St. Augustine rightly advises that, by use of the word freely, (the Prophet shows that) God is to be loved purely for Himself, not on account of any possible reward, but for His own, ineffable goodness; and he who loves Him should make sacrifices and give praises to Him no less in adversity than in prosperity, for God is certainly no less good when He punishes us than when He nourishes and refreshes us.

[1]  And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? None is good but one, that is God. Jesus autem dixit ei : Quid me dicis bonum? nemo bonus, nisi unus Deus. [Marc. x. 18]; And Jesus said to him: Why dost thou call me good? None is good but God alone. Dixit autem ei Jesus : Quid me dicis bonum? nemo bonus nisi solus Deus. [Luc. Xviii. 19]

Verse 7

For thou hast delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye hath looked down upon my enemies.

Quoniam ex omni tribulatione eripuisti me, et super inimicos meos despexit oculus meus.

He shows from what happened that God is good, because He heard so swiftly His servant. “For,” “he says, thou hast delivered me out of all trouble,” that is, for, in revealing to me a certain deliverance, Thou hast already delivered me out of all trouble, “ and my eye hath looked down upon my

enemies,” that is, in that same foreshowing my eye hath already seen my enemies prostrate and vanquished: he refers here to what he had said before, “and cut them off in thy truth.” Unless it is preferable to interpret this, as we indicated above, so that the Prophet’s very act of praying began his deliverance, that is to say, Saul withdrawing at hearing of the reported arrival of the Philistines; then the sense would be: Since Thou hast delivered me out of all the present trouble, and my eye hath seen my enemies withdrawing with Saul their general. For the word despexit / looked down does not connote contempt but simply something seen, which is clear from the Hebrew word raathah; for it could be translated: my eye hath looked upon my enemies, that is, my eye did freely and without fear look upon my enemies. The Vulgate translator put despexit / looked down, to signify that David from a high location saw his enemies prostrate or withdrawing, as in the two explanations given. Now true it is that David looked down, that is, he looked from above at his enemies, whether because he was physically on the aforesaid mountain, or because the spirit of prophecy raised him to that height, and from the height(s) of divine revelation he saw his enemies lying down below him. Indeed, this Psalm is recited daily at the hour of Prime so that we may learn from David’s example to be strengthened against persecutors  with the weapons of prayer at the beginning of the day, knowing that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution(s patiently)”.[1]

[1] And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution. Et omnes, qui pie volunt vivere in Christo Jesu, persecutionem patientur. [II Tim. iii. 12]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.