Verse 7
Let peace be in thy strength: and abundance in thy towers.
Fiat pax in virtute tua, et abundantia in turribus tuis.
The prophet puts forward the very words to be spoken by those who, saluting Jerusalem, pray she may have peace and abundance: When you salute Jerusalem, say: “Let peace be in thy strength: and abundance in thy towers.” St. Jerome correctly translates
virtutem as
walls; for the Hebrew word properly means
strength, that is
power and
might; but it may also be applied to all things in which strength is found, such as walls, in which the strength of a building resides; and also to an army, in which the strength of arms resides. But in this context, it should be applied to the walls, as it fits in with the words which follow, where towers are mentioned. And so the Septuagint translators expressed the meaning of the Hebrew word in a general sense as
strength; but St. Jerome expressed the meaning in a sense accommodated to the context. Now it says
Let peace be in thy strength, that is, in thy walls most powerful, because when peace is in the walls, that is, when the walls are not under enemy attack, the whole city is in peace.
It says
and abundance in thy towers, and by these towers are signified the great palaces, which were wont to be furnished with towers; the Hebrew word signifies palaces rather than turrets, and St. Jerome translates the expression as
in thy houses. Moreover, the word
abundance, both in this and the previous verse, is derived from the Hebrew word which means peace; but since the Septuagint translators and St. Jerome translate it as
abundance, there can be no doubt that this is what it means; nor is it absurd for the word abundance to be derived from the word peace, since peace is in truth the mother, so to speak, of abundance, just as war is the father of scarcity and want. Moreover, these two verses, insofar as they pertain to the heavenly Jerusalem, contain a greeting and a prayer for peace and abundance; but they do not mean there is a danger that the city may be wanting, whether in peace or abundance, since it says in
Psalm cxlvii: “Who hath placed peace in thy borders: and filleth thee with the fat of corn.”
[1] They therefore express only the pious affection and the joy and the joy we have for the good things in the heavenly Jerusalem, about which is said in the Apocalypse: “Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb.”
[2][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. [Ps. Cxlvii. 3]
[2] And they cried with a loud voice, saying: Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb. et clamabant voce magna, dicentes : Salus Deo nostro, qui sedet super thronum, et Agno. [Apoc. Vii. 10]
Verses 8 & 9
For the sake of my brethren, and of my neighbours, I spoke peace of thee.
Because of the house of the Lord our God, I have sought good things for thee.
Propter fratres meos et proximos meos, loquebar pacem de te.
Propter domum Domini Dei nostri, quæsivi bona tibi.
The prophet closes the Psalm, explaining that, because of (his) love for the citizens of the holy city, whom he recognises as his brethren and friends, and even more because of his love for the creator God, dweller of the same city, or house, he has felt driven to pray the same city may enjoy peace, abundance and every blessing. In the Hebrew codex, those words
loquebar / I spoke and
quæsivi / I have sought are in the future tense; but those who are learned in Hebrew know that the future tense is very frequently put for the perfect or imperfect; often to signify the continuation of an action that has come to pass but may also continue into the future.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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