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.
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