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.