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.
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