Verse 7
The dwelling in thee is as it were of all rejoicing.
Sicut laetantium omnium habitatio est in te.
This is the conclusion of the Psalm which draws together the supreme happiness of all the inhabitants of that city whose foundations are described from the beginning of the Psalm. For this is the happiness proper to the holy city of Jerusalem, that in her is found none who is miserable, none who mourns and none who is sad : since “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes,”
Apoc. xxi.;
[1] and although these things are to be fulfilled in the heavenly Jerusalem, yet, even in the Church militant, tall those who are described as citizens of heaven do rejoice in hope; and the Saviour says to them: “and your joy no man shall take from you.” John xvi;
[2] and the Apostle says in Philipp. iv: “Rejoice (in the Lord) always;
[3] and, truly, if the servants
of God rejoice even in tribulation, when can they be sad? St. Augustine notes that it does not say “lætantium / of (those) rejoicing,” but “quasi lætantium / as it were of (those) rejoicing,” lest we should think the joy in (our) heavenly home is such as we see in the children of this world, who rejoice in the acquisition of gold and silver, or in carnal pleasures, or other similar things. The dwelling in the heavenly Jerusalem will be like a banquet or wedding feast, joyfully celebrated with gladness, music and songs; but it will not be from the same cause of joy, here and there, as if he were to say : the dwelling will not be of dancers and people drinking; nor will it be the dwelling of those rejoicing at a wedding feast, but that of a dwelling like those rejoicing at a wedding feast/
From the Hebrew, St. Jerome translates this as:
And singers, as singing in chorus, all my fountains are in thee. But, as we said above, the Septuagint translators had codices which were more correct, and the word
vesarim which St. Jerome reads in this last verse and translates as and singers, are read in the previous verse as
et principum / and of princes; for the Hebrew word, if read with a point in the right-hand of the first letter, means
cantores / singers, from a Hebrew word; if it is read with the point on the left, it means
principes / princes, and this is how the Septuagint translators read it. The phrase,
quasi in choris / as if in choirs, can also be correctly translated
sicut tripudantium / as of (those) dancing, or
of (those) rejoicing, as we have seen. Finally, the phrase
omnes fontes mei in te / all my fountains (are) in thee, does not cause a difficulty unless by reason of the two words
fontes mei / my fountains; but the Hebrew for
fontes mei is read by the Septuagint translators as
mahoni, with a paragogic
[4] iod, meaning
dwelling; the Septuagint translators were not so inexpert as to put
dwelling for
fountains, unless they had read a word which could be translated thus. Now although the true reading is what our Latin translator took from the Septuagint, it also has that true meaning which St. Jerome translated from the Hebrew. For truly, all the blessed in heaven are like choirs singing praise to God, since all the fountains of divine blessings are found in the heavenly Jerusalem.
[1] And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away. et absterget Deus omnem lacrimam ab oculis eorum : et mors ultra non erit, neque luctus, neque clamor, neque dolor erit ultra, quia prima abierunt. [Apoc. Xxi. 4]
[2] So also you now indeed have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you. Et vos igitur nunc quidem tristitiam habetis, iterum autem videbo vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum : et gaudium vestrum nemo tollet a vobis. [John xvi. 22]
[3] Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice. Gaudete in Domino semper : iterum dico gaudete. [Philipp. iv. 4]
[4] A letter or syllable added to a word; = paragoge n. 1a. Obsolete. rare.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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