Verse 2
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; and make a joyful noise to him with psalms.
praeoccupemus faciem ejus in confessione, et in psalmis jubilemus ei :
This verse may be understood in two ways. According to the first, the prophet is telling us to present ourselves early in the morning before the Lord to offer Him our praise, as though he were to say: before others arise, let us be the first to appear in the presence of the Lord, and this is altogether fitting for the hour (matins) at which we sing this Psalm in the Church. According to the second way (of understanding the verse), we are to join a confession of our own wretchedness with an acknowledgement of God’s mercy, so that the sense is: “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,” that is, before God comes to judgement, and exacts full retribution, let us anticipate (prevent
[1]) Him by confessing our sins, or, let us prevent His wrath (the word
facies / face, or
presence) can mean
wrath in Hebrew),and before He is angered, let us confess our sins; “and (at the same time) make a joyful noise to him with psalms,” extolling His mercy with loud voices. It seems this second interpretation is more in keeping with the mind of the Fathers, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, Theodoret and Euthymius in his Comment. Psalm., and St. Gregory Nazianzus in his oration De Plaga grandinis.
[1] To prevent: a. transitive. To act before or more quickly than (a person or agent); to anticipate in action; to act in advance of. Obsolete.OED.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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