Bellarmine on Psalm 96 : Verse 4

Verse 4

His lightnings have shone forth to the world: the earth saw and trembled.

Illuxerunt fulgura ejus orbi terrae; vidit, et commota est terra.

According to the first interpretation, David continues by explaining God’s power over the wicked. For God not only causes fear by the power of His fire, or that of His Angels, but also, when it pleases Him, by actual bolts of lightning; and He cuts enemies down with such great speed that they cannot in any way be guarded against or repulsed. On this, it says in Ps. XVII: “And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the highest gave his voice: hail and coals of fire. And he sent forth his arrows, and he scattered them: he multiplied lightnings, and troubled them;”[1]  and so he says: “His lightnings have shone forth to the world,” that is, when it pleased Him, He had His bolts (arrows) of lightning in readiness to hurl down, and where they have shone forth to the world, the earth itself, as if it had sense and could see the dreadful kind of celestial darts, trembled everywhere and was shaken with fear. This is a poetic description by which (God's) supreme power is demonstrated. According to the second interpretation, the manner is shown in which, before the (last) judgement, a most powerful fire will appear (from the east) and will consume all things; this will be effected by bolts of lightning, which will be truly great in number. Thus do we read in Wisdom v. : “Then shafts of lightning shall go directly from the clouds, as from a bow well bent, they shall be shot out, and shall fly to the mark.”[2]

[1] And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the highest gave his voice: hail and coals of fire. And he sent forth his arrows, and he scattered them: he multiplied lightnings, and troubled them. Et intonuit de caelo Dominus, et Altissimus dedit vocem suam : grando et carbones ignis. Et misit sagittas suas, et dissipavit eos; fulgura multiplicavit, et conturbavit eos. [Ps. XVII. 14-15]

[2] Then shafts of lightning shall go directly from the clouds, as from a bow well bent, they shall be shot out, and shall fly to the mark. Ibunt directe emissiones fulgurum, et tamquam a bene curvato arcu nubium exterminabuntur, et ad certum locum insilient. [Wisdom v. 22]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.