Bellarmine on Psalm 109 : Verse 3

 Verse 3

The Lord will send forth the sceptre of thy power out of Sion: rule thou in the midst of thy enemies.

Virgam virtutis tuae emittet Dominus ex Sion : dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum.

The prophet David, since he has heard in spirit the Father talking to the Son, and saying: “Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool,” he now turns his attention to the Son, and he shows, through revelation in the same spirit, how the spreading of Christ’s kingdom on earth would be commenced. “ The Lord,” he says, “will send forth the sceptre of thy power out of Sion,” that is, the Lord Father, so as to make thy enemies thy footstool, will begin to extend the sceptre of thy royal power out of the city of Jerusalem and to spread it from Mount Sion itself to the corners of the earth. The word of the Lord in Luke xxiv agrees with this: “It behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead, the third day: And that penance and remission of sins should be preached in his name, unto all nations, beginning at Jerusalem;”[1] and in Acts I: “you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth.”[2] Virga / rod here means sceptre, and by sceptre is understood royal power: by power is signified strength and might, as is more clearly evident in the original script. And so the rod of strength is the sceptre of power; this rod is said to be sent out from Sion, as though growing out of that mountain, since Christ’s spiritual reign began in Jerusalem; for there were the first believers, and there began the propagation of the faith through the Apostles. “Rule thou in the midst of thy enemies,” is like a happy acclamation and exhortation to spread His rule over all peoples, as though he were to say: Therefore go forth happily, bear the banner of Thy cross into the midst of the pagans and the Jews, where Thy enemies are most densely packed, and rule there in their midst, that is, set up Thy kingdom among the unwilling and those who are opposed to Thee. This indeed we see accomplished in a short time: for within a few years, despite the reluctance of the Jews and pagans, Christ’s churches were established throughout the whole world. The Apostle writes to the Colossians: “The gospel is in the whole world, and bringeth forth fruit and groweth;”[3] and St. Irenæus writing close to the times of the Apostles, says in Book I chapter ii: The Church has been spread all over the world to its remotest corners; and in chapter iii he recalls the Churches of Germany, Spain, Libya, Egypt, France, the East and those in the middle of the world, by which he understands the Churches of Greece and Italy. The Psalm rightly says, “in the midst of thy enemies,” because however much the Church is spread and grows, she will always be in the midst of enemies, that is, pagans, heretics and false Christians, for so long as she journeys on earth. But at the end of the world, there will be a separation of the good from the wicked, and Christ’s kingdom will be in the midst of His enemies  no more, but will rise above and be exalted over all His enemies.

[1] And he said to them: Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead, the third day: And that penance and remission of sins should be preached in his name, unto all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. et dixit eis : Quoniam sic scriptum est, et sic oportebat Christum pati, et resurgere a mortuis tertia die : et praedicari in nomine ejus poenitentiam, et remissionem peccatorum in omnes gentes, incipientibus ab Jerosolyma. [Luke xxiv 46-47]

[2] But you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth. sed accipietis virtutem supervenientis Spiritus Sancti in vos, et eritis mihi testes in Jerusalem, et in omni Judaea, et Samaria, et usque ad ultimum terrae. [Acts I 8]

[3] For the hope that is laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard in the word of the truth of the gospel, Which is come unto you, as also it is in the whole world, and bringeth forth fruit and groweth, even as it doth in you, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth. propter spem, quae reposita est vobis in caelis : quam audistis in verbo veritatis Evangelii : quod pervenit ad vos, sicut et in universo mundo est, et fructificat, et crescit sicut in vobis, ex ea die, qua audistis, et cognovistis gratiam Dei in veritate. [Coloos. I 5-6]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.