Bellarmine on Psalm 119 : Verse 4

Verse 4

The sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals that lay waste.

Sagittae potentis acutae, cum carbonibus desolatoriis.

By an elegant metaphor, he makes clear how great is the evil of a deceitful tongue: and he says these words are like arrows which in their nature are loosed from a distance, and with great speed, so that they can scarcely be guarded against; and he adds an admirable amplification (of this idea), saying that they are not like ordinary arrows but they are “of the mighty,” that is, they are loosed with force from a powerful hand; besides which, they are well polished and sharpened by the maker; and, finally, they are flaming arrows, so that anything can be laid waste and devastated by them; such are the celestial bolts of lightning which are hurled down by the hand of the Almighty, which are indeed on fire and perfectly sharp. Such, then, are deceitful words especially when they are instruments of the devil for ruining souls, called by the Apostle in Ephes. vi: “The fiery darts of the most wicked one.”[1] St. Augustine interprets these two verses very differently, for he prefers to read this as a dialogue wherein the first man, finding himself in tribulation, prays: “O Lord, deliver my soul from wicked lips, and a deceitful tongue;” to which the Lord replies: “What shall be given to thee, or what shall be added to thee, to a deceitful tongue?” - that is, what remedy can be given thee, or added against a deceitful tongue? The only remedy for thee will be this: “The sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals that lay waste,” that is, the words of God as examples of charity burning with fire: “For the word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two edged sword,”[2] and for the man who draws near to it, an example proceeding from true charity, as like a burning coal, he will in no wise be able to resist it. Either explanation provides edification, but the first seems more literal. Concerning vocabulary, the Hebrew word for desolatoriis is correctly translated by St. Jerome as of junipers. But the Septuagint explains the metaphor, for the coals of juniper trees were very solid, and thus suited for burning and laying waste.

[1] In all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. in omnibus sumentes scutum fidei, in quo possitis omnia tela nequissimi ignea extinguere : [Ephes. vi. 16]

[2] For the word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two edged sword; and reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Vivus est enim sermo Dei, et efficax et penetrabilior omni gladio ancipiti : et pertingens usque ad divisionem animae ac spiritus : compagum quoque ac medullarum, et discretor cogitationum et intentionum cordis. [Hebr. iv. 12]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.