Verse 5
As arrows in the hand of the mighty, so the children of them that have been shaken.
Sicut sagittae in manu potentis, ita filii excussorum.
The prophet in these words declares the power of the children of Christ who are His inheritance and reward, and he says they are extremely powerful, like arrows in the hand of a very strong man which are loosed with maximum force and can penetrate everything; he is speaking however of the spiritual power of the servants of Christ which is no different in its action than its endurance; for just as thunder and lightning cause terror, they convert infidels to the faith and sinners to penitence, by the power of their preaching, by the brightness of their sanctity and by the power of their miracles; and when, struggling on behalf of their faith and piety, they endure unto death torments of every description through incredible patience and fortitude, what are these if not “arrows in the hand of the mighty?” But why are these children (who are) so strong described as the children of them that have been shaken? Because they are the children of outcast and rejected men, namely, the children of the Prophets and the Apostles; for the Apostle says of the Prophets in
Hebrews xi: “Others had trial of mockeries and stripes, moreover also of bands and prisons. They were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in want, distressed, afflicted: of whom the world was not worthy.”
[1] Paul says the same of the Apostles in I
Cor, iv: “ For I think
that God hath set forth us apostles, the last, as it were men appointed to death: we are made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men. ... Even unto this hour we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no fixed abode; And we labour, working with our own hands: we are reviled, and we bless; we are persecuted, and we suffer it. We are blasphemed, and we entreat; we are made as the refuse of this world, the off-scouring of all even until now.”
[2] And yet these outcasts and rejects were the bravest and triumphed miraculously over the world and the demons. All the elect are the children of these, who like arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior have wounded and conquered the enemy. I know that this text has been interpreted differently by the ancients and by more recent commentators, but, as I have said on many occasions, each one will find an abundance in his own interpretation provided there is no danger to the faith. It is of no great matter that St. Jerome translates the Hebrew as
filii juventutis / children from the age of youth whereas we have the children of them that have been shaken, and he
defends his translation in his epistle
ad Marcellam, on the question of this Psalm : for the Hebrew word can mean either youth or refer to them that have been shaken; hence the Septuagint and our Vulgate edition do not contradict the original text. Nor do we reprove the intelligence of St. Jerome, since the chosen are (in one sense) the children of them that have been shaken, as the children of the Prophets and the Apostles considered by the world as reprobates, and (in another sense) the children of youth, because they are made young by a process of regeneration and renewal, and as such they are eager, strong and prepared for war against their spiritual enemies. But in the time to come, and especially in the day of resurrection and the final judgement, it will appear most clearly how powerful are these children of them that have been shaken, who will then through a glorious resurrection be the true children of youth, because their youth “shall be renewed like the eagle's:”
[3] “Then shall the just stand with great constancy against those that have afflicted them,”
[4] as it says in Wisdom v;
[5] and their adversaries, “These seeing it, shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the suddenness of their unexpected salvation. Saying within themselves, repenting, and groaning for anguish of spirit: These are they, whom we had some time in derision, and for a parable of reproach etc. And in Psalm
CXLIX: “two-edged swords in their hands:To execute vengeance upon the nations, chastisements among the people: To bind their kings with fetters, and their nobles with manacles of iron. To execute upon them the judgment that is written: this glory is to all his saints.”
[6][1] And others had trial of mockeries and stripes, moreover also of bands and prisons. They were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in want, distressed, afflicted: Of whom the world was not worthy; wandering in deserts, in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth. Alii vero ludibria, et verbera experti, insuper et vincula, et carceres : lapidati sunt, secti sunt, tentati sunt, in occisione gladii mortui sunt, circuierunt in melotis, in pellibus caprinis, egentes, angustiati, afflicti : quibus dignus non erat mundus : in solitudinibus errantes, in montibus, in speluncis, et in cavernis terrae. [Hebrews xi 36-38]
[2] I Cor. iv 9-13]
[3] Who satisfieth thy desire with good things: thy youth shall be renewed like the eagle's. qui replet in bonis desiderium tuum : renovabitur ut aquilae juventus tua. [Ps. cii 5]
[4] Then shall the just stand with great constancy against those that have afflicted them, and taken away their labours. Tunc stabunt justi in magna constantia adversus eos qui se angustiaverunt, et qui abstulerunt labores eorum. [Wisdom v 1]
[5] These seeing it, shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the suddenness of their unexpected salvation. Saying within themselves, repenting, and groaning for anguish of spirit: These are they, whom we had some time in derision, and for a parable of reproach. Videntes turbabuntur timore horribili, et mirabuntur in subitatione insperatae salutis; dicentes intra se, poenitentiam agentes, et prae angustia spiritus gementes : Hi sunt quos habuimus aliquando in derisum, et in similitudinem improperii. [Wisdom v 2-3]
[6] The high praise of God shall be in their mouth: and two-edged swords in their hands:To execute vengeance upon the nations, chastisements among the people: To bind their kings with fetters, and their nobles with manacles of iron. To execute upon them the judgment that is written: this glory is to all his saints. Alleluia. Exaltationes Dei in gutture eorum : et gladii ancipites in manibus eorum : ad faciendam vindictam in nationibus, increpationes in populis; ad alligandos reges eorum in compedibus, et nobiles eorum in manicis ferreis; ut faciant in eis judicium conscriptum : gloria haec est omnibus sanctis ejus. Alleluja. [Ps cxlix 6-9]
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
No comments:
Post a Comment