AD VESPERAS
At Evensonge tyme, Oure Lorde Jesu Crist on Shere Thursday supped with Hys Apostels, & ordeyned the Holy Sacrament of His Holy Body and Bloode.The same[From The Myroure of Oure Ladye, 15th century]
houre on Good Friday he was taken downe from the Cross. And on Ester day the same houre he met with too of his disciples goyng towarde Emaus, & made hymselfe knowen to them in breking of breade.
At Evensonge tyme, the day faileth muche and, when all other sucour fayleth, Our Lady's grace helpeth.
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| The Scourging. Willem Vrelant, early 1460s. Getty Center [Public domain] |
Ad vesperas de passione domini n[ost]ri
De cruce deponitur ho
ra vespertina. Fortitu
do latuit in mente di
vina. Talem mortem
subiit vit[a]e medicina.
Heu corona glori[a]e iacuit suppina.Ant
In English:
At Vespers on Our Lord's Passion
At the hour of eventide Christ from His cross was ta'en,
In whose soul His fortitude did covertly remain.
Such a death vouchsafed to take of life the medicine sound:
Glory's crown alas the while lay groveling on the ground.
From the Horae Sanctae Crucis/Hours of the Holy Cross. [Courtesy of Preces-Latinae site].
V. Ave, María.
V. Hail, Mary, full of grace.
V. Deus ☩ (Large sign of the cross) in adjutórium meum inténde.
V. O God, ☩ come to my assistance;
R. Dómine, ad adjuvándum me festína.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sæcula sæculórum. Amen.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Allelúia.
Alleluia.
Ant. O admirábile commércium, [creátor géneris humáni animátum corpus sumens, de vírgine nasci dignátus est: et procédens homo sine sémine largítus est nobis suam deitátem.]
Ant. O admirable intercourse, the creator of mankind taking a living body, vouchsafed to be born of a virgin: and coming forth man without seed, hath given unto us his Godhead.
Psalmus 109
Dixit Dominus. Christ's exaltation and everlasting priesthood.Dixit Dóminus Dómino meo: * Sede a dextris meis:
The Lord said to my Lord: * Sit thou at my right hand:
Donec ponam inimícos tuos, * scabéllum pedum tuórum.
Until I make thy enemies * thy footstool.
Virgam virtútis tuæ emíttet Dóminus ex Sion: * domináre in médio inimicórum tuórum.
The Lord will send forth the sceptre of thy power out of Sion: * rule thou in the midst of thy enemies.
Tecum princípium in die virtútis tuæ in splendóribus sanctórum: * ex útero ante lucíferum génui te.
With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength: in the brightness of the saints: * from the womb before the day star I begot thee.
Jurávit Dóminus, et non pœnitébit eum: * Tu es sacérdos in ætérnum secúndum órdinem Melchísedech.
The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent: * Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech.
Dóminus a dextris tuis, * confrégit in die iræ suæ reges.
The Lord at thy right hand * hath broken kings in the day of his wrath.
Judicábit in natiónibus, implébit ruínas: * conquassábit cápita in terra multórum.
He shall judge among nations, he shall fill ruins: * he shall crush the heads in the land of many.
De torrénte in via bibet: * proptérea exaltábit caput.
He shall drink of the torrent in the way: * therefore shall he lift up the head.
V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sæcula sæculórum. Amen.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. O admirábile commércium, creátor géneris humáni animátum corpus sumens, de vírgine nasci dignátus est: et procédens homo sine sémine largítus est nobis suam deitátem.
Ant. O admirable intercourse, the creator of mankind taking a living body, vouchsafed to be born of a virgin: and coming forth man without seed, hath given unto us his Godhead.
Ant. Quando natus es [ineffabíliter ex vírgine, tunc implétae sunt scriptúrae, sicut plúvia in vellus descendísti: ut salvum fáceres genus humánum: te laudámus Deus noster.]
Ant. When as unspeakably thou wast born of the virgin, then were the scriptures fulfilled, thou didst descend like rain into the fleece: that thou mightest save mankind: we praise thee our God.
Psalmus 112
Laudate, pueri. God is to be praised for his regard to the poor and humble. Alleluia.Laudáte, púeri, Dóminum: * laudáte nomen Dómini.
Praise the Lord, ye children: * praise ye the name of the Lord.
(Bow head) Sit nomen Dómini benedíctum, * ex hoc nunc, et usque in sæculum.
(Bow head) Blessed be the name of the Lord, * from henceforth now and for ever.
A solis ortu usque ad occásum, * laudábile nomen Dómini.
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, * the name of the Lord is worthy of praise.
Excélsus super omnes gentes Dóminus, * et super cælos glória ejus.
The Lord is high above all nations; * and his glory above the heavens.
Quis sicut Dóminus, Deus noster, qui in altis hábitat, * et humília réspicit in cælo et in terra?
Who is as the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high: * and looketh down on the low things in heaven and in earth?
Súscitans a terra ínopem, * et de stércore érigens páuperem:
Raising up the needy from the earth, * and lifting up the poor out of the dunghill:
Ut cóllocet eum cum princípibus, * cum princípibus pópuli sui.
That he may place him with princes, * with the princes of his people.
Qui habitáre facit stérilem in domo, * matrem filiórum lætántem.
Who maketh a barren woman to dwell in a house, * the joyful mother of children.
V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sæcula sæculórum. Amen.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. Quando natus es ineffabíliter ex vírgine, tunc implétae sunt scriptúrae, sicut plúvia in vellus descendísti: ut salvum fáceres genus humánum: te laudámus Deus noster.
Ant. When as unspeakably thou wast born of the virgin, then were the scriptures fulfilled, thou didst descend like rain into the fleece: that thou mightest save mankind: we praise thee our God.
Ant. Rubum quem víderat [Moyses incombústum, conservátam agnóvimus tuam laudábilem virginitátem, Dei Génitrix intercéde pro nobis.]
Ant. The bush which Moses saw unconsuming burn, we acknowledge thy conserved laudable virginity, O mother of God make intercession for us.
Psalmus 121
Laetatus sum in his. The desire and hope of the just for the coming of the kingdom of God, and the peace of his church.Lætátus sum in his, quæ dicta sunt mihi: * In domum Dómini íbimus.
I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: * We shall go into the house of the Lord.
Stantes erant pedes nostri, * in átriis tuis, Jerúsalem.
Our feet were standing * in thy courts, O Jerusalem.
Jerúsalem, quæ ædificátur ut cívitas: * cujus participátio ejus in idípsum.
Jerusalem, which is built as a city, * which is compact together.
Illuc enim ascendérunt tribus, tribus Dómini: * testimónium Israël ad confiténdum nómini Dómini.
For thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord: * the testimony of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord.
Quia illic sedérunt sedes in judício, * sedes super domum David.
Because their seats have sat in judgment, * seats upon the house of David.
Rogáte quæ ad pacem sunt Jerúsalem: * et abundántia diligéntibus te:
Pray ye for the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem: * and abundance for them that love thee.
Fiat pax in virtúte tua: * et abundántia in túrribus tuis.
Let peace be in thy strength: * and abundance in thy towers.
Propter fratres meos, et próximos meos, * loquébar pacem de te:
For the sake of my brethren, and of my neighbours, * I spoke peace of thee.
Propter domum Dómini, Dei nostri, * quæsívi bona tibi.
Because of the house of the Lord our God, * I have sought good things for thee.
V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sæcula sæculórum. Amen.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. Rubum quem víderat Moyses incombústum, conservátam agnóvimus tuam laudábilem virginitátem, Dei Génitrix intercéde pro nobis.
Ant. The bush which Moses saw unconsuming burn, we acknowledge thy conserved laudable virginity, O mother of God make intercession for us.
Ant. Germinávit radix Iesse, [orta est stella ex Iacob, virgo péperit salvatórem: te lauámus Deus noster.]
Ant. The root of Jesse hath budded, a star is sprung out of Jacob, a virgin hath born a saviour: we praise thee our God.
Psalmus 126
Nisi Dominus. Nothing can be done without God's grace and blessing.Nisi Dóminus ædificáverit domum, * in vanum laboravérunt qui ædíficant eam.
Unless the Lord build the house, * they labour in vain that build it.
Nisi Dóminus custodíerit civitátem, * frustra vígilat qui custódit eam.
Unless the Lord keep the city, * he watcheth in vain that keepeth it.
Vanum est vobis ante lucem súrgere: * súrgite postquam sedéritis, qui manducátis panem dolóris.
It is vain for you to rise before light, * rise ye after you have sitten, you that eat the bread of sorrow.
Cum déderit diléctis suis somnum: * ecce heréditas Dómini fílii: merces, fructus ventris.
When he shall give sleep to his beloved, * behold the inheritance of the Lord are children: the reward, the fruit of the womb.
Sicut sagíttæ in manu poténtis: * ita fílii excussórum.
As arrows in the hand of the mighty, * so the children of them that have been shaken.
Beátus vir, qui implévit desidérium suum ex ipsis: * non confundétur cum loquétur inimícis suis in porta.
Blessed is the man that hath filled the desire with them; * he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate.
V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sæcula sæculórum. Amen.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. Germinávit radix Iesse, orta est stella ex Iacob, virgo péperit salvatórem: te lauámus Deus noster.
Ant. The root of Jesse hath budded, a star is sprung out of Jacob, a virgin hath born a saviour: we praise thee our God.
Ant. Ecce María [génuit nobis salvatórem: quem Ioánnes videns exclamávit dicens: ecce agnus Dei: ecce qui tollit peccáta mundi, Allelúia.]Ant. Behold Mary hath born to us a saviour: whom John seeing cried out saying: behold the Lamb of God, Behold him which taketh away the sins of the world, Alleluia.
Psalmus 147
Lauda, Jerusalem. The church is called upon to praise God for his peculiar graces and favours to his people. In the Hebrew, this psalm is joined to the foregoing. Alleluia.Lauda, Jerúsalem, Dóminum: * lauda Deum tuum, Sion.
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: * praise thy God, O Sion.
Quóniam confortávit seras portárum tuárum: * benedíxit fíliis tuis in te.
Because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates * he hath blessed thy children within thee.
Qui pósuit fines tuos pacem: * et ádipe fruménti sátiat te.
Who hath placed peace in thy borders: * and filleth thee with the fat of corn.
Qui emíttit elóquium suum terræ: * velóciter currit sermo ejus.
Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth: * his word runneth swiftly.
Qui dat nivem sicut lanam: * nébulam sicut cínerem spargit.
Who giveth snow like wool: * scattereth mists like ashes.
Mittit crystállum suam sicut buccéllas: * ante fáciem frígoris ejus quis sustinébit?
He sendeth his crystal like morsels: * who shall stand before the face of his cold?
Emíttet verbum suum, et liquefáciet ea: * flabit spíritus ejus, et fluent aquæ.
He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: * his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run.
Qui annúntiat verbum suum Jacob: * justítias, et judícia sua Israël.
Who declareth his word to Jacob: * his justices and his judgments to Israel.
Non fecit táliter omni natióni: * et judícia sua non manifestávit eis.
He hath not done in like manner to every nation: * and his judgments he hath not made manifest to them.
V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sæcula sæculórum. Amen.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. Ecce María génuit nobis salvatórem: quem Ioánnes videns exclamávit dicens: ecce agnus Dei: ecce qui tollit peccáta mundi, Allelúia.Ant. Behold Mary hath born to us a saviour: whom John seeing cried out saying: behold the Lamb of God, Behold him which taketh away the sins of the world, Alleluia.
Capitulum: Little Chapter (Ecclesiasticus 24, 14)
Ab inítio, et ante saecula creáta sum, et usque ad futúrum saeculum non désinam: et in habitatióne sancta coram ipso ministrávi.From the beginning, and before worlds was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease: and in the holy habitation have I ministered before him.
R. Deo gratias.
R. Thanks be to God.
Hymnus
Ave maris stella,
Dei Mater alma,
Atque semper Virgo,
Felix cæli porta.
Ave, star of ocean,Sumens illud Ave
Child divine who barest,
Mother, ever-virgin,
Heaven’s portal fairest.
Gabriélis ore,
Funda nos in pace,
Mutans Hevæ nomen.
Taking that sweet AveSolve vincla reis,
Erst by Gabriel spoken,
Eva’s name reversed,
Be of peace the token.
Profer lumen cæcis,
Mala nostra pelle,
Bona cuncta posce.
Break the sinners’ fetters,Monstra t[e]' esse matrem,
Light to blind restoring,
All our ills dispelling,
Every boon imploring.
Sumat per te preces,
Qui pro nobis natus,
Tulit esse tuus.
Show thyself a motherVirgo singuláris,
In thy supplication;
He will hear who chose thee
At his incarnation.
Inter omnes mitis,
Nos culpis solútos
Mites fac et castos.
Maid all maids excelling,Vitam præsta puram,
Passing meek and lowly,
Win for sinners pardon,
Make us chaste and holy.
Iter para tutum,
Ut vidéntes Jesum,
Semper collætémur.
As we onward journeySit laus Deo Patri,
Aid our weak endeavour,
Till we gaze on Jesus
And rejoice forever.
Summo Christo decus,
Spirítui Sancto,
Tribus honor unus.
Father, Son, and Spirit,Amen.
Three in One confessing,
Give we equal glory
Equal praise and blessing.
Amen.
V. Diffúsa est grátia in lábiis tuis.
V. Grace is poured out in thy lips.
R. Proptérea benedíxit te Deus in aetérnum.
R. Therefore God hath blessed thee forever
Ant. Magnum hereditátis mysérium, [templum Dei factus est úterus, nesciéntis virum: non est pollútus ex ea carnem assúmens: omnes gentes vénient dicéntes: Glória tibi Dómine.]
Ant. A great mystery of heritage, the womb that never knew man, is made the temple of the holy Ghost: he is not polluted by taking flesh of her: all nations shall come, saying: glory be to thee O Lord.
Canticle of Our Lady (Luke 1:46-55)
Ant. (for the year) Beáta Mater, [et intácta Virgo, gloriósa Regína mundi, intercéde pro nobis ad Dóminum.]
Ant. Blessed Mother and inviolate Virgin, glorious Queen of the world, intercede for us with the Lord.
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| Magnificat anima mea. JJ Tissot.Brooklyn Museum. |
My soul ☩ * doth magnify the Lord.
Et exsultávit spíritus meus: * in Deo, salutári meo.
And my spirit hath rejoiced * in God my Saviour.
Quia respéxit humilitátem ancíllæ suæ: * ecce enim ex hoc beátam me dicent omnes generatiónes.
Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; * for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Quia fecit mihi magna, qui potens est: * et sanctum nomen ejus.
Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; * and holy is his name.
Et misericórdia ejus, a progénie in progénies: * timéntibus eum.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, * to them that fear him.
Fecit poténtiam in bráchio suo: * dispérsit supérbos mente cordis sui.
He hath shewed might in his arm: * he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
Depósuit poténtes de sede: * et exaltávit húmiles.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, * and hath exalted the humble.
Esuriéntes implévit bonis: * et dívites dimísit inánes.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; * and the rich he hath sent empty away.
Suscépit Israël púerum suum: * recordátus misericórdiæ suæ.
He hath received Israel his servant, * being mindful of his mercy:
Sicut locútus est ad patres nostros: * Ábraham, et sémini ejus in sæcula.
As he spoke to our fathers, * to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sæcula sæculórum. Amen.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. Magnum hereditátis mysérium, [templum Dei factus est úterus, nesciéntis virum: non est pollútus ex ea carnem assúmens: omnes gentes vénient dicéntes: Glória tibi Dómine.]
Ant. A great mystery of heritage, the womb that never knew man, is made the temple of the holy Ghost: he is not polluted by taking flesh of her: all nations shall come, saying: glory be to thee O Lord.
Kyrie eléison. Christe eléison. Kyrie eléison.
Lord have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us.
V. Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. Et clamor meus ad te véniat.
R. And let my cry come out to Thee.
Orémus
Let us pray.
Deus, qui salútis aetérnae beátae Maríae virginitáte fecúnda, humáno géneri praemia praestitísti: tríbue quaesumus, ut ipsam pro nobis intercédere sentiámus, per quam merúimus auctórem vitae suscípere Dóminum nostrum Iesum Christum fílium tuum. Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia saecula saeculórum.
O God, which by the fruitful virginity of the blessed virgin Mary, hast given unto mankind the rewards of eternal salvation: Grant we beseech thee, that we may perceive her to make intercession for us, by whom we have deserved to receive the author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ thy son. Who liveth and reigneth, God, with thee, in the unity of the holy Ghost, world without end.
R. Amen.
R. Amen.
Commemoration of St Joseph
Fidélis servus et prudens, quem constituit Dómius suae Matris solátium, suae carnis nutrítium, et solum in terris magni consílii coadjutórem.A faithful and wise servant, whom the Lord appointed to be the consolation of His Mother, the nursing-father of His own flesh, and alone in all the earth the most faithful fellow helper of great counsel.
V. Ecce homo sine queréla, verus dei cultor.
V. Behold a man without blame, a true worshipper of God.
R. Abstinens se ab omni ópere malo, et pérmanens in innocéntia sua.
R. Abstaining from every evil work, and abiding in his innocence.
Orémus
Let us pray
Assist us, O Lord we beseech Thee, by the merits of the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, that what of ourselves we are unable to obtain, may be granted to us by his intercession. Who liveth and reigneth world without end.
R. Amen.
R. Amen.
Pro Sanctis For the Saints
Ant. Sancti Dei omnes intercédere dignémini pro nostra omniúmque salúte.Ant. O all ye saints of God vouchsafe to make intercession of our and all others' salvation.
V. Laetámini in Dómino, et exultáte iusti.
V. Be glad in our Lord, and rejoice ye just.
R. Et gloriámini omnes recti corde.
R. And glory all ye right of heart.
Orémus
Let us pray
Prótege Dómine pópulum tuum: et apostolórum tuórum Petri et Pauli, et aliórum apostolórum patrocínio confidéntem, perpétua defensióne consérva.
Omnes sancti tui quaesumus Dómine nos ubíque ádiuvent: ut dum eórum mérita recólimus, patrocínia sentiámus: et pacem tuam nostris concéde tempóribus: et ab Ecclésia tua cunctam repélle nequítiam: iter, actus, et voluntátes nostras, et ómnium famulórum tuórum in salútis suae prosperiáte dispóne: benefactóribus nostris sempitérna bona retríbue: et ómnibus fidélibus defúnctis réquiem aetérnam concéde.
Per Dóminum nostrum Iesum Christum ílium tuum: Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia saecula saeculórum.
Protect O Lord thy people: and conserve the confident in the patronage of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and the other Apostles, with perpetual defence.
O Lord we beseech thee, that all thy saints may everywhere help us: that while we reverently recognise their merits, we may feel their patronages: and grant us thy peace in our times: from thy Church repel all wickedness: and dispose our way, acts, and wills, and of all thy servants in the prosperity of thy salvation: and yield unto our benefactors perpetual good things: and grant eternal rest to all faithful departed.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ thy son: Who liveth and reigneth, God, with thee, in the unity of the holy Ghost, world without end.
R. Amen.
R. Amen.
V. Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. Et clamor meus ad te véniat.
R. And let my cry come out to Thee.
V. Benedicámus Dómino.
V. Let us bless the Lord.
R. Deo grátias.
R. Thanks be to God.
V. Fidélium ánimae per misericórdiam Dei requiéscant in pace.
V. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.
R. Amen.
R. Amen.
Continue with Prayers after the Office
Notes on Psalms 109, 112, 121, 126 & 147
Psalm 109
[1] Dixit Dóminus Dómino meo: * [1a] Sede a dextris meis:
The Lord said to my Lord: * Sit thou at my right hand:
[1b] Donec ponam inimícos tuos, * scabéllum pedum tuórum.
Until I make thy enemies * thy footstool.
David, in spirit, saw the Messias ascending into heaven after his death and resurrection, and tells us the language the Father made use of when he invited him to sit beside him and reign along with him. He makes use of the past tense, “the Lord said,” instead of the future; because, in the spirit of prophecy, he looks upon the matter as a thing of the past. “The Lord said,” God the Father said, “to my Lord,” to Christ, for it cannot apply to Abraham or Ezechias, as some of the Jews will have it, neither of whom sat on the right hand of the Father, nor were they begot from the womb before the day star, nor were they priests according to the order of Melchisedech; and, furthermore, when this passage was quoted by Christ when arguing with the Jews, they did not attempt to question its reference to the Messias.
[1a] “Sit thou at my right hand.” Sitting denotes peace and supreme power, which Christ was to enjoy; and sitting “at my right hand, denotes equality, and an equal share in that supreme power enjoyed by God the Father. Christ, as far as his divine nature was concerned, had that equality at all times, but he only got it as regards his human nature after his humiliation unto death, even to the death of the cross, as St. Paul says, “Wherefore God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those that are in heaven, on earth, and in hell, and that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.” Sitting on the right hand of God, then, is the same as being in the glory and the majesty of God, and that glory consists in having a name above every name, at which every knee shall bend; for, as the same Apostle has it, “He must reign until he hath put all enemies under his feet;” when the Apostle proves that the expression “sit thou at my right hand” means nothing more or less than share my sovereign power.
The same Apostle, Heb. 1, has, “For to which of the Angels hath he said at any time, sit on my right hand? Are they not all ministering spirits sent to minister?” Thus proving the difference between Christ and the Angels, from the fact of the latter being merely ministers and servants, and, therefore, not allowed to sit, but obliged to stand, in readiness for the execution of their Lord’s commands; while Christ, as Lord and King, sits with his Father above all creatures.
Finally, St. Peter, Acts 2, says, “Being exalted, therefore, by the right hand of God, he hath poured forth this which you see and hear; for David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself said, The Lord said to any Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know most assuredly that God hath made him Lord and Christ, this same Jesus whom you have crucified.” St. Peter clearly says here that “sitting at the right hand of God” means his having ascended into heaven, and ruling and governing in all places as God only can rule and govern.
[1b] “Until I make thy enemies thy footstool.” The kingdom of Christ, then, is never to have an end, nor is there any danger of its being subverted by its enemies, God having determined to bring them all under subjection by degrees, that Christ may then reign peaceably forever after. The word, then, “until,” does not imply that Christ’s reign was only to hold until his enemies should be subjected; but it means that his kingdom would be always extended more and more until as much as one single enemy not bowing the knee to him would not remain; as if he said, in other words, Come on ruling with me, and cease not extending our kingdom so long as one solitary enemy shall remain uunconquered. That extension of Christ’s kingdom is daily going on through the conversion of some to faith and obedience, who willingly put themselves under Christ’s feet, that he may rest in them as he would on a footstool, and who, after finishing their exile, set out for their country, where they felicitously rest in God: others have either been perverted, or have got hardened in their perversity and are, in the end, hurried away by death to judgment, and, on being condemned, are consigned to hell, where they are, for all eternity, trampled under the feet of Christ. The extension of Christ’s kingdom will be completed on the last day, when every knee shall bend of those that are in heaven, on earth, and in hell, to Christ. But why is the assertion “until I make” attributed to the Father? does not the Son, too, “make thy enemies thy footstool?” Everything done by the Father is also done by the Son, as he himself asserts; but the Father is made to act here, in order, as it were, to reward the obedience of the Son, as the Apostle says, “Wherefore, God also hath exalted him.” With that, everything implying power is usually attributed to the Father, though the Son has the same power, because the Father shares it with him, though the Son cannot share it with the Father, he having had it from the Father by generation. The Son also, as man, enjoys it but by virtue of the hypostatic union. The part the Son takes in subduing the common enemy will be treated of in the next verse.
[2]Virgam virtútis tuæ emíttet Dóminus ex Sion: *[2a] domináre in médio inimicórum tuórum.
The Lord will send forth the sceptre of thy power out of Sion: * rule thou in the midst of thy enemies.
David having, in spirit, heard the Father saying to the Son, “Sit thou at my right hand,” now addresses the Son, and, in the same spirit of prophecy, shows how the propagation of Christ’s kingdom on earth was to be commenced. “The Lord will send forth the scepter of thy power out of Sion;” that is, God the Father, in order to put your enemies under your feet, will begin to extend the sceptre of your royal power out of the city of Jerusalem, and to extend it from Mount Sion, and propagate it to the remotest corners of the earth. This corresponds with the language of our Lord after his resurrection. “And thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead on the third day, and that penance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” And in the first chapter of the Acts, “And you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth.” The sceptre of his power was sent out of Sion, as if it grew on that mountain; for it was in Jerusalem that the spiritual kingdom of Christ commenced, as there were the first believers, and there the faith began to be propagated by the Apostles.
[2a] “Rule thou in the midst of thy enemies.” All success, triumph, and happiness to you on the way; extend your kingdom to all nations; carry the banner of your cross in the midst of Jews and pagans; plant it where they are thickest and strongest; “rule everywhere in the midst of them;” and in spite of them, and in opposition to them, set up your kingdom. That was very soon accomplished; for within a few years, in spite of both Jews and pagans, many Christian churches were established, for the Apostle writes to the Colossians, chap. 1, “The truth of the Gospel is in the whole world, and bringeth forth fruit and groweth;” and St. Ireneus, who lived in the century next the Apostles, writes, “The Church has been planted through the entire world, even to the ends of the earth;” and he specifies the Churches of Germany, Spain, Lybia, Egypt, France, the East, and the churches he calls those in the middle of the world, meaning Greece and Italy.
The Psalm most appropriately adds, “in the midst of thy enemies;” because, however prosperous and triumphant the Church may be, she will always be surrounded by enemies—by pagans, Jews, heretics, and bad Christians—as long as she sojourns here below. But at the end of the world, when the good shall come to be separated from the bad, the kingdom of Christ will be no longer in the midst of her enemies, but will rise above, and be exalted over all her enemies.
[3] Tecum princípium in die virtútis tuæ in splendóribus sanctórum: *[3a] ex útero ante lucíferum génui te.
With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength: in the brightness of the saints: * from the womb before the day star I begot thee.
Having said, “Rule thou in the midst of thy enemies,” which meant at the time that Christ’s kingdom in this world was besieged by his enemies, he now tells us how matters will be on the last day, when all his enemies shall have been subdued, and made his footstool. “With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength;” your power or principality will then be evident to all, and it will be seen that yours is the kingdom. “In the day of thy strength;” on the last day, when your strength will move the heavens, darken the sun, shake the earth, raise the dead, and summon all to your tribunal. “In the brightness of thy saints;” when you shall be surrounded by your saints, who will shine like the sun. [3a] “From the womb, before the day star, I begot thee;” you will have such a principality with you, because I, your Almighty Father, “begot you,” not as I did all other created things, from nothing, but “from the womb,” from my own womb, as my true, natural, and consubstantial Son, and that “before the day star,” before I created the stars, before any creature, before all ages. “From the womb.” The holy fathers very properly use this expression as a proof of the divinity of Christ; for, if he were a [4a] creature, he could not be said to be born of the womb, for no one can say that a house, or a seat, or anything manufactured, is born of the womb; nor does God anywhere say that the heavens or the earth were born of the womb. By the womb is meant the secret and intimate essence of the Deity; and, though the womb is to be found in woman only, still it is applied to the Father, to show more clearly the consubstantiality of the Son with him, as also to show that God needed not the cooperation of woman to bring forth and produce. Himself begot and gave birth. As Isaias says, “Shall not I, that made others to bring forth children, myself bring forth, saith the Lord.”—”Before the day star.” Here we have a proof of the eternity of Christ; for he was born before the day star, and, consequently, before all created things; but he named the day star, for he himself, as the Son of God, is the increate light. For he is the true light, that enlighteneth every man and Angel.
[4] Jurávit Dóminus, et non pœnitébit eum: *[4a] Tu es sacérdos in ætérnum secúndum órdinem Melchísedech.
The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent: * Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech.
He now passes from the regal to the sacerdotal dignity, and shows that Christ is a priest forever, not by reason of his succeeding to Aaron, but as a priest immediately appointed by God, and of whom Melchisedech was a type. “The Lord hath sworn,” hath confirmed his promise by an oath, “and he will not repent;” firmly resolved upon it, a resolution he will never alter; and that is, that though the priesthood of Aaron was to be changed, that of Christ’s never would. God is said to be sorry, a thing he cannot be subject to, when he acts as men do who are sorry for anything; thus, God says in Genesis, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, from man even to the fowls of the air, for it repenteth me that I have made them.” And, again, in 1 Kings 15, the Lord says, “It repenteth me that I have made Saul king.”—”
[4a] Thou art a priest forever.” These are the words of the Father to the Son, and not of David, as St. Paul reasserts in Heb. 5. Now Christ is said to be a priest forever, because the effect of the one sacrifice in which he offered his body on the cross holds forever, as the Apostle, in Heb. 10 has it, “For by one oblation he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified;” as also, because he, living forever, daily, through the hands of the priests of his Church, who succeed each other, offers a sacrifice to which the Apostle alludes, when he says, “And the others indeed were made many priests, because, by reason of death, they were not suffered to continue; but this, for that he continueth forever, hath an everlasting priesthood.”—”According to the order of Melchisedech;” that is, the rite, law, or custom of Melchisedech, whose order is distinguished from that of Aaron, and from which it differs in many respects.
(1) Melchisedech succeeded no priest, nor had he a successor; and, thus, the Apostle says of him, “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life.” While in the priesthood of Aaron one succeeded another, the son supplied the father’s place.
(2) Melchisedech was both king and priest; Aaron was simply a priest.
(3) Melchisedech’s offering consisted of bread and wine, that of Aaron was of sheep and oxen.
(4) Melchisedech was the priest of mankind, Aaron’s priesthood was confined to the Jews.
(5) Melchisedech required neither tent, tabernacle, nor temple for sacrifice, Aaron did; and hence, to the present day, the Jews have no sacrifice, because they have no temple.
Christ, then, is a priest according to the order of Melchisedech, by reason of his having succeeded no priest, and by reason of his having had no priest to succeed him in the great dignity of his everlasting priesthood; and he in fact, as to his human nature has really no father, and as to his divine nature has no mother. The same Christ is both King and Priest, and he offered bread and wine at his last supper, that is, his body under the appearance of bread, and his blood under the appearance of wine; and he is the priest, not only of the Jews, but of the gentiles; nor is his priestly office confined to one temple or one tabernacle, but, as Malachy predicted, “From the rising of the sun, even to the going down, in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation.”
[5] Dóminus a dextris tuis, * confrégit in die iræ suæ reges.
The Lord at thy right hand * hath broken kings in the day of his wrath.
Having asserted that the Son was called a priest forever by the Father, the prophet now addresses the Father, and says that Christ will be really a priest forever; for though many kings of the earth will conspire against him in order to upset his religion and his priesthood, he, however, seated at the right hand of his Father, will break his adversaries down, and, in spite of them all, will perpetuate his priesthood and his sacrifice. “The Lord at thy right hand;” Christ, as you spoke to him sitting there, when you said, “Sit thou at my right hand.” “Hath broken kings in the day of his wrath;” when he shall be angry with his enemies, the kings of the earth, for persecuting his Church, he will break them, and, as far as I can foresee, has already broken them; for in the spirit of prophecy, I already see Herod stricken by the Angel. Nero, in his misery, laying violent hands on himself; Domitian, Maximinus and Decius put to death; Valerian taken captive by the barbarians; Diocletian and Maximinus throwing up the reins of government in despair; Julian, Valens, and Honoricus, and nearly all the kings hostile to Christ meeting a miserable end here, and well merited punishment in hell afterwards for all eternity.
[6] Judicábit in natiónibus, implébit ruínas: * conquassábit cápita in terra multórum.
He shall judge among nations, he shall fill ruins: * he shall crush the heads in the land of many.
Having told us how Christ would deal for the present with his enemies, the kings and princes of the earth, he tells us now, in addition, how he will deal, on the day of judgment, with all his enemies, “He shall judge among nations;” He who, while here below, beat down the impetuosity of princes, and preserved his Church in time of persecution, will afterwards, at the end of the world, judge all nations; and having condemned all the wicked amongst them, “he shall fill ruins,” will utterly exterminate, ruin, and destroy the whole body of the wicked; and thus “he shall crush the heads in the land of many.” He will humble and confound all the proud, that now, with heads erect, make against him; for he will then trample on their pride, when he shall make their weakness known to the whole world, and thus render them both contemptible and confused; and such is the meaning of crushing their heads: and he adds, “in the land of many,” because the truly humble and pious in this world are very few indeed, when compared to the proud and the haughty, who are nearly innumerable.
[7] De torrénte in via bibet: * proptérea exaltábit caput.
He shall drink of the torrent in the way: * therefore shall he lift up the head.
He now assigns a reason for Christ being endowed with such power as to be able to break kings, to judge nations, to fill ruins, and to crush heads, and says, “He shall drink of the torrent in the way, therefore shall he lift up the head;” as if he said with the Apostle, “He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; wherefore God also hath exalted him, and given him a name, which is above every name.” The torrent means the course of human affairs; for, as a torrent flows with great noise and force, full of mud and confusion, and soon after subsides without leaving even a trace of itself, so it is with the affairs of this mortal life—they all pass away, having, generally speaking, been much troubled and confused. Great battles and revolutions, such as those in the time of Caesar and Alexander, and others, have been heard of, but they and their posterity have passed away without leaving a trace of their power. The Son of God, through his incarnation, came down this torrent, and “in the way,” that is, during his mortal transitory life, drank the muddy water of this torrent in undergoing the calamities consequent on his mortality; nay, even he descended into the very depth of the torrent through his passion, the waters of which, instead of contributing to his ease and refreshment, only increased his pains and sufferings, as he complains in Psalm 68. “The waters have come in even unto my soul. I stick fast in the mire of the deep, and there is no sure standing. I am come into the depth of the sea, and a tempest hath overwhelmed me.” In consideration, then, of such humiliation, freely undertaken for the glory of the Father and the salvation of mankind, he afterwards “lifted up his head,” ascended into heaven, and, sitting at the right hand of the Father, was made Judge of the living and the dead.
Psalm 112
[1] Laudáte, púeri, Dóminum: * laudáte nomen Dómini.
Praise the Lord, ye children: * praise ye the name of the Lord.
Children, here, represent the servants of the Lord who worship him in all sincerity. That is clear from the Hebrew for children. Children and servants, however, are so clearly allied that the term may be applied indiscriminately to both, for servants should be as obedient to their masters as children are to their parents. Hence, St. Paul says, “As long as the heir is a child he differeth nothing from a servant.” We are, therefore, reminded by the term “children,” that we should be the pure and simple servants of God, and be directed by his will, without raising any question whatever about it. “Praise the Lord, ye children; praise ye the name of the Lord.” Let it be your principal study, all you who claim to be servants of God, to reflect with a pure mind on the greatness of your Lord, and with all the affections of your heart to praise his infinite name. A similar exhortation is to be found in Psalm 133, “Behold now bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord;” and in Psalm 134, “Praise ye the name of the Lord: O you his servants, praise the Lord.”
[2] Sit nomen Dómini benedíctum, * ex hoc nunc, et usque in sæculum.
(Bow head) Blessed be the name of the Lord, * from henceforth now and for ever.
As we, creeping, wretched things, know not how to praise God as we ought, he now tells us how it should be done, and says it should be done at least with affection and desire. Say, therefore, with all the affections of your heart, “Blessed be the name of the Lord,” “from henceforth,” at the present time, “and forever,” to all future generations, so that there shall never be any cessation to his praise.
[3] A solis ortu usque ad occásum, * laudábile nomen Dómini.
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, * the name of the Lord is worthy of praise.
In this and the following verses he explains the subject of God’s praise, which he says is to be found everywhere, all his works being so replete with wonders, which, on diligent reflection, redound so much praise on their wonderful Maker. “From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same;” throughout the whole world, from one end of it to the other, “the name of the Lord is worthy of praise,” by reason of his great works that so abound throughout the world.
[4] Excélsus super omnes gentes Dóminus, * et super cælos glória ejus.
The Lord is high above all nations; * and his glory above the heavens.
Matter for God’s praise is to be found not only through the length and breadth, but even through the height of the world; for, though there may be many great kings and powerful princes therein, God far out tops them all, and he lords it over, not only “all the nations,” but even over all the Angels, for “his glory is above the heavens,” and all who dwell therein.
[5] Quis sicut Dóminus, Deus noster, qui in altis hábitat, *[6] et humília réspicit in cælo et in terra?
Who is as the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high: * and looketh down on the low things in heaven and in earth?
He now praises God by reason of his wonderful kindness, which, when looked at in conjunction with such sublimity, appears the more extraordinary. “Who is as the Lord our God who dwelleth on high,” in the highest heavens, and still “looketh down on the low things;” on man who dwells on the earth. The words, “in heaven,” according to the Hebrew, should be referred to the first verse. We are here instructed that God, by reason of his excellence, has everything subject to him; and yet, such is his goodness, that he looks after, and attends to the minutest matters, things, and persons, and especially to the meek and humble of heart.
[7] Súscitans a terra ínopem, * et de stércore érigens páuperem:
Raising up the needy from the earth, * and lifting up the poor out of the dunghill:
[8] Ut cóllocet eum cum princípibus, * cum princípibus pópuli sui.
That he may place him with princes, * with the princes of his people.
He explains why God “looks down” on the humble, and says it is to exalt them; and though this is most applicable to individuals raised by God from the lowest to the highest position, such as Joseph, Moses, David, and others, it is also most true of the whole human race, that is, of the little flock of the elect, to whom our Saviour said, “Fear not, little flock, for it hath pleased your Father to give you a kingdom.” Now, mankind lay prostrate on the earth, wallowing on the dunghill of original sin, and its consequent evils, and yet God, who is seated in heaven, looked down on the earth, and raised up the needy, that is, the man despoiled by the robbers, who was lying on the dunghill of misery, to “place him with princes;” not in the general acceptation of the word; but with “the princes of his people,” the possessors of the heavenly Jerusalem, the citizens of the kingdom of heaven. The being raised from the poverty of this world to an abundance of its riches, however great and desirable it may appear in our eyes, is in reality a thing of no value, such things being perishable, given to us merely to make good use of them, and bringing great obligations with them, which, if not properly discharged, will, on the day of judgment, bring down great trouble and affliction of spirit on those who got them. But the elevation from a state of sin and death to that of glory and immortality, to an equality with the Angels, to share in that happiness that forms a part of God’s own happiness, that, indeed, is the true, the truly great, and the most to be sought for elevation.
[9] Qui habitáre facit stérilem in domo, * matrem filiórum lætántem.
Who maketh a barren woman to dwell in a house, * the joyful mother of children.
With mankind a low and contemptible position is considered a misfortune, while barrenness is looked upon in the same light by womankind; but, as God looks down on the humble man so as to raise him from the lowest to the highest position, he also looks down on the humble woman, thereby changing her barrenness into fertility. This is quite applicable to several females, such as Sara, Rebecca, Rachel, Anne, and others; but it applies, in a higher sense, to the Church gathered from the gentiles, that remained barren a long time, but ultimately begot many children, as the Apostle has it, “Rejoice thou barren, that bearest not; break forth and cry out, thou that travailest not: for many are the children of the desolate, more than that of her that hath a husband.”
Psalm 121
[1] Lætátus sum in his, quæ dicta sunt mihi: * In domum Dómini íbimus.
I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: * We shall go into the house of the Lord.
Such is the language of God’s people, expressive of their joy on hearing the welcome news of their return to their country. Jeremias was the person to announce that, after seventy years, there would be an end to the captivity, and that the city and the temple would be rebuilt. Daniel, Aggeus, and Zacharias, who lived at the time the captivity was ended, foretold it more clearly; and they, therefore, created much joy among the people, when, on the completion of the seventy years, they said, “We shall go into the house of the Lord;” that is to say, we shall return to our country, where we shall get to see mount Sion and the site of the house of the Lord; and then, when we shall have rebuilt the temple, we will again “go into the house of the Lord.”
Christ, however, was the bearer of a far and away more happy message when he announced, “Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;” and when he said more clearly, “In my Father’s house there are many mansions. If not, I would have told you; because I go to prepare a place for you. And if I shall go and prepare a place for you I will come again, and will take you to myself, that where I am, you also may be.” Such news fills with unspeakable joy those who have learned the value “of going into the house of the Lord;” and to hold in that house, not the position “of a stranger or a foreigner, but of a fellow citizen with the saints and a domestic of God’s.” That must be well known to anyone reflecting seriously on the saying of David, “They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house;” and in another Psalm, “We shall be filled with the good things of thy house;” as also on that saying of the Apostle, “That you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” Such is the man who, from his heart, desires to go into the house of the Lord; and, therefore, from his heart sings, “I rejoiced at the things that were said to me. We shall go into the house of the Lord.” Now, “the sensual man perceiveth not the things that are of the spirit of God,” and, therefore, on the approach of death, or the termination of his exile and pilgrimage, instead of rejoicing, is troubled and laments, and justly, because, as he did not choose during his life time “to dispose in his heart to ascend by steps,” he cannot possibly expect to go up to the house of the Lord on high, but rather fears to go down to the prison of the damned, there to be punished forever.
[2] Stantes erant pedes nostri, * in átriis tuis, Jerúsalem.
Our feet were standing * in thy courts, O Jerusalem.
He tells us why the Jews were so overjoyed at the idea of their return to their country, and he says it arose from their remembrance of the time previous to the captivity, when they saw Jerusalem in her extent and in her splendor; for many who had been carried off captives in their youth could have remembered Jerusalem as she then was; and in 1 Esdras 3 we read, that many returned from the captivity who had seen the city and the temple. These men, therefore, say, “Our feet were standing in thy courts, O Jerusalem;” that is to say, because we recollected the time when we stood in your courts or in your gates, as it is more clearly expressed in the Hebrew. He names the courts or the gates, being, as it were, the vestibules of the city, rather than the public buildings or the streets, because it was at the gates that business was mostly transacted; it was there that the citizens mostly assembled, as we may infer from that verse in Proverbs, “Her husband is honourable in the gates, when he sitteth among the senators of the land.” It also appears, from 2 Kings 18, that the gates of Jerusalem were not plain, ordinary gates, but that they were double gates, with a considerable space between them, which, perhaps, is here called “thy courts.” Thus we read in 2 Kings 24, “And David sat between the two gates.” And again, Jeremias 39, “And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the middle gate;” and, certainly, no small space was necessary to accommodate all those princes with their retinue.
But how can we Christians say, “Our feet were standing in thy courts, O Jerusalem,” when we were never in her courts? Well, we have been in her courts, otherwise we would not be now exiles and pilgrims, nor would Christ have redeemed us from captivity had we not been torn from our country and captives in a foreign land. We have been, then, in the courts of the heavenly Jerusalem, when, through our father Adam, we had possession of paradise, that was the gate of the paradise above; and the state of innocence then and there was the gate and the court to the state of glory; and that, perhaps, was the reason why the Holy Spirit made David write “in the courts,” instead of the streets of Jerusalem, that we may understand that the Psalm treats of the celestial, and not the earthly Jerusalem. “We have (therefore) rejoiced at the things that were said of thee,” when they said, “we shall go into the house of the Lord,” because we remembered the time when “our feet were standing” in paradise, and, consequently, in the courts of the paradise above; and, from the idea we got of happiness in the place below, we can guess at the happiness that awaits us above. And though this great place in question is sometimes called the house of the Lord, sometimes the city of Jerusalem, still it is all one and the same place; for our heavenly country is one time called a kingdom, sometimes a city, and at other times a house. It is a kingdom by reason of the multitude and the variety of its inhabitants, as St. John observes, Apoc. 7, “It is a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues.” It is a city by reason of the friendship and fellowship that exist between the saints and the blessed; for, however great their number may be, they know, recognize, and love each other as so many fellow citizens; and, finally, it is a house by reason of the elect having only one father, one inheritance, in which they are all brethren, under the one Father, God.
[3] Jerúsalem, quæ ædificátur ut cívitas: * cujus participátio ejus in idípsum.
Jerusalem, which is built as a city, * which is compact together.
The prophet now, in the person of the pilgrims hastening to Jerusalem, begins to enumerate its praises, with a view of thereby stirring himself up to make greater haste in his ascent to it. He praises it, (1) by reason of the supreme peace enjoyed by all its inhabitants, who were so united in the love of each other that they held all their property in common. “Our feet were standing in thy courts, O Jerusalem;” that same Jerusalem whose buildings have so increased, and are daily increasing, that it has now become a city “which is compact together;” which is enjoyed and shared in common by all. Referring the passage to a future state it is much more beautiful and more sublime, for the heavenly Jerusalem is truly built up as a city; not that it is, strictly speaking, a city, nor that there were stones used in the building; still, it is built up as a city so long as the living stones, dressed by a consummate workman, and, after being actually squared and fitted, are placed on the building of the celestial habitation; from which it follows, that they who understand it not only bear all manner of persecutions with equanimity, but they even rejoice and glory in their tribulations, being perfectly sensible that it is in such manner they are squared and fitted for being built into and raised upon the heavenly habitation. One of these living stones, St. James, thus admonishes us, “My brethren, count it great joy when you shall fall into diverse temptations.” Again, in our heavenly country, we shall have the real community of property; for, in the earthly Jerusalem such community of property was more a matter of fact than a matter of right, and arose from the mutual love of the inhabitants for each other; the same held for a time, in the infancy of the Church, as we read in the Acts, “Neither did any of them say, that of the things which he possessed, anything was his own, but all things were common to them;” which still holds among those religious orders that observe the spirit of their institute. But in the heavenly Jerusalem there is complete community of property, the one God being all unto all; that is, the one and the same God being the honour, the riches, and the delight of all those who dwell in his house; and that most happy and most supreme abundance is really always the same, subject to no diminution or alteration whatever.
[4] Illuc enim ascendérunt tribus, tribus Dómini: * testimónium Israël ad confiténdum nómini Dómini.
For thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord: * the testimony of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord.
(2)The second subject of praise in Jerusalem is the number of its inhabitants; and this verse has a connection with the second verse, because he now assigns a reason for having said, or rather, for having put in the mouth of God’s people, “Our feet were standing in thy courts, O Jerusalem;” for, though they were not all citizens of Jerusalem, but inhabitants of different cities, still they all came up to Jerusalem three times in every year. He, therefore, says, “Our feet were standing in thy courts, O Jerusalem; for thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord;” that is, a great many tribes; such repetitions, in the Hebrew, being indicative of multitude; and thus, a great multitude assembled in Jerusalem, “the testimony of Israel to praise the name of the Lord;” explaining the cause of such an assemblage in Jerusalem. It was according to “the testimony,” that is, the law that obliged all Israel to visit the temple of the Lord at stated times, it being the only temple in the land of promise; and there “praise the name of the Lord,” in acts of thanksgiving and praise.
From another point of view, which we consider was more intended by the Holy Ghost, the meaning is, A reason is assigned for having said, “Jerusalem which is built as a city;” because it was built as a city, by reason of “the tribes that go up there;” that is, the holy souls from all tribes and nations, who go up to be built into the spiritual structures, that St. Peter writes of in his first epistle, chap. 2. Now, those blessed souls have gone up to that heavenly Jerusalem, “to praise the name of the Lord;” for that is their whole occupation there, to the exclusion of every other business. Hence, in Psalm 83, we have, “Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord: they shall praise thee forever and ever;” and Tobias, speaking of the heavenly Jerusalem, has, “And Alleluia shall be sung in its streets;” and such is “the testimony,” that is, the command, “to Israel,” that is, to the soul enjoying the beatific vision, that it should never desist from praise, inasmuch as it never ceases to love.
[5] Quia illic sedérunt sedes in judício, * sedes super domum David.
Because there seats have sat in judgment, * seats upon the house of David.
(3) The third matter for praise in Jerusalem is its being the seat of government, and having a royal palace in it; and the word “because” would seem to connect this verse with the preceding; for it looks like assigning a reason why God wished to have a temple, which the people were bound to visit three times a year, in Jerusalem, in consequence of being the residence of royalty, and the metropolis of the kingdom. He, therefore, says, “Because there,” in Jerusalem, “seats have sat in judgment;” seats of kings in succession, whose business it was to judge the people, “have sat,” have been firmly settled and fixed, not like that of Saul’s, which was for a while in Gabaa of Benjamin, and made no great stay there either; nor, like that of the judges who preceded the kings, who never had any certain fixed place for “sitting,” or delivering judgment, while the kings of the family of David sat permanently in Jerusalem; and he, therefore, adds, “seats upon the house of David;” that is, the seat of royalty founded on the family of David, met with rest and stability; for God said to David, 2 Kings 7, “And thy house shall be faithful, and thy kingdom forever before thy face; and thy throne shall be firm forever.” From the expression, “seats upon the house of David,” we are not to infer that they sat in judgment on the family of David alone; for they had authority over the whole family of Jacob, that is, over the twelve tribes of Israel; but they are called seats upon the house of David, because all the kings of God’s people sprang from the family of David.
All this is much more applicable to Christ and the heavenly Jerusalem. Because, lest the Jews may imagine that the words of the Psalm apply to that earthly Jerusalem, and not to the celestial Jerusalem, of which it was a figure, God permitted the seat of government to be removed from Jerusalem, and, furthermore, Jerusalem itself to be destroyed. The promise, then, applies to the Jerusalem above, and to Christ, according to the prophecy of Isaias, chap. 9; of Daniel, chap. 9; and of the Angel to the Virgin, Lk. 1, “The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” In the strictest acceptance, then, of the words have “the seats sat in judgment” in the heavenly Jerusalem; because Christ’s throne and the thrones of those who reign with him have been established most firmly in heaven; and because those very saints who reign and judge with Christ are a throne for God; for “the soul of the just is the seat of wisdom;” and those seats really sit in judgment, according to the promise of our Lord, “You that have followed me shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And those seats are upon the house of David, because all the power of the saints, royal as well as judiciary, is derived from Christ, who is called the son of David in the Gospel, and who got the seat of David his father, and who will reign forever in the house of Jacob, and of whose kingdom there shall be no end.
[6] Rogáte quæ ad pacem sunt Jerúsalem: * et abundántia diligéntibus te:
Pray ye for the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem: * and abundance for them that love thee.
The prophet now exhorts the exiles, on their return from their captivity, to salute, even from afar, the city of Jerusalem, praying for peace and abundance on it, two things that contribute principally to the happiness of cities; for peace, without abundance, is only a firm hold of misery; and abundance, without peace, amounts to doubtful and uncertain happiness; but when both are combined, the city needs nothing necessary for its happiness. He, therefore, says, “Pray for the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem.” Pray ye to God for true and solid peace for your country, and for “abundance,” not only for the city of Jerusalem, but also “to them that love thee,” you holy city.
[7] Fiat pax in virtúte tua: * et abundántia in túrribus tuis.
Let peace be in thy strength: * and abundance in thy towers.
He dictates the very words in which those who pray for peace and abundance to Jerusalem are to salute her. When you salute her say ye, “Let peace be in thy strength, and abundance in thy towers;” that is to say, may your walk be always secure and fortified, thereby ensuring perfect peace and quiet to all who dwell within them; “and abundance in thy towers;” no lack of meat or drink in your public buildings and private houses.
[8] Propter fratres meos, et próximos meos, * loquébar pacem de te:
For the sake of my brethren, and of my neighbours, * I spoke peace of thee.
[9] Propter domum Dómini, Dei nostri, * quæsívi bona tibi.
Because of the house of the Lord our God, * I have sought good things for thee.
Now, the two last verses, in reference to the heavenly Jerusalem, though they imply prayers for peace and abundance, still they do not mean to insinuate that there can ever possibly be a want of either there, when we read in Psalm 147, “Who hath placed peace in thy borders; and filleth thee with the fat corn?” they, therefore, merely express the pious affection we cherish for the blessings of the Jerusalem above, just as we have in the Apocalypse, “Salvation to our God who sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
Psalm 126
[1] Nisi Dóminus ædificáverit domum, * in vanum laboravérunt qui ædíficant eam.
Unless the Lord build the house, * they labour in vain that build it. [1a] Nisi Dóminus custodíerit civitátem, * frustra vígilat qui custódit eam.
Unless the Lord keep the city, * he watcheth in vain that keepeth it.
These words were addressed to the Jews when they were building the house of God, that is, the temple, at a time that the work was progressing but slowly, by reason of the obstructions offered by the surrounding nations, as we read in 1 Esdras. They are admonished to bear in mind that the work of man is of no value, unless God, the principal builder, be there to help them; and, therefore, that they should work not only with their hands, but also with their hearts and their lips, in invoking God, and confiding mainly in his help. “Unless the Lord build the house;” unless God, on being invoked with confidence, assists the workmen, “they labour in vain that build it;” all their labour is gone for nothing, and will be so.
This is also addressed to the heads of the Church who, by the preaching of God’s word, seek to bring souls to him, and of them, to build up a temple, (the Church,) to the Lord, as we read in Corinthians, “You are God’s building;” and further on, “As a wise architect I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon.” But unless the primary architect be there, he who said, “On this rock I will build my church,” in vain will men build, and doctors preach, because, as the Lord himself said, “Without me you can do nothing.” [It seems that all the labours expended since and in the name of 'the spirit of Vatican II have been in vain. This suggests that the labour has not been the labour of the Lord, neither has it been blessed by Him].
The same applies to everyone of us, for we are bound, through acts of faith, hope, and love, to build up a house in heaven; for, as St. Augustine has it, “Such a house is founded on faith, built up on hope, and finished off by charity; nor is anyone who has not previously prepared such a house ever admitted as a citizen in the heavenly country.” Such a house is constructed rather by prayer and lamentation, than by manual labour, because, “we are not sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves.”—“Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it.” [See also: [26] And every one that heareth these my words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand,
Et omnis qui audit verba mea haec, et non facit ea, similis erit viro stulto, qui aedificavit domum suam super arenam :
[27] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.
et descendit pluvia, et venerunt flumina, et flaverunt venti, et irruerunt in domum illam, et cecidit, et fuit ruina illius magna. [Martt 7]
When the city was being built after the captivity, they had to build it and guard it at the same time, as we read in 2 Esdras. The nations round about them not only sought to prevent them from building, but they demolished everything that was built if they could; and thus the children of Israel had to proceed with the sword in one hand, and the tools in the other, and many had to stand guard continually. Yet all this guarding would have been of no avail, had not the Lord chosen to guard the city. This, too, applies to the heads of the Church, whose duty it is both to build it up, and to guard it. Because we are surrounded by enemies, who hate nothing more than the extension of the Church, and though bishops get a very high position in the Church to look out as if from a watch tower, from which they can see everything, and thus guard the people; still, as they cannot penetrate men’s hearts, nor be everywhere with everyone, they cannot but feel that, “Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it.” The same is very apt to occur to ourselves, when we, through good works, begin to build up a house, for enemies will not be wanting to seek to destroy the work so begun, by various temptations; and, hence, the Apostle arms us when he says, “Wherefore take unto you the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day;” and a little further on, “In all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one.” But unless God be with us, to guard us who slumber so often, and fight for us, all our labour will be in vain.
[2] Vanum est vobis ante lucem súrgere: * súrgite postquam sedéritis, qui manducátis panem dolóris.
It is vain for you to rise before light, * rise ye after you have sitten, you that eat the bread of sorrow.
[3] Cum déderit diléctis suis somnum: *[3a] ecce heréditas Dómini fílii: merces, fructus ventris.
When he shall give sleep to his beloved, * behold the inheritance of the Lord are children: the reward, the fruit of the womb.
The children of Israel, in their anxiety, while so harassed, were wont to rise before day, in order to expedite the building; and, therefore, the Holy Ghost admonishes them that their turning to work before day would be of no advantage to them, unless the Lord would assist them; but with him as a helper, with their hope firmly reposed in him, that the work would go on prosperously, even though they may not go to work until after the rising of the sun. “It is vain for you to rise before light;” you have no business whatever in beginning to work before day, unless the Lord shall build with you; and, therefore, trust in him, put up your prayers constantly to him. “Rise ye after you have sitten;” after the necessary rest of the night, rise to your work, “you that eat the bread of sorrow,” you who now lead a miserable and a sorrowful life by reason of the continual harassing of your enemies.
The prelates of the Church, and the faithful, individually, are admonished, that in the building of a house, whether for themselves or for a community, they should not confide more in working than in praying, and should seek to imitate our Lord, who watched all night in prayer, as we read in Luke, “And he passed the whole night in the prayer of God,” while by day he addressed people, and confirmed what he said by miracles; as also the Apostle, who says in the Acts, “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”—“It is vain for you to rise before light,” to waste all your time in building and watching it. “Rise ye after you have sitten,” go to your work after you shall have rested in prayer and contemplation. “You that eat the bread of sorrow;” you who, in your longings for your heavenly country, daily groan and exclaim, “My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me daily, where is thy God?” For ardent lovers, when they cannot behold the thing they love, are supported by sighing and groaning for it, and thus their tears become bread to them day and night; that is, a dinner by day and a supper by night. “When he shall give sleep to his beloved.”
He now consoles them after his exhortations and admonitions, prophesying that it would come to pass, that after the present tribulations God would give peace to his people, and that the children of Israel would be manifestly “God’s inheritance,” would become so powerful and so brave that they would never again have to suffer anything from the enemy, a prophecy that concerns the new people; that is, the Church of Christ, of which the temple and the city were a type. For as St. Augustine proves, after the restoration of the city and the temple, matters were every day getting worse with the Jews, until the city was laid in ruins, and the temple burned, under Titus and Vespasian. He, therefore, says, “When he shall give sleep to his beloved,” when he shall have given peace and rest to his people, by sending them the true Solomon, to build up the real temple, the Church which he will establish and propagate, and to which he will subject all the rulers of the world.
[3a] “Behold, the inheritance of the Lord are children, the reward the fruit of the womb;” that is to say, then, it will appear that many children are the inheritance of the Lord, as he says in Psalm 2, “Ask of me, and I will give thee the gentiles for thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession,” and the “reward” of the same Christ our Lord will be the fruit of the womb; that is, many children, according to Isaias, “If he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a long lived seed;” for, as we have frequently remarked, repetitions are of most common occurrence in the Scripture, and thus “the inheritance of the Lord are children,” is one and the same with “the reward the fruit of the womb;” that is to say, the inheritance and the reward of Christ, our Lord, will be many children, who are nothing else than the fruit of the womb.
If we look for a more sublime meaning in these words, we must make them foretell the happiness of the Jerusalem above; that is, which awaits those, who, in the resurrection, after the sleep of a temporary death, hastened, as they ought, to get up to their country on the wings of faith and love; and he, therefore, says, “When he shall give sleep to his beloved;” when, after various labours and contests, God shall give all his beloved, the pastors of his Church, who were its builders, as well as the faithful, in particular, who built up their own house by good works, the sleep and repose of a happy death. “Behold, the inheritance of the Lord are children; the reward, the fruit of the womb.” It will appear on the day of judgment, that God’s children are God’s inheritance, because they will then obtain life everlasting, and will pass over to the everlasting possession and inheritance of God; and they will also be the reward of Christ, who is the fruit of the womb, because the salvation of the elect is Christ’s reward, inasmuch as it was he, who, by his sufferings and death, got grace and glory for them.
[4] Sicut sagíttæ in manu poténtis: * ita fílii excussórum.
As arrows in the hand of the mighty, * so the children of them that have been shaken.
The prophet now relates the strength of the children of Christ, who are his inheritance and his reward, and says, they will have great strength and power, as great as the arrows that are shot from the bow of a strong and powerful archer, which pierce everything; and this is only in reference to their spiritual strength, which is as remarkable in its action as it is in its power of endurance; for when they confound like thunder and lightning, when they bring infidels to the faith, or sinners to penance, by the fire of their preaching, by the brightness of their sanctity, and the power of their miracles; and when, in their struggles for the faith and for piety, they endure, even unto death, all manner of torments with the most incredible patience and fortitude, what else are they but arrows in the hand of the mighty?
But why are those brave children called “the children of them that have been shaken?” Because they are the children of the outcasts and the wretched, the children of the prophets and the Apostles; and of the former, the Apostle writes, Heb. 11, “Others had trial of mockeries and stripes, moreover also of bonds and prisons; they were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword, they wandered about in sheep skins, in goat skins, being in want, distressed, afflicted; of whom the world was not worthy;” and, speaking of the Apostles, the same Apostle says, 1 Cor. 4, “For I think that God hath set forth us, Apostles, the last, as it were, men destined to death; because 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 ill spoken of, and we entreat: we are made as the refuse of this world; the off scouring of all even till now.” And yet, they, so shaken off and rejected, turned out to be the bravest of the brave, and had a most extraordinary triumph over the world and the demons. All the elect are the children of the aforesaid, who, “like arrows in the hand of the mighty,” have wounded and conquered their enemies.
[5] Beátus vir, qui implévit desidérium suum ex ipsis: * non confundétur cum loquétur inimícis suis in porta.
Blessed is the man that hath filled the desire with them; * he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate.
He now concludes the Psalm by long and loud congratulations to Christ our Lord. “Blessed is the man that hath filled his desire with them.” Truly happy is he, Christ to wit, “that hath filled his desire with them;” his children, because he got the full extent of his desire, the salvation and glory of his children, for whom he did and suffered so much; and therefore, “he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gates;” that is to say, in the last judgment, that will be held in a tolerably extensive gate; for it will be in the assemblage of the whole world. “He shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies,” be they demons or sinners; but he will rather confound them, and bring them in guilty of injustice and imbecility; for the whole contention between Christ and the devil and his ministers, from the beginning to the end of the world, turned upon the salvation of mankind, on whose ruin the evil spirit was always bent, and in order to effect which he raised up, in so many succeeding ages, so many persecutions of Jews, pagans, heretics, and bad members of all classes against the Church. But when, on the day of judgment, the countless thousands of the elect reigning in glory with Christ, crowned in triumph, and in great rejoicing shall appear; and, on the other hand, the wicked shall appear deprived of all power, and having been justly condemned to eternal punishment, shall have no hope of getting up the war again, then Christ, instead of being confounded, will confound all his enemies.
Psalm 147
[1] Lauda, Jerúsalem, Dóminum: * lauda Deum tuum, Sion.
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: * praise thy God, O Sion.
Jerusalem is a holy city, the more noble part of which is mount Sion, where the temple of the Lord was built, and is often used to express the city itself; and, therefore, “praise the Lord, O Jerusalem,” and “praise thy God, Sion,” signify one and the same thing. If it be referred to the Jerusalem above (the heavenly Jerusalem), nothing more appropriate could be applied to it; for in that heavenly city no one need be occupied in it providing for their personal wants, or those of their neighbors, there being no poor, no needy, to be found therein, and can, therefore, devote their whole time, as they really do, in praising God. Most justly, then, does he address the city, saying, “Praise the Lord,” for you have nothing else to do; for you are specially bound thereto by reason of the signal favours he has conferred on you; and, finally, because it has been your great good fortune to get so close a view of the beauty and the excellence of the Lord. The Church, in her exile, should also praise the Lord; but the whole Church cannot, nor can the Church at all times do it, in the midst of the cares and troubles that frequently disturb her. And if the Church cannot accomplish it, much less can the synagogue.
[2] Quóniam confortávit seras portárum tuárum: * benedíxit fíliis tuis in te.
Because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates * he hath blessed thy children within thee.
The reason why Jerusalem should bless the Lord arises from the fact of his having conferred on her that abundance and security of which human happiness consists. Security, without abundance, is no better than poverty, and abundance, without security, is replete with fear and danger. God, therefore, so strengthened the bolts of the gates of Jerusalem that they could not possibly be stormed, and those inside are quite safe, inasmuch as no enemy can enter, no friend will be excluded; nothing bad can come in, nothing good will go out; and the divine blessing brought an abundance of all good things into this highly fortified city; for it was not a particular blessing that God gave the holy city, but a general, an absolute one, to use the expression of the Apostle, “Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.” These two things perfectly apply to the Jerusalem above, where the security is eternal, and the blessing consists in the enjoyment of the supreme good.
They also apply, to a certain extent, to the Church in her exile, though not so entirely; “for the gates of hell will not prevail against her,” and she has many blessings within her; but, meanwhile, many wicked enter into her, and good revolt from her; she has the chaff mixed with the grain, the good with the bad fish, the kids with the lambs. There are other points of agreement also with the earthly Jerusalem, inasmuch as by reason of her being situated in the mountains, she appeared to be well fortified, and abounded, at one time, with inhabitants and with wealth; but, as she was more than once sacked and destroyed, it does not appear that the expression, “he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates,” is quite applicable to her. One would rather say the expression in Lament. 2 was, “Her gates are sunk into the ground: he hath destroyed and broken her bars; and the bulwark hath moved; and the wall hath been destroyed together.” Nor was there such an abundance in the city at the same time, when we read, “They said to their mothers, where is corn and wine? when they fainted away as the wounded in the streets of the city, when they breathed out their souls in the bosoms of their mothers.”
[3] Qui pósuit fines tuos pacem: * et ádipe fruménti sátiat te.
Who hath placed peace in thy borders: * and filleth thee with the fat of corn.
Not only is the holy city of Jerusalem highly fortified, but it is even exempt from the dangers of war, hence its name, Jerusalem, which signifies “The vision of peace,” and the first that attempted to disturb that peace was expelled with such violence as to cause the Lord to say, “I saw Satan as lightning falling from heaven.” “Who hath placed peace in thy borders;” who hath established universal peace through the length and breadth of Jerusalem. And further, not only does this city enjoy abundance, but even the most exquisite dainties, as conveyed in the expression, “the fat of corn;” and these without limit, as we can infer from the expression, “who filleth.” All this applies to our heavenly country in the strict sense of the words, for there alone will our inferior be in strict peace with our superior parts, and our superior parts with God; and there, too, will be strict peace between the citizens of all grades, high and low; for there will be one heart, one soul, and as the Lord expresses it, Jn. 7, “Made perfect in one.” There, too, “will all be filled with the fat of corn,” for truth and wisdom being the food of the soul, they will have actual truth as it is in itself, and not in figures or enigmas, and they will taste of the sweetness of the Word Eternal without being enveloped by the sacraments or the Scriptures; they will drink of the fountain of wisdom, instead of applying to the streams that flow from it, or to the “showers falling gently upon the earth.” They will be so filled that they will never again hunger nor thirst for all eternity.
In the Church militant also, which, to a certain extent, is the Jerusalem, we have peace with God, though we, at the same time, suffer pressure from the world. We do what we can to keep in peace with all; but we are in the midst of those who hate peace, and, therefore, “Combats without, fears within,” are never wanting, and though we may feed on “the fat of corn,” it is enveloped by too many coverings. We have the Word of God, but in the flesh; and though we eat of the flesh it is covered by the sacrament. We drink of the waters of wisdom, but it is from the shower of the Scriptures, and we are, therefore, never so satiated with those blessings as to make our happiness consist in hungering and thirsting for more. Much less applicable is all this to the earthly Jerusalem, the old synagogue of the Jews, to which it was applicable in a figurative sense only.
[4] Qui emíttit elóquium suum terræ: * velóciter currit sermo ejus.
Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth: * his word runneth swiftly.
Having exhorted the holy city to thank God for the favours conferred on itself, he now exhorts it to praise God for the favours conferred on other nations, from which they may learn how much more liberal he has been in their regard. He, therefore, exhorts them to praise that God, “who sendeth forth his speech to the earth,” who issues the precepts and decrees of his providence to the whole world; and “his word runneth quickly;” such precepts and decrees are borne with the greatest expedition to all created beings, penetrate all things, and are put into immediate execution. These words explain the order of divine providence that extends itself to everything, and that with the greatest velocity because God is everywhere, “upholding all things by the word of his power,” Heb. 1; and “reaches from end to end mightily, and ordereth all things sweetly,”—Wisdom 8. Hence, David says, in Psalm 118, “All things serve thee.”
[5] Qui dat nivem sicut lanam: * nébulam sicut cínerem spargit.
Who giveth snow like wool: * scattereth mists like ashes.
From God’s universal providence he now takes up one particular effect of it, in which the admirable power and wisdom of God are most conspicuous, and for which he deserves merited praise, even from the citizens above, exempt as they are from such changes. The wonderful effects of God’s power and wisdom, which, however, are most familiar and visible to us all, are to be found in his creation of heat and cold in the air. In certain countries, snow, frost, and ice will so abound, at certain times, that lakes, rivers, and even seas will become so congealed, that wagons, heavily laden, will be carried over them, as they would through so many roads or fields. The ice becomes so hard that bars of iron will hardly break it; and yet, God, when it pleaseth him, by a simple change in the wind, in one instant causes all to melt, and streams of water flow down from the housetops, from the hills, and the mountains. Thus, God, in one moment, converts the extreme cold into a most agreeable warmth.
To enter into particulars. “Who giveth snow like wool;” who rains down snow in such abundance, that every flake of it looks like flocks of wool, not only by reason of its whiteness, but also of its size. “Scattereth mists like ashes;” raises mists so dense, that they seem more like a cloud of ashes than of vapour.
[6] Mittit crystállum suam sicut buccéllas: * ante fáciem frígoris ejus quis sustinébit?
He sendeth his crystal like morsels: * who shall stand before the face of his cold?
“He sendeth his crystal like morsels;” who congeals the water when forming it into hail, so as to appear in small crystals like crumbs of bread. “Who shall stand before the face of his cold?” An apostrophe of the prophet in admiration of God’s great power in producing so much cold; as much as to say, who can stand or bear so much cold?
[7] Emíttet verbum suum, et liquefáciet ea: * flabit spíritus ejus, et fluent aquæ.
He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: * his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run.
Having described the extreme cold caused by the snow, frost, and ice, he now shows with what ease and celerity God causes them all to disappear. “He shall send out his word,” his simple command, “and shall melt them,” the snow, frost, and ice, and, at once, the cold disappears; and he explains how simply God effects that, when he adds, “His wind shall blow, and the waters shall run;” at his command the wind shifts to the south, causing the snow and the ice to thaw, and thus converting them into water.
[8] Qui annúntiat verbum suum Jacob: * justítias, et judícia sua Israël.
Who declareth his word to Jacob: * his justices and his judgments to Israel.
[9] Non fecit táliter omni natióni: * et judícia sua non manifestávit eis.
He hath not done in like manner to every nation: * and his judgments he hath not made manifest to them.
He concludes by showing how differently God, in his providence, deals with his own people, and with other nations, because he instructed other nations, merely by natural causes and effects, so as to know their Creator through the things created by him; (from high philosophy to common sense: Plato, Aristotle et al) but he taught his own people through the prophets. “Who declareth his word to Jacob;” that is to say, Jerusalem praise that Lord, “who declared his word to his people Jacob,” by speaking to them through Moses, and the prophets, and who pointed out “his justices and his judgments to Israel,” through the same Moses, to whom he gave the law, in order to hand it over to his people of Israel, and from it you will be able to understand “that he hath not done in like manner to every nation,” because to you alone, and to none others, “hath he made manifest his judgments,” meaning his laws. All this applies literally to the Jerusalem on earth, to whom God sent his prophets to announce his words, and explain his laws; but it is much more applicable to the spiritual Jerusalem, the Church, that received the incarnate word of God himself, through the preaching of the Apostles, and learned a much more sublime law, judgments and justifications. It is more applicable, again, to the Jerusalem above, to which God openly announces his word; and in his word all its inhabitants behold the judgments of God, the order, disposition, and secrets of his divine providence, that to us are a great abyss.
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